Unusual uncertainty heralds an uncertain new world

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, July 23rd, 2010 - 42 comments
Categories: Economy, energy - Tags:

US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the world’s most powerful figure in monetary policy, said the other day that the economic recovery remains ‘unusually uncertain‘ and that it’s more likely things will turn out worse than the already rather bleak forecasts he presented to Congress than that things will turn out better.

Why are things ‘unusually uncertain’? The reaction of the large governments (not ours) to the economic crisis was textbook. They moved quickly to give confidence to markets where it had failed, thereby preventing a tail-spin of falling confidence, lower asset values, institutional collapses, even lower confidence, etc. And they spent up big in the real economy, building roads and schools, to replace the failing private sector. Their stimulus packages were meant to act as starter motors to get the private economies turning over again under their own steam. This is literally all out of the textbook and has worked every time until now.

The engine has been primed but it hasn’t started ticking over on its own. The private sector is still missing in action. Confidence is still weak.

Watching the financial media it’s clear that the players don’t understand what’s wrong. They know that there ought to be a recovery as strong as the recession under way but it isn’t happening.

Step back a little, though, and it becomes clearer. All the players can’t see that the field they’re playing on is changing. They’re like beasts expecting that their waterholes will be refilled by the rains after the dry season, unaware that the climate has changed.

The reason the recovery isn’t happening, the reason that prospects for growth are ‘unusually uncertain’ is that we hit the limits to growth in 2007-08. When we hit it, we bounced off but we cannot grow much again before once again slamming into that brick wall.

If you look at all the major commodities that our world runs on – wheat, rice, coal, metals, and, of course, oil – the prices are starting to spike up again just as they did before the last crash. Why? Because a price spike is the economy’s way of saying that supply is about to fall short of demand. We have reached the point where growing supply of many of the key things we rely on for growth, most especially oil (which is about to peak), cannot continue. This is a finite world and we are hitting its limits. Already, the rising prices are constraining companies’ abilities to grow during what would usually be a strong recovery.

So, yeah the prospects for growth are ‘unusually uncertain’ because we have run out of room to grow in an economic paradigm based on burning more hydrocarbons and producing more cereal crops.

The problem (one of the problems) is that we can’t see the forest for the trees. People still think that the great recession was a problem with the finance system, triggered by a housing crash. But that’s just a proximate cause. The underlying cause was the oil crunch and the next great recession will occur within a matter of years as a result of another crunch, as the IEA, US military, and others have predicted. But the likelihood is that recession will be blamed on another proximate cause and everyone will try to carry on as if infinite growth is possible, as if the rules haven’t changed. Bernanke didn’t mention oil once in his testimony to Congress.

We are at the limits to growth within this energy economy. The sooner we realise that, the better.

42 comments on “Unusual uncertainty heralds an uncertain new world ”

  1. A Post with Me in it 1

    And it will rain for forty days and forty nights….

    Rod Oram spoke on this and in particular to the NZ situation. He said that companies were expecting the return of cheap credit as before and it simply has not happened. Also that while the “recession is over” many companies are still reeling from it and are struggling to find their feet.
    Many still had not worked out that things are never going back to the way their were – at least not in the short term. Eventually they will go bust or realign their businesses to the new economy.
    Now factor in the recent slashing of budgets to combat sovereign debt and well I am not sure that we are going to be out of the woods any time soon.

    He expected that the the rebound will not be for some time and it will not be a rebound but a gradual increase this time.

    He said this quite a while ago. And this is pretty much what we are seeing.

    While I don’t disagree that commodity prices and food security are going to be issues in the future and are maybe contributing, I am not sure I believe that your take on things are simply resource exhaustion as you are pointing out.

    PS: You are my hero Rod…sniff

  2. Bored 2

    Marty, at long last the headline where it should be. I have bored the shit out of all and sundry by questioning the growth model of economics and the stacking up of debt on the basis of paying for it with future growth. As you say we have peaked everything and the environment shows the effects. All I can say is that the growth game is up, well said.

    The next bit is what do we do? From a political angle we face major uncertainty as we go through withdrawal symptoms. Take note Labour, time to get with the programme, brush of your copies of Schummaker and similar, take the lead. The Nats wont until the whole thing steamrollers them.

  3. Gosman 3

    Excellent. I can’t wait for the Labour party to start campaigning on a zero growth policy. Should make things a little easier as well as funnier.

    • A Post With Me In It 3.1

      I think campaigning on sustainable growth would be more likely and very sensible.

      What company does not at least pay lip service to efficiency? Why would a country not do the same?

      But of course I assume this was just a sideswipe smear with very little thought behind. But nice puff of hot air during winter…

    • Juan Manuel Santos 3.2

      Typical shallow analysis from the right. “I can’t refute this, so I’ll make some jibe about the Labour Party and hope no one notices.”

      The only person here talking about Labour is you, Gossy. Everyone else is mature enough to discuss the bigger issues.

      • Gosman 3.2.1

        “Everyone else is mature enough to discuss the bigger issues.”

        On The Standard??? I sense a Tui bill board slogan in that. 😉

        • jcuknz 3.2.1.1

          Well it wouldn’t be on Kiwiblog either …..
          Coupled with our own problems there is the problem of perswading the Chinese and Indians and third world countries that they shouldn’t expect to match whatever standard of living we manage to maintain.

        • bbfloyd 3.2.1.2

          gosman… you know you used to get help to pay for therapy for what ails you. your hero’s took the funding away tho. now you’ll just have to drink more

    • Ari 3.3

      Labour campaigning on zero growth without being dragged into it? Don’t make me laugh. Last time I saw a Labour MP even hear about zero-growth, his reply is “but that will cost jobs!” Complete denial of reality. You can’t save jobs by growth when there’s simply nowhere left to grow into.

  4. Theres just too much crap out there being hawked and people have wizened up. I’d say we don’t need more than half of what people/companies are producing and brand loyalty doesn’t count for shit anymore.

    You can tweet and facebook, blow out your advertising budget pimping as much shit as you want about stuff, but people are realising that though we might want it, we just don’t need it.

    new cars would be a prime example.

    • Gosman 4.1

      Yes, noone needs brand new fuel efficient cars do they.

      • jcuknz 4.1.1

        Fuel efficient [petrol;/diesel] cars are a band-aid, not a solution. We need to breed more shanks ponies.

        • loota 4.1.1.1

          One tonne of new steel goes into a new car, voila that’s 1.8 tonnes of CO2. Just to manufacture the raw steel. And we haven’t started talking about where the GJ’s of energy required to do so are coming from yet.

      • pollywog 4.1.2

        nah we don’t Gosman…

        …we need cheap electric conversion kits, longlife batteries, affordable home solar panels and wind turbines, which is what NZ should be looking at developing and mass producing !

        • felix 4.1.2.1

          But Gos doesn’t want to think about all that shit. He just wants a new frickin car you damn commie bastard. And he only wants ONE every couple of years so that’s only what? 20 cars? What frickin difference is 20 cars gonna make? You know how many cars they make in CHINA ffs?

          Just give in his frickin car.

  5. Zb 5

    Katrina, and now the gulf, for the most party the US government took
    its sweat time investing in clean up. That should tell you something, it
    was no longer cheap to clean up the mess! But its worse, not only
    do energy intense production become prohibitively expensive, hellicopters
    fighting vineyard frosts! but the whole way we trade will change. Bailing
    out the players only delays the inevitable re-balance and funds the people
    with now shrinking resources, who have most to lose when the change comes (if
    they use the bail out to shore up the present system).

    The end of cheap high dense energy is over. Density of energy will
    garner a premium for high end uses, like hellicopters over million
    dollar wine harvests, but for running down the dairy to get a litre of
    milk probably not.

    We will still have growth, its will be individuals saving any spare
    cash and trading with each other for their lifes luxuries rather than
    the big international corporates view of what luxuries are. The
    party at the big end of town is over. The days of just the few,
    a few eyes, a few signatures, and whole ecosystems are eliminated
    on the other side of the planet are over.

    Welcome to the Green Revolution. About frigging time.

    Unusually uncertain. LOL. Its been predicted for decades in the
    alternative media. Hell! Marx pointed out in fashion, that capitalism
    tends to get top heavy and collapse, this was an opportunity for workers
    to stuff their own countries up royally! Workers only in poorer agrian nations
    could not be brought off fast enough and placated by democratic power
    sharing, and so tanked their economies in a red revolution.

    Germany enter the age of oil with a fascist in power and used the
    oil advances to wage global war. Now our neo-fascist marketeers
    think they can hold on despite the inevitable end of oil, through the
    nambie pambie propaganda controls (that would make a Nazi laugh).
    Get real, Fox can’t tell us its fail and balanced when obviously its not
    anywhere close, we’re not seening any growth so we’re not placated into
    half believing that fair and balanced was taken care off. You can not
    buy us off any longer with cheap oil and cheap credit, to control
    us with our own resources and our own debt. The trick is up,
    the cheques keep bouncing, you write our cheque out for us
    with your name as the benefitary and they don’t work any longer.
    Pay neo-liberal out the sum of 100 million workers profits.
    HAHAHA. Governing neo-fascist boring bland simplistic
    neo-liberal economics is now ineffective in divorcing us from our
    cash and our world resources.

    Suks to be loser, who hold on to billions dollars of
    crazy money that is so obviously mismatched to actual real worth,
    to the real economy, the people of planet Earth.

    We the people, of the people, by the people was not, is not, a
    statement of some promise of rights in the future, its a statement
    of fact as it has always been.

    • Bored 5.1

      Zb, interesting idea that those who have now will end up holding nothing but worthless promisary notes…be careful. The buggers will try to buy / control anything that can produce and leave us a serfs, thats what the privatisation agenda of the right is all about.

      We need to now make the conceptual jump away from “money” and “finance”, these need to be reduced to mere accounting tools for real solid tangible items / resources that we actually use (as opposed to digits in a database of “future debt” held etc). If we have to be able to tie the accounted item to a real item we will have a much more tangible view of resource avilability and resultant allocation.

  6. jcuknz 6

    This ‘good news’ story from NYT seems relevant to the madness of our current position.
    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/business/global/22auto.html?th&emc=th

  7. Bill 7

    Didn’t the bail out money go to the financial sector rather than the real economy? The ‘too big to fail’ trillion $ or whatever bailout of finance, while car manufacturers were left to sink and thousands of jobs allowed to disappear?

    I’m not aware of any government investing heavily in the real economy. Haven’t they all slashed spending (massively in the UK for example) and cut taxes, thereby diminishing rather than increasing the flow of money around any real economy activities?

    Maybe I’m missing something.

    Anyway. End of growth?

    What is the limit on financial speculation? Or speculation on speculation? I can’t see that there are any. And wheat, rice etc increased in price largely because of speculation rather than just the effects of supply/demand. I remember reading somewhere that it was fuelling a shift to potatoes as they were the only basic foodstuff free (so far) from the effects of financial speculators.

    Growth isn’t based on real economy stuff any more.

    And so while there may well be a crisis for growth in the energy economy as you have termed it, that doesn’t impact on growth in the financial economy.

  8. Nick C 8

    Maybe you should apply to be Bens chief advisor and tell him exactly whats going on..

    What economic qualifications do you have again?

    • Bored 8.1

      Take along a copy of Rands minute to run pot boiler rants to the interview. Ben was apparently apprenticed to the sainted Ayn. Shrug like Atlas and magic up a few zillion conceptual dollars to be collateralised with the sweat of workers in Guatemala…its a brave new (old) world.

    • Lazy Susan 8.2

      What particular alternate reality do you live in Nick C? The guys with all the big economic qualifications behind their names are the ones that over-leveraged the system that got us into this mess in the first place.

      As long as the system works for them and their paymasters things are sweet – sod the rest of the world. Unfortunately for them a growing number of people are waking up to the idea that the system is screwed and the so-called experts are only interested in looking after their own. Can you hear those chickens? they’re coming home to roost.

      captcha: hanging – how you might find some bankers?!

      • Bored 8.2.1

        L Suze, I think Nicks onto it, ask the question of Bill, thats who hes taking a punt at. Nicks well and truly in touch with the reality and who is doing us over (have a gink at a few of his comments).

        • Bill 8.2.1.1

          Eh? You sure Nick C wasn’t having a go at Marty there, Bored?

          My comment was questions. Not assertions. So if Nick C was having a go at me, it just doesn’t make sense.

          Anyway…

  9. What a bunch of Anglo/US centric comments. Peak this and peak that. Peak ideas more like.
    The ‘West’ is in decline, but Asia is not. There is real growth in China. And China’s demand for commodities is pushing real growth in Asia, Africa and Latin America. If not for that we would be in the middle of a 30s type full-on global depression.
    The problem is that the new growth is no less destructive on a global scale than the old growth. Think of China buying BP.
    If you want sustainability then you need to get onside with Chinese workers who have our fate in their hands. The shortest route to sustainability is Chinese workers socialising their state capitalist regime.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.1

      And China’s demand for commodities is pushing real growth in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

      It can push all it likes but if there’s no resources left to supply the demand then they ain’t going to get anything.

      Growth is, like cancer, unsustainable.

    • ZB 9.2

      China has a huge housing bubble. China trying to catchup to western consumer car culture isn’t
      going to happen! There isn’t enough room in China for the parking spaces! China is not the
      growth center of the world economy because its some shiny light of capitalist free market!
      We are not going into another 30s depression. More like the long depression in the late 19
      century. Basically market failures happen all the time, mismatches the market takes
      time to resolve. This is no different. The 30’s great depression was a mismatch of
      high density energy oil and processes that produce vast new supply without a consumer
      culture to buy the supply. Now we have the sideways depression, as deep or shallow as your elites,
      while they dither and take time to retool our economies and cultures for the new economy
      of less carbon addiction.

  10. roger nome 10

    Marty:

    You may be interested in this movie that rently came out . Should be at the up-coming film festivals.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAyHIOg5aHk

    • Bill 10.1

      Not saying that he doesn’t have it more or less right on the broad brush stroke stuff.

      But he’s not very well.

      From having just watched the film, looks to me like he’s hitched his madness to some fairly uncontroversial and not uncommon economic/political viewpoints and then wrapped himself up in fluffy little blankets of half baked delusion and nonsense to justify his placing of himself slap bang at the centre of it all where he attempts to play he role of prophet, conductor and intellectual powerhouse.

      Unfortunate, because he’s a half decent communicator otherwise.

  11. randal 11

    yes they have become like little boys whistling in the dark to keep their spirits up.
    Ben Bernanke may be an expert on the ‘great crash” but a wider view is necessary here.
    when does the fat lady stop singing?
    in the meantime they gonna grab as much real estate as they can to try and keep the wolf from the door.

    • Bored 11.1

      Ben B should be an expert on the great crash, he’s been driving it at close range.

  12. Mark M 12

    Agree with your comments that the “large governments” have done what was accepted orthodoxy after the crash and the Key Government was out of step.
    Now that you have seen the “large governments ” policies failing you may understand why Key didnt follow them.

    Perhaps its time to accept that someone who made a lot of money out of the finance industry knows a wee bit more about the economy than enthusaistic economic amateur bloggers.

    • loota 12.1

      Someone who made a lot of money gaming cash out of the real productive economy using computational financial wizardry “knows a wee bit more about the economy”?

      Yes, no doubt, John Key is an expert at playing the percentages and timing the markets to game cash out of the economy as well as firing workers from his firm, but that’s neither hugely impressive nor hugely relevant in terms of building up a productive economy.

      captcha: owes

    • Draco T Bastard 12.2

      He made a lot of money out of the finance industry by screwing over the economy.

      • loota 12.2.1

        Damn, you make me sound verbose, Draco.

      • ZB 12.2.2

        Key didn’t set the system up that ships profit overseas, that would be the National party and its support base, aided by the Labour party compromising in order to remain politically competitive as world economies were rigged with cheap money and primed with cheap oil. Key won the speculator lottery, a process where any poor performance means immediate dismissal of said speculator, over time someone has to be the last man standing doesn’t matter what they were doing or why it was good only that they got lucky betting the right way (shear luck in my opinion given someone loses money for others to win money). So no Key didn’t trash our economy, he was a follower who never had to lead anyone anywhere, who played his cards close and never explained to anyone in depth about anything. Perfect National leader if you wanted to continue to ship profits overseas. Spent a life time doing it, guarded, unaccountable, and charmingly distractive. National are not the party you want in power in a crisis, they will stop bailing and start selling off assets at the bottom of the market, they will raise taxes saying you don’t work hard enough to give the few at the top a bonus for all their hard work overseeing a collapsing world economy. Yes, you were duped, never again. That’s why they got Key, to smoose National back in for a second term. The main stream press love Key, his handlers hand them copy and they don’t have to fact check or much of any indepth, the angles have all be analysis by a battery of thinktanks and voter panels to convince even the diehard voter that National are not as bad as all indicators show. No, you may feel the tax rises, increase levies, the ETS, the lack of work, the increasing insecurity brought on by the 90-day legislation are bad, hurting you, that the inflation caused by Key pushing up your mortgage was harsh, but mainstream media will smooth your reality away with a nice smile and wave from Mr Impenetrable money man once again saying trust him. And the polls suggest that most voters still think Labour will force them to buy lightbulbs. Geez is this anyway to run an economy, do we have to trash the economy before we raise our hackles about how National sell us cheap, insure managers their long stay while shafting the little guy again. Yes, it seems so.

  13. Ag 13

    Nah… there are limits to growth, but they have little to do with the current crisis.

    Nothing is hidden. The reasons for the crisis are in plain view. Credit was too cheap. The reasons why credit was too cheap were political reasons, not economic reasons. The ultimate reason is that any political party promising an end to cheap credit would have made itself unelectable. Hence, parties competed to offer people more, and people voted for them.

    In the end, the democratic system is to blame. You won’t hear this in the news for the simple reason that the democratic system is sacrosanct and criticism of it is not permitted. That’s why political reporting on the grand scale tends to be rather daft. We can either keep democracy and suffer this sort of thing, or try something else.

    Ask yourself what needs to be done to fix our societies’ problems and then ask yourself how the average SUV driving suburban moron will ever be persuaded to vote for them.

  14. Chris 14

    Technology is the most important driver of new growth. If you are suggesting more growth is not possible then to me you are saying technology has reached its limits, which is clearly false.

    GM foods; more efficinet cars, planes, trains and such; more advanced renewable energy capture; more efficient batteries and other energy storage devices; new and more advanced composite materials; nuclear fusion power? (50 + years away but still). These are some of the thinigs that will continue to drive economic growth worldwide. There will continue to be real worldwide economic growth for all of my lifetime and the forseeable future beyonod that too.

  15. Gail 15

    How long are people going to keep falling for this “confidence” nonsense? The problem is not lack of confidence – it is lack of MONEY! The bankers are intentionally crashing the economies around the world because desperate people are easy to manipulate. My comments are based on what is happening in the U.S. but I believe it applies in NZ and elsewhere too.

    With at least 20-30% of Americans unemployed or underemployed (working two or even three jobs and bringing home less than half of what they once earned) compounded by the declining purchasing power of the US dollar which will continue to slide recovery is IMPOSSIBLE. Only the naive can believe the economy can “recover”.

    The end stage of EVERY Fiat currency (money not backed by gold or anything else) is always hyperinflation – so even if Americans still made as much as they used to and still have health benefits and retirements (which they don’t) the point of no return where what they earn will not cover keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads would still be on the horizon.

    What is true in the U.S. is no doubt true in most other countries. The ONLY solution is to stop playing their game. Create small economies of your own where you support each other’s small online and local businesses. Know that fast success based on borrowing is NOT an option. Eliminate insurance and provide for each other within the community instead.

    And most importantly understand the difference between wants and necessities. Focus on what we MUST have to survive: water, food and shelter – in that order. Learn to grow your own food or source it from people who have those skills LOCALLY. Eat staples instead of convenience foods. It is possible here to eat for a dollar or two a day per person IF you can garden, cook and bake. Twenty pounds of potatoes currently costs about the same as ONE bag of potato chips.

    Use the Internet to find out what you need to know and connect with others who have skills you don’t have. SAVE the Web addresses of key sites in case they become harder and harder to find. (The same people who control banking control the major search engines and can easily censor what you can find in them.)

    Save key information in offline form (on a USB thumb drive or a CD or hard copy). Own physical books or print it in case you need it when there is no power or your batteries go dead! Power does go down for days sometimes even here and could be unavailable for an extended time due to an emergency (earthquake, hurricane, etc.).

    If you’re a blogger connect with other bloggers. We have numerous blogging groups you can use to find those in your niche or areas of interest or location. Read the post I’ve attached to this comment and don’t miss the stats in there about where the money went. It will be the same story in other countries.

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  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – 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. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    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 ...
    1 day 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    10 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
    12 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
    12 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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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