Why I think that Auckland is getting scammed

Written By: - Date published: 12:42 pm, March 12th, 2012 - 69 comments
Categories: auckland supercity - Tags: , ,

I have been looking for an online copy of a article that was in one of the sunday papers (see below), which curiously doesn’t appear to have made it online.   However the important points as far as I am concerned are:

  • It wasn’t a report commissioned by the council, its holding company for the port, or the port itself. It was done for the Hutchinson Port Holdings Trust who are presumably looking for something quite different to Auckland.

    The Group directly invests in hubs that serve large hinterlands and that either already support international trade or which have the potential to become key transport centres. Furthermore, HPH develops and manages all aspects of port operation and trade-related logistics, transferring proven operational practices to ensure an optimum environment for the development of commerce.

    And from what is reported of the report, that is what it compares against for the ‘headline’ 13% ROE. Big ports with massive hinterlands. Not exactly NZ with 4.4 million people with a lot of sheep and cows. Hutchinson do smaller investments as well, but that wasn’t what the report looked at.

  • The 12% that someone assured the council could be achieved was based purely on cherry picking from specialised ports that bear no relationship to the Ports of Auckland operations. Somehow I bet that all of the information about ports that weren’t property companies, coastal shipping ports, or in high volume sea lanes was discarded before anyone in the council saw it.
  • A more accurate comparison comparing like with like would have found that the Ports of Auckland was doing pretty well compared to its actual peers. Even in Hong Kong with one of the most heavily used ports areas in the world, and where Hutchinson seems to be largely based, the return on equity is about 7.7%, only slightly more than PoA’s 6+%.
  • But how was it that this report was being misused for analyzing what Ports of Auckland’s forward strategy?
    Well I find it interesting to look at the current chairman of the Ports of Auckland board – Richard Pearson.

    Mr Pearson has extensive experience in port operations and investment around the world.  He recently returned to New Zealand. His work overseas most recently included Hutchison Port Holdings Group managing director for Hong Kong International Terminals Ltd and managing director for the Europe division of President ECT Rotterdam.

  • A few years ago,  in about 2006, I seem to remember that Hutchinson were sniffing around various ports in NZ looking to see if they could purchase one or more of them. In 2008, they purchased a power supplier in Wellington. In NZ they have a track record of trying to purchase utilities so it isn’t a far stretch of the imagination to detect their interest in purchasing a cheap politically hot asset in Auckland.

But the timing of Richard Pearson’s chairmanship probably explains a lot about where this current obsession and the use of this report came from. Doing strange comparisons with ports that bear about as much relationship to our ports as my iPad has to other aluminium castings. The comparison is  vague and not associated with function.

Waitakerenews has a post about the article that Fairfax don’t have online – “Ports of Auckland is performing better than Auckland Council thinks”

The most important piece of this weekend’s comment on the Ports dispute was a Sunday Star Times article by Greg Ninness in the business section. For some reason it is not online as I type this.  It was also tucked away in the business section, somewhere where most good lefties would never dream of going to.

But the report is really important and raises questions about the advice that Auckland Councillors have been given.

It casts major doubts on the veracity of the analysis that suggested that Ports of Auckland could achieve a 12% return and that its performance was poor.

The SST asked for a copy of the report but states that there was an attempt to keep it secret.  Eventually it was advised that the report was a broker’s research report on Hutchison Port Holdings Trust.  I cannot find the report on the web and the contents suggest that it would not normally be available but the reported contents are fascinating.

The report compared nine different ports from around the world.  These included Ports of Tauranga but also other ports that had little similarity to Auckland.  These included Piraeus Port Authority (mainly passenger ferries, coastal shipping and cruise ships), Mundra Port in India (property development company with a port operation on the side), Oman’s Port Services Corp and International Container services that runs ports in countries such as the Philippines, Brasil, the Cayman Islands and Madagascar.  See any similarity with Auckland’s Port?

But this is the really interesting comment. Swift’s statement apparently failed to state that the report also gave performance benchmarks for groups of ports which have a lower average return on equity than 13.6%.

Chinese ports despite their lower wages return on average 10.6% and Hong Kong listed port operators returned an average of 7.7%.

The results across the ditch are apparently even worse.  Melbourne’s return on equity was 2.6%, Wellington’s was 2.9% and Sydney’s was 6.9%.

As Ninness states Auckland’s goal of a 12% return looks “particularly ambitious”.

Given these comments you have to question the advice that Auckland Council has been given suggesting that the return is poor.  Because the return appears to me to be perfectly reasonable.

The sense that the Auckland City Council and me as a ratepayer are getting scammed is fairly screaming in my mind. Quite simply the whole debacle of the management of the ports focusing on illusory labour efficiencies while ignoring the actual capital and market issues has been absurd. And we have all seen this kind of hysterical use of spurious comparisons to try to push politics to offload public assets cheaply to the private sector before.

69 comments on “Why I think that Auckland is getting scammed ”

  1. Blue 1

    Of course it’s absurd for Ports of Auckland to return 12%. How in the world can a small port in a small country, in a highly competitive environment possibly be expected to return such a ridiculously high percentage?

    The fact that Len Brown has reiterated that he expects them to do this underlines the fact that he is an idiot and not fit to hold office.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10791460

    • queenstfarmer 1.1

      Of course it’s absurd for Ports of Auckland to return 12%.

      Based on the relatively little I have read, at this stage I agree. Nothing wrong to aspire to it, and the port should constantly be on the lookout for improving its productivitiy, but if it is making massive management decisions on the directive of an unattainable goal (which it may or may not be), then that is totally unacceptable.

      The fact that Len Brown has reiterated that he expects them to do this underlines the fact that he is an idiot and not fit to hold office.

      FTA: “[Brown] reiterated the need for the port, which is 100 per cent owned by the council, to double its dividend from 6 per cent to 12 per cent within five years.”

      Is there any doubt why Brown has taken this view? He needs vast amounts of money to pay for his big spending ideas. He’s already proposed hiking GST and other taxes for Auckland, so naturally he’s going to try to crank up port returns. Just another symptom of the big tax and spend ideology.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1

        Just another symptom of the big tax and spend ideology.

        Nope.

        Its actually a symptom of 30 years of under taxing and under spending (on the correct things).

        • queenstfarmer 1.1.1.1

          Oh, so it’s not Len’s fault after all. Poor Len’s been forced into big tax-and-spend policies because they weren’t introduced earlier 🙂

          • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1.1.1.1

            Under Banks it was borrow and spend. The amount of borrowing was prodigous

        • mik e 1.1.1.2

          CV also John Banks Cheap sale of Auckland airport Shares at 1/5 th their true value

          • burt 1.1.1.2.1

            mik e

            Can you prove your 1/5th of their true value statement. Perhaps a link to backup that claim.

      • burt 1.1.2

        Just another symptom of the big tax and spend ideology.

        And it seems Len’s stuck between a rock and hard place. ~1m rate payers pissed off or 300 port workers and their union on the skids. He’s a socialist and clearly knows where the other peoples money is coming from for his big tax and spend future.

        I predict a stadium being built where the current container wharf is starting within 10 years. Len’s lasting legacy.

  2. More evidence of bad faith manipulating by POAL management? Could this along with the evidence suggesting that they were only interested in casualising from the get-go be enough to take them to court?

  3. ghostwhowalksnz 3

    I have noticed that Pearson is Chairman of Wellington Electricity Network, where he is the only NZ resident director, all the others are resident in Hong Hong.
    The only shareholder is a holdings company incorporated in the Bahamas, as a shelf company. Using a Caribbean shelf company is usually for tax avoidance.

    As Pearson was appointed just a few months before the Mayoral election, it sounds like it was done under Auckland Council Transition arrangements. ie required Hides approval. he only became a director Dec 2010 again under the transitional arrangements.

    Looks clear to me POAL , along with Watercare has been set up by Hide and co for privatisation.
    You can see the noises being made by Smith the new local bodies minister about councils ‘borrowing’ is the start of a campaign to get Auckland ( and Christchurch) to sell of their holdings

  4. ghostwhowalksnz 4

    Here is a port that Hutchison can compare Auckland with
    Myanmar International Terminals Thilawa (MITT) is a multi-purpose container terminal located at Thilawa near the mouth of the Yangon River

    5 berths , sounds like a good comparison with Auckland. And its owned by HIT.
    Or the 2 berth terminal at Brisbane which they own. ( just being completed)

    Looks definitely like Hutchison is buying /building container ports in this part of the world

  5. Ahem … Waitakerenews … [Bunji: fixed] [lprent: thought it meant “in the land of the fluffy dice” 😈 ]
     
    As ianmac pointed out there was a fascinating interview this morning with Professor Nigel Haworth from Auckland University.  His take on the issue concerning return was that over the past 12 months the board of ACIL has ramped up expectations of a return.  He thought that it was because of the change in the board.  He says that a study of Australian ports show a 7 % return on equity.
     
    Auckland is ranked in the middle of an international performance ladder and was not a “basket case”.
     
    He also discussed the obligation to negotiate in good faith.  He was surprised at the suggestion that MUNZ should have accepted the first offer.  As he rightly pointed out this never happens.  He also described the mass redundancy as “going nuclear”.  It is clear he does not think good faith bargaining is happening.

  6. Sanctuary 6

    Fascinating bit of third hand news with reasonable provenance so worth repeating – one of my good friends has a neighbour who is an independent contractor with PoAL. My friend says this guy told her on the weekend that ALL the contractors have been told that PoAL plans to offer ALL workers at the port new terms and conditions that are materially worse (reduction/elimination of medical cover, etc) than the current ones.

    Third hand I know, but possibly worth following up by someone more in the know.

    • muzza 6.1

      When I was talking to warfies in Teal Park last weekend, I asked about the contractors who already worked for PoAL. One warfie I talked with said that the contractors had been told they were potentially up for the sack too (this convo was before the actual sackings).
      Your info sounds about right.

  7. Matthew Hooton 7

    Ports of Auckland makes no money once the value of land is taken into account, but don’t trust me on this, Professor Tim Hazledine wrote an excellent piece in the NBR showing it makes an economic loss – see http://voakl.net/2012/03/01/from-the-nbr-poal

    So the idea of a 12% return is ridiculous. The container terminal should be closed, the land developed and Marsden Point and Tauranga expanded, together with rail links to Auckland.

    The good news is that the Prime Minister now appears to be moving towards this position. See http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbpol/296948005-NZ-may-have-too-many-ports—Key

    • Tiger Mountain 7.1

      Well, on this rare occasion one can agree with Matthew. Rail to Marsden and hopefully beyond to Kaitaia would finally give the North some hope of economic development in coming years.

      The caveat being that ShonKey is into union busting just like complicit “night Mayor” Lennie.

    • Matthew don’t you think this insistance on the port delivering a profit is very blinkered? It is a transport hub. We don’t expect roads or motorways to make a profit but spend huge amounts of money on them because of the public good. Using your logic we should close down Spaghetti Junction and bui

      • Matthew Hooton 7.2.1

        It may be a transport hub but there is no need for it to be in the heart of the city. Auckland International Aiport started out in the heart of the city at Mechanics Bay. Then it moved to Whenuapai. Then it moved to Mangere. And there is no reason the port can’t make a profit (although not at its current location).

        • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.1

          Air transport is in its death throes. Stagnant passenger volumes with significant declines starting in the next 5-6 years.

        • ghostwhowalksnz 7.2.1.2

          Whangaparaoa sounds like good location.

          Army land isnt used …much. Hutchison could pay for it like they are building there own container terminal in Sydney.
          Even better Joyce lives in the area, so we wont have to worry about NIMBY……hahah

          There was land at Te Atatu for exactly the sort of port we have now , was given away under rogernomics

          • Adele 7.2.1.2.1

            Ghost

            Say you were joking about putting the port at Army Bay, Whangaparaoa. Its a nature reserve and Tiritiri Matangi island is its nearest neighbour.

            If the port is to be moved from the centre of Auckland. Move it to Mission Bay.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.3

      but don’t trust me on this,

      I won’t.

      The container terminal should be closed, the land developed and Marsden Point and Tauranga expanded, together with rail links to Auckland.

      That’s something I could agree with if it wasn’t for Peak Oil and it’s effects upon transport in NZ.

      The good news is that the Prime Minister now appears to be moving towards this position.

      Of course he is. It will open up more opportunities for privatisation and turning us into serfs for his foreign masters.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 7.4

      Trouble is most of the importers dont want to spend another $600 to ship their containers to Auckland.

      PoT would pay a fortune for some one ..anyone to run a PR campaign just along the lines you suggest….kachingo

    • KJT 7.5

      Shall we close all the roads to and sell them off for housing?
       
       
      Their returns are much worse than the ports.
       
       
      Another hidden subsidy for trucking.  
       
       
      Coastal shipping has absolutely none, even though NZ owned coastal ships would decrease our trade invisables deficit. And carbon footprint.
       
      It is the port that makes the city a place for people to live and work.
       
      I agree we should have one hub port in each island. Before our hub becomes Port Botany! AND. All the fake competition between ports has led to over investment in the wrong things. (One reason for low returns on capital).
       
      Even so, Auckland will still need a port. Even if just as a feeder for Marsden Point. 
       
      The logical hub port. The one which, under our present regime of fake competition, has been bought by POAL and Tauranga to make sure it does not compete with them.

  8. In Vino Veritas 8

    For a start, ROE Port of Sydney as follows:

    2005 17.8%
    2006 10.4%
    2007 9.2%
    2008 12.5%
    2009 7.1%
    2010 6.6%
    2011 7.4%

    All of these figures are based on average equity, if actual equity in each year was used, the numbers would be higher.

    And one of the main reasons ROE is down is because of the servicing costs of debt (POS was given an exemption from paying a dividend since it was considered its debt equity ration of 57.2 in 2011 was way to high.

    POAL’s ROE would have been significantly higher in 2011 for the same reasons.

    • All of these figures are based on average equity, if actual equity in each year was used, the numbers would be higher.
       
      Not necessarily.  If the actual value was higher than the book value then ROE will be down.
       
      And a question, Melbourne’s reported ROE is much lower.  Why didn’t you analyse those figures?

      • In Vino Veritas 8.1.1

        Because I have access to POS numbers.
        I don’t understand what you mean about actual value being higher than the book value. Book value is as reported in the financial statements giving the numbers used as ROE.
        Are you alluding to the revaluation of assets?

      • In Vino Veritas 8.1.2

        And I guess the critical question should be asked around use of capital. Why would, or should, a council be owner of an asset that is only returning 6% when it could be invested in a more diversified portfolio of assets, with less risk, and make the same, or better returns?
        After all, the government 10 yr bond rate over the last 10 years or so has averaged 5 – 6% with very low risk.

  9. s y d 9

    tauranga ROE 7.36 over last 5 years
    http://www.port-tauranga.co.nz/Investors/Financial-Information/Five-Year-Financial-Summary/

    I’d also think that Port of Tauranga would ‘make no money’ if cost of land was taken into account – prime harbourside real estate, ahh imagine all those apartments filled with….ah…with…ummm..yeah.

    • Matthew Hooton 9.1

      Funnily enough s y d, Tauranga values its property, plant and equipment at around $850 million while Auckland values its property, plant and equipment (including its second port at Onehunga) at just $600 million. If you really think that it is plausible the total value of POAL’s property, plant and equipment, right on the waterfront in the heart of the Auckland CDB, is worth less than Tauranga’s, tucked away in the harbour and not on the most expensive beachfront Bay of Plenty land then, well … nobody could really believe that.

      • DH 9.1.1

        That’s the problem with using ROE as a reference to returns on investment. If POAL revalued it’s land assets upwards it would result in an immediate increase in equity and a corresponding fall in the ROE. ROE is too easily manipulated by beancounters playing with the book values of assets.

        • Matthew Hooton 9.1.1.1

          Or it could revalue the property, plant and equipment downwards and claim to be making the 12% already.

          • insider 9.1.1.1.1

            Given that not much can be built anywhere without lots of consultation and largesse, and even then there would still be a big if , that’s probably not a wrong assumption.

      • McFlock 9.1.2

        Depends on how much land they own respectively.
             
        I mean, you’re only alleging systemic errors by valuers,  POAL accountants and auditors. 

        • Matthew Hooton 9.1.2.1

          No, its not an error. The POAL annual report says they value the land as “industrial land values within the wider Auckland area – $150 – $1,350 per m2”. But that is nonsense because it is not South Auckland industrial land. It is prime waterfront land. And for ratings purposes (probably below the market value), the Auckland Council (the owner of the port!) values nearby land at between $2,500 and $10,500 per m2. For example, Britomart, a block back from the waterfront, is valued by the council at $2,892.96 per m2. Portside in Halsey Street, again not as prime land as the port, is valued by the council at $2,684.61 per m2. The ferry building land, right next to the port, is valued by the council at $10,426.77 per m2. POAL’s valuation of its property, plant and equipment at just $600 million can only be achieved by assuming the land is in some South Auckland industrial estate.

  10. DH 10

    Good stuff Lynn. The ROE argument always looked a bit suspicious because it’s not the same as return on shareholder capital and yet it has been portrayed in that vein.

    I think your instincts are right, we are being scammed.

  11. prism 11

    Well This is the sort of news information that illuminates with a high powered beam. The management class screwing around their employer’s business so they can make hay out of it is a type of fraud different from the conventional.

    One comes back though to the point that the return of 12% is a high one. Why would the bums on seats on the port management company just accept this as suitably aspirational and as an appropriate reason excuse) to overturn a satisfactory, functioning labour-management system?

  12. marsman 13

    Looks like yet another NAct Scam.
    Thanks lprent, I knew there was a connection somewhere.

  13. Ad 14

    I wonder if the Minister of Local Government will start to require Councils to sell assets if holding them costs more than the cost of capital. Such as ports, both sea and air.

    We may well see the Minister acknowledge the ports dispute as one of the reasons to re-energize the local government reform process. In particular putting stronger legal constraints on the debt to equity levels that Councils and their entities are allowed to sustain. Delighted to be proven wrong.

    The Minister is clearly in high activist mode and I understand his paper went to Cabinet today for discussion.

    Will also be very interesting to see if the Prime Minister touches on local government as he launches his new model for the New Zealand public service this week, which he will launch on Thursday.

    Spectacular demonstration of the limits of the Mayor’s powers within Auckland’s corporatised model today.

  14. BLiP 15

    Nice work lprent. Thanks.

  15. prism 16

    A new law of ‘general competence’ for local bodies came in on December 2002. It sounds good in the summary below. But the democratic process did not hold Dunedin back from building their fur lined cage with optional moving roof.

    It is argued that the LGA expresses a model of collaboration between central and local government and communities embodied in the ideology of the “Third Way,” a political programme which aims to renew social democracy by including civil society as a partner in managing the economy. Therefore, it is the Act’s features of powers of general competence, participatory democracy and strategic planning that distinguish the Act from its predecessors. However, as strong as these new attributes are, they do not constitute a radical reinvention of local government in New Zealand.

    Comment from ACT about it and Sandra Lee’s enthusiasm for it.
    ACT Local Government Spokesman Gerry Eckhoff said today it appears that ‘general competence’ has arrived at the Auckland City Council – though in a form unintended by this Government.
    “Sandra Lee is determined to enforce ‘powers of general competence’ for local bodies. At the moment councils can’t do anything, or spend money on anything unless they can specifically point to a rule which lets them. The ‘powers of general competence’ will reverse this, meaning that the councils and their officials can make you do anything they want, or spend your money on any pet project – if YOU can’t point to any rule which specifically says they can’t.

    It seems that these powers have opened us up to the possibility of action referred to by Ad above.
    “However Auckland’s new Mayor John Banks is demonstrating that the right attitude is more effective than legislation.
    “His decision to cut unnecessary expenditure comes as a breath of fresh air and contrasts with an often seen attitude from councils of clamouring for more power and more authority to spend.
    “Councils throughout the country should follow Mayor Banks example of intended frugality with ratepayers’ money.
    “We all know of ratepayers’ money wasted on political vanity projects. Under Sandra Lee’s intended powers of competence we will see councillors who could never persuade investors or business people voluntarily to entrust them with management of a business, with new fields in which to squander uncontrolled borrowings and ratepayers’ savings.

  16. Jenny 17

    For those who deny the link between contracting out and privatisation: From Britain.

    This is no ordinary tale of Fat Cattery. These multi-million-pound deals are being paid to the heads of the ‘outsourcers’ – the giant private companies that say they can do a better and more efficient job collecting bins, say, or providing nursing care than the State….

    ….They are private companies but they are also the creation of the Government’s drive to outsource services. The lion’s share of their turnover – and of their executives’ enormous pay packages – comes from the public purse. But there is little in the way of public accountability.
    These outsourcers already account for £79 billion of state expenditure every year, a figure which is set to grow if the Government fulfils its pledge to put nearly all state-run services out to contract……

    ……Another big outsourcer is Serco. In some parts of Britain it has taken over so many local services it is virtually indistinguishable from the council.
    In Canterbury Serco collects rubbish, trims trees, maintains road signs, cuts grass and looks after public toilets.
    Surely a company with such close ties to the shrinking public sector is going to be feeling the effect of government spending cuts?
    Not according to the company’s chief executive Chris Hyman. Serco’s profits grew by a fifth last year, and the company reckons to have an order book of £16.5 billion……

    …….Serco’s Chris Hyman, an evangelical Christian with a penchant for racing Ferraris, received a pay package of more than £5 million.
    Paul Pindar, head of Capita, had to rub along on a deal worth a total of £1.6 million.
    But in 2008, his overall pay – including share options – was worth almost £10 million.
    The outsourcers are often criticised as parsimonious employers whose profits grow fat only because they hire staff at the minimum wage, with minimum holiday and pension entitlements.
    Indeed, Capita is involved in a pay dispute with staff who recently stood outside the company’s head office, handing out leaflets detailing their grievances and highlighting the chief executive’s pay.
    A furious Mr Pindar went out to meet them armed with an annual report. Unfortunately for him, it showed his salary was a mere £14,000 a week. That, his employees pointed out, was more than many of them receive in a year.

    The Daily Mail

    FromAustralia

    Liberal opposition leader Barry O’Farrell, the likely next premier, leads a team that openly talks about restructuring the ways in which public assets could be sold.

    It’s possible that O’Farrell will look to Western Australia for inspiration. But the Liberal government of Colin Barnett is facing public opposition to increasingly working with British multinational Serco in its plans to outsource key public services.

    • marsman 17.1

      Hasn’t Bill English just given Serco a contract to run a prison at Wiri? Didn’t Judith Collins concede that private prisons were more expensive than Govt. run ones? Prisons for profit, Serco also does Welfare for profit.

  17. Adele 18

    I agree completely with Lynne’s assessment. 12% in five years is not aspirational – its ludicrous. What metrics did they base their growth forecast on? Recession ending soon? Oil is abundant? Its peace in the middle east?

    I think POAL have also overplayed their hand.

  18. Hami Shearlie 19

    Anyone got any thoughts about using Manukau Harbour – I don’t know much about that area, but some of you may have some useful info?

    • lprent 19.1

      A shallow harbour of mudflats. Sure you can dredge. But why bother when you have a naturally deep harbour on the other side of the isthmus.

      • burt 19.1.1

        Wasn’t Owen Glenn looking at a mega transport hub there a few years back – back when he was a good guy…..

  19. DH 20

    I’ve been wondering why they used return on equity & come to the conclusion it was to intended to confuse people. Most seem to think it as return on investment or return on capital & as such the return is far too high. ROE is explained briefly & quite well here;

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_on_equity

    It’s worth noting that equity is not the same as shareholder capital. Equity is the nett worth of the business at a given point in time whereas shareholder capital is the amount shareholders have invested in the business. Shareholders care more about return on capital, I don’t know why Len Brown thinks it will return 12.5% as dividends.

    • lprent 20.1

      In this worldwide industry with its mix of state/city owned (usually with little or no debt) and privately owned (usually with high debt), I suspect that they were looking for a measure that could easily be used as a comparator. However the massive variations between ports that don’t look that different at a cursory glance would tend to indicate that the financial mixes kind of hide actual productivity in a ROE. Not a particularly useful measure.

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    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    8 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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