Wayne’s budget has nothing to do with saving money

Written By: - Date published: 11:08 am, March 26th, 2023 - 53 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, local government, supercity - Tags:

We have heard numerous claims from Auckland mayor Wayne Brown and his supporters that the proposed budget is about saving money and getting rid of a nearly $300 million hole.

Unfortunately, these claims have often gone unchallenged by journalists and, when reporting on the current consultation process, are treated as fact.

This is a huge disservice to Aucklanders and hugely misleading.

Numerous people have come out against the proposal, from community groups, arts groups, councillors, local board members, MPs and economists.

Despite the mayor claiming that his proposal, put together by the council finance team, is the only option available, there are alternative budget suggestions that would retain many services and still allow Auckland Council to function.

But the truth is that the budget proposal is not about saving money.

If Aucklanders were in any doubt before, this week has shown that the budget is an ideologically driven plan that is not the best for Tāmaki Makaurau and the citizens who call this region home.

So what happened this week that has pulled the curtain back on Wayne’s budget and revealed the charade that it is?

The Mayoral Office Spending

At the beginning of the week there were calls for spending by the mayoral office to be subject to the same standards as the rest of organisation.

The mayoral office has $5.2 million to spend per year according to legislation and previous mayors have used this to hire staff and commission independent reports.

Phil Goff was so frugal with his budget that he returned around $3 million to council which earned him unexpected praise from the right-wing Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance.

His successor has no plans to be as responsible.

Instead of showing true leadership, Wayne Brown is taking a “do as I say, not as I do” attitude.

If he truly wanted to save Auckland Council money, he would follow Goff’s lead and reduce his office spend, returning $3 million to the council.

That $3 million could continue to fund Citizens’ Advice Bureaus across the region and also continue funding the Early Childhood Education centres that council run.

But Brown won’t do that because he is driven by neo-liberal economic ideology that says councils should only fund roads, pipes and rubbish.

He also won’t do it because he doesn’t like his predecessor and he cannot fathom following in Goff’s footsteps.

The LGNZ decision

Yesterday, Wayne Brown had the deciding vote on whether Auckland Council should leave Local Government New Zealand.

This isn’t the first time Wayne has dragged a council out of LGNZ.

He did it in the Far North when he was mayor up there and less than a year after the decision to leave LGNZ, the council voted (7 in favour, 3 against) to return to the national organisation.

This time, as in the Far North, Wayne painted leaving LGNZ as another cost-saving venture.

Aucklanders were told by the mayor that it would save Auckland Council $650,000 from the council’s budget.

The subscription fees for Auckland Council are $350,000.

It is unclear where he gets his figure from as, despite his claim that council pays for people to travel to meetings, elected members pay their own way.

He really doesn’t like LGNZ and his immature throwaway comments during yesterday’s debate showed a huge disdain.

But once again he is letting his ego and ideology get in the way of good decision making for Aucklanders.

Leaving LGNZ will mean that Auckland will no longer benefit from an LGNZ programme that provides over $1 million in savings per year in minimised street light electricity use.

Leaving LGNZ will also mean Auckland Council  will have to go it alone in lobbying to government ministers, would have to seek its own policy advice and will miss out on training for elected local council members, particularly for Māori, Pasifika and young elected members.

Lobbyists cost a lot of money, as do policy advisors.

The mayor and his supporters have not explained how they will cover those new costs, nor how Auckland Council will pay for invaluable training and support for newly elected members.

If the mayor was serious about making genuine savings, he would see that staying in LGNZ saves Aucklanders millions of dollars a year and provides millions of dollars per year in benefits.

So once again, Aucklanders have been lied to by their mayor and his ideological buddies.

The proposed budget is not about genuine savings in a crisis.

This is simply an attempt to drag Auckland back into outdated thinking that has been shown to have failed us time and time again.

I encourage everyone to feedback to Auckland Council and let them know loud and clear that you reject the proposed budget, and that you want the council to do a new budget. Submissions close at 11 pm on March 28.

I have already linked to the website for A Better Budget for Auckland above.

Other helpful links are as follows:

Together We Can

Stop the Cuts

Forest and Bird

Green Party

Petition to save Citizens’ Advice Bureau

Guest Post Anon

53 comments on “Wayne’s budget has nothing to do with saving money ”

  1. AB 1

    Most likely, Brownie was installed to sell revenue-producing assets to his backers – justified by shouting about a budget crisis.

    It's a staple of right-wing governments – somewhere on page 1 of the playbook. Sometimes (e.g. Key's tax cuts) you have to manufacture or exacerbate a budget crisis if there isn't a sufficient one when you get into office – sometimes you don't.

    • Mike the Lefty 1.1

      I remember when Key's government manufactured an ACC funding crisis as an excuse to increase ACC levies on people's wages. It was bs of course.

      [Typo fixed in e-mail address – Incognito]

  2. Belladonna 2

    This whole presentation by Brown is taking me right back to the bad old days of "User pays" – when all government provided services were costed out, and you were expected to make a proportion of that amount as revenue.

    Stupid, short-sighted, bean-counting mentality (it frequently cost more to charge for the service, than was received).

    There are legitimate issues to be debated: The rise in interest rates; the fall in the profitability of the airport income; the rise in the general cost-of-living impacting Council services as well; the cost of storm and associated weather repairs and future-proofing.

    Yes, we should (and this is the job of the Councillors, and local board representatives) debate value for money, and determine where the money is best spent.

    If the income pie is smaller, then there is always a choice to either make the pieces smaller, or to buy a bigger pie.

    • Are golf-courses (which certainly don't pay their way), more important than community houses and/or libraries?
    • Would it be a better decision to sell airport shares or to sell under-used lands (there's those golf courses, again)?
    • What does managed retreat look like – can that be a cost-positive (no longer required to maintain expensive roading and utility infrastructure to marginal areas).
    • Can we identify wasteful spending, and reallocate this?

    However, characterising this as a budget crisis – and demanding wholesale cuts to the services which make Auckland a vibrant community (or set of local communities) – is not helpful.

    I do wonder if some of this is a sacrificial lamb. In that, Brown can then turn around and tell Aucklanders: well, you demanded to keep the services – therefore there will be a 20% rates increase.

    • newsense 2.1

      Golf courses I kind of don’t mind, in a hypocritical way, if they’re public courses and providing that green therapy to the drinking class…in NZ golf is a much much more democratic activity than in most of the world. The Warriors love a game on their day off, or at least they used to.

      Tennis clubs though I’d build minimum 5 storey apartment complexes on with special dispensation starting tomorrow…using the majority view of sport funding as being rugby or achieving Olympic success of which it achieves neither. And it’d really annoy a lot of people in Parnell, Westmere, coastal type areas, block their sea views and more than likely bring undesirables into the neighborhood.

      Don’t forget Brown is just a more acceptable face of this guy in the Waikato. He didn’t want to link climate change to the floods, was slow to call in outside help and then blamed everyone else and implied it was keeping him from his tennis.

      The Waikato charmer:

      It talks of “the likes of councillors Sarah Thomson, Louise Hutt, [Anna] Casey-Cox, with the rest of their council greenies throwing heaps of our hard-earned rates at climate change”.

      “Now they’re ruining us all financially, and should be taken behind the Bike Shed and have the living s… beaten out of them before they do too much damage.”

      Imagine wasting money on climate change! After Esk Valley et al.

      • Mac1 2.1.1

        What our mysogynist Waikato charmer said, in part, "[In] my day that sort of thing was commonly spoken of. It wasn’t actually factual. You didn’t do that (have the living s… beaten out of them)- 'them' being three named women councillors.

        Tell that to the victim of a Tauranga MP who did do that, with a bed leg.

        Lest we forget……. lest we believe the lies…… lest we ignore or leave unchallenged the mysogyny, the casual violence, the callously thoughtless comments of haters and bullies……

      • Barfly 2.1.2

        "Remuera is the city's most valuable council-owned course by far, its 63.6ha valued for rates at $22.5m but $517.1m by Cameron Partners as an "alternative use value".

        Good luck trying to find out how many members they have I gave up on page 4 of google results.

        Wayne Brown the arsehat getting rid of CAB which is driven by volunteer workers but keeping billions of $ of golf courses including Remmers – a private club being charged peppercorn rent!

        • newsense 2.1.2.1

          That’s news to me, but not sense!

          Though it is very kiwi: exclusive private country club on el cheapo rent on public land…

  3. Martin C 3

    How many got of their backsides and voted?

    • Tiger Mountain 3.1

      Go to the top of the class…on that one comment anyway.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/300836246/aucklands-election-by-the-numbers-1-in-5-nonvoters-filled-in-the-paper

      Lazy sods, or alienated, marginalised, transient sods? A contracted out electoral service, a crumbling postal infrastructure etc.

    • Liberty Belle 3.2

      I did. I voted for Brown, and so far he's doing exactly what he was elected to do, which is fix Auckland. Some people are losing their shit over it, but hey who cares.

      • newsense 3.2.1

        So what does a fixed Auckland look like?
        Fixed as in neutered?

        Got to remember some of us have lived through this Tory bullshit before.

        Make a financial crisis, hock off the family silver to your mates, leave an enormous deficit in terms of providing social services or dealing with problems, and when the other lot get in and have to spend to fix the problems call them irresponsible and demand we stop using money checking if apartments are being built properly etc. or providing for a future with more flooding or requiring denser populations. Try to keep things bottled up until we cark it at least!

        • Liberty Belle 3.2.1.1

          "stop using money checking if apartments are being built properly"

          That is a consenting activity that is charged to the developers/builders. It is effectively a revenue stream to council.

          "Make a financial crisis"

          This council did not 'make' the financial crisis. That was made by the previous council(s) who were unable to hold spending to affordable levels.

          "hock off the family silver to your mates,"

          Which mates? Do you have any evidence that anyone on AC is intending doing this?

          "leave an enormous deficit in terms of providing social services or dealing with problems"

          What social services ae you referring to? What problems will not be dealt with? Auckland has an infrastructure deficit that was built up under left wing dominated councils.

          "So what does a fixed Auckland look like?"

          Auckland has been heading towards being unlivable. The public transport system is a joke, and organisations such as AT and Panuku have become synonymous with incompetence or worse.

          A 'fixed' Auckland is one in which we have less debt, contained rates rises, a concentration on core services, and an accessible city.

          • Barfly 3.2.1.1.1

            Is your definition of "core services" Billions of dollars of Golf Clubs ?

            • Liberty Belle 3.2.1.1.1.1

              As an alternative to selling them for housing, yes.

              • Barfly

                Wastage of billions in assets for golf and yet deleting Citizens Advice Bureaux to save comparatively pocket change you are a true right winger sir and no that is not a compliment.

                • Liberty Belle

                  The golf courses are not costing billions of dollars to run. Instead of repeating mantra, come back with what you suggest we do with them.

                  • Barfly

                    Learn to read "wasting billions of assets" does not equal "costing billions to run" you disingenous fool. What to do with them – some should be converted into a mixture of parks, playing fields(thus being using far a far greater number of people than the golf courses) housing and shopping precincts with care to retain as many mature trees in the housing precincts as possible and utilising multiple housing construction companies to avoid housing monoculture and thus creating suburbs with character. The sales of the land will create enormous revenue to the council to reduce debt and the creation of much needed housing and shopping precincts will also create significant revenue for the council by virtue of the land being rated at its realisable value. angry

                    • Liberty Belle

                      You said “wastage of billions in assets…” not "wasting billions of assets". These are two different things.

                      If golf courses are retained as parks, they do nothing to address the waste you say is occurring by retaining golf courses. In fact that makes it worse, because golf courses have revenue that offsets costs. Unless you are advocating charging for access to parks?

                      If you’re advocating housing, then that means council selling off the golf courses (and that certainly has merit, as does council selling, eg the airport shares), however you have to accept that there will be loss of amenity, and loss of environmental benefit.

                      BTW – Have you ever played on a public golf course in Auckland? Do you understand the socio-economic profile of the average public course player?

                    • newsense []

                      He’s proposing to sell off Airport shares for a hit of sugar and a transfer of assets to those with disposable cash.

                      Identical playbook to previous liars- make a crisis, sell the farm.

                  • Christopher Randal

                    How many houses could be built on the golf courses? An indication would be the development at Takanini.

                    • Liberty Belle

                      That depends on the level of intensification. As I said above, there could be merit in converting some of the golf course land to housing, but the environmental and amenity impact has to be considered.

                  • georgecom

                    cut it from 18 holes down to 9 holes. put some land into higher density housing as well as some into local park and bush land (also serving as a big soak hole for flooding events). the 'public' get to continue using a golf course, some the land can be used for green spaces and some for housing and the council gets a really nice big wedge of cash it can use to pay down debts. Maybe a couple of golf courses could be looked at cutting in half. Brown, with his 'engineering back ground', can have a 'walk around' with some engineers and 'quickly sort out' how to cut the courses in half I am sure. problem sorted.

                    • Liberty Belle

                      Sensible suggestions. In fact, 9-hole golf is becoming very popular, because not everyone can afford the money or time to play 18 regularly.

          • newsense 3.2.1.1.2

            Fixing public transport by cutting it immediately, setting future uptake back further? That’s quite a miraculous feat.

            And I tend to believe Bernard Hickey and others that the panic over finances is horse shit.

            • Liberty Belle 3.2.1.1.2.1

              I tend to believe that the counter budget is to borrow and rate. That has failed.

              • newsense

                Whereas austerity during a crisis and in general has got a brilliant track record?

                Usually you prime the pump when it is needed- which you’d imagine it is after the floods.Though maybe not for those pulling in the pension and a salary while owning Auckland property in wealthier places where waterways were looked after?

                So rents and house prices are a one sided bet, while rates must be kept down? I mean that’s the job he’s doing, is not saving the city in any way. Protecting property owners from their costs.

                Defunding cycle safety roll out on school routes? With the public transport genius who gave us Parnell station? That is just the crankiness of the man who didn’t want to mention climate change around the floods as it wasn’t helpful.

                It’s buzz word policy and short termism. From the intellectual lineage that first didn’t want Britomart and then didn’t future proof it.

                • Liberty Belle

                  "Whereas austerity during a crisis and in general has got a brilliant track record?"

                  Austerity is a buzz word. You can do better. How about 'living within our means'.

                  • newsense

                    You are an expert aren’t you? Wipe out austerity as not a thing and reducing government to a Dickensian household budget. That’s quite a linguistic feat.

                    • Liberty Belle

                      Austerity is only in your mind. It's really just about living within our means.

            • Liberty Belle 3.2.1.1.2.2

              "He’s proposing to sell off Airport shares for a hit of sugar and a transfer of assets to those with disposable cash. Identical playbook to previous liars- make a crisis, sell the farm."

              The airport shares are returning nothing, and are costing ratepayers to hold. It makes absolute sense to sell them.

              • newsense

                Wait I’m confused- they have no value so we should sell them or they are too valuable for a council to have so we should sell them?

                • Liberty Belle

                  My comment was fairly clear. I didn't mention value. The cost of holding the shares is significantly higher than they are returning (which at the moment is zero. There is absolutely no reason for a council that is getting close to being $11bn in debt holding on to non revenue earning shares in an airport.

                  • newsense

                    So throw more natural monopoly shares to those who invest? Tourism not going to feature in the economy long term?

                    Must be a hard sell- here are some shares so worthless we had to fire sale them…

                    Beginning to think you were in on the original BNZ shenanigans…

                    • Liberty Belle

                      It's actually quite simple.

                      Auckland has debt of around 12 billion and rising.

                      Auckland has a current operating deficit of close to $300m.

                      Auckland owns a minority shareholding in an airport. It exercises no effective control over that asset and receives no dividend. Selling that asset will enable the city to reduce debt by around $2bn, and lower debt servicing costs by around $88m per year.

                      It's about as simple a decision as anyone could ever make.

  4. Thinker 4

    There's a saying attributed to Goebells that if you tell a lie big enough people will simply accept it.

    IMHO, Brown is adopting the same strategy.

    As far as the budget goes, though, Brown has one vote out of about 21 (and a possible casting vote). The councillors have been told that Brown doesn't always lay the full facts in them (incognito, here's your link:

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-quits-local-government-nz-lgnz-chief-executive-refutes-wayne-browns-claims-of-a-boozy-conference-in-the-bay-of-islands/RM4RUY7Q7NAC5JROK3HPLD4D2I/) and I would hope there's enough councillors with a conscience and a brain big enough to see the woods for the trees to stop Brown getting his way.

  5. Liberty Belle 5

    "IMHO, Brown is adopting the same strategy."

    Are you suggesting brown has told lies about the financial position Auckland is in? Do you have any examples?

    • Barfly 5.1

      Are you suggesting he has told the truth? Seems unlikely to me.

      • Liberty Belle 5.2.1

        Just a few of problems with that (all quotes from Verity's article or links)

        "Close observers also know that both the Crown and our councils are now both very lightly indebted and nowhere near breaching any debt or interest limits relative to their incomes and assets."

        That's from the link to Bernard Hickey's piece. Except he's wrong. Measuring a council's debt to assets ratio is a nonsense, because council assets are not always able to be sold.

        "no external authority is worried about it,"

        That's also a nonsense. Council's have a monopoly. They have a captive income base, so it takes a hell of a lot to get ratings agencies twitchy.

        "you’ve heard how Auckland Council has got this supposedly massive “fiscal black hole” of $295 million."

        It's not 'supposedly' massive, it is massive. There is no way to sustain that without huge rates rises, or more borrowing, which just kicks the can on the future generations.

        "A Better Budget” is promoting a mix of higher rates and borrowing"

        And there it is. This so called 'better budget' hands it off to our kids. Or imposes higher costs on everyone, including those on low or fixed incomes.

        "But basically there are no zombies."

        Verity should stick to simple stuff. Auckland Council's debt is frightening, and increasing.

        So I'll point you to a salient warning sounded by Damien Grant, over 2 years ago, when he said this:

        "Auckland Council has become a bloated, debt-laden monster sucking in cash, employees and capital. It has taken on a range of projects and agendas from climate change to business development to promoting various social agendas that are rightly the preserve of central government."

        If anything, since then it got worse.

        • Thinker 5.2.1.1

          As a unitary authority, Auckland Council has the accountability for (Local Government Act 2002):

          The Local Government Act 2002 brought about a total change in empowering local bodies. It changed from the ultra vires approach to a more permissive approach that gave local authorities "full capacity to carry on or undertake any activity or business, do any act, or enter into any transaction".

          The Act included a focus on sustainability with the reference to the 'four well-beings' social, economic, environmental and cultural. The purpose of the Act is (a) to enable democratic decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and (b) to promote the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of communities, in the present and in the future.

          Plus, the accountabilities of a regional authority (RMA1991):

          • Planning for the integrated management of natural and physical resources
          • Planning for regionally significant land uses
          • Soil conservation, water quality and quantity, water ecosystems, natural hazards, hazardous substances
          • Controlling the coastal marine area
          • Controlling via resource consents the taking, use, damming or diverting of water
          • Controlling via resource consents the discharge of contaminants
          • Establishing of rules in a regional plan to allocate water
          • Controlling via resource consents the beds of waterbodies

          And other statutory obligations:

          • flood and river control under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941,
          • reserves vested in regional councils under the Reserves Act 1977,
          • civil defence under the Civil Defence Act 1990,
          • regional pest management under the Biosecurity Act 1993,
          • harbour and water navigation under the Maritime Transport Act 1994,
          • hazardous waste under the HSNO Act 1996,
          • public transport planning under the Land Transport Act 1998, and
          • supervision of the safety of dams under the Building Act 2004.

          The RMA is under review and that might drive some changes to the scope of regional and unitary authorities, without the guiding hand of Mr Fixit.

          Bless you, LibertyBelle, for your unwavering support of Wayne Brown when so many people are shocked and awed.

          https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/poll-shock-auckland-mayor-wayne-brown-goes-from-big-election-win-to-poor-approval-rating-in-the-space-of-five-months/IQDRLYGRHRDKVK64YMX4VTSC5M/

          https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-03-2023/wayne-browns-interviews-since-being-elected-mayor-ranked

          • Liberty Belle 5.2.1.1.1

            Generally the MSM are shocked and awed, particularly people like Simon Wilson, who has had his reputation badly hit by his unwavering support for Efeso.

            As for Brown, he doesn't give a rats about polls. He's a grumpy old fart, but he has a job to do, and he's doing it. Without fear or favour.

            • newsense 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Yeh- deliver airport shares and low rate bills.

              Certainly if he doesn’t deliver on flood infrastructure and public transport these are something our children will be paying for over and over.

              CAB is something that will cause a lot of damage amongst people who can’t vote, or don’t vote, or don’t vote enough. It’s the kind of thing first generation immigrants use, or people returning to the workforce or people renting. It’s reassurance to people in times of anxiety and stress. Libraries and CAB still have a large amount of public trust. It’s the kind of thing an arsehole would do away with. It’s certainly not fixing the city in any way.

              • Liberty Belle

                "Certainly if he doesn’t deliver on flood infrastructure and public transport these are something our children will be paying for over and over."

                That's a joke. The current PT system is a dog, and that's Goff's legacy.

        • newsense 5.2.1.2

          Ahh Damien ‘a man of convictions’ Grant.

          Personally I’d rather listen to Bernard Hickey in the Kaka:

          The expert is saying that Auckland is not only in a good position with a gold-standard AA credit rating, but its position is solid enough to put a stable outlook on the rating. I’ve been reporting on these sorts of credit ratings for 30 years. It’s only when they start putting a borrower on ‘negative outlook’ and downgrading ratings that people should start to worry.

          But wait, there’s more. S&P actually said there was a chance it could upgrade…yes upgrade…Auckland’s credit rating if Three Waters goes ahead and, as it expects, Auckland’s population and economy continues to grow quickly and the central Government keeps helping fund infrastructure.

          • Liberty Belle 5.2.1.2.1

            As I said above, those ratings mean diddly. The alternative budget suggests increasing debt and rates, because council have a monopoly, and the legal right to collect whatever rates they wish. Unlike some, I'm actually not keen on hitting people already struggling with high cost of living with even more.

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    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • 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 ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    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
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    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
    13 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
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  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
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