UBI experiment success

Written By: - Date published: 11:11 am, March 6th, 2021 - 46 comments
Categories: benefits, Economy, greens, TOPS, welfare - Tags: , ,

Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn on the recently published results of a two year UBI experiment in the United States,

More evidence that UBIs work

The report is back on another Universal Basic Income trial, this time in the USA. And as with the others, it shows that this policy works:

After getting $500 per month for two years without rules on how to spend it, 125 people in California paid off debt, got full-time jobs and reported lower rates of anxiety and depression, according to a study released Wednesday.[…]

When the program started in February 2019, 28% of the people slated to get the free money had full-time jobs. One year later, 40% of those people had full-time jobs. A control group of people who did not get the money saw a 5 percentage point increase in full-time employment over that same time period.

“These numbers were incredible. I hardly believed them myself,” said Stacia West, an assistant professor at the University of Tennessee who analyzed the data along with Amy Castro Baker, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

$500 a month is fairly low, but its also clearly enough to make a big difference to people’s lives and wellbeing. The article has a caution that the limited duration of the experiment – two years – may mean it doesn’t properly capture employment effects, as people may not quit their jobs if the money only lasts two years. The answer to that, of course, is longer experiments. And it would be nice to see such an experiment in New Zealand.

Indeed, and it’s heartening to see this outcome.

A comment in Open Mike by Ed1 asked,

I wondered how such a scheme could work in New Zealand. We have different laws relating to social welfare assistance – would any payments from a charity to trial a guaranteed minimum income just result in abatement of any state welfare payments, whether Working for Families or other? With a three year election cycle, can we count on getting 5 years experience without any trial being closed down for not wanting answers?

There are different kinds of UBIs depending on who designs them and their intentions. I’ve written in the past about UBI: what is it good for? outlining the different reasons across the spectrum for wanting a UBI. The gist is that the right like the idea too, and any UBI in New Zealand needs to have welfare bolted on, and needs to be tory-proofed.

Gareth Morgan’s original UBI model for instance is liberal right wing. He had some good intentions but wanted a low UBI rate to replace welfare and for the supplementary benefit system that most long term beneficiaries depend on to be removed, including accommodation supplement and disability allowance. This would force solo mums and such to stand on their own two feet.

TOP’s Youth UBI policy in 2017, based on Morgan’s work, actively discriminated against disabled and other youth who were unable to work. A twenty something barista earning $30,000/year would get the $10,000/year YUBI on top of their wages, a disabled youth on Supported Living Payment would get their benefit of $13,000/year and no more.

This discrepancy was how TOP (and Morgan) intended to pay for the UBI. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. Imagine Peter and Paul being flatmates.

Those are neoliberal models, and we need to be extremely wary of them. They’re designed by economists intent on keeping the workforce corralled into supporting their neoliberal economic goals. It’s not primarily about the wellbeing of New Zealanders. National would love nothing more than to dismantle welfare, imagine Paula Bennett in charge of a UBI.

A UBI with welfare bolted on experiment needs to give the UBI to all people in the scheme on top of their other income irregardless of where that income comes from. That’s the point of a UBI demonstrated in the US experiment, to create the buffer that allows people to get ahead. Key in that trial is that there were no conditions on how the UBI was spent.

I can’t see any reason why WINZ couldn’t pay a UBI in the same way as the supplementary benefits, on top of the base benefits. They’re effectively a grant, in that they’re not taxed. There are some complicated formulas used to calculate benefits, but Labour managed to give the winter heating payment without any of that kicking in and lowering the in hand cash.

The Greens’ 2020 Guaranteed Minimum Income is another model that attempts to incorporate a UBI into welfare so that people get supported instead of penalised for being on welfare. This is the kind of model you get when you design with people’s wellbeing in mind and then figure out how to pay for it, rather than starting with the country’s economic wellbeing in mind.

The sticking point here is political culture. It would require Labour shifting away from the punitive-light, work is god model they currently support.

46 comments on “UBI experiment success ”

  1. RedLogix 1

    Politically you just won't get both a UBI and welfare at the same time. Nor will we get a full UBI without a substantial tax reform, because as Morgan correctly pointed out a UBI is essentially a negative tax band and cannot be understood or treated in isolation from the much wider tax system. And even with the enormous political capital this govt enjoys right now – I agree the political culture is just not ready to accept change of this magnitude.

    Yet setting aside all of the technical aspects of a UBI it's vital to understand that it works because it's universal. As you point out, even a relatively low income of $500 pm delivers good outcomes, not because it's generous or even liveable – but because it came without any strings attached. No penalties, no conditions, no social stigma.

    In this the TOP proposal delivered 100% on the universal aspect and the comprehensive tax reform necessary to deliver it. Much of your objection at the time, really just boiled down to the fact that the UBI number proposed didn't match existing disability benefits. At the time I responded by suggesting that given this was such a big show stopper for you, then simply implement the UBI at around the existing single unemployment benefit level as part of a tax reform package – and then top up the difference using a conditional 'bolt on' welfare payment. Well we seem to have arrived at the much the same point. Good.

    Except as I suggested above, I'm not sure we can politically deliver this so in order to make progress in the right direction, I'm happy to accept the halfway measure of a GMI.

    A GMI doesn't fully deliver on the unconditional universality aspect (which I suspect will weaken it's social impact) and it completely misses out on the major tax reforms necessary (that were in fact Morgan's prime focus) – but I believe it's achievable and absolutely worth supporting.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 1.1

      " A GMI doesn't fully deliver on the unconditional universality aspect "

      I think it mostly does? The GMI is available to anyone, with no conditions other than their income being below a certain threshold.

      With a GMI you can afford to make the assistance larger, compared to a UBI.

      • RedLogix 1.1.1

        The GMI is available to anyone, with no conditions other than their income being below a certain threshold.

        Yup this is a perfectly fine point, but the subtle difference is that I'm thinking you would still have to apply for a GMI as a welfare payment, whereas a tax based UBI payment simply arrives in your bank account every week or month of your life regardless.

        It may look like a small point, but the necessity of applying for the GMI leaves alive the entire category of beneficiary – and it's at this level I think it's psychological impact would be diluted. A GMI still fundamentally targets that group of people whose other income falls below the minimum.

        With a GMI you can afford to make the assistance larger, compared to a UBI.

        Without going into a whole bunch of technical detail, I don't think that's necessarily true.

  2. dv 2

    One part that i have not seen discussed is the saving in winz costs, as there will be less use of evaluators to see what benefits are needed.

    • RedLogix 2.1

      Yes that is one of the attractions of a pure tax based UBI, in principle you could eliminate a whole raft of costs – both fiscal and social – by simply not having a targeted welfare system at all.

      However I think it's unrealistic to expect a wholesale leap from a welfare based system to a tax based system all in one go. The complete package of changes necessary to implement this would overwhelm any government, both politically and operationally.

      It's more reasonable to start with a welfare based GMI, and then over time progress toward the wider tax reforms necessary (eg a CCT, FTT, etc) to gradually implement a UBI. It's a process that could easily take a decade or two.

  3. Brendan 3

    The odd person from the right wing has also proposed a UBI. I recall it was a Republican who started Alaska's investment which funds their UBI program.

    Do things right and you could do a deal with the Nats and have something which both sides of the political spectrum support.

  4. barry 4

    You will never get a UBI in NZ because it can't be targeted at landlords, employers or supermarkets. The idea of letting beneficiaries have choice about how they spend their money is anathema to middle NZ.

    • weka 4.1

      where was all the objection to the winter energy payments in recently years?

      • Sacha 4.1.1

        Neutralised by selling shares in electricity companies to those who could afford them.

        • weka 4.1.1.1

          haha, ok so the sell is how a UBI benefits rich people/

          • Sacha 4.1.1.1.1

            If we leave the current housing 'market' as is, they can clip the ticket that way. Sweet as. 🙂

            • weka 4.1.1.1.1.1

              horse trading, you rich people get to keep your capital gains so long as you support a govt to give us a UBI+welfare. This might work if the UBI was indexed to housing inflation and started at a high enough rate 😈

          • KJT 4.1.1.1.2

            Which is why you don't see "rich people" objecting to the landlords subsidy, the accommodation supplement.

    • Foreign waka 4.2

      My observation is that the established money power, of whom we learned in what will be known for generation: the 16 billion dollar question, are really without morals and conscience. They will never allow this, you are right. NZ is governed by these powers and this is why no government ever will make inroads in the issue of poverty. Never has, never will.

      Sad part, Maori are no better despite more and more really good people out there trying their best to stem the tide. Some get carried away by race issues never stopping to think that at that junction they just have become a tool.

  5. Adrian Thornton 5

    There are two points here that correctly point to the reason why the UBI is a very dangerous concept in today's environment…

    "Those are neoliberal models, and we need to be extremely wary of them. They’re designed by economists intent on keeping the workforce corralled into supporting their neoliberal economic goals."

    "The sticking point here is political culture. It would require Labour shifting away from the punitive-light, work is god model they currently support."

    New Zealand politics is ruled by what is essentially a ideological duopoly, we can see quite clearly that both Labour and National adhere absolutely to a neoliberal free market frame work that ultimately guides their every action and policy.
    Therefore any move towards a UBI while we live within this neoliberal duopoly would be a absolute disaster for the working classes, disenfranchised and everyone working towards a progressive left project.

    Turn Labour Left!

    • weka 5.1

      Turn Labour Left! and do it now by voting Green 😉

      I can't see Labour at this point in time developing a model that bolts on welfare and is tory-proofed. GP with 20 MPs might change their position.

      • Adrian Thornton 5.1.1

        @weka, I do vote Greens (without much enthusiasm, sorry) for reasons probably not worth going into now, the Greens have almost no buy in with the working classes or disenfranchised, have been pretty shit at getting youth/students to come out and vote in serious numbers for them…and without making some sort of inroads into at least a couple of these demographics, their chances of turning Labour Left are not good at all.\

        Even if they did, then there is the question of how much free market liberalism has embedded itself into the Green party?, how much real fight is there within the Green Party to actually get in the ring with Labour liberals if the Greens had a bit more power to do so?

        I know this is a bit of a long bow, but just look at the Justice Democrats in the US, after all their big talk, they are proving themselves to be absolutely toothless and without a hint of backbone when it comes to fighting the establishment within the democratic party itself….we need fighters with a records of standing up to the man..people like Sue Bradford and Helen Kelly (still miss her) for instance.

        • weka 5.1.1.1

          It's just a different approach than trad lefties like Bradford or Kelly. If you take the long game at dismantling neoliberalism and you have a commitment to bring people with you, then the adversarial approach isn't the only or best way. This doesn't mean that one can't be strong or know how to fight, but too often the left look at *how the Greens operate and mistake it for them being centrist or whatever.

          Which isn't to say that they don't have their own internal issues around the political spectrum, but the members voted in Davidson over Genter for female coleader and that shouldn't be underestimated.

          The Greens aren't the party to save the left from Labour in the traditional working class sense, and it would be better to stop seeing them in that light and as failing. If people want a Bradford or Kelly then do the political work to make that happen.

          My own view is that it's not the Greens that are the problem (show me the problem with their policies, which are easily the most left wing on offer, and I might change my mind). It's that most liberals actually want Labour instead. I'm in the process of writing about this, I reckon the political work for the next few years is to shift the culture around that.

          • Adrian Thornton 5.1.1.1.1

            " It's that most liberals actually want Labour instead. I'm in the process of writing about this, I reckon the political work for the next few years is to shift the culture around that."

            Why would you bother trying to shift liberals and not put serious energy into converting the working classes and disenfranchised to our cause?

            The Liberal class are fundamentalists, I think you would be wasting your time, unless you shifted your policies to suit them that is.

    • RedLogix 5.2

      Unless you have a plan to turn NZ into a one Party state in which the 'tories' never form a government ever again – then your wish to 'tory-proof' anything will remain an idle one.

      The best path to ensuring a stable UBI/GMI system is to build bi-partisan consensus on it, and the way to do this is to understand the aspects of the system that appeals to both the left and the right and work them together.

      Besides we already have exactly what you're asking for – NZ Super is effectively a UBI for over 65 yrs olds and it's been a stable feature of our political landscape now for decades.

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.2.1

        " NZ Super is effectively a UBI for over 65 yrs olds and it's been a stable feature of our political landscape now for decades. "

        Excellent point! It isn't such a foreign concept after all. Probably no coincidence that the beneficiaries of this have consistently high voter turnout…unlike many of the likely beneficiaries of a GMI.

    • mikesh 5.3

      There are two points here that correctly point to the reason why the UBI is a very dangerous concept in today's environment…

      Dangerous to whom?

      New Zealand politics is ruled by what is essentially a ideological duopoly, we can see quite clearly that both Labour and National adhere absolutely to a neoliberal free market frame work that ultimately guides their every action and policy.
      Therefore any move towards a UBI while we live within this neoliberal duopoly would be a absolute disaster for the working classes, disenfranchised and everyone working towards a progressive left project.

      It would more than likely liberate the working classes, who would often find themselves in the position of being able to choose to work only when and if they happen to feel like doing so.

  6. KSaysHi 6

    Thank you for highlighting the issues with TOP's UBI discriminating against disabled and youth.

    • weka 6.1

      you're welcome. I think they've changed their policy since then, they do appear to be listening and working through the issues post-Morgan.

  7. Ad 7

    I have a soft spot for Robert Reich and he summarises the findings:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ho0U7UIOgI

    With Trump rolling out hundreds of billions of untagged cheques, and Biden and Democrats rolling out trillions of somewhat more qualified cheques, the resistance is harder to put up.

    The Labour government's approach has last week been to decrease abatement rates from $90 to $160 before cuts start.

    https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-delivers-promise-working-low-income-families

    That's not unreasonable when seasonal workers are in such high demand and unemployment still low.

    But it's not the step-change away from poverty levels that too many suffer from.

    • weka 7.1

      that's actually really good to hear, I missed that that was kicking in now. I agree it's not enough, but the abatement rate has long been a massive thorn for everyone in terms of knowing what to do about it. People with more policy wonk in them can probably figure out how to phase abatements out while bringing in a UBI+welfare, I think this is what the Greens are trying to do with the guarantees minimum income policy, a transition.

      • weka 7.1.1

        the immediate problem is that the hardship grant that so many long term beneficiaries depend on, TAS, is still abated from the first $ afaik, and those that can't earn aren't helped by this policy change. As ever, Labour frame everything within the jobs lens and thus fail to help across the board. It's galling that they still have no plan for the disabled community and others who can't work.

        And obviously the housing situation undermines otherwise good policy like this.

    • RedLogix 7.2

      These key social and psychological benefits of an unconditional UBI that Reich is outlining are precisely what I've been trying to convey here for over a decade now.

      Yes there are a bunch of technical pros and cons that some people just love to get distracted by – and I've never shied away from responding to them in detail.

      But they're all piffling sideshows – the big deal is how it gives people the freedom and dignity to organise their lives without conditions, fear or social stigma.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 7.3

      Reduction in abatement rates is a good step in the right direction. Amazing that here in NZ we apply the highest effective tax rates to beneficiaries.

      Reading the Labour announcement, the reduction in abatement rates will "cost" $394m over five years (I wonder if that figure includes any of the other side of the ledger – e.g. less need for other services and tax paid on the money earned etc).

      Meanwhile NZ's richest guy, Graham Hart, increased his wealth by about $3.5b in the last year. Enough to pay for the entire change to abatement rates for the next 44 years. And Labour (to me) thinks we don't need to do anything about inequality or taxing wealth.

  8. Adrian Thornton 8

    AAhh Robert Reich, nice guy with some great insights for sure, but always a company man to the bitter end…

    Robert Reich vs. Chris Hedges on Tackling the Neoliberal Order

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr4cXH3Fil8

    • Ad 8.1

      Bernie is now so far up Biden that you can just see his toes. The joy of being a company man. That’s what happens when you run the company.

  9. Jackel 9

    Tory-proofed, an interesting term I don't recall seeing before. On this note, I'd advise you never to show a tory all your cards. If you like show them one or two and watch their reaction, this is usually enough to convince you not to show the rest.

    Most tories are only playing with half a deck anyway, you know kinda like Trump and his supporters. Basically, leave them to it to live out their life smugly and blindly as a mushroom on a diet of darkness and bullshit.

  10. Ed1 10

    Thanks for this Weka. While the long term solution is the ultimate goal, I was thinking more about whether even a trial scheme could work in New Zealand. The scheme referred to in NRT was funded by donations – effectively by Charities. My impression is that in the NZ situation, charities are very wary of giving cash, as that may be seen as increasing income and therefore automatically triggering abatement of benefits – assistance is more usually given by means of supermarket vouchers or similar, carefully managed so that it is ''as needed'' rather than "income." I am not knowledgeable in that area however, and was seeking information, as I suspect there are some charities that would support such a trial.

    For the government to make such a trial would I suspect require legislation that allowed discrimination in favour of a group of New Zealanders, which would attract criticism of a different sort. I suspect it would be easier to allow a registered charity (and not other entities) to make regular payments of money up to a certain income limit while not triggering abatement of any existing benefits. Even that would be hard to legislate, and the charity would need to be closely monitored to ensure that it is not a ruse to make ''charitable payments"" to people close to donors to effectively make non-charitable payments.

    It does seem that our current system is not allowing voluntary generosity through charities, as that is the job of government . . . (and yes that conclusion is a bit tongue in cheek . .)

    • Incognito 10.1

      Although it is an interesting idea, which existing NZ charity could do this without its donations tanking ?

      I reckon a better option is a philanthropist with deep pockets and a heart of gold 🙂

    • weka 10.2

      I think the private/NGO funding aspect of it is worth exploring. However it's just not possible to use the abatement rate to skirt the issue of additional income. Afaik TAS, the ongoing hardship grant, gets abated from the first dollar earned. It's a stupid rule, one of many, and I'm thinking it's in legislation so Labour won't touch it. Also the issue of whether the UBI is taxable income (it shouldn't be). So I think it's better to just make a UBI a tax free grant that sits outside of the abatement rules in the same way that the winter energy payment does.

      I think keeping the trial UBI as broad as possible makes sense so that it can't be targeted by bigotry. Maybe make it in an geographical area, and it would include minimum wage workers as well as beneficiaries.

      • weka 10.2.1

        I will look up the TAS thing when I get teh chance. Because the other side of all this is that a lot of what WINZ do is in policy not legislation and thus there is discretion to apply a rule or not.

      • Ed1 10.2.2

        Is a UBI a fixed amount, or like a grant to bring personal income up to a universal minimum?

        I would expect quite a few charities would be interested in seeing their name on a list of those providing funding for a trial – and it may increase donations. We have an unbelievably large number of charities, and most are understandably not able to commit to ongoing financial support, but a trial over two years? The reason for suggesting through a registered charity is it would make it difficult for it to be a tax rort spreading of income within a family etc. Any long term arrangement needs to be government led. Abatements are difficult – but few situations of need suddenly stop with the first paycheck of a new job, but some grants are given for specific purposes – the need in theory stops with a single payment.

      • Craig H 10.2.3

        MSD could administer the scheme, but the group should not just be beneficiaries, it should include workers as well, even if it's low income workers. Making it non-taxable is not that hard (sunset amendment to the Social Securities Act and create a classification based on Accommodation Supplement since it's non-taxable), but for Crown payments, doesn't really matter either way since the Crown will just receive what it pays out, so the payments can be calculated on a net basis like benefits.

  11. Craig H 11

    Administratively, I wonder what the best system is. The current system is the opposite of administratively simple, and simple and transparent is a noble aim of any welfare systems, whether targeted or universal.

    Edit: Would it be easier to model it on Working for Families with a maximum annual amount, an abatement rate so it reduces above a certain income (so rich people don’t get it, even though taxes can be set so they don’t get it anyway), and people can choose whether it’s paid weekly, fortnightly or annually like WFF now?

    Or would it be easier to stick with a UBI paid by IRD and tinker with tax rates instead so it is very simple to administer?

    • RedLogix 11.1

      Yes that's more or less what I meant above when I was making a distinction between a targeted welfare based system that we have a present, and a universal tax based one.

      Welfare based systems are what we're accustomed to. Benefits are treated as conditional, which necessarily means a great deal of expensive, often clumsy administration and often a lot of unnecessary stress for the beneficiary.

      Our tax system by contrast treats every individual in the same situation exactly the same – by design it brings universality into the picture. As the old saying goes, the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. A tax based UBI leverages this character by treated income support as a negative tax band.

      Think of positive tax being what you're accustomed to – payment progressively taken from you as you earn more. A UBI negative tax is simply a fixed payment given to you unconditionally, regardless of how much other income you may have. Then the total tax you wind up paying is simply the sum of the two. In principle this would be a very clean and elegant scheme; it’s great merit being that it’s inherent universal nature eliminates the entire category of ‘beneficiary’ in a stroke.

      In reality life is not so simple, and as others have argued elsewhere, you probably need to retain some mix of a welfare based conditional system with a tax based unconditional system.

      • Craig H 11.1.1

        I've toyed with a few models over the years, and while I like the theoretical EMTR curve of the TOP UBI, it's politically more palatable to arrange tax rates so that the top earners effectively get less UBI. Actual welfare for long term illness and disability would still be a necessity of all systems, whether it's direct welfare or through changing ACC.

        • RedLogix 11.1.1.1

          Yes – initially I confined myself to thinking in terms of a simple flat UBI and a single flat PAYE rate – eg $10kpa for the UBI and 33% for the PAYE rate. It's easy to explain and is reasonably progressive over the majority in incomes.

          But as you say it may be better to be more progressive in the PAYE rate, start at say 25% rate up to the median income, then 33% up to the top 95% of incomes, with a 39% band at the top 5% of incomes.

          Another extension of the idea is to implement a reduced UBI for children – something similar to the old Child Allowance scheme NZ used to have. That would elegantly replace WFF.

          And if over time a UBI proved as effective as I hope it might – I suspect we would find it easier to gradually evolve our current welfare model for long-term disability into something more effective. Right now for example the Australian Federal govt NDIS scheme is well in advance of anything we’re doing in NZ.

          https://www.ndis.gov.au/

          • Craig H 11.1.1.1.1

            The UBI for children replacing WFF is part of the TOP scheme as well, so replacing at least the Family Tax Credit of WFF with a UBI would be the obvious move, but PTC and Best Start would probably be retained (both are automatic qualifications, so are easy to administer).

            A common justification for the In Work Tax Credit is the additional cost of work due to things like child care etc, but I think that just goes back to keeping it administratively simple via free child care.

            Not sure of exact tax bands, but would set rates so that the top 5-10% of income earners would effectively pay enough extra tax that it equals their UBI. I haven't done the calculations, but your suggestions look like an excellent starting point. IRD Income Distribution 2001-19 has the figures to work out the bands by percentage at least – the top 5% would be $124,000 p.a. and the top 10% would be $94,000 p.a. (I think top 10% would be quite sellable at that level so have used it in the next paragraph). Median taxable income is around $33,000 p.a. (these are all approximate and are based on the 2019 figures excluding people with nil taxable income).

            Plugging those rates and bands into the Treasury's Aggregate Personal Income Tax Revenue Estimate Tool (and ignoring the caveats about likely changes in earning behaviours caused by large changes) gives us $14.63 billion extra to spend.

            MBIE believes there are 245,544 people on temporary visas currently in NZ, so deducting from Stats current population estimate of 5,112,300, that gives 4,866,756 as the number of people eligible for the UBI (assuming it is restricted to residents and citizens) which in turn gives a cost of a bit under $49 billion at $10,000 each (I haven't adjusted for children getting less or potentially superannuitants getting more). We were set to spend about $28 billion on potentially replaced social welfare, WFF and overheads in 2019-20 (my theory is that pre-Covid forecast figures are probably more realistic for long term spend).

            Shortfall is $49.6 billion less $28 billion current spend and extra revenue of $14.63 billion = $7 billion, and that's leaving Best Start, Accommodation Supplement and current disability services (such as they are) intact.

            Some work still required if we particularly want to balance the budgets, but it's a good start. Not sure what the longer term savings would be in terms of health, wellbeing, less prison etc. but it might just about be worth it.

            Some quick calculations say that someone is not a net income tax payer (i.e. income tax – UBI is more than 0) until just over $38,000, which is more than half of taxpayers. Might be popular if it was put together well.

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  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    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:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    3 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    3 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    4 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    4 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    5 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    5 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    5 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    5 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    6 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
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