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What happened to Hisco?

Written By: - Date published: 9:18 am, June 23rd, 2019 - 75 comments
Categories: capitalism, class war, Economy, equality, Financial markets, john key, Living Wage, wages, workers' rights - Tags: , ,

This week’s news about ANZ is beginning to resemble a Game of Thrones episode.  But with more blood.

The guy who used to be ANZ’s chief executive and the purchaser of John Key’s batch suddenly found the world around him changing dramatically.  One day he was chief executive on a salary of over $3 million and also with benefits like the supply of limousines and the safe storage of his wine collection and the next day he was outski.

And he had suddenly lost $6.4 million worth of share options.

But wait there’s more.

Late Friday there was this hit piece from Stuff:

The wife of former ANZ New Zealand boss David Hisco bought the couple’s Auckland family home from her husband’s employer for substantially less than its capital valuation in 2017.

Deborah Walsh paid $6.9 million in July of that year for the lavish St Heliers property, less than the $7.55m ANZ paid when it bought the house in early 2011.

The luxurious 700 square metre ocean-view home, reached by a private driveway that runs off the main St Heliers Bay road, includes a heated swimming pool, tennis court and six bedrooms.

Valuations service QV put the property’s 2017 capital value (including an estimated $7.2m land value for the 2454 sqm parcel) at $10.75m.

The revelation is likely to raise more questions about Hisco’s employment package with ANZ as disclosed by chairman Sir John Key.

Maybe the cheap price was part of the salary package?  But it appears not:

On Friday evening ANZ’s spokesman said the bank bought the house when Hisco arrived in New Zealand.

“The housing allowance that David received as part of his expat arrangements — which was disclosed annually — was offset by the market rent David was required to pay ANZ for the house.”

The house was eventually sold by the bank to his wife based on market valuations done at the time, he said.

So there was no sweetheart deal or a long term agreement for sale and purchase.  Whoever was ANZ’s valuer should check their professional indemnity insurance.

And fuck it but this affects ordinary kiwis.  Again from Stuff:

Sam Stubbs is breaking the silence of the KiwiSaver schemes over the ANZ expenses furore.

Stubbs, who has repeatedly called for a New Zealand Royal Commission on banking, has sent a “please explain” letter to ANZ chairman Sir John Key asking for details of the expenses claims of ANZ’s former chief executive David Hisco.

In Europe and the United States, activist investors, including pension funds, would have been seeking more information, Stubbs said.

But in New Zealand the pension fund market was dominated by KiwiSaver, and KiwiSaver was dominated by the big banks.

It will be interesting to see what response Stubbs gets from Key.

Stubbs’ letter to Sir John began: “We have become aware of the expenses incurred recently by the recently departed CEO, David Hisco, reported as an average of over $418,000 per annum, for the last eight years.”

It went on to request “as a shareholder” that Simplicity be provided with the following:

1) Detail of the expenses policy that allowed this spending to occur, and detail on how often this was reviewed by the Board.

2) Any documented policies and procedures describing the internal controls in place to ensure spending was within policy guidelines.

3) A line by line description of, and the amount of, each of Mr Hisco’s expenses paid for by the company, for every year Mr Hisco was CEO of ANZ New Zealand.

4) Any further explanations as to why you consider Mr Hisco’s expenses reasonable in the context of his role and responsibilities.

“We request answers to the above questions as a matter of urgency, and under no circumstances later than the 5th of July, 2019,” the letter concludes.

Key had the Wall Street nickname the smiling assassin.  Just think of his time as leader of National and wonder what happened to Richard Worth, Pansy Wong, Phil Heatley, Colin King, John Hayes, Mike Sabin, Claudette Haiti amongst others.  They all disappeared without a trace after getting into various sorts of trouble.

So this latest bit of bad news for Hisco may be the result of really good journalism or the result of a strategic leak.

We may never know.

I almost feel sorry for Hisco.  I am sure he never saw it coming.

75 comments on “What happened to Hisco? ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Stuff the Politicians 1
    23 June 2019 at 9:35 am

    Key was always a slippery, slimey prick.

    What he gets away with is beyond belief.

    • peterlepaysan 1.1
      24 June 2019 at 8:40 pm

      Very early on he was known as "slippery john". The Labour party pollies decided to stop using the term, to my surprise.

  2. ankerawshark 2
    23 June 2019 at 9:39 am

    Nope don't feel sorry for Hisco at all Mickey. You must be a very compassionate person.

    I struggle to understand how another human being can feel such a sense of entitlement.

  3. JustMe 3
    23 June 2019 at 11:43 am

    I doubt Sam Stubbs will get a proper or rather direct reply from John Key.

    Looking at Key's cavalier attitude and the cavalier attitude of his parliamentary staff whilst he was prime minister of New Zilland(as he called the country)when it came to OIA requests I doubt Stubbs will get a proper response.

    And if he does it will most likely be a from junior staffer. Just lets hope that junior staff isn't of the emotional type. And at the first instance of a mistake Key will beato the usual "blame everyone else but himself" mantra.

    I was of the opinion that until recently Key and Hisco were bosum buddies but had a major fall out. And Key resorted to what he gets away with time and again and gets anyone he doesn't like removed.

    He(Key) probably told Hisco at morning tea that his job is safe but by lunch-time Hisco was tossed out.

    It's amazing what Key seems to get away with. It's like he deems himself as a Godlike figure and he can say and do and get away with anything and everything.

    I am so hoping Karmic Payback hits Key very soon because he is as slippery as an eel.

    • Wensleydale 3.1
      24 June 2019 at 12:21 pm

      He'll get the 'John Key Special' – "Actually, I think you'll find most New Zealanders aren't terribly interested in the tedious workings of the finance sector. They'd rather have a beer and a sausage and watch the rugby. And who can blame them? Go the All Blacks!"

      And then we'll all go back to pretending nothing untoward happened.

  4. patricia bremner 4
    23 June 2019 at 11:48 am

    Ankerwarshark, Bankers reward themselves for finding ways to gain money at the public's expense.

    Bit by bit they reinforce that entitled belief through share packages and parachute clauses.

    Swimming with sharks, or in this case running with wolves is always dangerous.

    The most memorable cartoon was JK dressed as a lamb, but clearly a wolf.

  5. Blazer 5
    23 June 2019 at 12:29 pm

    How the hell Hisco could spend $8000 a week ..on expenses for years unchallenged is remarkable.

    Those junior staffers have a lot to answer for.

    • dv 5.1
      23 June 2019 at 12:32 pm

      My reaction is How the hell Hisco could spend $8000 a week ..on expenses !!!!

    • Pat 5.2
      23 June 2019 at 12:32 pm

      wheres the 8K p/w figure come from?

    • Graeme 5.3
      23 June 2019 at 3:46 pm

      Every board chair worth their salt cultivates the ability to terminate their CEO forthwith, and without recourse, should the need ever arise….

      • RedLogix 5.3.1
        24 June 2019 at 9:16 am

        And that's the truth. My reading is that for some reason we will never find out, Hisco's face suddenly didn't fit, and the assassin did his thing.

        He's older than Key, it's my speculation he knows something from the 80's.

        • Phil 5.3.1.1
          24 June 2019 at 9:57 am

          Hisco graduated from university in '94 (see his LinkedIn page) so it's highly improbable he was pal-ing around Wall Street in the 80's.

          • RedLogix 5.3.1.1.1
            24 June 2019 at 10:07 am

            Well my bad. From the pics I assumed he was well into his 60's.

          • Andre 5.3.1.1.2
            24 June 2019 at 10:19 am

            Bloomberg says he's 54 and joined ANZ in July 1980. That suggests he finished high school awfully early.

            • Phil 5.3.1.1.2.1
              24 June 2019 at 10:44 am

              That would mean he left school at 16? Not 'awfully early' by the standards of 1980 at all.

              I recall some media articles talking about Hisco coming up through the company from the bottom rung. Starting out as a bank teller in 1980 then going back to Uni later, to get a foot in the door of management promotions, some years later is a not uncommon story.

            • Psycho Milt 5.3.1.1.2.2
              24 June 2019 at 1:12 pm

              54? Seriously, that dude is younger than me?! He must have led one motherfucker of a dissolute lifestyle.

        • Gabby 5.3.1.2
          24 June 2019 at 10:00 am

          Or he didn't look the other way the one time the boss really wanted him to.

      • Blazer 5.3.2
        24 June 2019 at 9:19 am

        Would love to see a list of those 'worth their salt'!

        I look at all these Chairpersons like Key,and Sir Ralph Norris is another that preside over all sorts of chicanery and excess and waste.

    • Herodotus 5.4
      23 June 2019 at 8:50 pm

      For a CEO/GM his expenses would have been signed off by either for under a certain limit perhaps the CFO but normally by the board/Chairman/Audit Committee designate.

      In many cases I have been involved in – once an expense has been signed off (e.g. housing allowance) then it is "accepted" that the same claimed $ is signed off monthly, BUT there would be authorisation from the top for the initial claim.

      The more that is released from this story the less that "Makes Sense"

      I am reminded by this "If a man is sufficiently unimaginative to produce evidence in support of a lie, he might just as well speak the truth at once." — Oscar Wilde

    • Naki man 5.5
      23 June 2019 at 10:19 pm

      It was in his salary package, so he was entitled to.

      These guys don't travel cattle class and rent on a multi million dollar mansion isn't cheap.

      You do get that he is an expat and was shoulder tapped to work/live in another country.

      That might start to explain his very generous salary package.

      If you guys bothered to read the articles you would know all this.

      • Blazer 5.5.1
        24 June 2019 at 8:59 am

        Must read the details of his salary package.Where did you find it?

      • Herodotus 5.5.2
        24 June 2019 at 9:24 am

        The senior management team (CEO,CFO etc) travel, hotels etc will be paid for by the company direct e.g. Air NZ account , there are very few occasions whereby such costs are picked up by the manager. All coys I have worked for will have a policy regarding category of travel based on position, flight times etc, and should the individual wish to upgrade they would use their air points earned (On coy travel) for the upgrades.

        Relocation allowances will have a time period that they are applicable, after 2-3 years the short term nature of the appointment will be formalised and the employee will be considered a local, but this time duration would have be specified in his employment agreement.

      • Gabby 5.5.3
        24 June 2019 at 9:58 am

        He wasn't worth it was he Nastiman.

  6. ianmac 6
    23 June 2019 at 12:40 pm

    I bet Key will just ignore Stubbs. Sadly.

    • Stuff the Politicians 6.1
      23 June 2019 at 12:56 pm

      I doubt that Key will be able to get away without a satisfactory answer to Mr Stubbs.

      There is much at stake here and it seems that Stubbs is not about to let it go.

      Key is under a lot of pressure on this, hence he bought up the hory old flag again to divert attention.

      • Rapunzel 6.1.1
        23 June 2019 at 1:08 pm

        Has anyone yet questioned as to how much the NZ tax payer contributed to the reduced sale price for a house modified under the Hisco's control? How? By calculating the amount that Arawata Assets would have claimed in GST when they bought with no payment required from the then seller if the house was not registered for GST? Yes they should be passing on 15% of the amount of the sale to Hisco's wife but will have paid for the renovations, roofs for one don't come cheap and neither do high spec bathrooms the cost of which would have also been under GST claim by Arawata. Then there's the "loss" component that could be accounted for.

        So how much did the NZ tax payer via these various transactions with IRD contribute to the price paid by Hisco's spouse?

        • Craig H 6.1.1.1
          23 June 2019 at 3:42 pm

          Normally residential housing is exempt from GST which means not being able to claim GST from expenses, so hopefully nothing was claimed.

          • Rapunzel 6.1.1.1.1
            23 June 2019 at 4:04 pm

            They are but if they are bought by a registered company they can claim the GST, if they sell it they then pay GST but if it is divided and developed the GST goes on each of those sales but they would have claimed GST on the "improvements" that took place as mentioned in the link.

            This fact as we sold a property to a developer that had been re-zoned – the solicitor was at pains to be sure we had not claimed GST on anything while we had it (we stored machinery so they had to be certain) if so we would have had to then pay the GST portion of the agreed price but have no doubt the developer was going to claim GST which meant a bit of haggling on price as we knew that, to him the sale price was reduced by about 122k.

            • Dukeofurl 6.1.1.1.1.1
              24 June 2019 at 11:55 am

              The situation you are talking about the developer and GST only applies for residential subdivisions.

              So your suppositions are incorrect, hes not 'having the price reduced'

              Once the land is subdivided ,or even boundary adjustment, thats when GST kicks in . Not before

              • Rapunzel …
                24 June 2019 at 12:22 pm

                You are wrong we sold a property that was re-zoned the purchaser claimed the GST portion on it as part of his GST business dealings, we as private owners did not pay GST had we operated the property in anyway incl as a rental if that was our business and had income over $80k or had claimed GST on any of the dealings for the property and for some reason had registered for GST we would have had to pass of 15% of the price we got for it.

                The solicitor was at pains to ensure we were not liable for GST on the sale because it was not a straight forward sale of a personal home it had been used for storage but we were aware enough to only operate without claiming GST on any dealings, repairs etc.

                It is not just subdivisions it if for any GST registered business activity.

                This can arise similarly when someone purchses a rural type lifesytle block and whether it previously earned income either from grazing, growing or any for any purpose and was GST registered as a business entity the selling price incl GST and that portion has to go to IRD. If the individual buying is not GST registered to carry on generating an income they operate as a private individual if they are going to carry on as a GST registered business they can claim the GST but when they sell they will have to pay the portion of the sale price of GST (15%) to IRD.

                • Dukeofurl …
                  24 June 2019 at 2:29 pm

                  he may have had business dealings as a developer, but as it was a residential house with no strings attached there was no claim on GST when he bought it.

                  New houses pay GST , used houses like other used goods like cars dont pay GST or can claim it.

                  The solicitor could fluff over it all he likes, hes being careful, but there is no GST

                  https://auditnz.govt.nz/publications-resources/tax/land-sales-and-purchases

                  You used for a zero rated purpose, residential . he bought for residential purposes , again zero rated.

                  Subdivision is a business purpose, only then the GST is due.

                  • Rapunzel …
                    24 June 2019 at 4:06 pm

                    I repeat yes there was he bought as a development company and not an individual and the development company claimed GST. Had we made claims on the property we would have had to pay that portion on but we had elected to and were not obligated as it earned less than $60k.

                    FYI if a company purchases a vehicle from a private individual it can claim 15% of the purchase price in GST – the private individual selling privately ie not a business vehicle for example does not then have to pay the GST component to IRD.

                    You can check it out – in that instance as with aspects likely in the Hisco improvements and the sale the NZ tax payer comes up short with a claim being made but the only GST received is via invoices for treades and materials and the price at the last sale that ANZ received. Accounting practices cover a lot but not all things and Arawata Assets would have claimed GST in 2011 when they purchased it and paid some on the sale price that was about $3m below valuation and less than the purchase price so a loss that would also be accounted for.

  7. Muttonbird 7
    23 June 2019 at 6:23 pm

    After this puff piece by team Key/O'Sullivan comes this puff piece by team Key/O'Sullivan.

    I can't/won't read either but the first is a clear attempt to frame Key as the tough force for anti-corruption we know he is not. And the second seems a sickly-sweet sympathy piece which allows Key to set the tone for his own screw up.

    And as for, "one hundred percent own(ing) that problem", what is the penalty for Key?

    A censure from the RBNZ? Big deal!

    The Herald and O’Sullivan appear to have been seconded by brand Key and what a fine job they are doing for him!

    • Naki man 7.1
      23 June 2019 at 9:54 pm

      Mutton you need to read these articles before you make incorrect assumptions.

      I have read both of them and you are talking through a hole in your arse.

      There was no "sickly-sweet sympathy piece" or Key screw up.

      • Nic the NZer 7.1.1
        24 June 2019 at 8:25 am

        Title of second literally says board of directors screwed up. That includes the chair.

        • Naki man 7.1.1.1
          24 June 2019 at 7:09 pm

          Someone changed the risk model in 2014 without authority from RBNZ.

          The board have been acting on incorrect written advice about the new risk model.

          If there was a screw up it was in 2014. Long before Key was on the board.

          • Blazer 7.1.1.1.1
            24 June 2019 at 7:14 pm

            'Someone'..yeah right..the invisible man!

            and..'Must read the details of his salary package.Where did you find it?

            well answer it.

          • Nic the NZer 7.1.1.1.2
            26 June 2019 at 8:09 am

            If the board doesn't know when the risk model changes or if the present one is inappropriate that is the responsibility of the board. That is why Key says this was his responsibility and he owned it in that article.

    • Nic the NZer 7.2
      24 June 2019 at 8:37 am

      I actually think that the ANZ board are in the right here. As an outcome of an *internal* expenses audit it was discovered on of the officers was submitting missleading expense claims. He was told to go despite being the CEO. ANZ don't think there is evidence to indicate this was fraudlent and signed them off however so that is where it ends (violation of internal policy).

      This kind of thing may be happening at other banks, however in this case ANZ is ahead of the reform process which might discover this.

      I don't really know why mickey is putting such negative implications on keys role in this or making out Hisco to be a victim of a power struggle. Yes the sums invoved are obscene.

      • Muttonbird 7.2.1
        24 June 2019 at 8:46 am

        I think a lot of connections need to be investigated if only to make the public aware of what the obscene profits the banks strip from ordinary Kiwis is spent on.

        I'd also like explained the remarkable coincidence between the Hiscos buying the house ridiculously cheap and them then buying Key's beach mansion six moths later.

        It's basically dirty money in my view.

        I think ANZ staff and customer and the public want to know more. Particularly the public who can then make decisions who they bank with.

        Unless I’m mistaken, that’s why Mickey is interested.

        • Nic the NZer 7.2.1.1
          24 June 2019 at 12:34 pm

          I think it should be considered that, a big media expose targeting people who acted correctly is more likely to cause ANZ to surpress the results of their own investigations in future. An external investigation would probably not surpress the outcome but i also understand the present government said no to such an investigation.

        • Phil 7.2.1.2
          24 June 2019 at 1:05 pm

          I'd also like explained the remarkable coincidence between the Hiscos buying the house ridiculously cheap and them then buying Key's beach mansion six moths later.

          "Wealthy banker buys holiday home from wealthy mate" is hardly the stuff of Woodward and Bernstein.

  8. patricia bremner 8
    23 June 2019 at 8:42 pm

    Don't ever forget the money put into banks to assist during the crisis of the GFC .

    Followed by the huge bonus payments they then immediately made from that to the top bank personnel.

    It shocked the world and made protest headlines but mainly continued…. and continues

    Entitled indeed!! The true meaning of Ivory Tower.

  9. Ad 9
    24 June 2019 at 9:00 am

    If Bruce Jesson were still around we would be able to draw a web-diagram of how the top 50 families in New Zealand, Sydney and Melbourne form a network of directorships that enforce who is in for how long and who is out.

    Since our government seems shy of regulating any industry – let alone banking – this tight web of directorships and enforcement mechanisms can simply wait this lot out until the family reps within National can run the country again.

  10. Sacha 10
    24 June 2019 at 10:26 am

    Top ANZ managers were in on Hisco’s perks and house deal
    (though the writer can't count – it's closer to a $4m than 3 discount): https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/113712883/how-did-anz-lose-money-on-a-house-in-the-hottest-housing-market-in-memory

    Neither [Antonia] Watson nor Key mentioned the “housing allowance” Hisco enjoyed for years after he’d bought a $1.7 million dollar apartment in the plush suburb of Kohimarama, within easy reach of his Albert St office in downtown Auckland.

    If they didn’t know about it, others certainly did. Craig Mulholland, ANZ NZ’s general counsel at the time of the 2014 purchase was on the title (it was sold in 2016).

    Mulholland is also listed alongside Hisco and Walsh on the title of an Omaha beach house they bought from Key in 2018 for an estimated $3.8m.

  11. cleangreen 11
    24 June 2019 at 11:14 am

    Anything connected to John Key is a shonkey deal indeed, as we should know what key was up to during his time as a bankster and then a posterboy for the "panama papers event." and the dark corners it all involved as a 'tax shelter haven'.

  12. Ad 12
    24 June 2019 at 12:07 pm

    Stubbs is a good man who went to Kelston Boys High School way back in the 1980s. He's westie made good.

    Kerry McDonald's callout of Key to resign is however even more trenchant, since he is a true Wellington elite who has been around since Muldoon. Now old but his word carries a lot of weight in older Wellington institutional circles. Definitely a Lion in Winter, as the saying goes.

    But it would take a few more leaders to actually come out on this for real pressure to build.

    So it's really good to see the Reserve Bank stepping things up harder and harder, as of this morning.

    Last month the ANZ was censured by the Reserve Bank and ordered to put hundreds of millions more aside to ensure it could cover its risks. That means for years it had not been covered to the extent the regulators needed it to be.

    So as of this morning the Reserve Bank is seeking a report with clear assurances about that.

    The Reserve Bank has also announced this morning that it is seeing a report on whether the ANZ is being run to the rules by Directors and its senior staff.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/392779/reserve-bank-requests-assurance-reports-from-anz

    This is pretty appropriate since it's now patently obvious that the RBNZ report into banking conduct that they completed last year was too narrow and its results were crap. Really bad catchup football.

    So it does totally amaze me that our own Minister of Finance hasn't caught on to this as a political gift by calling for the resignation of John Key. OR indeed calling for anything.

    At this point it would only take an “I no longer have confidence” statement from Minister Robertson and Key would be gone.

    If only.

    • Muttonbird 12.1
      24 June 2019 at 12:19 pm

      The Labour and Greens part of the government have done well to not over-reach by getting involved in opposition or private sector problems. To do so would invite a pile on from the usual RW suspects.

      Better to let the pressure build and as you say ensure this review is more thorough than the last.

      Key must have been tipped off that these second reviews were coming which is why he's attempted the clean out. Clearly he would have not moved on Hisco had he not felt Orr breathing down his neck.

    • Phil 12.2
      24 June 2019 at 1:24 pm

      Last month the ANZ was censured by the Reserve Bank … it's now patently obvious that the RBNZ report into banking conduct that they completed last year was too narrow and its results were crap.

      The ARC across the Tasman focused on bank conduct and culture related to *selling products to customers*. It didn't get anywhere near modelling for capital requirements.

      The NZ-equivalent that people were clamoring for would also have gotten nowhere near ANZ's operational risk capital models.

      • Sacha 12.2.1
        24 June 2019 at 1:56 pm

        Did the Australian review consider perks?

        • Phil 12.2.1.1
          24 June 2019 at 4:27 pm

          Depends on how you define a "perk" 🙂

          The ARC (and the review here) looked at sales performance incentives, e.g. a bonus for selling more than X number of products to a customer. And, more importantly, the reviews looked at how those bonuses might pervert the bank or staff member into acting in a way that is not in the best interest of the customer.

          As far as I'm aware, neither review looked at the kind of employment package benefits or house financing that seems to be the issue with Hisco. That's because these benefits wouldn't be linked to ANZ's sales or Hisco's performance in any directly meaningful way.

    • Blazer 12.3
      24 June 2019 at 6:43 pm

      I will give Stubbs the benefit of the doubt.

      He did work for 2 'favourites' i.e Eric Watson and Mark Hotchin at Handover Finance..but jumped ship before the 'the size and the strength to withstand ANY conditions' proved quite the opposite.(as usual)

  13. Infused 13
    24 June 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Key may have been appointed to get this guy out cleanly. Who knows.

    Your hate for key is showing though. How you could feel sorry for this guy.

    Keys just doing his job.

    • Muttonbird 13.1
      24 June 2019 at 1:01 pm

      Key sold Hisco his house you idiot. They are good mates.

      • Wensleydale 13.1.1
        24 June 2019 at 1:18 pm

        No, no, Mutton. You're just being unnecessarily cruel to that poor Mr Key – an elder statesman of our fine nation and an icon of success and prosperity. There's not a venal bone in his body, and you do yourself a profound disservice by insinuating as much. He once lived in a state house, you know. (It’s perfectly fine to behave like an amoral pirate if you spent your formative years living in a skip and scrounging for crusts.) Rags to riches and all that. Aspiration! Building a brighter future! Shame on you, Mutton. Shame.

      • Infused 13.1.2
        24 June 2019 at 6:54 pm

        Hear that? That's logic going way over your head

  14. SHG 14
    24 June 2019 at 12:47 pm

    Reality check – the transgression for which Hisco was fired was breaking the first commandment. Thou shalt not embarrass JK. Thus has it ever been.

    • Pat 14.1
      24 June 2019 at 12:56 pm

      Lol…except the embarrassment to Key has been caused by (on the face of it) his own inept handling of the issue….new theory needed.

  15. WILD KATIPO 15
    24 June 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Senior board of the ANZ ,… spot Jonkey and Hisco there playin' along…

    Harry Nilsson – Coconut (1971)

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  • Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    20 hours ago

  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago

  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago

  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    22 hours ago

  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    24 hours ago

  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    3 days ago

  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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
    3 days ago

  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago

  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago

  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    7 days ago

  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago

  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago

  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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