What are we America now?

Written By: - Date published: 10:24 am, March 20th, 2017 - 58 comments
Categories: human rights, im/migration, law - Tags: , , , ,

What is going on here? ONE News last night:

Exclusive: Syrian Kiwis forced into giving passwords, underwear searched by NZ Customs

Syrian-born Kiwis say they are being subjected to intrusive and unnecessary searches as they return home from overseas.

1 News has talked to a number of individuals who have been detained at Auckland airport, often for hours at a time. They’ve been forced to hand over their phones and laptops – and ordered to surrender passwords to social media accounts.

As quoted later in the piece, the Customs and Excise Act 1996 allows for the search of goods and devices. I’m not aware of any legal basis for compelling the surrender of social media passwords. (I am not a lawyer, if anyone knows of such, please do comment below.) If there is such a law then we’re as bad as Donald Trump. If there isn’t, then what the hell is border control doing, and who is going to put a stop to it?

Samer Soud has been stopped and detained six times since 2015 as he returned home from visiting his 28-year-old son Martin in Sydney.

On three of those occasions he’s been forced to hand over his devices, and he says his wife Evelyn was left embarrassed and furious after border guards trawled through her underwear. … Customs staff also asked for details about his son. “I have to answer every question, you know – what does he do, where he lives, his work address, his phone numbers … Does he live alone?”

Mr Soud says it’s an “awful feeling” when officers go through their belongings. “I don’t mind them looking at anything because I’ve got nothing to hide…[but] it’s frustrating me and it’s a degrading really, you become humiliated and they’re looking through your private stuff, you know – especially you have some memories, photos you don’t want anyone else to see, you know. And my wife’s wardrobe, you know, all of private stuff there and they go through everything in detail.”

He says he’s given “no choice” but to hand over passwords to What’s App, Facebook and his mobile phone. “If you say no they tell you – in the beginning – don’t make it hard on yourself.” …

The piece covers a similar example, and a statement from Customs:

In a statement, a spokesman for Customs said: “We use intelligence information and risk-based profiling to identify passengers that may need further questioning. This could be for a range of reasons, such as establishing their visit is genuine, or risk assessing for offending such as smuggling drugs, weapons, child exploitation images, identity fraud, or to determine if they may pose a threat to New Zealand’s national security.

“Extensive screening is carried out using data and technology to identify those who might pose a risk before interacting with passengers – the number of passengers searched is very low.

Fewer than 10,000 out of 5.4 million arriving passengers (less than 0.2 %) have their bags examined, and not all of these people have their electronic devices examined.

“A range of indicators are considered when deciding to interact with passengers — from nationality (to determine if a passenger has originated travel in, or passed through, a region of risk), through to body language and general demeanour. Customs does not profile passengers based on religion or belief.”

Nationality doesn’t tell you “if a passenger has originated travel in, or passed through, a region of risk”, nationality tells you nationality. No matter what the disclaimer, profiling is always open to abuse. This needs an investigation, and if some officers are crossing the line, it needs to be dealt with quickly.

58 comments on “What are we America now? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bill 1
    20 March 2017 at 10:47 am

    The underwear part of the headline by One News is just plain stupid. If your luggage is being searched, then your underwear will be searched as a part of that.

    Being subjected to questioning around the who, where and why of you and your travel is also just par for the course if customs haul you over.

    But the passwords. Whether they are ordering or ‘suggesting’ that be turned over is kind of beside the point. It’s bullshit that customs should have their faces rubbed in.

    • Sabine 1.1
      20 March 2017 at 12:10 pm

      well it depends, if she is still menstruating she might be embarrassed if they go through her sanitary pads, her tampons, her ‘menstruating undies’ her ‘adult depends’ etc etc etc.
      Again, what was not said is if it was a female of a male doing the search.

      Modesty is a different thing for everyone.

      i.e., when i fly, i will arrive at the airport with no shoes on, they are in my bag, i will wear no bra, no watch, no bracelet, no rings etc etc. I will wear a singlet type top and a skirt with no pockets.
      Like literally i would rather go naked through that gate then have any of these mongrels lay hands on me.
      I also don’t have a phone on me, nor a laptop. And i have been traveling like that since 9/11 and i have been travelling a lot.

      • Bill 1.1.1
        20 March 2017 at 12:16 pm

        I’m not claiming it isn’t invasive or demeaning. And I’m not saying it’s okay. I’m saying it’s par for the course.

        • Sabine 1.1.1.1
          20 March 2017 at 12:24 pm

          It is, but you are operating from a Man Standard.

          simple as that. Just every now and then dear men please understand that while it is par for the course, it is not the quite the same, and what is invasive or ‘demeaning’ for you is invasive, demeaning and embarrassing for women – cause women.

          • weka 1.1.1.1.1
            20 March 2017 at 12:38 pm

            I’m guessing it’s how the search is being done. I would agree there are gender and ethnicity issues here, as well as authoritarian ones.

          • Bill 1.1.1.1.2
            20 March 2017 at 1:48 pm

            Fuck off with your clap trap Sabine. “Man Standard” my arse. Where you get this notion that there’s a fucking hierarchy of ‘invasive and demeaning’ that’s going to have women at the fucking apex as a default?

            Wanna be a cripple going through with shit stained underwear, nappies or all the trappings of a colostomy bag or whatever? Or how about try it as a secretive cross dresser? What about a crippled secret cross dresser?

            You want to take a million other variations and construct a hierarchy of personal levels of “invasive and demeaning”?

            ‘Par for the course’ means it gets landed on everyone and is just an observation. It doesn’t mean anything beyond that and has no value judgement or fuck all else attached.

            • Sabine 1.1.1.1.2.1
              20 March 2017 at 2:21 pm

              there is a standard that is based on Man. mainly i guess because the standards of our lifes are set by men. that is not clap trap, that is i guess life.
              Only if it affects men is it an issue, all others need to harden up. Or something.

              Also i fixed your typo:

              cause a a cripple going through with shit stained underwear, nappies or all the trappings of a colostomy bag or whatever, would be equally embarrased. Or how about try it as a secretive cross dresser, would be equally embarrased to be shown to wear ladies clothes instead of man clothes.
              What about a crippled secret cross dresser – see above.

              and your example is shite cause they are not ‘fully men’ in the eyes of many man. Especially not the secret cross dressers who is also handicapped.

              • Bill …
                20 March 2017 at 2:45 pm

                Yeah – nah. You’re comment claimed I was doing a “man standard” thing . You didn’t introduce the idea in anything like general terms.

                You can make whatever claims about ‘many’ men viewing cripples as lesser (I didn’t suggest any gender for that example btw, but hey). And you can opine that cross-dressers are not “fully men” in the eyes of some men (and ignore the prejudice of some women).

                And on and on.

                But to have straight off the bat jumped to a clutch of bullshit opinions about me and why I might have written a particular comment was just plain crap.

                • Sabine …
                  20 March 2017 at 3:03 pm

                  what i am saying is that a healthy man, who is not a cross dresser, who is not handicapped,etc etc will have less issues having his smalls inspected then maybe a women who is lactating or is having her period.

                  that is the man standard. If it does not apply to man it does not matter.
                  I don’t hold this against you personally, i think really it is just simply something that man don’t often think about, because well they don’t have to think about it.
                  Like the needs for sanitary napkins, or tampons, or access to a bathroom because you are leaking breastmilk or blood.

                  As for your examples above, women too can be handicapped and have the same issues as handicapped men.

                  So i have not bat jumped to a clutch of bullshit opinions about you, but i have commented on what for you means little (without any malice attached) – and i assume you are an able bodied man (that i do) – but might mean a lot to a women of a certain age, a certain education, and certain stages of bodily needs that man don’t have nor will ever have.

                • Guerilla Surgeon …
                  21 March 2017 at 12:01 pm

                  You weren’t doing the man standard thing – you were simply mansplaining.

                  • Bill …
                    21 March 2017 at 1:22 pm

                    That’s right. I wasn’t doing any ‘man standard’ thing. And I wasn’t ‘mansplaining’ either.

                    But given the lack of sarc tag on your comment, I’m taking you as being a fucking idiot…and just a little bit trolly on the side.

                    I’d suggest you just quietly pack it in and fuck off, or alternatively just hope I don’t catch you indulging in similar crap when my mod hat’s on.

                    • Guerilla Surgeon …
                      22 March 2017 at 2:25 pm

                      What? That’s your reply to a comment on your bullshit? Fuck you on the plane you flew in on, and mod away. I don’t comment very often on here, often when I see idiocy disguised as comment. So I don’t give a toss if I’m modded, banned or whatever the fuck. I’ve been banned by the best i.e. whale oil. So – talk to someone who gives a shit.

                    • Bill …
                      22 March 2017 at 8:17 pm

                      No. It’s my reply to your bullshit 🙂

                      Erm…you saying you want us to join the mile high club? I’ll pass on that one if it’s all the same to you. And if it’s not, then I’m still saying ‘no thanks’.

                      This bit about Whaleoil being ‘the best’ in your world just leaves me thinking that ‘fucking idiot’ doesn’t quite do you justice. And I apologise for underestimating your attributes Guerilla Surgeon. Sincerely.

                    • Guerilla Surgeon …
                      24 March 2017 at 2:19 pm

                      Whatever you think about whale oil, he really is the best at banning people. I lasted 2 comments. And they were a lot more sensible than yours. The rest of your bullshit is just not worth replying to.

          • Ad 1.1.1.1.3
            20 March 2017 at 1:50 pm

            Saved you the effort; here’s the actual protocols for searching.

            http://www.customs.govt.nz/news/resources/listsandguides/Documents/guidelines-for-personal-searches-that-involve-a-strip-search.pdf

            Goes into a reasonable amount of detail, including:
            “… in the presence of at least two officers of the same sex…” etc etc

            “… must be conducted with decency and sensitivity and in a manner that affords to the person being searched the degree of privacy and dignity that is consistent with achieving the purposes of the the search.” etc etc

            • Sabine 1.1.1.1.3.1
              20 March 2017 at 2:06 pm

              Funny cause the last time i got searched (my luggage) was in NZ and it was a bloke.

              same in the US in 2003 (last time i traveled with electronic equipment)

              • Ad …
                20 March 2017 at 3:09 pm

                That is the standard you hold them to.

                • Sabine …
                  20 March 2017 at 4:05 pm

                  not sure what mean by that.

                  The reason i don’t travel with electronics anymore is simple. I had the luck of trying to fly into NY during the three day black out in 2003. The whole of the east coast was without juice.

                  by the time i got to JFK, diverted via Atlanta, with a full day of waiting to leave in Nice, my laptop was outta juice. I had no cable on hand, as literally my baggage and that of several thousands of other travllers where somewhere nowhere to be found, and the guy checking my luggage was freaking out that it did not start up and was ready to have it blown up.

                  That is not my standard, mate, these are my experiences. In fact if i travel today, i usually travel via Asia as they seem less paranoid then the rest of the world.

                  As for the bloke in NZ, he was nice enough and luckily my undies were clean and tidy, but yeah, i would prefer a women to do that. But that is simply a level of comfort, i don’t expect to be accommodated. Fwiw.

                  • Ad …
                    20 March 2017 at 7:56 pm

                    I wouldn’t recommend US border police or customs at any airport, especially compared to NZ.

                    Anyone can see what’s happening at the US border. Similar to travelling in the year after 9/11.

                    Not discounting your overseas experience. But it was an NZ article about NZ regulations so that’s what’s relevant.

                    Don’t have to feel lucky we have some of the gentlest border police in the world, but worth reflecting that you don’t have a right to enter most countries; you have only very basic rights at that point. It is a price of travel now, and that price is rising almost everywhere.

        • gsays 1.1.1.2
          20 March 2017 at 1:44 pm

          Hi Bill, the difference between yr attitude here (par for the course), and yr position on kids activities with or without adults?

          It seemed the other day, you opined that we had moved as a society that had unnecessary adults in youth activities, and that should change, to shrugging yr shoulders to this blatant intrusive, driftnetting, big data approach to dealing with our fellow citizens.

          • Bill 1.1.1.2.1
            20 March 2017 at 1:50 pm

            Not shrugging any shoulders. Try reading what I actually wrote.

            • gsays 1.1.1.2.1.1
              20 March 2017 at 4:40 pm

              I just see a whole lot of issues here for example racial profiling, and was surprised by the acceptance implied in your comment.

              To be fair I was on a wee break at work, and reading it again I get a different vibe.

  2. Ad 2
    20 March 2017 at 11:06 am

    “Nationality doesn’t tell you “if a passenger has originated travel in, or passed through, a region of risk”, nationality tells you nationality”

    If you travel to or from Syria, Yemen, Somalia, or a list of other states, guaranteed you will be flagged at border, and you will have a file.

    We’ve been incredibly fortunate to stay as accepting and open as we are in this country already. Long may it stay that way.

  3. One Anonymous Bloke 3
    20 March 2017 at 11:08 am

    I have searched in vain for any “know your rights” type information that applies to customs. A little help please 🙂

    • Bill 3.1
      20 March 2017 at 11:41 am

      Would the case of David Miranda and UK Customs offer any pointers? From memory they detained him under some terrorist legislation because he was carrying electronic information….that was encrypted.

      Did/could they lay charges on him for not revealing passwords? No.

      I could imagine a keen customs officer spewing threaten laden bluster and bullshit in response to someone not handing over passwords to email and social media accounts. But I can’t think there’s a damned thing they can do about it.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1.1
        20 March 2017 at 11:52 am

        They can hold you for a reasonable time: Customs & Excise Act 1996. S.27(2)

        They can inspect baggage: S.29.

        I think that about covers it: surely electronic devices are baggage and the intent of the law is to allow “inspection”.

        I have no expertise in this field but at first glance the law looks pretty clear.

        Be nice to know what constitutes “reasonable” though.

        PS: Also see S39.

        • weka 3.1.1.1
          20 March 2017 at 12:06 pm

          I guess it depends on whether one thinks one’s FB content is part of one’s device or not. Best bet is to back up the device, and then set it factory defaults before getting on the plane. Or even just delete the apps that have passwords and then reinstall them later.

        • Bill 3.1.1.2
          20 March 2017 at 12:21 pm

          How’s about if you told customs something like.

          “I gave my passwords to ‘x’ and instructed them to change them all and inform me of the new passwords via reply text ‘next Tuesday’ after I’ve communicated with them that my privacy is safe”

          • Sabine 3.1.1.2.1
            20 March 2017 at 12:26 pm

            you could also have a second phone with only the barest numbers i.e. family, work, destination phone nr. and leave the private phone at home.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 3.1.1.2.2
            20 March 2017 at 12:32 pm

            To Weka and Bill:

            Pretty sure if you don’t allow “inspection” the “baggage” would be seized.

            Having recently upgraded to a new tablet, I’d happily travel with a factory reset, allow inspection and re-install from the cloud on arrival.

            There are several online services that offer up to 5gB of encrypted storage for free, but if it’s that important you need to worry about crossing your air-gap, not the border.

            • weka 3.1.1.2.2.1
              20 March 2017 at 12:40 pm

              “Pretty sure if you don’t allow “inspection” the “baggage” would be seized.”

              How would they seize my FB account?

              What’s an air-gap?

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                20 March 2017 at 12:47 pm

                An air gap means you have a computer or network that has never been connected to the internet.

                As for your Facebook account, obviously they can’t seize it. I meant whatever device you were carrying that they wanted to inspect.

                • weka …
                  20 March 2017 at 12:58 pm

                  “As for your Facebook account, obviously they can’t seize it. I meant whatever device you were carrying that they wanted to inspect.”

                  Ok, I think that’s a bit out of sync with the subthread. We don’t yet know what constitutes ‘baggage’.

                  “There are several online services that offer up to 5gB of encrypted storage for free, but if it’s that important you need to worry about crossing your air-gap, not the border.”

                  Not following you then. There is a difference between giving Customs access to my online life, and the NSA and their mates having access.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke …
                    20 March 2017 at 1:21 pm

                    I don’t really see the difference.

                    Customs officers also have powers under the Terrorism Suppression Act – the same excuse the NSA, GCSB, SIS etc. use to peer through everyone’s windows.

                    To all intents and purposes it’s the same set of powers being used against you.

                    I think the question raised by the treatment of Mr. Soud et al is: “where’s the probable cause?”

                    Because it looks a whole lot like profiling to me.

                    • weka …
                      20 March 2017 at 1:44 pm

                      If the dude checking the baggage in the airport has the access to the NSA etc databases, why do they need the passwords?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 March 2017 at 1:51 pm

                      I didn’t say they have access to the database, Weka, I said that both activities – the maintenance of the database, and the powers of search and seizure of Syrians etc, are part of the same body of law – or witless and counterproductive paranoid snooping if you prefer.

                    • weka …
                      20 March 2017 at 2:31 pm

                      I was just pointing out one of the differences. You think it doesn’t matter, I do think it does. The law is interesting, but it’s pretty abstract unless we also look at what is happening.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 March 2017 at 2:38 pm

                      I am also talking about the ways the laws are applied, Weka. A customs inspection is a lot more personal than remote ubiquitous surveillance, but they are not separate activities: they are part of a spectrum.

                    • Matthew Whitehead …
                      20 March 2017 at 4:31 pm

                      And this is why we shouldn’t be giving broad powers like this to customs and should instead by requiring them to hold people or devices while they bloody apply for warrants if anything actually merits a “search” that involves coercing people into disclosing their passwords.

                      It’s completely unreasonable to require ordinary people to disclose their passwords if they want their devices back. That should be reserved for cases when actual lives are known to be in danger, not for customs agents getting a bit racist.

          • dukeofurl 3.1.1.2.3
            20 March 2017 at 12:48 pm

            Apparently they cant force you to supply passwords – thats coming in some law amendments, but if you dont they will keep the device for forensic analysis.
            It could be months before you get it back.

            I dont have a password, and keep the phone for ….you know txts and calls.

            The tablet is used for other stuff and a desktop for the rest like banking etc.

  4. Sabine 4
    20 March 2017 at 12:27 pm

    Question: do we feel freer now? safer? more democratic?

    or are we just conditioned – like the frog in the warm water – to just simply obey commands and show papers when ordered?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1
      20 March 2017 at 12:35 pm

      No more or less than before. Customs officers and border guards have been searching rice carts forever.

      • Sabine 4.1.1
        20 March 2017 at 12:38 pm

        it reminds me of all the movies that i saw when i was younger and the scariest question was:

        Papiere bitte.

        • weka 4.1.1.1
          20 March 2017 at 12:47 pm

          less free, less safe, less democratic. I can tell the difference between social media and a rice cart, and also how varying infringements on those are part of wider authoritarian controls on people and communities. I’m less concerned about the individual infringements (although they’re not great) than I am about the patterns of control emerging.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.1.1
            20 March 2017 at 12:49 pm

            Not as a result of the Customs & Excise Act, which relates to baggage inspection.

            Palantir etc. work whether you are crossing the border or not, and we are certainly less safe as a result.

            • weka 4.1.1.1.1.1
              20 March 2017 at 12:53 pm

              Are you saying that Customs have always required social media passwords?

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                20 March 2017 at 12:59 pm

                No, just that they have always had excessive powers of search and seizure and this is simply an extension of that. In the days before social media were they prohibited from reading your diary?

                Edit: further, Facebook is hardly a good example of a private space.

                • weka …
                  20 March 2017 at 1:13 pm

                  Lots of people use pseudonyms on social media, including FB. *looks pointedly*. And the password gives access to all your FB data, including posts you have marked private, what groups you belong to etc. There is a reason they want access to that via the password. If FB was completely open they wouldn’t need it. I’m surprised I have to point this out.

                  And why pay someone to hack The Standard when you can get access to the back end and all that personal detail from Customs?

                  “this is simply an extension of that.”

                  Not simply. It’s a misuse of the Act which I’m guessing was not designed with this in mind. It’s creep of powers and should be resisted.

                  Never mind, according to Duke above the law will soon be amended.

                  • weka …
                    20 March 2017 at 1:17 pm

                    “Edit: further, Facebook is hardly a good example of a private space.”

                    Further, privacy isn’t a single state. It exists on a continuum, is particular to individuals as well as societal mores, and has to be understood in context. FB is actually a really good example, for the reasons I give above, and because research apparently shows that people want more privacy but feel that social media is too an important piece of their lives to give up over that issue.

                    It’s another example of power being vested in people who are really clueless about the wellbeing of human society, which is pretty ironic given the whole terrorism context.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 March 2017 at 1:36 pm

                      It’s another example of power being vested in people who are really clueless about the wellbeing of human society…

                      Customs Officers? With some of the shit they see – human trafficking leaps to mind – I suspect they have plenty of insights into the well-being of society.

                      On the other hand if you mean those who passed the Suppression of Terrorism Act and its various amendments…

                    • weka …
                      20 March 2017 at 1:43 pm

                      That’s a sidestep. Unless you intend to imply that the only people responsible for the wellbeing of the world are those who pass legislation.

                      You also appear to be implying that Customs officials who see shitty stuff all respond in caring ways. That’s quite a claim.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 March 2017 at 1:55 pm

                      It’d be my claim, if I’d made it, but I didn’t, so it must be yours.

                    • weka …
                      20 March 2017 at 2:33 pm

                      Generally when people make a statement that has potential implications and then choose not to clarify, I assume I am getting close to the truth. Or that the original argument wasn’t very successful.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      20 March 2017 at 2:49 pm

                      In future, when I refer to people as a group, would you be so kind as to assume, unless otherwise stated, that I think they act as individuals, prone to a wide range of opinion and behaviour, rather than some sort of borg.

                      It will save a lot of time.

                    • weka …
                      20 March 2017 at 2:59 pm

                      Sure. Maybe you can tell me what the point of this comment was then?

                      Customs Officers? With some of the shit they see – human trafficking leaps to mind – I suspect they have plenty of insights into the well-being of society.

                      Which was in response to me saying,

                      It’s another example of power being vested in people who are really clueless about the wellbeing of human society, which is pretty ironic given the whole terrorism context.

                      I wouldn’t see Customs officers as a class as being any better or worse at wellbeing than other groups. They get given power, they’re socialised into the same neoliberal society as the rest of is, I expect some of them to behave well, some badly, and most in between. What I don’t expect is for Customs officials as a class to hold an oversight of how we are losing democracy, which of course doesn’t preclude any individual understanding.

  5. Skeptic 5
    20 March 2017 at 2:52 pm

    I saw this news clip and the first thing that popped into my head was that someone had overstepped the mark and we haven’t heard the last of it. On reading the comments above and several other publications – two of them from lawyers – it wouldn’t surprise me if Airport Security and Customs are going to receive a significant amount of “guidance” from senior officials – both political and otherwise – in the next few days. Watch this space.

    • dukeofurl 5.1
      20 March 2017 at 3:12 pm

      Far from it. Its all a top down guidance, ie You must do this . As the current law is not compulsory enough change is on the way.

      The Government’s new Customs and Excise Bill gives Customs the ability to demand people unlock electronic devices and reveal decryption keys at the border. The relevant section is 207 – Data in electronic devices that are subject to control of Customs.

      They are really agents of the Police
      ‘Futhermore, “relevant offending” is limited to the import/export of prohibited goods, an offence under the Customs Act, or unlawful importation or exportation of goods. However, with the history of Customs cooperating overly much with the Police (as admitted in the Switched-On Gardener case), the high level of access Customs give Police to their systems (as detailed in the MoU between Customs and Police), and the new information sharing provisions in this Bill, we are sceptical as to whether this will be honoured.

      Refusing to unlock the device or give up the password will be an offence with a fine of up to $5000, and possible loss of the device.
      https://nzccl.org.nz/content/customs-able-demand-unlockpasswords-border

      • Skeptic 5.1.1
        20 March 2017 at 3:54 pm

        Thanks D – isn’t there a privacy issue here as well that falls under the Privacy Commissioner’s jurisdiction? It’s just that another post elsewhere brought my attention to it. I wonder if the current MOU might not comply with this as it has been suggested.

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  • Beware political propaganda: statistics are pointing to Grant Robertson never protecting “Lives an...
    Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”. As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • Winding back the hands of history’s clock
    Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
     Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    22 hours ago

  • Business confidence sliding into winter of discontent
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the coalition’s awful, not good, very bad poll results
    Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • New HOP readers for future payment options
    Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • 2024 Reading Summary: April (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Clearing up misconceptions regarding 'hide the decline'
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Road photos
    Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Paula Bennett’s political appointment will challenge public confidence
    The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • NZDF is still hostile to oversight
    Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Winding Back The Hands Of History’s Clock.
    Holding On To The Present: The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Sweet Moderation? What Christopher Luxon Could Learn From The Germans.
    Stuck In The Middle With You: As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • A clear warning
    The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Poll results and Waitangi Tribunal report go unmentioned on the Beehive website – where racing tru...
    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    3 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    5 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Streamlining Building Consent Changes
    The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.      “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
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