Why does National not trust teachers to teach?

Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, September 10th, 2023 - 34 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, education, national, Social issues - Tags:

National has a fairly predictable way of campaigning.

One of its major techniques is to pick a fight with a sector by posing a policy that can fit in a headline and at the same time pick a fight with that sector.  The tough guy we know best approach is guaranteed to attract opposition from sectors that do know what they are talking about and the resultant fight hogs media resources and attention.  The tactic is known as flooding the zone with shit and Donald Trump is an accomplished genius at the tactic.

And their base love it.  Ill informed old people who yearn for a past that never really existed think it is great.  And the policy has the added benefit of diverting blame away from National for its education failures that occurred while it was last in power.

Its latest announcement about education fits squarely in this description.  National is proposing to direct teachers to use a technique known as structured literacy for the teaching of reading and writing.

From Radio New Zealand:

The National Party is promising to require primary schools to use the “structured literacy” approach to teaching reading and writing.

It would also require primary school teachers to learn the approach as part of certification, introduce phonics checks to test Year 2s’ reading, and bring in structured literacy interventions for those who need extra support.

The Structured Literacy approach teaches reading by starting with phonemes – the smallest units of sound – and building up from there. National’s plan would include putting a “literacy lead” who had received specialist training from an accredited provider to support teachers and teacher aides.

The strategy would be phased in starting with Years 1-3 from 2025, covering all pupils up to Year 6 by 2027. The party expects the policy to cost $60.5 million over four years.

To fund the policy National will “reprioritise” funding for reading recovery although at the end of the document it states that “National will fund the Literacy Guarantee from new operational spending as part of our commitment to increase funding for Education each year in Government.”

But you have to ask why National thinks that it knows better than the experts in the area who have designed a system that has a variety of approaches that work for a variety of learning types, as pointed out by Education Minister Jan Tinetti.  From Megan Wilson at the Bay of Plenty Times:

Jan Tinetti – the current Education Minister and Labour’s candidate for Tauranga – said it appeared National was going to cut the reading recovery and early literacy support programme to pay for the new policy.

Tinetti said the reading recovery programme had been changed in the last two years to include structured literacy. The programme was for students who were “not making the same progress that the other kids are making”.

“It really concerns me that the way they’re looking to pay for this is by cutting something that’s absolutely essential to the fabric of our education network.

“Every single school that I go into – and it’s most schools that have a structured literacy approach – also tell me that they need the remedial approach.

“So I’m actually shocked that they’re cutting [reading recovery] because it’s kids who are going to be in danger here.”

She said for about a year, the sector had been working on the best practices for the teaching of reading.

“And I feel like National have just undermined their work by asserting that they know best with this policy.”

She believed academics and sector experts “know best” and it was important politicians “stay out of it”.

“Sometimes people seem to think [structured literacy] is a magic bullet and it’s not – we’re still going to [need] the catch-up programmes as well.”

National’s policy paper contains this rather interesting graph.

The graph is interesting because it shows an increase to 2006 under Labour, a decrease to 2011 under National, a significant drop to 2016 again under National and an easing out to 2021 under National then Labour.

I wrote this in 2012 about National’s change to Education after it was elected in 2008.  I referred to the Briefing to the incoming Education Minister and noted the report made two points:

1.  The average performance of New Zealand 15-year-olds in mathematics, science and reading literacy placed New Zealand among the top countries of the OECD.

2.  The Government was urged to continue with professional development programs.  The Numeracy Development Project, established in 2000, had resulted in significant improvements. Between 2002 and 2007 the percentage of Year 6 students achieving at or above the expected level in mathematics increased from 40 percent to 61 percent while the percentage classified as at risk decreased from 30 percent to 13 percent.  The Literacy Strategy, also established in 2000, also saw significant improvements.  A 2008 evaluation showed that after taking into account expected growth and maturation, students’ gains in reading and writing were twice those that could be expected without the intervention and that schools accelerated the rate of progress for the majority of the at-risk students by four times the expected rate. 

So what happened to the recommendations?  In Budget 2009 then Minister Ann Tolley gave private schools $35 million extra funding, announced the roll out of National Standards while at the same time cut funding for the literacy and numeracy projects despite their effectiveness. If she wanted to do something for literacy and numeracy she would have not done this.  She was looking to appease National Supporters and introduce testing for PR purposes at the cost of two quality programs.

Clearly the same will happen if there is a change in Government again.  And National will clearly direct Teachers how to teach if it gets the chance.

These issues ought to be the subject to intense analysis and advice, not a policy document drawn up to scratch political itches.

The intent does seem to be to pick a fight, flood the zone with shit, and dominate media cycles for as long as possible.

It is a shame that politics has degenerated to this.

34 comments on “Why does National not trust teachers to teach? ”

  1. Peter 1

    The logical development to see there is a structure which ensures all kids get what it is said they should? Produce lessons for every aspect of every subject for every age group.

    Have step by step verbatim 'recipes' for teachers to follow/implement.

    That means that parents on any given Tuesday will know their Year 3 kids in Mosgiel, Kamo or Tamehere will be getting exactly the same as others, what they need. Not missing out. Getting robots in to implement the programmes would be the way to go.

    The weirdest thing since it's all about education and learning in its widest senses? We've got dumb bastards telling dumb bastards what should happen and how. The next chapter? Encouraging our best and brightest young minds to take up teaching, to lackey under cretins waving cretinous blueprints.

  2. Mike the Lefty 2

    National have never liked or trusted teachers.

    This comes down to basic right wing ideology – distrust of anyone who teaches or promotes progressive thinking. To National progressive thinking smacks of lefty radicalism. It is also all about that during the 90s when National began its campaign to break the union movement, the teachers' unions was the one union it totally failed to break – and National have ever since borne a grudge.

    You could of course argue quite convincingly that the teachers unions – NZEI, PPTA etc. are not very lefty now, teetering on the verge of right-wing philosophy but that does not alter the fact that they have historically been very opposed to National meddling in the classroom.

    Luxon's promise to further meddle by taking over the role of teachers and school boards' policy on cellphones won't exactly endear them to teachers either.

    • Molly 2.1

      "This comes down to basic right wing ideology – distrust of anyone who teaches or promotes progressive thinking. "

      Education must endeavour to be non-political or partisan.

      Why?

      Imagine your quote in reverse:

      'This comes down to basic left wing ideology – distrust of anyone who teaches or promotes conservative thinking.'

      Would you consider this a critical analysis or a lazy dismissal of concerns?

      • Mike the Lefty 2.1.1

        You have to ask the question: When have National ever promoted progressive thinking, or progressive anything? – except progression of bank balances of course.

  3. tc 3

    They do love a good teacher bash don't they so throw in a phoney culture war and it's 2 for the price of one.

    People need reminding of the Tolley/ Parata shower key presided over.

  4. Roy Cartland 4

    I agree with the above comments. The whole point is to "teach to the test", where good grades can be touted; while at the same time, the populace gets dumber thus easier to control and coerce.

    Look at the USA. It's no coincidence that country has a high rate of angry jingoism and loud ignorance is almost a badge of honour.

  5. This is Micro management. Directives to "fix this." Ad hoc Policy.

    National ignored the science about parts of covid, and now they are doing the same with reading.

    Where do they get the hubis to ignore experts in the field?

    This is done to look like they have "consulted concerned parents"

  6. bwaghorn 6

    I'd settle for a political party that got parents to actually bother to send their kids to school,it's a semi constant battle with mine due to half her class only attending occasionally, , not sure what the fix is but this country really is looking down the barrel of having alot of uneducated kids out there

    • The children have had 3 years of interruptions and illness. They are the Tik Tok generation. China found it was affecting their young so they have mandated the amount of face time. Here? Freedom Baby!! So we are getting issues. Perhaps Luxon's lock box for the phone could be why he went that way.?

      • bwaghorn 6.1.1

        Na it's piss poor parenting, just more sign of the decay of family and structure and general giving a fuck, I'm not recommending authoritarian fixs because we know they only get applied to the poor and marginalized,

  7. Belladonna 7

    I can see that we're not going to agree on this one.

    There is significant evidence that 'structured literacy' (AKA phonics based or decodable text reading) – is a better learning to read strategy overall.

    https://www.themeasuredmom.com/what-is-the-difference-between-balanced-and-structured-literacy/

    The MoE have failed badly in retaining their 'balanced literacy approach' (trying to combine phonics and whole language and predictable texts) for as long as possible.

    Some kids learn through the balanced literacy approach (predictable texts – with lots of visual clues). Those kids also learn through the phonics based approach. And, quite frankly, some of them learn without any teacher intervention at all.

    More importantly, there is a very substantial minority of kids who do *not* learn through predictable texts – they just guess. And, therefore they fail to learn to actually read.

    Research shows that including even a bit of the predictable approach (the MoE balanced approach) is detrimental – because it teaches kids that they *can* guess as a strategy. And guessing is easier than decoding.

    https://www.liftingliteracyaotearoa.org.nz/support/balanced-vs-structured-literacy

    The reading recovery programme taught in NZ was designed by a Kiwi- Marie Clay. Which may explain why the MoE is so reluctant to abandon it – despite the fact that it just doesn't work for most children.

    https://www.apmreports.org/story/2022/04/23/reading-recovery-negative-impact-on-children

    None of this is new. The research is decades old. And NZ is seriously out of step with international best practice. Our reading rates are certainly not going up – plateauing and trending downwards. And every year we graduate a new batch of kids into Year 4 who are functionally illiterate. By then it's pretty much too late in the NZ schooling system (although parents have learned to go outside to get the help they need…. if they can afford it)

    This has *nothing* to do with the government in charge (it's happened over multiple governments), and everything to do with the culture at the MoE.

    Given that every teacher under 50 will have been taught to use balanced literacy in training college, and at every referesher reading seminar thereafter – there is a very strong argument that you can't 'trust' them to just switch to a completely new teaching method. It has to be mandatory. And there has to be a high level of re-training.

    It can be done. Some schools have already switched. Using fundraising and parent contributions to re-train their teachers.

    Given that Reading recovery fails so many students – why shouldn't money be re-directed into an approach that works.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431048/schools-footing-bill-to-teach-teachers-how-to-teach-reading

    • Incognito 7.1

      I can see that we’re not going to agree on this one.

      When you start like this, with a projection, it kills constructive discussion from the outset and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    • Molly 7.2

      My children have all benefitted from different reading approaches.

      The most dyslexic from a decoding programme, which sounds is similar to what is proposed. Very easy to use, and structured. Cost around $60 several years ago.

      Comments like this:

      "Ill informed old people who yearn for a past that never really existed think it is great. "

      – are not really providing anything other than censure for those who do recognise there is a long standing failure, and think improvement is necessary.

      • Incognito 7.2.1

        I sounded out “censure” and it has a nice ring to it, but what does it mean in your comment?

        It is rather pointless because you seem to have completely missed or ignored the gist of the intro of the OP.

    • Peter 7.3

      What is that 'culture at the MoE?' And who are those people?

      • Terry 7.3.1

        I think NZ education department, was the only civilised country that did not recognise the existence of dyslexia and other similar learning issues. My experience with state schools was being told that I was mentally retarded and would never read or write. My parents then sent me to a private school & within 6 months was reading years ahead of my age.

    • newsense 7.4

      So many disqualifying…

      guessing and predicting is a huge part of learning to read. It shows cognition to imagine what fits with the text, use the clues etc etc

      I mean no strategy should exist by itself and of course we should teach some phonics.

      I guess you’re not proposing to stand at the front of the class shout euh euh America and have them chant all day? While pointing at all the letters that could be schwa…

      Incognito said:

      I can see that we’re not going to agree on this one.

      When you start like this, with a projection, it kills constructive discussion from the outset and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

      My reply- I still can’t tell if the deadly nightshade/ beautiful lady is a highly engaged concern troll or just details obsessive. It feels like she’s often there to muddy the water, though she is a rigorous debater.

      • Belladonna 7.4.1

        So, really clear that you haven't bothered to read any of the links, or actually engage with the topic. And have zero idea what is actually involved in structured literacy.

        Go on embracing your ignorance.

        If all you've got is ad hominem attacks on my handle, I know just how valuable your input is.

  8. Tricledrown 8

    National policy means More teachers moving out of teaching going to Australia. National never give pay rises to teachers National cut education funding by their old trick of increasing the number of dollars but it is always below population increase and inflation.As with all of there spending promises! Then ACT will cut and divide . ACT and National want to break the teacher Union.No1 priority .more wasteful spending on expensive govt funded underpreforming new private schools.

  9. With structured teaching methods being "the only method" bright children may become bored, as the teach/test model becomes entrenched rinsed and repeated.

    Word decoding strategies are vital, but that is a tool, it is not reading.

    Learning to read requires a huge bank of vocabulary experiences oral interactions and visual cues on which to draw. Good sight and hearing helps.

    I have taught children who decipher every word but failed to gain the main idea of what they had decoded. They had no concept of storyteller and audience, reading or listening with purpose.

    If you teach skills in isolation and neglect actual reading using those skills to get meaning, it is possible to get "barkers" who don't apply those skills for a reading purpose.

    Teachers apply every method they know to help readers who struggle.

    Better trained advisors in the field, support staff and materials, beginning class numbers all have an impact.

    When Parties get into Government and cut corners according to the purse, demand change by switching methods, and denigrate a sector it is not inviting to become a teacher.

    • Belladonna 9.1

      With structured teaching methods being "the only method" bright children may become bored, as the teach/test model becomes entrenched rinsed and repeated.

      To make an assumption that "bright" children never stuggle to learn to read, is quite literally appalling.

      There are so many kids in our schools who are being taught that they are dumb and stupid, because the current teaching method just doesn't work for them.

      Nothing about structured literacy prevents the kids who just 'get' reading progressing quickly to chapter books, and reading more widely.

      Reading for meaning works fine, for kids who've mastered reading. It simply doesn't work the other way around.

      The international research is showing that whole language, and 'balanced' literacy programmes are just not working for a very large subset of kids learning to read.

      Learning to read does *not* require a "huge bank of vocabulary experiences oral interactions and visual cues on which to draw". Everything about that sentence is an example of what is wrong with the balanced literacy approach. Structured literacy builds on the most basic vocabulary (common to all children), oral language is irrelevant – decoding is what matters, and visual cues simply teach children to guess.

      We already have just about the lowest numbers ever in our beginning classes (under 15 in Year 1, and under 23 in years 2-3). Teachers are thoroughly trained in the current methodology, and there is tons of support for Reading recovery, etc. None of which is working for a huge number of kids. Time to admit that the teaching model is wrong.

      As I've said, this is an MoE issue which transcends governments.

      • Belladonna, my comments about literacy foundations of good oral interactions is fundamental.

        The teaching of basic vocabulary common to all in early learning is vital, and parents talking reading doing rhyming games with preschoolers is also vital. Exposure to good language patterns and interactions creates that foundation.

        Please do not twist what I have said. It is well established that story telling talking with and encouraging questions assists learners to lay a foundation for language.

        Those who arrive without that have a deficit.

        I agree that structured teaching is vital for beginning readers, but every method has problems and I hope support and training is offered for the change of direction.

        • Belladonna 9.1.1.1

          There is a huge difference between oral language and reading (learning activities which go in in completely different areas of the brain). And, no, high levels of oral literacy are not fundamental to learning to read using structured literacy (although, they may be more important for the whole language approach). Indeed, this is one of the ways that children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds can begin to catch up their more advantaged peers. The current model widens that gap.

          The point is that learning to read needs to start with structured literacy – for all children – and exposing students to the balanced literacy approach is actively detrimental.
          Teachers can't just add a bit of phonics to their current approach. It needs to change radically.

          And, yes, there needs to be investment in training teachers in the new reading model. Money which has to come from somewhere. I don't have an issue with taking that money from Reading recovery, which is a failed approach (despite the Kiwi connection).

    • Terry 9.2

      My experience of the NZ state school system was me (actually my working class parents) being told that I was mentally retarded and that I could never learn to read and write.

      Fortunately for me my family decided to send me to a private school, rather than being mentally retarded, I just had dyslexia and ADHD. With in about six months they had me reading several years ahead of my age.

      At the time the NZ education ministry did not recognise dyslexia, while the rest of the world did.

      The school I went to employed different ways of teaching different children depending on their needs. I believe all it took was having competent teachers who knew how to teach. Unfortunately NZ teachers are not taught how to do this.

      This is a good move from National, I for the life of me can’t understand why the left do not want to educate the working classes.

      • Yes My own son went through a similar battle. If a condition is not recognised, training is not provided.

        We have as Belladonna points out, learned a great deal about brains and learning since I was in the classroom 23 years ago!!

        I don' believe the Left doesn't want to educate the "working classes".

        What tends to happen is the well off who enter teaching work in wealthy areas.

        Poorer areas do get some dedicated teachers, but those children present with health behaviour and family stresses which makes teaching more difficult.

        I am pleased your family found away for you to learn Terry.

  10. Thinker 10

    National don't even trust teachers to manage student cellphone use so of course they don't trust them to teach.

    I guess the proof of the pudding would be to see where kiwi kids do in the international Cambridge exams – that's the same exam worldwide and a useful benchmark. Does anyone know?

    On a different note, I wonder if "Jolly Roger Douglas" will call out the Natz for doing their pirate-themed election campaign on the weekend. Clearly, if Luxon becomes prime minister, DOC, NIWA and the likes of Te Pukenga had better "…be ready to repel boarders, aargh".

    • Belladonna 10.1

      I doubt that performance in the Cambridge exams is a useful benchmark. Only a few schools offer this (mostly private ones, although I believe there are a few State schools who do). And usually, only the top kids sit these exams (academic kids with a high chance of passing them). Certainly kids who are functionally illiterate at the age of 16 when they leave school won't be enrolling to sit the A level exams.

      If you look at the PISA scores (international comparisons) – NZ shows a sustained downward trend for reading levels (also for maths and science, which is another discussion)- operating across decades, now.

      https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA2018_CN_NZL.pdf

      Which is why I think this is a MoE issue, not a government one.

  11. Annette van Brakel 11

    I'm a teacher, union member, social justice advocate for neurodiverse learners, and have dyslexia in my family. The current MoE are so S-L-O-W at making change, despite promises, its no surprise they have been upstaged on this issue. So sad it has become a political football when it really is simply about good teaching. https://www.liftingliteracyaotearoa.org.nz/blog/a-unique-chance-for-all-parties-to-do-whats-right-for-learners

  12. nukefacts 12

    What's being lost here, apart from Belladonna, is that the current approach to teaching literacy (and mathematics and science) is:

    1. delivering ever declining standards (this is an objective fact)

    2 the MoE appears incapable of recognising there is an issue despite awareness of declining standards and intensive lobbying from parents and some teachers, and

    3. most teachers also seem incapable of recognising there is an issue

    My kids emerged from Primary school recently being unable to read correctly – they now 'guess ahead' all the time, which with more sophisticated texts and no pictures just doesn't work, and we are slowly training them away from this.

    Maths education is so dire that 90% of my daughters year 6 class were told just to go to private tutors for maths – and this is a decile 10 school.

    When we raised these issues at the school they fobbed us off, denied there was a problem, and asserted strongly their teaching was working, but contrary to their rhetoric, there was no individualised learning and no responsiveness to the learning needs of our kids (including dyslexia). It was appalling.

    That shows how fundamentally broken the system is, and how despite their good intentions, the teachers were so wedded to their ways of working, they just wouldn't change.

    And don't get me started on how they are poisoning science education with Matauranga Maori!.

    Even though I despise National and Act, I can see their point here. Something needs to change.

    • Belladonna 12.1

      There is hope. Some schools (and not just the well-off decile 10 ones) have switched the teaching model to structured literacy. They've fund-raised for the resources and for the teacher re-education – and it's paying massive dividends in the rising reading rates.

      They are (quite naturally) not at all pleased with the MoE which only funds Reading Recovery (even when schools don't want to use this failing model).

      This is from 2020

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/education/schools-footing-the-bill-to-teach-teachers-new-literacy-approach/3SMWSF3BSOCO5LJ76733SMBIOQ/

      And here's a recent report from a (local to me) school.

      https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/making-the-grade-struggling-students-get-a-boost-thanks-to-changes-in-teaching-and-monitoring/LB5K4PS4KVG2FAFOWCWTF6EE2U/

    • Belladonna 12.2

      denied there was a problem, and asserted strongly their teaching was working,

      This is so true. I still remember the Year 6 parent-teacher interview where the teacher said my kid was "trucking along in his maths group".
      At this point, he was 18 months behind the class average, and apparently hadn't learned anything in maths in the first 6 months of the year (the maths achievement hadn't shifted). This did not worry the teacher in any way…..

      • nukefacts 12.2.1

        Wow Belladonna, that exactly mirrors our experiences with both kids. I have seen this problem widespread across the primary/secondary education sector in multiple schools. I think part of it comes from the teachers training courses, and part from the MoE.

        There seems to be slavish devotion to "child centred learning", but this consists of e.g. throwing 9 strategies for multiplication at kids, then give them some homework, not mark it, and not check they have understood before moving on to the next thing.

        • Belladonna 12.2.1.1

          I can offer you a positive outcome.
          Following the disastrous Year 6 he went to a Yr 7-13 secondary, where excellent Maths teachers who knew their subject, combined with supplementary paid-for tutoring – meant he picked up the concepts quickly, and was achieving at the class average by the end of Year 7.

          Showing that it was poor teaching, not innate inability – in his primary years. He still can't do times tables and mental arithmetic (and I expect he never will) – but they all use calculators, so it doesn't seem to be too much of a disadvantage.

  13. newsense 13

    Uggh.

    This is like the debate over learner styles, which in the end of the day you need to be able to operate in visual, aural, kinetic etc etc spheres in order to be successful overall.

    Likewise to be able to operate a language you have to be able to understand its phonetic components and use it in a narrative context or whatever text you are reading.

    The cultural side of reading has changed immensely. Changes in literacy can reflect what is not being received passively in the culture. Newspapers and magazines are museum pieces. Novels are unusual. Reading role models are less prominent, because of the numerous other choices available for recreation. If you haven’t created a positive attitude to reading in the first five years, getting to school and doing phonics and bottom up reading isn’t by itself any kind of solution. Motivation is a key to most learning, and the lack of it is hard to overcome.

    That’s assuming those flooding the debate are sincere, which we must. However, being personal and being sincere are not the same thing. It is entirely possible to shutdown debate for partisan reasons and still use personal examples.

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    The Kākā’s climate correspondent and had a chat with environmental historian and author Catherine Knight about why ‘feel good' actions like recycling and owning an electric car are unlikely to be enough to create a transition to zero emissions, let alone a just one. Knight says comments like ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Chippy misses a chance
    National leader Christopher Luxon has pulled out of any rescheduling of tonight’s Press debate, which has had to be cancelled because Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has Covid. The cancellation has given National an excuse to avoid a debate, which was always going to be a risk for Luxon. But ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • The Angry Majority.
    The People's Champion vs The People's Prosecutor: It is the news media’s job to elicit information from politicians – not to prosecute them. Peters’ promise to sort out TVNZ should be believed. If he finds himself in a position to carry out his threat, then it will only be because ...
    2 days ago
  • Verrall is chuffed by govt’s latest push into pay equity while Woods enthuses about an $11m spend ...
    Buzz from the Beehive The headline on a ministerial press statement curiously expresses the government’s position when it declares:   Government shows further commitment to pay equity for healthcare workers. Is it not enough to declare just one commitment? Or is the government’s commitment to pay equity being declared sector by ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • A very worthy coalition partner for Seymour and Luxon
    There have been 53 New Zealand Parliaments so far. The 39th of them was elected in 1978. It was a parliament of 92 MPs, most of them men. The New Zealand Music Awards that year named John Rowles Male Vocalist of the Year and — after a short twelve months ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Labour still protecting the status quo
    Aotearoa has a cost of living crisis. And one of the major drivers of this crisis is the supermarket duopoly, who gouge every dollar they can out of us. Last year, the Commerce Commission found that the duopoly was in fact anti-competititve, giving the government social licence to fix the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s myths about the desolated state of the economy
    Familiarity breeds consent. If you repeat the line “six years of economic mis-management” about 10,000 times, it sounds like the received wisdom, whatever the evidence to the contrary. Yes, the global pandemic and the global surge in inflation that came in its wake occurred here as well – but if ...
    2 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Hapless Hipkins and his racism
    Michael Bassett writes – Without so much as batting an eyelid, Chris Hipkins told an audience on Saturday that there had been “more racism” in this election campaign than ever before. And he blamed it on the opposition parties, National, Act and New Zealand First. In those ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: The ‘recession’ has been called off, but some households are still struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates. Brian Easton writes – Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Richie Poulton's lament
    “You can't really undo what happens during childhood”, said the director of the Dunedin longitudinal study. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Richie Poulton, the director of the world-leading Dunedin longitudinal study showing how devastating poverty in early life is, died yesterday. With his final words, he lamented the lack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • North-western downgrades
    This is a guest post from reader Peter N As many of us know, Auckland Transport and Waka Kotahi are well into progressing works on the northwestern interim “busway” with services to kick off in just over a month from now on Sunday 12th November 2023. Some of the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Has Webworm Found New Zealand’s Weirdest School?
    Hi,Before we talk about weird schools people choose to send their kids to, a few things on my mind. I adored the Ask Me Anything we did last week. Thanks for taking part. I love answering your weird and nosy questions, even questions about beans.I am excited and scared as Mister ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Another mother of a budget
    A National government would make spending cuts on a scale not seen since the 1990 – 96 Bolger government.That much was confirmed with the release of their Fiscal Plan on Friday.Government spending is currently high as a percentage of GDP — as high as it was during the Muldoon ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • A crucial week starts as early voting opens in the NZ Elections … it’s been a ride so far. Are y...
    Chris Hipkins down with Covid, at least for 5 days isolation, National continue to obfuscate, ACT continues to double-down on the poor and Winston… well, he’s being Winston really. Voters beware: this week could be even more infuriating than the last. No Party is what they used to be ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #39
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 24, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 30, 2023. Story of the Week We’re not doomed yet’: climate scientist Michael Mann on our last chance to save human civilisation The renowned US ...
    3 days ago
  • Clusterf**ck of Chaos.
    On the 11th of April 1945 advancing US forces liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald near Weimar in Germany. In the coming days, under the order of General Patton, a thousand nearby residents were forced to march to the camp to see the atrocities that had been committed in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • The party of business deals with the future by pretending it isn’t coming
    Years and years ago, when Helen Clark was Prime Minister and John Key was gunning for her job, I had a conversation with a mate, a trader who knew John Key well enough to paint a helpful picture.It was many drinks ago so it’s not a complete one. But there’s ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: September (+ Old Phuul update)
    Completed reads for September: The Lost Continent, by C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne Flatland, by Edwin Abbott All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque The Country of the Blind, by H.G. Wells The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles ...
    4 days ago
  • Losing The Left.
    Descending Into The Dark: The ideological cadres currently controlling both Labour and the Greens are forcing “justice”, “participation” and “democracy” to make way for what is “appropriate” and “responsible”. But, where does that leave the people who, for most of their adult lives, have voted for left-wing parties, precisely to ...
    4 days ago
  • The New “Emperor’s New Clothes”.
    “‘BUT HE HASN’T GOT ANYTHING ON,’ a little boy said ….. ‘But he hasn’t got anything on!’ the whole town cried out at last.”On this optimistic note, Hans Christian Andersen brings his cautionary tale of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to an end.Andersen’s children’s story was written nearly two centuries ago, ...
    4 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS: The vested interests shaping National Party policies
      Bryce Edwards writes – As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: A conundrum for those pushing racist dogma
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    5 days ago
  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    6 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    6 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    7 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    1 week ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    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 ...
    1 week ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    1 week ago

  • Youth justice programme expands to break cycle of offending
    The successful ‘Circuit Breaker’ fast track programme designed to stop repeat youth offending was launched in two new locations today by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis. The programme, first piloted in West and South Auckland in December last year, is aimed at children aged 10-13 who commit serious offending or continue ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Major milestone with 20,000 employers using Apprenticeship Boost
    The Government’s Apprenticeship Boost initiative has now supported 20,000 employers to help keep on and train up apprentices, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni announced in Christchurch today. Almost 62,000 apprentices have been supported to start and keep training for a trade since the initiative was introduced in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Government supporting wood processing jobs and more diverse industry
    The Government is supporting non-pine tree sawmilling and backing further job creation in sawmills in Rotorua and Whangarei, Forestry Minister Peeni Henare said.   “The Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan identified the need to add more diversity to our productions forests, wood products and markets,” Peeni Henare said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Government backing Canterbury’s future in aerospace industry
    The Government is helping Canterbury’s aerospace industry take off with further infrastructure support for the Tāwhaki Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete, Infrastructure Minister Dr Megan Woods has announced. “Today I can confirm we will provide a $5.4 million grant to the Tāwhaki Joint Venture to fund a sealed runway and hangar ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Updated forestry regulations increase council controls and require large slash removal
    Local councils will have more power to decide where new commercial forests – including carbon forests – are located, to reduce impacts on communities and the environment, Environment Minister David Parker said today. “New national standards give councils greater control over commercial forestry, including clear rules on harvesting practices and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • New Zealand resumes peacekeeping force leadership
    New Zealand will again contribute to the leadership of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, with a senior New Zealand Defence Force officer returning as Interim Force Commander. Defence Minister Andrew Little and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced the deployment of New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New national direction provides clarity for development and the environment
    The Government has taken an important step in implementing the new resource management system, by issuing a draft National Planning Framework (NPF) document under the new legislation, Environment Minister David Parker said today. “The NPF consolidates existing national direction, bringing together around 20 existing instruments including policy statements, standards, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government shows further commitment to pay equity for healthcare workers
    The Government welcomes the proposed pay equity settlement that will see significant pay increases for around 18,000 Te Whatu Ora Allied, Scientific, and Technical employees, if accepted said Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. The proposal reached between Te Whatu Ora, the New Zealand Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
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  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
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    2 weeks ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
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    2 weeks ago
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    2 weeks ago
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    2 weeks ago
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  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
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    2 weeks ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
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    2 weeks ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
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    3 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
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    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
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    3 weeks ago

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