Why in the middle of a pandemic an immediate change to Orange is magical thinking

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, April 5th, 2022 - 77 comments
Categories: covid-19, health, jacinda ardern, labour, Media - Tags:

National’s friends are in unison complaining that the Government should be announcing now when we will be back into Orange.  It seems that every day different media interview restaurant owners and business owners complaining about the lack of certainty.  Opposing voices are few and far between.

This morning two particularly strident voices were heard and amplified.

Barry Soper in the Herald said this:

Jacinda Ardern seemed to me to give every indication during her round of media interviews yesterday – which didn’t include Newstalk ZB unfortunately – that we could expect some movement to the country’s red light setting that’s been frozen for the past several months now.

The PM waxed about how the peak had been reached in Auckland and Wellington and that the hospital system, that they’ve had years to fix, wasn’t overwhelmed.

It was with a sense of guarded relief that restaurateurs thought people could begin moving around inside, rather than being stuck to their seats, and that event planners could start planning on crowd sizes increasing from the impossible to manage indoor restrictions.

You can imagine how disappointed they then were as they tuned in to hear from a Pulpit of Truth that seemed to have reverted back to the Delta days, with Ashley Bloomfield standing at Ardern’s side as she put a dampener on things.

Only in Soperworld is a review a guarantee that things will change.

And Business New Zealand head Kirk Hope also had a go.  On Morning Report he claimed that there was justification to move Auckland to orange.  He also complained that it was difficult to understand what the conditions for moving to Orange are.  And that there was no greater clarity about when the Government might choose to move parts of New Zealand to orange.

He complained that with the infection trajectory declining things should be loosened up.  His priority was for businesses  to have “clarity and certainty”.

He said there should be a “test to work” regime and that the seven day stand down period should not apply.  I hate to break it to him but people often continue to shed the virus for up to two weeks after recovering.  If it was a test to work regime most periods away from work would increase.

These claims that there is no clarity should not be taken seriously.  The Government did announce a roadmap when it announced the traffic light system.

Red would be required where action is needed to protect health system and the system is facing an unsustainable number of hospitalisations or when action is needed to protect at-risk populations.

The conditions for Orange is that there is Community transmission with pressure on the health system and the whole of the health system primary care, public health, and hospitals, is focusing resources but can manage.

Things are improving.  Clearly in Auckland the peak of new infections has passed.  And hospitalisations appear to have peaked although numbers have not dropped recently.

But there is still significant pressure on the health system.  And in the middle of a pandemic why would you confidently announce the loosening up of requirements even though the pandemic is still having a significant effect?

This is magical thinking by business, that changing to orange will somehow make everything better.

And it should be noted that the Government has loosened up the settings and the red level now is much easier on businesses than previously.

As previously said on RNZ’s mediawatch:

Businesses calling for restrictions to end were misidentifying the problem, [Newsroom’s Marc Daalder] said.

“It goes back to magical thinking about what the alternative was to elimination or tightly controlling the virus. It was never going to be ‘sure the hospitals are full, and sure, 1 in 20 people in the city has Covid right now that we know of, but I’m still going to go out and pretend there’s nothing different from 2019’. It was always going to be ‘well hang on, there’s a pandemic, I’m going to do things a bit differently’. Congratulations, we opened up. This is living with Covid.”

Those insisting on certainty are also those insisting that things return to normal.  I understand their desires for normality to be returned.  But right now is not the time to think that ignoring Covid will somehow make it go away.

The biggest threat is a new variant.  As said by Jacinda Ardern two weeks ago:

We do have an ask for everyone though. If a variant arises in the world, that evades vaccines or is more deadly, contact tracing will once again provide a critical role. Please stand ready as a business to stand up QR codes again, or as a citizen to pull out your tracer app at a moment’s notice. Don’t remove the app from your phone just yet.

With the emergence of a new XE variant that is potentially 10% more transmissible than Omicron we are not out of this yet.

And to everyone complaining about the Government’s refusal to loosen up things please pay attention to the most important statistic of them all.

77 comments on “Why in the middle of a pandemic an immediate change to Orange is magical thinking ”

  • Comments are now closed

    • SPC 1.1
      5 April 2022 at 11:08 am

      It's not really a threat, it has been around in the UK since January and its not that prevalent there yet. No evidence of worse health outcomes, nor that it will infect those who had Omicron.

    • Nic the NZer 1.2
      5 April 2022 at 6:13 pm

      Where did you get that quote from? Seems either you made it up, or the Herald edited it out due to it being fiction?

  2. Ad 2
    5 April 2022 at 10:06 am

    Kirk Hope can pop over to my place, maskless. I contracted it on Sunday.

    • mickysavage 2.1
      5 April 2022 at 11:45 am

      Bugger. Need anything?

    • mary_a 2.2
      5 April 2022 at 1:01 pm

      Take care Adsmiley

    • Patricia Bremner 2.3
      5 April 2022 at 1:33 pm

      Ad, unless it is very mild, whatever else, REST. 10 min activity 2 hours rest. This has to be the pattern for two weeks, and gradual return to activities over the next week or so. Keep up fluids. If you get in a sweat you are doing too much. Bed rest is best.

      Pain Killers/anti inflams/antihistamines. Avoiding relapsing and long covid is key. It is similar to glandular fever, over do it and you pay.

      All the very best. Our son Grant took four weeks but is fine now.

  3. roblogic 3
    5 April 2022 at 10:08 am

    The extreme, overreaching, oppressive L4 lockdown in Auckland last year made the housing crisis worse, and directly caused the nationwide shortage of Gib board.

    Every decision like this has a cost.

    • Tricledrown 3.1
      5 April 2022 at 10:19 am

      Roblogic imports have been cut as well due to shipping disruption caused by covid,no doubt raw materials for manufacturing here as well.

      If we didn't have level 4 we would have had far worse outcomes across the board excuse the pun.

      But more services would have suffered especially as Delta was far more deadly.

      Hospitals would have not been able to operate.

      Highly trained staff would have been dying and many more leaving for safety reasons.

      Look at the UK or US in the graphs above and explain the difference to NZ.
      With your let it RIP logic a massive death toll would have freed up more housing.

    • mickysavage 3.2
      5 April 2022 at 1:44 pm

      Que? There is world wide disruption because of supply chain ructions and yet you blame Auckland's lockdown.

      • roblogic 3.2.1
        5 April 2022 at 6:17 pm

        Facts. Govt decisions had a major impact, blaming global conditions is a lame. excuse.

        https://www.newsroom.co.nz/building-projects-grind-to-a-halt-as-dominant-fletcher-freezes-gib-orders

        “The lockdown created a backlog of orders for Winstone Wallboards to pick and deliver and resulted in longer lead times,” it said, in a statement to customers. …

        “Winstone Wallboards is running its two manufacturing plants 24/7 producing plasterboard products at record levels in order supply the industry…

        • mickysavage 3.2.1.1
          5 April 2022 at 8:01 pm

          Damn this Government. They may have saved tens of thousands of lives but they disrupted the supply of Gib Board.

          • joe90 3.2.1.1.1
            5 April 2022 at 8:36 pm

            they disrupted the supply of Gib Board.

            The long, gib-disrupting arm of Labour reaches the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US, too.

          • roblogic 3.2.1.1.2
            5 April 2022 at 10:10 pm

            Just one example. We paid a heavy price. Makes no sense to pretend that everything is rosy.

            Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand – Wikipedia

            • McFlock 3.2.1.1.2.1
              6 April 2022 at 12:31 am

              Who the fuck is pretending everything is rosy?

              But we're still – even now – paying a much lower cost than most of the rest of the world. We delayed the inevitable for two years, and doing so saved lives and had a better economy than many.

              And yeah, it's still not over for any country. Mostly because some nations thought they could "business as usual" their way out of it, and all they did was create breeding grounds for new variants.

              By following expert advice, out government saved thousands of lives and had less of an economic hit in the first global wave of the pandemic. There were many problems and screw ups, sure. But we got the best start in the new global normal that was possible.

            • Drowsy M. Kram 3.2.1.1.2.2
              6 April 2022 at 4:38 am

              I've been impressed with how our govt mitigated the health impacts of the first two years of the pandemic, and how our over-burdened public health professionals coped. In the last month, however, ~300 Kiwi deaths have been attributed to COVID-19 infection, and the 7-day moving average is approaching 20 deaths per day – that’s too many.

              https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/new-zealand/

              Imho the public health restrictions on individual freedoms should have been maintained a few weeks longer in an attempt to further flatten the curve of Omicron infections.

              Are the loosened Covid-19 rules enough? Experts have their say [23 March 2022]
              "The data from overseas is really clear – those countries that have dropped restrictions as their Omicron wave was subsiding are now experiencing another wave."
              …
              "Rather than saying 'oh, let's lift all the restrictions', try and keep ahead of what we think the virus will do and I think cautiously remove controls and try and avoid having a second peak."

              Otoh, maybe it was (past) time to ‘rip the plaster off’ – maybe.

              • Christopher Randal …
                6 April 2022 at 8:00 am

                20 deaths per day?

                If the Nats and ACT had had their way you could probably multiply that by 100

                • Drowsy M. Kram …
                  6 April 2022 at 10:00 am

                  Agree NZ's COVID-19 death toll would likely be higher (possibly much higher) under a NAct govt – fortunately we'll never know.

    • Kiwijoker 3.3
      6 April 2022 at 8:35 am

      And erectile disfunction stats are on the rise as well!

  4. Tricledrown 4
    5 April 2022 at 10:10 am

    Puckish so our health systems aren't being over run.

    I would have thought our prison system is under threat to if staff have to cover shortages,plus any outbreaks.

    Have a little empathy or has working with people who don't have a lot of empathy hardened your heart.

    • Puckish Rogue 4.1
      5 April 2022 at 5:16 pm

      Go hard, go early!

      Flatten the curve!

      But wait theres yet another variant on the horizon, who could have seen this coming…

      • roblogic 4.1.1
        5 April 2022 at 6:00 pm

        Remember the ad campaigns?

        “2 shots for Summer!!”

        “The greater our immunity, the greater our possibilities!”

        So everyone got vaccinated. But Jacinda can’t let go of her anxious control freakery. Broke the implied promise of freedom after mega lockdowns and world beating vaccination levels. And lost all her govt’s good will

        • Nic the NZer 4.1.1.1
          5 April 2022 at 6:06 pm

          Just what activities of yours has the traffic light system prevented?

          • roblogic 4.1.1.1.1
            5 April 2022 at 6:11 pm

            Cut me off from community support network and fucked up my mental health, if you must know

            • Nic the NZer 4.1.1.1.1.1
              5 April 2022 at 6:30 pm

              Well you should certainly define your own best mental health advice, but I have not observed people obsessed with govt did it to me narratives to be well balanced. I've tended to understand any limitations were basically down to the pandemic which required some health measures to deal with. I do understand that is an unusual attitude and there are many who think every decision being made and every nuance of its presentation has a bottom line in opinion polls and at the ballot box.

              • roblogic …
                5 April 2022 at 6:38 pm

                Rationalising won't take away the pain of people unable to attend funerals/tangi or comfort elders on their deathbeds.

                • Descendant Of Smith …
                  6 April 2022 at 11:38 am

                  Nor will it take away the fact that there are loads and loads of people who would have been dealing with lots more funerals and tangi and comforting people on their deathbeds had COVID been allowed to run rampant.

                  In effect a choice between having substantially more funerals to attend, including possibly your own, versus a hiatus and an acceptance that for a period of time this would not be possible.

                  In a normal pre-COVID environment lots of people don't make to funerals / tangis anyway. Distance to travel/being overseas/cost – there have always been reasons people cannot make it.

                  Many Maori communities stopped tangi during the Spanish flu to reduce spread and many did so this time – regardless of government mandate. In fact the government mandate was pretty irrelevant as they implemented their own tikanga specifically due to the circumstances.

                  There is in my view an over-hyping of the impact of non-attendance and an over hyping of the blame on the government / health processes. I'm sure the over hyping of the impact is cumulatively more detrimental to peoples mental health than anything.

                  You see the same thing with I can't come home to visit my parents from people who haven't been home to do so in twelve years. Was talking to someone yesterday who winged about the restrictions and how now he can finally go and see his parents in the UK. When did he last see them I asked – 30 years ago – but somehow it is the current governments fault.

                  I do get people couldn't go and that it is a sacrifice but it is one people should take pride in because it prevented further death – and in fact contributed to some of our elderly living six months longer. I wasn't able to attend several myself and found it easy to accept the need for that. Coming from a small community where we well knew some hapu lost 40% or more of their family members in the Spanish flu it was a no brainer.

                  I guess it reinforces that to a large extent we are all products of the environment and institutions we grew up in. For me it is sensical and causes no anguish for others it is the opposite.

                  Both experiences are valid and normal but ultimately you can only implement one strategy.

                  https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/14270/NZAE_Poster_postponed_deaths.pdf?sequence=14

      • roblogic 4.1.2
        5 April 2022 at 6:06 pm

        Kiwis have done their part. Now this austerity and power addicted government needs to do its part and

        1. start paying health workers properly – and give bonuses for all who worked thru the pandemic
        2. make it easier for health workers to immigrate – accommodation packages and incentives and cut red tape
        3. Start prosecuting careless wankers who go around spreading Covid and don’t get tested when they are clearly symptomatic

        https://twitter.com/cannibality/status/1510704829420617730?s=21&t=o5TyXk6OTLNEOdjVGoKjjQ

        • Puckish Rogue 4.1.2.1
          5 April 2022 at 6:15 pm

          Now be fair its not like its they've had a few years to sort this out or anything like that

      • Psycho Milt 4.1.3
        5 April 2022 at 9:21 pm

        Well, yes. Highly infectious diseases are like that. The fantasy of "back to normal" is exactly that, a fantasy. Learn to cope, because dealing with Covid is trivial compared to what dealing with climate change is going to look like. If we're smart, we won't elect a govt that intends to just pretend none of this shit is happening.

  5. dv 5
    5 April 2022 at 10:25 am

    "His priority was for businesses to have “clarity and certainty”

    YEP no problem yer closed for a year.

    Is that clear enough and certain enough?

    NO?
    Ok 2 years then

    • JO 5.1
      5 April 2022 at 7:34 pm

      Nice taut retort.
      This might fit in here, given the relentless demands for certainty from 'business' as if that's ever possible in this life. In the pandemic we have had to live with Volatility, Uncertainty, Conflict and Ambiguity. If a friend's architecture firm can confront those four dark riders, the captains of industry can surely do it too.

      After reading this I'm ashamed it's taken me so long to learn more about Antonio Gramski. A 1964 third year BA history paper on the 1917 Russian Revolution had no space for a man who the academics will have concluded was a very dead failure. The section in bold struck a powerful chord for me about NZ since 1984.

      'If Gramsci has aged better than many of his peers, it is in part because he became a thinker for a defeated, rather than a triumphalist, left. With his own cause in ruins, Gramsci became ever more interested in the ways of the enemy. One of his abiding inquiries was how capitalist elites and their publicists laundered their perversions of the social order into “common sense,” how they spun morality tales around their economic interests, and how they were able to preserve their leadership of society after each crisis delivered by the capitalist system. The ground of this inquiry may have shifted in the decades since his death, but the main battle lines remain the same, and this still makes Gram­sci a thinker worth turning to in our moment.

      https://newrepublic.com/article/165617/antonio-gramsci-live-resist-book-review-unlikely-persistence

  6. AB 6
    5 April 2022 at 10:46 am

    Magical thinking: advocating for higher levels of serious illness among your customers, and then imagining that more of them will turn up at your business.

  7. Incognito 7
    5 April 2022 at 10:52 am

    The next review by Cabinet of the traffic light settings will be on Thursday 14 April, which just so happens to be the day before Easter Break. I bet one orange chocolate egg that settings will change at 11:59 pm that day.

    • Jimmy 7.1
      5 April 2022 at 1:09 pm

      Yep and that is too late for planning for Easter trade for a lot of businesses.

      • KJT 7.1.1
        5 April 2022 at 1:15 pm

        Only if you entertain the "Magical thinking" that people are suddenly going to sacrifice themselves to Omicron en-mass,to prop up businesses who don't keep them safe.

      • Incognito 7.1.2
        5 April 2022 at 1:21 pm

        There never are ironclad guarantees in business, so my bet is as good as any.

        Today is the 5th of April.

        In any case, a change of settings doesn’t guarantee an immediate change of customer behaviour; people are watching the stats in the daily updates and will draw their own conclusions. My guess is that a good weather forecast for Easter will make a big difference 🙂

  8. SPC 8
    5 April 2022 at 11:12 am

    There is/was a case for orange in Auckland, but for the opening up of borders (not just incoming colds and flu etc but also contact with aging relatives on the return) and Pacifica church going at Easter (vulnerable populations).

  9. Stephen D 9
    5 April 2022 at 11:20 am

    I'd love to see some modelling of the case and death rates had we gone with National's and Act's sudggestions at the beginning of the pandemic.

    Perhaps they'd shut up then.

    • mickysavage 9.1
      5 April 2022 at 11:46 am

      That Our World in Data gives you an idea. I would anticipate it would be somewhere between Australia's and the UK's death rates.

      • Tricledrown 9.1.1
        5 April 2022 at 12:37 pm

        Probably closer to Russia than the UK. If we had followed simple Simon's open the border at the end of the first lockdown in 2020 when vaccines weren't available.

    • Jimmy 9.2
      5 April 2022 at 1:06 pm

      Shaun Hendy's 80,000 would die model.

      • Incognito 9.2.1
        5 April 2022 at 1:24 pm

        Oh dear, a false equivalence as clear as day & night.

      • Psycho Milt 9.2.2
        5 April 2022 at 9:24 pm

        You're thinking National would have delivered a worst-case scenario? That's harsh. I mean, I'm not exactly a fan of theirs, but even if they had been fucking up with public health measures as badly as you'd expect from them, individuals would still have taken their own measures to protect themselves.

  10. Kiwijoker 10
    5 April 2022 at 11:49 am

    Hope, Wilson, Barnett, Soper, the ZB cohort, the whining continues. As moaning seems to be the only productive thing this lot do may be we should incorporate it into our GDP figures. We’d be the highest in the OECD

    • Nic the NZer 10.1
      5 April 2022 at 12:06 pm

      Probably better to have the productivity commission review their contribution and see if they can be diverted into more productive activities.

  11. Tricledrown 11
    5 April 2022 at 12:34 pm

    Nic it's very difficult and expensive to deal with toxic waste.

    These minions get well paid for spreading it.

    While the left get very little money or airtime for holding them to account.

    Amazon in the US have had to allow a union to form in one of its giant distribution centres.

    They managed to fight millions of dollars and intimidation spent by Billionaire oligarch Bezos to win the right to form a Union.

    The poor in NZ need to do the same thing.

    Poverty is endemic has been for 40yrs. Big Business has controlled the conversation .

    Unions need to unify and reach out to the poor to bring about longterm change.

    Tinkering at the edges is making the problem worse.

    It's like the Greeks they are facing longterm austerity for the corrupt govt and massive banks who got bailed out for $100's of billions for ponzi loans to the likes of Greece while the peasants get to be homeless and hungry.

    Same here the $50 to $60 billion print ended up in the wealthiest top 10 to 20% of new Zealanders while rents and housing costs have gone through the roof literally.

    Exasperating poverty for another generation or 2.

    Yet no opposing view in mainstream media corporate claptrap instead.

    • roblogic 11.1
      5 April 2022 at 6:40 pm

      In other words, Labour used the pandemic as a distraction from their failures to deliver on multiple policy fronts, the worst of which is the deepening crisis of poverty and inequality in Aotearoa.

  12. mary_a 12
    5 April 2022 at 1:11 pm

    National and ACTS's discontents' attitude, is all about me, myself, more of me and of course profit! Greedy selfish uncaring gits.

    If NatACT had been government, the doors would have been thrown open for all and sundry to mix and mingle … few precautions if any, burnt out health workers, more stress on our public health system and even more deaths. But hey who cares, profit is the name of the game here … gimme moneyangry

    • Tricledrown 12.1
      5 April 2022 at 2:09 pm

      Mary a even the economic arguments don't stack up the countries that had a lit it rip policy did far worse than the countries with hard lockdowns and tough public health measures.

      So Nactional have no argument other than opposing for opposing sake.

    • Anne 12.2
      5 April 2022 at 6:51 pm

      And what's more they would have got away with it because most first world countries did throw the doors open too widely and too soon and they would have said… "but we had no more deaths per head of population than anyone else so we are not to blame" and the silly good people of Aotearoa would have believed them.

      see roblogic @ 13 😉

  13. roblogic 13
    5 April 2022 at 3:00 pm

    A substantial number of Kiwis do not want to hear about any more restrictions. Personally I am over Jacinda. I think she is a good person and a great leader. Big fan. But I am sick of her endless blah blah media scrums that amount to "we make your life worse for some indefinable goal in the future".

    I mean, I understand, but I don't like it. But plenty of people do not understand, or don't want to.

    • Nordy 13.1
      5 April 2022 at 4:46 pm

      It's clear there are some (a very vocal minority) that don't want to listen to reason, logic and science. They aren't interested in anyone else. Their selfishness seemingly knows no bounds.

      I am glad we have a government that does use logic, reason and science to make decisions in the best interests of all NZers.

  14. coge 14
    5 April 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Let's be clear here. The good people of NZ simply aren't prepared to tolerate further prescriptive segregation. That train has left the station.

  15. felix 15
    5 April 2022 at 6:04 pm

    The govt can protect the health system any time they like by funding it properly.

    Perhaps if they hadn't spent the first year of the pandemic trying to screw the nurses out of a very modest pay raise I might be inclined to take their concerns about the health system a bit more seriously.

    • pat 15.1
      5 April 2022 at 6:48 pm

      Increased funding will make no immediate difference

      • felix 15.1.1
        5 April 2022 at 7:41 pm

        You have it backwards. Without funding nothing will make any difference.

        • pat 15.1.1.1
          5 April 2022 at 8:02 pm

          Without resources

          • felix 15.1.1.1.1
            6 April 2022 at 3:21 pm

            Um, perhaps you have been asleep for the last couple of years, but if the govt takes a problem seriously they have the resources available to literally shut down the whole country and pay everyone to stay home.

            This bullshit about constrained resources doesn't fly any more. All resources are available IF the problem is taken sufficiently seriously by govt.

            Which tells us, doesn't it, which problems are taken seriously. eg housing clearly isn't. Neither is child poverty. Nor climate change.

            That's the gift covid has given us. Now, when the govt says they're doing everything they can about an issue, you know for a fact it's bullshit, because now you know what it looks like when they REALLY do everything they can, and it's impressive.

      • felix 15.1.2
        5 April 2022 at 7:47 pm

        People who say you can’t solve problems by throwing money at them have never seen really large amounts of money being thrown with great precision.

        • pat 15.1.2.1
          5 April 2022 at 8:01 pm

          KEY DATES

          Apr 2028 Expected Construction Completion

          May 2022 Expected Construction Commencement

          2017 Project Announcement

          https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/new-dunedin-hospital

          • felix 15.1.2.1.1
            6 April 2022 at 3:23 pm

            11 years. Pathetic. The one in the video has 1500 beds for covid patients and was built in just over a week.

            • McFlock 15.1.2.1.1.1
              6 April 2022 at 3:31 pm

              The standard trade-off is you can have it done well, done affordably, or done quickly – pick two out of three.

              But I do wonder whether in ten years their new hospital will be leaking worse than the current Dunedin hospital.

              • felix …
                11 April 2022 at 5:23 pm

                I like that formulation and I often use it when quoting jobs. But it doesn't so much apply when you have a virtually unlimited supply of labour and cash. Just one of the many joys of totalitarianism. Their hospital will be fine.

    • roblogic 15.2
      5 April 2022 at 6:50 pm

      No, no it's more important to prop up housing speculators and landlords.

      Bernard Hickey: The $1 trillion housing wealth crime of the century | The Spinoff

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    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
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    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
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    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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