Typhoid in Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 3:48 pm, April 4th, 2017 - 76 comments
Categories: health, poverty - Tags: , , , ,

The typhoid outbreak in Auckland is spreading, and has claimed a life:

Woman dies in Auckland after contracting typhoid, 15 cases now confirmed

Health authorities are being slammed after waiting until after a woman died to notify the public about a typhoid outbreak.

Fifteen cases have now been confirmed to be linked to the outbreak, with two other probable cases awaiting further tests.

The woman, from Auckland’s Mt Roskill, died in Auckland City Hospital last Tuesday.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman said there were “probably some communications issues” that the health service needed to take on board regarding the delay in releasing information. “I think they should be communicating very clearly with people on issues,” he said. …

Typhoid is a disease of poor sanitation and contamination, it is exacerbated by overcrowding, and usually associated with poor / “developing” countries. Stuff has a bit of basic information up here: The causes, symptoms and cures of typhoid fever

Now would be a good time to reflect on NZ’s generally poor record on child poverty and disease. From 2011:

Shock look at NZ’s child poverty

More than 100 New Zealand children who died last year would probably have survived had they lived in Japan, Sweden or the Czech Republic, a new documentary shows.

In Inside Child Poverty: A Special Report, set to air this week, Wellington documentary maker Bryan Bruce shows a Swedish doctor footage of sick, scab-ridden schoolchildren suffering from preventable diseases in Porirua and asks if he saw similar situations in his country.

The doctor shakes his head: “In the 70s, maybe.”

Last year, more than 25,000 children were admitted to hospital for respiratory infections. Doctors routinely treat cases of rheumatic fever and scabies – diseases now rare in Europe.

The reason behind these preventable diseases were appalling rates of child poverty that New Zealand could not afford to ignore, Mr Bruce said. …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AnC8yMph78

76 comments on “Typhoid in Auckland ”

  1. srylands 1

    Or people could learn to regularly wash their hands with soap and water. This outbreak has nothing to do with poverty. Soap is cheap..

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      Actually, soap is really bloody expensive.

      And you should also read:

      The best protection against it is to wash your hands after going to the bathroom. And to avoid fresh produce from areas known to have cases of typhoid. Informal water sources for drinking should be avoided, or alternatively the water should be boiled before drinking.

      My bold.

      So, how much food has been imported from such places?

    • Tricldrown 1.2

      Overcrowding poor housing poor access to healthcare.
      Not looking after our Pacific Island neighbouring countries.

    • How much do you pay for soap, Srylands?

      I’m genuinely curious.

      • Richard McGrath 1.3.1

        He could be paying as little as 63c a bar, see above.

        • Sabine 1.3.1.1

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/91179330/the-causes-symptoms-and-cures-of-typhoid-fever

          ” Typhoid is an illness caused by infection with a specific bacteria called Salmonella typhi. It has its origins in humans, not animals. It is found in the faeces of infected persons and spreads to others through faecal contamination of food and water.

          This occurs in situations where there is poor hygiene related to food preparation, where there is poor sanitation with inadequate ablution facilities and where drinking water is drawn from informal water sources.” Quote end.

          fuck for all you know, she – the women from Mt. Roskill picked it up at a down town McDonald/Columbus Cafe, or any other fast food / foodie, cause the one who did not wash their hands is the poorly trained, poorly paid staff that has a 5 min toilet break ever 3 hours.

          Blaming the victim. Seriously you should be fucking ashamed of yourself.

          as for soap being cheap, if you don’t have 5 bucks its not cheap.

          • Richard McGrath 1.3.1.1.1

            Who the hell is blaming the victim? And exactly what is it you suggesting I should be ashamed about?

            I have previously pointed to links that confirm typhoid is spread by people who excrete the organism, and sometimes these bugs end up contaminating food. Are you suggesting I should I be ashamed of that?

            • Sabine 1.3.1.1.1.1

              your pointing out how much soap costs in regards to a mention of poverty and over crowding.

              fact is, that both poverty and over crowding leads to sanitary issues that go beyond the price of soap.

              fact is also that in a world of processed food, you actually have no – none – idea what you eat and how what you eat was processed. All you have is the firm believe that our food hygiene regulations work and that people working in the idustry a. adhere to food safety regulations/processes and that b. bosses provide training, materials such as gloves, and above all functioning toilets and enough time to use these safely including handwashing.

              So, one pointing out that poverty might be an issue is correct, your pointing out that poverty is not a reason to buy soap, etc is victim blaming.

              Me i just pointed out the myriad of ways in which you or i for that matter could die of food poisoning, or thypoid with the cleanest hands on the planet.

              bye now.

              • McFlock

                and then you wash your store-bought lettuce in tap water that turns out to come from a shit-contaminated wellhead. Sometimes you just can’t win.

              • inspider

                This really looks like nothing to do with deprivation in NZ. It looks like a small PI community church have shared some food and one of the preparers has infected the others. That’s why there has been no general health alert – if it was in pre-prepared food they would be tracking all the food sources and closing factories.

                Historic case data shouws that ~75% OF typhoid cases in NZ are directly linked to people from Asia or the Islands getting infected there and bringing it back to NZ. Given the sick people are PIs, it’s likely that the infectious person brought the disease back from the islands or had close contact with someone who did. It likely could have been totally avoided through basic hygiene.

        • Actually I was interested specifically in what Srylands considers to be cheap, not how cheaply soap can be bought when buying in bulk.

      • Tricldrown 1.3.2

        He uses whitewash!

    • Halfcrown 1.4

      “Or people could learn to regularly wash their hands with soap and water. This outbreak has nothing to do with poverty. Soap is cheap..”

      Yeah agree with you there like in Britain in the 20/30’s two of the biggest scourges were TB and Ricketts. It was not caused by poverty, and poor living conditions, it was a case of the ones with TB should have stopped breathing and those with Rickets as a lot of right wing fuckwits are always saying, “they should have got out a bit more” ie in the sun. sarc/

      • Richard McGrath 1.4.1

        Citations?

        • Halfcrown 1.4.1.1

          Get you mind around this lot, also I am not going to do your job Google it yourself there is plenty of evidence to read.

          From Secret Royal History by Ken Bayliss

          “In Britain the majority of the population lived frugally. Many lived so frugally that volunteer soup kitchens were set up so they had at least one good meal a day. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s grinding poverty marked the average citizens life Rickets TB malnutrition, unemployment and poor housing were an everyday fact of life for Mr and Mrs Average and their children.”

          Ideology and disease identity: the politics of rickets, 1929–1982

          http://mh.bmj.com/content/medhum/40/1/3.full.pdf

          “ Many medical experts concurred broadly with Ministry of Health optimism; for instance, royal physician Thomas Jeeves Horder insisted in 1937 that rickets was ‘fast dying out.’ 17 However, studies reporting that over 80% of children in London and Durham showed symptoms of the condition contrasted sharply with the rosy official picture, attracting commentary in the press and Parliament.”

          Typical tory government ignore the facts. Just like the National government we have now.

    • Venezia 1.5

      Sounds like this outbreak has been linked to food according to Public health spokesperson on Radio NZ national.

    • Richard McGrath 1.6

      Of course, it’s the person doing the cooking that needs to wash their hands, more than the person doing the eating needs to do the same. Chlorination of drinking (and presumably cooking) water helps, as does vaccination.

      • Sabine 1.6.1

        actually it is the person that cooking?
        or is it is the person handling the ‘food’ this can be at any stage of food preparation.

        i.e. the pickers of your fruit in the fields, do they have adequate hygiene facilities or do they shit and piss where they pick for lack of porta loos? this is a common issue in the US where many e-coli out breaks have been traced back to the beginning of the ‘food preparation’.

        next, correct packaging of food. A lot of food will be handled in packing and canning operations? can you assure that people a. have a long enough toilet break to not only use the bathrooms, but also wash hands, disinfect hands and then put on a new pair of gloves?

        next, food prep in public kitchens, aka restaurants, same as above. Did the guy unpacking the meat for your burgers wash his hands? the guy washing the salad from the plastic back? And so on and so on.

        so to just simply state that it is the ‘cooking’ of food which is dangerous to me just shows how little you understand about ‘cooking ‘food.

        next, and i like this one a lot, most plastic packed salads are ‘washed’. You might hope to god that that water used to wash the salad is not infected. But then don’t ask me, ask the good people of Havelock North, who presumably washed their hands with soap, even.

        a few samples of out food contamination that involved no or very little cooking by the person who got sick.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_in_the_United_States

        • Richard McGrath 1.6.1.1

          It’s both – you’re right. Food (and drinking water) can be contaminated at any point in the pathway leading to human consumption.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.6.1.1.1

            Oh noes! Imagine if we had some sort of central body that could monitor food hygiene standards at a sufficient level to reduce the likelihood of this happening to near zero!

            Perhaps the market will come up with one 😆

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.7

      Why didn’t the market teach them? Why oh why?

  2. saveNZ 2

    Good post. However a women died, it’s not just kids, it’s all people that are affected by this one.

    This is not just linked to poverty – it’s linked to a total break down in our services and quality of life in this country.

    Havelock North people were not poor.

    Let’s ‘mainstream’ our perceptions of this disease outbreak past the tired phrase ‘child poverty’. It’s used so often now, there’s becoming fatigue from over use of the word, child poverty. Child poverty is important, yes, but if you hear it 900 times per day it loses it’s power.

    This is election year, link the events to real voters… i.e. adults dying now from Typhoid after 9 years of Nat rule.

    Havelock North people dying from contaminated water.

    Who’s next to die of disease, if these imbeciles get in power another term?

    At that point we won’t even have a functioning health system so that’s another issue.

  3. inspider 3

    Typhoid saw its strongest increase from 1999 (10 cases) to 2007 (nearly 50 cases) does that mean there wasn’t a caring government in power during that time committed to fighting diseases of poverty?

    It’s really a disease linked to poverty elsewhere. Most cases involve international travel (something not generally linked to poverty).

    [put up a link or a reference. I’m getting sick of having to ask for this. – weka]

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      [citation needed]

        • weka 3.1.1.1

          thanks.

        • weka 3.1.1.2

          I can’t see the 1999 figures. Do you know why they don’t have earlier ones?

          • inspider 3.1.1.2.1

            Sorry i don’t but If you open one of the reports you can see graphs with data going back to 1997 for most diseases. That seems to be their baseline but I don’t know the reason

            • weka 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Your argument would be move convincing if we could see the numbers/rate by decade going back several decades before the 80s.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.3

          https://surv.esr.cri.nz/PDF_surveillance/AnnualRpt/AnnualSurv/2015/2015AnnualReportFinal.pdf

          Typhoid fever
          In 2015, 43 cases of typhoid fever were notified compared with 42 cases in 2014. The 2015 notification rate (0.9 per 100,000) was the same
          as the 2014 rate. Figure 36 shows an increasing trend in the number of typhoid fever notifications from 1997 to 2015. From 2008 to 2015 the number of notified cases per year has ranged from 29 to 50.

          So, yep, increasing numbers reported.

          does that mean there wasn’t a caring government in power during that time committed to fighting diseases of poverty?

          No, it’s probably more to do with immigration, transient populations and imported food from nations that have typhoid fever.

          • inspider 3.1.1.3.1

            re your last point

            that demonstrates why it is silly for Anthony Robins to be making politics of this incident.

          • Tricldrown 3.1.1.3.2

            This case is home grown and not surprising when you have overcrowding .
            People bunked up in garage’s with no running water or toilet facilities.
            Paying $450+ a week for a garage .
            This govt doesn’t take responsibility for anything.
            No housing crises.

      • Richard McGrath 3.1.2

        Here’s a citation:

        https://www.cdc.gov/typhoid-fever/

        “Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi. An estimated 5,700 cases occur each year in the United States. Most cases (up to 75%) are acquired while traveling internationally.”

    • bwaghorn 3.2

      oh labour did it to , that’s ok then let’s hope it turns into a big out break

  4. stunned mullet 4

    What drivel.

    This is an unfortunate case of Typhoid coming into NZ via a person returning from the Pacific Islands and then infecting their local chapter of AoG.

    NZ has an excellent health system and the ongoing efforts to slag it off for political purposes are rather pathetic and transparent.

    • Tricldrown 4.1

      So why has this spread using up valuable resource’s
      Stunned Mullet health funding has been reduced per capita under this govt.
      To make the books look good.

    • Halfcrown 4.2

      “NZ has an excellent health system and the ongoing efforts to slag it off for political purposes are rather pathetic and transparent.”

      That is also a load of fucking drivel. Tell me enlightened one if we have such a wuuunderful health system why is it certain medical procedures like cataract surgery are available or not depending on where you live.
      Greta fucking system that eh mate your affordability of health care is determined by where you live.

      • stunned mullet 4.2.1

        Cataract surgery is available throughout the country.

        ..and stop calling me Greta..

        • Halfcrown 4.2.1.1

          “..and stop calling me Greta..”

          Ha I like it.

          Cataract surgery is available throughout the country. Yes I agree but you can get it done by the public health service or have to pay for it yourself depending where you live.

          • Antoine 4.2.1.1.1

            Does sound like funding a few more cataract surgeries would be sensible

            • Richard McGrath 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Off you go then, fund just one person’s operation out of your own pocket. That’ll be about $4k. Let us know when you’ve done it.

              http://boweneye.co.nz/bowen-eye-news/cost-cataract-surgery-new-zealand

              • Antoine

                You rwnjs are all the same, get some compassion

              • Halfcrown

                “Off you go then, fund just one person’s operation out of your own pocket. That’ll be about $4k. Let us know when you’ve done it.”

                I have a better idea
                Stop wasting money on flag referendums, stop corporate welfare to the likes of Warners and overhaul the tax system so Google, Amazon and a few others pay their fair share.

                • Richard McGrath

                  Agree with most of that. Reform of the tax system should be a move toward a low flat income tax initially which could hopefully be phased out over time.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    Yes, because people paying no tax worked out so well in Greece.

                    • Foreign waka

                      Well put. And the rich had fair warnings (more than 1 year) to get their funds out of the country before the proverbial did hit the fan.

                    • Richard McGrath

                      Greece has a progressive income tax structure, what are you talking about? Main problem in Greece was the profligate government spending – paying teachers a pension at 50, etc.

              • McFlock

                duh.
                Taxes. That’s why we pay them.

                • Richard McGrath

                  No we don’t. Taxation is demanding money with threats, regardless of what the money thus obtained is used for. It’s legalised extortion. We pay taxes out of fear.

                  • McFlock

                    No. You pay taxes out of fear, because you’re a jerk who begrudges paying his fair share for living in this society.

                    I pay my taxes to fund public goods, because I recognise that individually and collectively we’re better off doing it that way than expecting that those who succeed in a free market model will be motivated by anything other than immediate self interest.

          • weka 4.2.1.1.2

            +1 it’s available, just not when you need it.

            • Sabine 4.2.1.1.2.1

              its this thing of having ‘access’ to Health Care. Not getting health care, not having health care, but ‘access’.

    • Foreign waka 4.3

      stunned mullet – I cannot really agree with you. Yes, there are great nurses and support personal but what is really important is a good diagnostic. This is pivotal to any outcome. Unfortunately, being good at that is not just a science but also an art. A doctor must have time to contemplate what is going on but with the shortage of health professionals just allows for a “tongue out, ear check, temperature measured – panadol and bed rest recommended ($ 45-50 bucks please). Naturally, many will self diagnose and panadol is available at the supermarket. Couple this with the immunity against antibiotics, new epidemics are just around the corner and surely will not be picked up in time.
      It also would be possible that the latest problems with drinking water in Auckland (not sure about the area most affected) could have played a role. Which incidentally is another important issue to public health, if not the most important.
      The health system itself is not that good. However, the professionals working in it are and doing their best with limited resources.

  5. inspider 5

    No, we regularly get 40 to 50 cases a year, sometimes with multiple linked cases. They are nearly always linked to travellers returning from Asia or the PIs. Just like 99.2% of dengue cases are linked to travel. It has nothing to do with the adequacy of the nz health system

    • Tricldrown 5.1

      Denge can only be spread by a certain type of mosquito.
      Typhoid is much easier spread through different vectors.

      • Richard McGrath 5.1.1

        The term ‘vector’ is generally used in medical nomenclature to denote an insect carrier of infection. In that sense, typhoid fever is not a vector-borne disease. It is generally spread by the faecal-oral route. That’s right, by eating the shit of someone who has recently had, or currently has, typhoid fever – usually when a cook handles raw food ingredients with their shitty hands. Mosquitoes and other insects have a negligible role in promulgation of this disease.

        • Tricldrown 5.1.1.1

          A vector can be anything down to a tiny particle of dust.
          Unless specified a vector could be your hand a lettuce leaf etc.

          • Richard McGrath 5.1.1.1.1

            In general (and especially in medical literature) the term vector refers to insects or other living organisms that can spread disease from one animal to another. You may be getting confused with fomites, which are inanimate objects capable of spreading infection (e.g. bat droppings which can pass on rabies virus).

    • gsays 5.2

      Hi inspider, I am keen to hear an explanation for the respiratory diseases and rheumatic fever.

      • inspider 5.2.2

        Poor quality and crowded housing are clearly an issue but it’s not simple and it appears to me there is either a biological or cultural thing going on, particularly with rheumatic fever. It’s almost non existent in the Asian population and in the South Island (both of which have some level of poverty) and in the Pacific population it has between 3 and 6 times the incidence that it has in the Maori population yet child poverty is higher for Maori, and the rate in Northland is much lower than most of Auckland.

        More importantly rates are going down significantly.

        https://surv.esr.cri.nz/PDF_surveillance/RheumaticFever/Rheumaticfeverbi-annualreportJan-Dec2016.pdf

        • McFlock 5.2.2.1

          Don’t ask for references (so grain of salt time), but ISTR Counties Manukau DHB has done quite a bit in increasing PI access to primary healthcare and had a pilot programme targeting RHD through community networks rather than waiting for appearances at doc or ED.

          Couple that with crowding and previous distrust of conventional authorities (and charges for adults making them reluctant or believing they can’t take their kid to that GP), and you’ve got one DHB making a big dent.

          And also CMDHB has 40-50% of all the PI people in the country, and you’ve got skewed national stats suddenly taking a dip because of one DHB.

          If I remember, I’ll see if I can look up some of that tomorrow and linky-mclinkface.

        • gsays 5.2.2.2

          Hi inspider, cheers for the response.

  6. mosa 6

    This is a major public health issue and not informing people immediately to try to contain a serious contagious disease is a major cock up of momentous proportions.

  7. stunned mullet 7

    the stupid it burns !

    • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1

      Only metaphorically.

      The negligence, on the other hand, the defunding, the profit motive, they all have tangible symptoms, including burning.

  8. Still speaking out 8

    Two things which makes this situation much worse:

    – The church where the outbreak occurred was taking place at a primary SCHOOL.

    -A few days after the outbreak, there was a large cultural FESTIVAL which backed directly onto the school where the outbreak happened. The festival was literally ZERO minutes walk from where the outbreak occurred.

    Did the public not get informed because someone didn’t want the cultural festival to be cancelled? Probably, because there is no other logical explanation for such negligent behavior.

  9. Tui 9

    this is a direct result of nasty nats war on the poor! i wouldn’t be surprised if it deliberate!

    ~ Tui

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    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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