When fear tactics backfire 2 – and GCSB roundup

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, August 21st, 2013 - 46 comments
Categories: activism, david shearer, john key, Spying - Tags: , , , , , ,

John Key (the PM who has on multiple occasions overspent the budget on his own protection staff) really dug himself a hole when he accused opposition leaders of wanting to “run for the hills” in case of a terrorist attack. Not only did David Shearer get to remind him of the occasions that he has been under fire – and run to help – but now some other voices have chimed in too.

As Russel Norman pointed out last night, the only two organisations in NZ who have actually been attacked, Greenpeace and the CTU, are both opposed to the Key-Dunne spying Bill. Here is a statement from Greenpeace’s Bunny McDiarmid:

I was targeted by terrorists and I don’t need the GCSB

I have been targeted by terrorists.

I am one of the very few people who has been subjected to a terrorist attack in New Zealand.

And I am absolutely opposed to John Key’s GCSB bill. It is an invasion of privacy that allows the Government to spy on people like you and me, and it’s a step too far.

I was crew on board the Rainbow Warrior in 1985 when French secret service agents, sanctioned by their government, laid bombs against her hull in the middle of the night whilst we all slept. One of our crew died in the subsequent explosions. It was a supposedly ‘friendly’ government that did this in Auckland Harbour, and their intention was to stop us from a peaceful protest at sea against nuclear testing in French Polynesia.

Today, as he trotted out his glib lines trying to justify the snooper’s charter, John Key said that those people opposed to the bill – that’s nine in ten of us, according to the polling on Campbell Live last night – would ‘run for the hills’ if there was a terrorist attack in New Zealand.

Well, John, you’re wrong. There has been a terrorist attack in New Zealand. I was one of those targeted. And I didn’t run for the hills then, and I’m not now. And, let me be absolutely clear: I am completely opposed to your GCSB bill. …

Go read the whole piece on the Greenpeace blog. In other recent GCSB news – a Stuff poll finds that:

More than three-quarters of New Zealanders have expressed concern about expanded spying laws in a new poll, scotching Prime Minister John Key’s assertions that the public don’t care.

Andrea Vance has an excellent piece demystifying Key’s lies on what the Bill does and does not do.

The always excellent Gordon Campbell weighs in with a typically thorough analysis.

I/S and No Right Turn summarises the question of NSA funding of the GCSB.

3 News has a timeline of GCSB related events.

A last ditch campaign is mounted to find a government MP who will cross the floor

The Daily Blog has a selection of letters from prominent Kiwis asking John Key to ditch the Bill.

John Key’s walkout under questioning makes international news.

The Law Society has (according to Radio Live) reiterated its concerns about the Bill.

Nat poodle David Farrar tries to defend the Bill by claiming “Labour did it too”. Naturally his side by side analysis of the two bills tries to obfuscate the fact that in 2003 the GCSB was explicitly forbidden from spying on Kiwis, under the Key-Dunne Bill it is not. Compare his spin with the Andrea Vance piece and The Law Society’s comments here, here, and full submission.

Dame Anne Salmond has written another strongly worded article condemning the Bill and the role of the media in reporting it.

On and on and on it goes. I want to finish by quoting the final words of McDiarmid’s post above:

Look, John. We don’t want your GCSB bill. And we won’t be running for the hills.

Pretty soon, we’ll be running for the polls.

key-i'm-right-you're-all-wrong

46 comments on “When fear tactics backfire 2 – and GCSB roundup ”

  1. Sable 1

    Key’s is really making a total clown of himself. The smart move would be to apologise and back down but no, Keys is far too arrogant for that, and no doubt there is some deal with the US that binds him, in his mind, at least, to this course of action.

    There’s little doubt at this point in time that Keys will be remembered in the long term as the worst politician in this country’s history. I just hope the rest of NZ see this in the short term before its too late for democracy in this country.

    • weka 1.1

      “The smart move would be to apologise and back down but no”

      That implies that he gives a shit. I don’t think he does, and his agenda obviously isn’t the wellbeing of NZ. I agree that his post-PM reputation is being cemented, and it’s a small comfort that he will be remembered badly.

  2. Tracey 2

    The tide may be turning too late for the Bill to be stopped but perhaps not for the election next year.

    I have looked everywhere for where the Bill states that a warrant cannot be issued to spy on NZers internet content… I don’t want to take Mr Key’s word for it and would appreciate bLip posting his list under me to show one of the main reasons why.

    • Skinny 2.1

      Look it’s over for Key & National, 7% down in the latest Roy Morgan poll. They will lose badly I have doubts about that.

      • lprent 2.1.1

        Don’t rely on a single poll. Look at the trends. In this case there was a large reverse the other way in the previous poll. This last Morgan poll just corrects that.

        The reality is that this latest poll leaves the right and the left in roughly the same position as they have been for the last year. National slowly declining (but in a position to be able to bounce back), and Labour stuck in the that 30%-33% band.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.2

        FFS do not even think like that, continuing to blindly underestimate Key and National will be the death of the idiot left in 2014.

        EDIT yes agree with lprent on Labour always returning to that tight band of support which I pick as 32%-33% but essentially the same. Very similar to how Goff was polling a year out from E-Day.

    • weka 2.2

      “The tide may be turning too late for the Bill to be stopped but perhaps not for the election next year.”

      It would be good if the Bill hadn’t passed, but there is something equally important going on here, and that’s that people in NZ are standing up together and saying no to the assaults on democracy. We need to keep that momentum going, because it’s not just the GCSB Bill that is at stake.

      • One Anonymous Knucklehead 2.2.1

        Yep.

        “…a number of recent legislative measures are fundamentally in conflict with the rule of law.”

        NZ Law Society.

  3. ak 3

    The smart move would be to apologise and back down..

    Exactamundo Sable. And this guy is not only smart, but has shown repeatedly that he is very prepared to back down and/or “me too” if necessary.

    The screaming unspoken question remains: what past sins is this bill going to bury?

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      It’s not about past sins, it’s about controlling the majority of people and thus undermining democracy.

  4. Colonial Viper 4

    Glenn Greenwald writes how UK authorities arbitrarily detained and harassed his partner David Miranda while Miranda was transiting at Heathrow

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa

    Welcome to the age of government fear tactics. Senior UK Ministers were informed in advance by the security forces this was going to occur, and of course they did fuck all to protect the democratic rights of someone who was a foreign national and clearly not a terrorist.

    • Tracey 4.1

      Have emailed the article to John Key. I am sure he will read it as avidly as National’s internal polling.

    • karol 4.2

      Yep, government fear tactics, but also showing the broad sweep of the US-led surveillance state/s.

      UK authorities arbitrarily detained

      Nothing arbitrary about it. It was carefully calculated. As Al Jazeera has been reporting, the law would not enable such detention outside of an airport, on UK soil.

      Under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, UK authorities are allowed to stop, search and detain passengers at rail, air and sea ports without probable cause, for up to nine hours.

      And the TV report on AJ also spelled out that this is treating journalists as ‘terrorists” – kind of like the NZ Defense Force Manual.

      • Colonial Viper 4.2.1

        indeed. They slipped in that little useful clause there, allowing them to treat airport transit zones as mini-stateless Guantanamo Bays where detainees have fuck all rights.

        Bet you our GCSB bill is full of similar shite.

  5. Tracey 5

    CV, thanks for the link and a good example I can show my students who believe if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear.

    • Colonial Viper 5.1

      Always welcome.

      • Tracey 5.1.1

        Judith Collins has just explained how the impact of knowing her emails and those of her department could be read by the head of the inquiry was “chilling” for her.

        Could someone ask her next week in question-time?

        Does Judith Collins have anything to hide in the inquiry into who leaked the GCSB report? If NO

        Supplementary

        What does she have to fear that made the possibility so “chilling” for her?

  6. Poem 6

    John key is trying to bury his involvement in the illegal spying on a NZ resident by the GCSB for one AK, AND allowing a foreign govt agency to conduct an illegal raid on NZ soil on a NZ resident for another. In my book, that amounts to treason. 2 illegal wrongs will never make 1 legal right and stripping all NZers of our democratic rights by expanding the powers of both John Key and a govt department gone rogue just so John key can cover his own backside, and continue to kow tow to America will not be forgotten at the next election. And do you think John key even cares about that? NO, John key doesn’t give a shit.

    • Bill 7.1

      Well yeah, Fred…or at least I’d assumed most people had. The GCSB has probably more to do with facilitating an easier environment for the NSA to operate in than it has to do with discrete NZ security concerns. And, of course, the US will throw some $$ in funding in return for the favour.

      I’d have thought that was a no-brainer.

      Unfortunately, most GCSB coverage has entailed a degree of navel staring that assumes no explicit connection between NZ ‘security’ services and the wider, insidious designs of the NSA.

      Even if ‘the Bill’ is defeated, nothing much will change, other than the fact that the US will have to do it’s own dirty work in NZ (or get the Australians or whoever to do it).

      And if the NZ government wants legal access to NZ electronic info that is and has been trawled and stored via xkeyscore and prism, then they will simply have to ask another governments’ ‘security’ services to search the date bases. Those foreign ‘security’ services would then simply invent some pretext for searching the data (maybe….probably not even necessary to do that) and pass the info over…as a matter of national security of course.

  7. karol 8

    Thanks, r0b, for the links to the PM’s press confernece walkout.

    Interesting – the questioner says: “You can just interrupt like you did with John Campbell or you can answer the question”

    At that point Key walks out.

    Touche! And Key’s use of his hands was the same as during parts of the Campbell interview – waving his hands as if to physically stop the other talking.

  8. grumpy 9

    ….but…..but….didn’t we just have a march through Auckland of the Muslim Brotherhood? You know, that mob that provide an umbrella for Islamic terrorism. They are here…..

    Hope the GCSB have them under control.

  9. lprent 10

    Along with the other sunnis, shiites, catholics, coptics, protestants, orthodox, baha’is, and atheists. Not to mention the socialists. monarchists, anarchists, nasserists, and all the other many elements of the egyptian political spectrum.

    Why do you think that a small minority defines a march. What are you (and that reporter)? Twelve years old or something? Is the Xmas parade still solely made up only of Santa?

  10. ianmac 11

    It is in the interests of the USA for the GCSB bill to pass.
    Mr Key tries the Terrorist Threat is real in NZ.
    The CIA has the capability to orchestrate an explosion in a NZ building and leave evidence of foreign involvement.
    Mr Key can say,”Told you so. Pity about those kids caught in collateral damage.”
    Could it happen?

  11. tracey 12

    That the us is constantly feeding garbage about imminent threats to nz is not a solid basis for this flawed law.
    of note is oppositions arent opposed to law around this just with the edges.

  12. Jenny 13

    John Key and his GCSB mates are the heroes that protect us from terrorists? And all other New Zealanders are just cowardly sheep who will run for the hills. What a slur. What an insult to New Zealanders. Most New Zealanders despite their own distress would run to help. This has been our tradition. That this comes from a Prime Minister, (as Anthony Robins points out), is so frightened of his own shadow and concerned for his own personal safety that he regularly overspends taxpayers money on protection staff for himself.

    That he has the nerve to slander everyone opposed to this bill including those like McDiarmid and Shearer who have faced death and destruction and never shrunk from it. While he who has probably never experienced physical discomfit, let alone mortal peril, cowers behind his inflated security detail.

    What is the bet that national heroes like Bunny McDiarmid and even members of our opposition parties are among those that have been have been illegally spied on by the shadowy and secretive GCSB in league with their foreign NSA mates?

    New Zealanders are not cowards.

    That John Key collectively accuses us of cowardice to make excuses for the GCSB illegally poring through our personal data. Is to be accused of cowardice on behalf of secretive unaccountable snoops who hide in the shadows, while toadying up to the NSA but are too gutless to face the consequences of their law breaking, hence the need to protect these spineless cowards with this rushed piece of legislation. To be accused of cowardice by this shower. Now that’s rich.

  13. BrucetheMoose 14

    Hitler and his pack of henchmen used the same tactic of external treats and their likely internal influence to the security and way of life in 1930’s Germany. In order to convince the German populace that the extreme powers of the Gestapo/SS were absolutely necessary for the people’s safety, he used the main “perceived” threats of the day to Germany, it’s security, and it’s culture. Substitute “Terrorists” for “Bolsheviks” and of course the unfortunate Jews, and you have the same manipulation of peoples minds and attitudes. Using these perceived threats, the whole Nazi secret security services and it’s powerful reaches throughout Germany were allowed to permeate every corner of society like a silent unassuming virus. Before they knew it, this system controlled all aspects of German society, and instead of it being the protector, it became the aggressor, where the people were to suffer the most rather than the original perceived threat. Sure, we won’t be seeing grim spectre of leather great coated shadowies turning up with their jack booted heavies in their lorries during the small hours of darkness, but there are strong parallels in the tactics and reasoning to impose these security surveillance laws on the people of New Zealand. Perhaps in this modern digital age, perhaps black leather great coats may come in a different guise.

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    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    5 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    6 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    7 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    7 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    7 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    1 week ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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