Why the miners are so keen on public land

Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, May 3rd, 2010 - 36 comments
Categories: assets, business, capitalism, Mining, national, privatisation - Tags:

If the government’s experts are to be believed, most of this country’s mineral wealth is on private land ($80 billion of $194 billion is on the conservation estate). And there would be nothing like the public reaction to mining on private land that there is on protected conservation land.

So, why the mad plan to take those limited parts of the conversation estate that have been specifically protected from mining because of their outstanding natural value and let mining companies come in to rip them up?

Obviously, National just wants to do favours for its mining industry allies. So, why would the mining companies be so keen on this particular land – what’s so different about mining on public land when there is so much sitting on private land?

Leases.

If a mining company came to you and said ‘there’s gold under your property, we want to dig it up’ you might say a flat ‘no’ or you might say ‘ok, for a price’. You’re not just other people come in to your land, dig up the value beneath and walk away with the profits. You’re going to make sure you get a slice of the action with a lease or something similar.

That’s going to eat into the mining companies’ profits. But if they mine on public land, in all National’s protestations of the benefits of mining have you heard them mention leases? No. Sure, the miners pay a royalty on the minerals but they pay that if the minerals are on private land too.

Mining on private land: Sales revenue minus production costs minus lease minus royalty minus corporate tax minus = profits

Mining on public land: Sales revenue minus production costs minus royalty minus corporate tax minus = bigger profits

That’s what’s so important mining in protected land. It’s not that they couldn’t get the minerals elsewhere, it’s that it wouldn’t make them so much money.

Essentially, they’re playing us for saps and bigger profits. Once again, National is campaigning for the privatisation of public wealth.

36 comments on “Why the miners are so keen on public land ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. ianmac 1
    3 May 2010 at 10:30 am

    I do hope that the outcry against Mining on the Conservation Estate is not limited to Coramandel and Great Barrier? Will there be as much support to protect Stewart Island?

    • r0b 1.1
      3 May 2010 at 10:41 am

      Me too! In fact – post coming up about that at 1:34…

    • HitchensFan 1.2
      3 May 2010 at 10:53 am

      Yeah I was wondering that too Ianmac. And beautiful Aspiring National Park, which I have spent so many years in climbing and tramping (I bet from looking at him that fat pig Brownlee has never set foot in the place or he wouldn’t be advocating tearing it, or any other Schedule 4 land, up.)

      But I hope the outrage we saw in Auckland on Saturday does extend to all Schedule 4 land.

      I asked this question in an earlier thread but will ask it here too. Is there a plan to have a similar demonstration in Wellington? (Forgive me if it happened in March, I was climbing overseas out of contact with any form of technology so may have missed it).

      Cheers,

      • Lew 1.2.1
        3 May 2010 at 11:02 am

        Brownlee declined an invitation to spend part of the summer break tramping in Mt Aspiring National Park with Darren Hughes, turning it into a Brokeback Mountain joke. So I’d hazard that you’re not wrong.

        L

    • Bill 1.3
      3 May 2010 at 10:53 am

      I’d imagine the opposition would be very much more vociferous in relation to Stewart Island. Sure, there is a smaller population base, but that population stays on Stewart Island for a reason…broadly speakng that reason is that it’s not the Mainland.

      Mining would turn the island into just another piece of mainland shit with a bit of water between it and the rest.

      Meanwhile, how do you transport plant to Stewart Island? Whose cooperation do you need? Not happening.

  2. Sookie 2
    3 May 2010 at 10:39 am

    A mining company would still need to take out a lease with DOC and pay them an annual rental plus comply with a number of conditions of that lease, though the concessions process, which runs parallel to the resource consent process on public conservation land. However, the rent for activities on DOC land is laughably cheap compared to what a private landowner would charge. Rent from leases and other activities on DOC land goes into the Crown Account, which does not necessarily go back to DOC. So the government makes money from the minerals extracted and the rent charged.

    I’m not trying to be smart ass, I just have intimate knowledge of DOC concessions. Its still a bargain for mining companies to pay pathetic annual rents to DOC than pay a savvy landowner.

  3. Lew 3
    3 May 2010 at 10:40 am

    If only the solution was for the government to simply charge leases for mining, with the rate indexed to the sensitivity of the land. But it isn’t, really — it would raise the threshold and exclude some of the more geologically marginal and sensitive areas in the interim, but would permit mining companies to become entrenched as a loss-leading position, and allow future governments to use the lease rates as political-economic leverage, like tax cuts are used at present to make NZ internationally “competitive”.

    L

    • uke 3.1
      3 May 2010 at 10:56 am

      Agreed. Any move at charging leases would just be a thin end of the wedge. In other words, this should not be seen as a “reasonable” compromise.

  4. Maynard J 4
    3 May 2010 at 11:00 am

    It seems everyone has given up on the Paparoa Natinoal park areas – & that’s where it will happen. Coromandel and GBI will be removed from the plans, and the West Coast will wear it.

    Everything I have read lately ignored those areas – and the comments above too…

    and from NZH:

    “The Labour Party says it expects the Government to back off the prospect of mining on Great Barrier Island and in Coromandel in the wake of one of the biggest protest marches in New Zealand’s recent history.”

    • Bright Red 4.1
      3 May 2010 at 11:05 am

      yeah and the Paparoa would be open-cast coal mining, nasty stuff.

      Still, if all the Nats get out of this is a little more coal mining land, when there’s already plenty of that, then their claims that this will be an economic boost will be thoroughly discredited, and they will have worn a huge political cost for no gain.

      • Jim Nald 4.1.1
        3 May 2010 at 11:18 am

        Not ‘will’ but they are already thoroughly discredited.
        Some of the turkeys around cabinet table can see a goose leading them. And the goose is being cooked.

    • Lew 4.2
      3 May 2010 at 11:58 am

      Then there’s the fact that, unlike Aucklanders and Coromandelites, Coasters are overwhelmingly in favour of more mining in their region, in national parks or out. So if we see the streets of Westport full of marchers, they’ll more likely be welcoming the proposal.

      Watch for the equivalence being drawn — and watch for a change in the framing of mining from a national economic development issue to a regional economic development issue, with town set against country, etc.

      L

      • exbrethren 4.2.1
        3 May 2010 at 12:05 pm

        Paparoa was the main focus of the Nelson march, plenty of people were ready to defend it against Brownlees plan.

        No one has given up in this area.

        • HitchensFan 4.2.1.1
          3 May 2010 at 12:09 pm

          Agreed, ex-brethren. And we in the North Island who feel passionately about this haven’t given up on it either.

        • Lew 4.2.1.2
          3 May 2010 at 12:10 pm

          Nelsonites, yeah. Not Coasters. If the government and mining lobby can paint a picture of Nelson as a town of latte-drinking greenie liberal lifestylers begrudging their honest hard-working brethren on the other side of the hill a chance at the riches of the land, then it’s a classic town/country divide of the sort they’re very used to exploiting.

          At present one of National’s critical errors (aside from bringing it up in the first place, and making up numbers on the spot, and so on …) has been allowing mining Sch 4 to be discussed as a national issue, rather than a regional issue. This means they now have to listen to Aucklanders and Wellingtonians who object to mining in places they’ve never been and would struggle to place on a map.

          Don’t get me wrong: I think we all should have a say, since they’re national parks — but it would be better for the mining lobby if we didn’t. So expect the debate to be reframed to attempt to exclude those without a direct, immediate, local stake in the lands in question. Expect GBI and Coromandel to be scrapped to appease Aucklanders, and expect Paparoa and so on to go full steam ahead on the back of strong local support (although the rest of the country hates the idea).

          L

          • Bill 4.2.1.2.1
            3 May 2010 at 12:25 pm

            If your only employment comes through logging, and you or your family are employed by the logging industry, then you’ll defend logging, not necessarily because you think logging is a fantastic thing, but because you’ve got mortgages to pay and a standard of living to protect.

            Same thing if mining provides your employment. Meanwhile, I don’t think there exists anywhere in the world a miner who wants to spend their life underground.

            If mining and logging disappear from the coast is there any prospect beyond that of a series of ghost towns? Insofar as no other possibilities are being articulated (market orientated or otherwise), it would seem safe to assume that is the only future on offer.

            Would you accept that if it was you and your family?

            Given the apparent national paucity of imagination and alternatives, any chance of taxpayers paying locals to not mine? And to not log?

            Or at least joining with Coasters to fight such a fight?

            • Lew 4.2.1.2.1.1
              3 May 2010 at 12:31 pm

              Steady on, Bill. It almost sounds as if you’re advocating some sort of welfare state!

              L

              • Bill …
                3 May 2010 at 1:02 pm

                Well, seems to me that the West Coast would be an apt location to launch a step change in Social Welfare!

                ‘We’ wanted coal and generations of workers paid in terms of chronic ill health and premature death.

                ‘We’ don’t want coal? Why should those same workers pay for that too?

                The West Coast might be offering a starker contrast than is evident throughout much of the rest of contemporary NZ, but the day of that same stark choice being presented to the rest of us…of to continue in destructive employment and contribute to the market driven digging of our communal grave, or not and be plunged into ever deeper levels of market driven individual destitution…isn’t too far away.

                In the context of a continuing market economy, welfare is the only option, if indeed there is to be an an option, to the suicidal business as usual scenario.

          • prism 4.2.1.2.2
            3 May 2010 at 12:35 pm

            Lew You are spot on in your prognosis. We have heard and seen SI West Coasters before. At their worst they are the killers of hapless gays and Asians. The rest of the people are rather paranoidly, warily friendly and the males tend towards the extractive industries. Their leading group managed to lose a lot of money backing an attempt at new local industry when they lost much of the Postie Plus mail order clothing business and tried to go into sock-making and plastics I think. That was done with funds from Labour to assist new directions from the previous mainstay of felling native timber.

            Now they have the dam proposal, although the tourist industry enjoys paying to see the river as it is. But the electricity from it will be a cash cow that they won’t be able to lose money on. I have talked to an environmentalist who says that it is possible to fell a limited number of native trees etc and that regrowth would be enhanced by very limited roading. Perhaps the matter could be looked at again without the rigid environmental fundamentalist input, in exchange for dropping the flooding of another wild and wonderful tourist river attraction.

            Really good thinking going on in this thread – government should be coming here for advice.

            • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1.2.2.1
              3 May 2010 at 2:40 pm

              If we lived within the ecological limits set by nature then we could do as we pleased. The problem is that the capitalist market economy requires perpetual, exponential growth which destroys the ecology (the true source of wealth) in its quest for profits.

              Capitalism – it’s a cancer of the world.

              • Bored …
                3 May 2010 at 4:44 pm

                Nice analogy, never thought of it as cancerous in terms of constant growth till it kills things, well said.

  5. just saying 5
    3 May 2010 at 11:15 am

    I’d thought about the minerals under private land too Marty G, but differently.
    Doesn’t the govt have the authority to compel home owners to sell their homes in the interests of the “greater good”, like new motorways. I’d love to see the fall-out if they tried using the same authority to uproot farmers for the current market value of their land, to get at crown-owned minerals under the ground.
    Always the double standard.

    Maybe we should demand to know exactly where the minerals below private land are, and that they send in a few dig-and-see research teams, just to see how commited this govt really is, to their stated determination to mine our way out of our financial woes.

    • vto 5.1
      3 May 2010 at 11:34 am

      just saying “Doesn’t the govt have the authority to compel home owners to sell their homes in the interests of the “greater good’, like new motorways. I’d love to see the fall-out if they tried using the same authority to uproot farmers for the current market value of their land, to get at crown-owned minerals under the ground.”

      It aint just “public good”, the authority can be used for “private good” too. Witness the despicable fact that Central Plains Water have been made a Requiring Authority for just that purpose. Stinks to the high heavens…

      And re knwing exactly where the minerals are.. In South Oz all info discovered by a minerals exploration outfit must be turned over to the govt (public domain) after a short period of time. The reason is that it adds to and benefits the wider public through efficiency (not having to repeat he exploration). NZ never had this and I think it is still lacking..

      • insider 5.1.1
        3 May 2010 at 2:18 pm

        It’s required under petroleum exploration permits. From memory it is held secret for the life of the permit or five years whichever comes first then it becomes public info.

  6. george 6
    3 May 2010 at 11:55 am

    Mining of most of the Coromandel sites could be done from private land in much the same way Pike River mines Paparoa but again access would be a lot more expensive.

  7. RedLogix 7
    3 May 2010 at 12:37 pm

    I’m less than convinced by this particular argument Marty.

    The reason why the most interesting exploration areas are in the Conservation estate is pretty much the same reason why the land is in the estate in the first place.

    Most privately held rural land is valued for it’s farming potential, which is pretty much in direct proportion to soil fertility and ease of cultivation. It was of course the river flats that were the prized farm land, with hill country very much second best. Anything with actual hard rock and real mountains is useless for farming…and yet these are the places you expect to find valuable minerals. (The obvious exceptions are of course gold/silver dredging and lignite coal, but we already have plenty of that kind of extraction happening on private land anyhow.)

    It was the left-over land that no-one wanted for farming that became the Conservation estate, and over time has been valued for it’s intrinsic beauty, wilderness and a last refuge for many threatened species. Of course not that any of these things mean much to big corporates looking to make short-term profits at our long-term expense.

  8. Zak Creedo 8
    3 May 2010 at 4:38 pm

    marty,

    I’m surprised to find this line of argument here. One immediate inference — and yes I took a look at sookie’s comment above — is that the government (or someone) could up the DOC rent and miners could go ahead.. for it to be okay with you.

    Given redlogix’ s pov, too, that cons areas are likely leftovers, the whole push for mining explore/exploitation would pass to them at their own risk. More justifiable propositioning..?

    What we’d really wanna know for sure is well just what are miners after.? Something, someone not telling..

    The matter of damage and damages is something else. Miners doing it for nothing is a real bad look as the BP Deepwater — yeah they’re mining for their own stuff — is making clear elsewhere.

    Suggest you sort this out..

  9. Kleefer 9
    3 May 2010 at 6:07 pm

    Simple solution here. Sell off all public land. If the conservation value of the land is so great people and/or environmental groups are willing to pay more for it than what the mining companies are prepared to pay for the mineral value beneath then they can purchase the land and look after it.

    Private landowners generally make much better stewards of land than governments because of the financial and emotional investment they have in it. They can charge for access to the land to help cover the cost of maintaining it and they can choose who they allow to enter that land. They can even (heaven forbid) tell the mining companies where and how they are allowed to mine on the property (or they could tell them to sod off).

    Considering the number of people that turned out to protest mining on the weekend it shouldn’t be hard to raise enough funds to purchase considerable amounts of conservation land, particularly when you’ve got wealthy celebrities like Lucy Lawless involved.

    But I suspect many of these protesters think that other people should pay to protect the things they value. It’s easy to put other people’s money where your mouth is.

    • Lew 9.1
      3 May 2010 at 7:54 pm

      But then it won’t be public land any more. It won’t be “ours”. That’s the bit that matters — why people care about mining it — because it’s ours.

      If you care to test my argument, form a political party based on the promise to sell it all off and see how far you get.

      Oh, wait. Heh.

      L

    • felix 9.2
      3 May 2010 at 9:25 pm

      So your “simple solution” is that those with the biggest wallets decide everything.

      Simple indeed, Kleefer.

  10. Jim Nald 10
    4 May 2010 at 2:51 pm

    Was watching questions in the House.
    Turei was asking questions.
    Brownlee appearing now to be advocating a “balanced” diet of mining and conservation?
    Can someone assure me he is not very quickly slimming facts and trying to starve the truth?

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    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 day ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
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  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
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  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
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  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
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  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
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