Wind Farms Need Mines

Written By: - Date published: 9:57 am, October 21st, 2022 - 32 comments
Categories: climate change, energy, Environment, Mining, science - Tags:

We need more mines if we are to transition to low carbon.

There’s a field of industry that National and Labour could readily agree to if they put their minds to it, and it’s one of the highest paid industries in the world: mining.

Electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels are made with a wide variety of minerals from graphite to tellurium currently only available in a few corners of the world.

Some of these minerals are not mined enough to feed a world powered without fossil fuels: lithium is the biggest ingredient for electric cars and other battery-reliant products.

One form of mining is in extraction from geothermal plants. The New Zealand government has put $15m of funding into one effort.

It’s not the dusty-trousered pick-axe brigade of old, but producing lithium from a geothermal liquid is a sound way to supply lithium battery demands for electric vehicles as well as low carbon electricity from geothermal.

Dominion Salt hasn’t yet pushed to extract lithium from its salt evaporation facility, but it has taken the step of a Tesla powerpack to push it along.

Both National and Labour could easily agree that generating more and stronger local business is both good for local wealth circulation and growth, and also good for local resilience in the face of more global shock events to our supply chain. There are no signs that the international trade stability of the early 2000s is ever coming back.

For four decades following the prior international shock of World War 2, New Zealand saw many new factories producing goods like fork lift trucks, water jet engines, forage harvesters, Axminster carpets, wallpaper, aluminium sheet and foil, wood screws, glucose, dextrose, instant coffee, and of course fuel in the form of CNG and ammonia. It didn’t all work, but where markets fail the nation must sustain its people, and right now international trade is in serious trouble.

Of course innovation moves on and many new Teslas have batteries without nickel or cobalt, so we are still in a high change wave of decarbonised innovation that will last for years.

A particular problem is the life of wind farms, from which much is expected in future years in offshore mega-farms. At the moment about 95% of the components required to make a wind farm – outside of materials required to make the connecting roads – are imported.

The issue is that wind turbines only last at best 25 years. And New Zealand makes almost none of the components here. Every breakdown requires months of shipping to repair. The new blades are 55-75 metres long so they can’t be flown in.

New Zealand trades on its untouched landscapes and the Green Party have proposed banning all mining on the conservation estate and proposed a law to specify that.

That is, it ensures that New Zealand will never be able to form its own renewable minerals to form the components that could make our own carbon neutral energy production and transport.

It will likely be up to the next government to determine whether mining remains a feasible activity. We prefer to offshore our conscience rather than face the balance of needs that onshore mining and componentry forces upon us. It’s a bankrupt position on multiple fronts.

It is certainly a dilemma to mine in otherwise untouched landscapes to reduce greenhouse gases, only to create new pollution problems from a sector that by its nature carries the risk of environmental hazards. Our national track record on good mining practices isn’t historically great.

In the United States, President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has accelerated this debate with the need for domestically produced or processed minerals has become a concrete requirement. This law tied a US$7,500 tax credit for buying an electric car to the origins of the vehicles’ parts: the US or a country with a US Free Trade Agreement, and not a single part made in China or Russia. You can thank the West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin for this specific requirement.

Imagine if all the lithium for all the car batteries or bus or train batteries sold here had to come from Lake Grassmere. Finally, resilience.

That US law also gave a 10% tax break to anyone digging up rocks for green tech manufacturers. The Pentagon got US$500 million for mining. Imagine NZDF getting money to procure all aluminium parts here.

Any good miner will start at $80k here, and an A Grade tunneller can just ask for what he (it’s a 99% male job) wants and remain very, very globally in demand.

We would likely have the same contests about the reality that delicate ecosystems and native peoples will react very badly unless they are cut in on the deal. In Nevada, two large lithium projects are in trouble about endangered species, water use, and indigenous rights.

A broader mining boom even with the most green of national policy intention would see these conflicts play out on a national scale. The state-practised instrument to assuage Maori concerns for resource allocation be it air rights, broadcast rights, fish, health, or water, is to simply cut them into the deal. Everyone wins.

A typical example of this resource potential is found in the West Coast lands review where minerals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements have already been assessed by GNS Science, and yes much of that potential lies in the conservation estate. There’s not much excuse for coal mining anywhere in New Zealand anymore. The Meremere Power Station fired by an enormous pulley system straight to coal mines in the swamps of the North Waikato is a sepia-tinted memory. And there’s too many dead men in coal mines to ever make it worthwhile again.

But it would be worth retaining the case-by-case approach that allows for alternative uses on conservation land to be assessed on their merits, irrespective of the conservation land category.

We sold off the Marsden Point oil refinery long ago, and now it’s closed down. Every litre is important and we are more reliant on it than ever. We need to turn the national conversation to what happens when we close down the use of petrol and diesel altogether: within a decade there will be few companies still making those engines, so what will we do then when all our electric car batteries need replacing?

How many mines will New Zealand need for the climate?

Well Benchmark Minerals did a study and found for all those electric vehicles and storage batteries with today as a standpoint, the global answer is 336 new mines by 2035.

Who knows maybe Cobalt can be finessed out of the picture.

But the New Zealand course is clear: we are supposed to be 100% carbon neutral by 2050.

We need the power and the parts to do this and we don’t currently have it. In part because we don’t have the minerals and components to make the stuff that will get us there.

There are some public funds available for proposals.

The boom in wind componentry is already requiring some regions to gear up fast. Currently there’s little direct local benefit – other than in aggregate to NZSuperFund.

If New Zealand is going to have sustainable in future, we are going to have to mine our way to it.

32 comments on “Wind Farms Need Mines ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Andy 1
    21 October 2022 at 10:09 am

    I'm not sure if this article is satire or not.

    You want a sustainable future based on mining for wind turbines that only last for 25 years?

    • Ad 1.1
      21 October 2022 at 10:26 am

      That's how long they last.

      And each foundation is bespoke.

    • Lanthanide 1.2
      21 October 2022 at 11:11 am

      Sounds like you're just starting to see one of the fundamental problems with the world's transition away from fossil fuels.

    • X Socialist 1.3
      21 October 2022 at 2:39 pm

      Welcome to the real world, Andy. A place where some people have to turn other peoples idealistic imperatives into workable solutions.

      • bwaghorn 1.3.1
        22 October 2022 at 6:35 am

        Idealistic is probably the wrong word when our survival depends on finding a way.

        Fusion ,carbon capture and recycling are my picks for the food we must travel

    • Bearded Git 1.4
      24 October 2022 at 7:27 am

      My thoughts exactly Andy. I hope it is satire-digging up the conservation estate would be a massive step backwards.

      In any event we have Australia to do all the mining…plenty of lithium there.

      BTW Tesla is no longer the biggest player in EV's. BYD and other Chinese companies are rapidly taking over:

      "Top E-vehicle sales first half of this year versus last year: BYD: 640,748 and 15.4% share (vs 5.9%) Tesla: 564,873 and 13.6% share (vs 15.2%) SAIC (incl. SAIC-GM-Wuling): 358,040 and 8.6% share (vs 11.1%) Volkswagen Group: 331,743 and 8.0% share (vs 13.4%) Geely-Volvo: 231,232 and 5.6% share."

      SAIC are also Chinese-this means that just these two Chines companies now have 24% of the world market and this is rising quickly-there are several other smaller Chinese companies too not listed here.

      PS I can't remember the link where I found the above info…it was a few days ago as part of another conversation.

  2. arkie 2
    21 October 2022 at 10:22 am

    New Zealand trades on its untouched landscapes and the Green Party have proposed banning all mining on the conservation estate and proposed a law to specify that.

    The Greens are just trying to get Labour to do what it campaigned on. From you own link:

    The promise to ban new mines on conservation land was first made in the Speech from the Throne in 2017 but a lack of agreement between Labour, New Zealand First and the Greens meant it never came to fruition. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recommitted to it while campaigning in 2020, but despite Labour's majority, there's still no ban.

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/08/no-new-mines-on-conservation-land-petitioners-demand-action-now-after-government-delivers-excuse-after-excuse.html

    This also about mines on conservation land, not mines in general. We don’t store all our minerals under national parks, it’s just cheaper for the private extractor companies to get access to crown-owned land.

  3. Lanthanide 3
    21 October 2022 at 11:14 am

    Wind turbines require huge amounts of copper. It has to be virgin copper because it needs to be very pure and it's currently not cost effective to recycle copper to the purity needed.

    Production of virgin copper requires large fossil fuel inputs at every step of production.

    • arkie 3.1
      21 October 2022 at 11:35 am

      Of course it does, the point of action around climate change is to reduce the amount of fossil fuels and non-renewables extracted as much as possible. The idea of offsets means the necessary uses of fossil fuels can be made neutral by carbon capture elsewhere.

      • Lanthanide 3.1.1
        21 October 2022 at 11:55 am

        You say "of course it does" as if it is common knowledge just how much copper each wind turbine needs, and that the fossil fuel intensity of creating a single wind turbine is well understood by everyone involved that is pushing for more wind turbines while also saying we need less fossil fuels – bit of a catch 22 if you can't have all the wind turbines you need while also decarbonising to the degree needed.

        This is an illustration of why weka says power down and accepting lower living standards is the only way out of our predicament.

        • arkie 3.1.1.1
          21 October 2022 at 12:14 pm

          Of course it does to: Production of virgin copper requires large fossil fuel inputs at every step of production.

          As we breathe we produce greenhouse gases, we are all contributing by existing, the point is to lower our impact on the environment. That's going to mean much more work restoring and rejuvenating natural carbon sinks like swamp and marshlands as well as pursuing other sequestration methods.

          Lower living standards is a highly debatable term in this case. Isn't continuing the status quo with continued and irreversible climate change and sea rise locked-in also accepting lower living standards; for our children, all subsequent generations, as well as for all other forms of life on this planet?

          • Lanthanide 3.1.1.1.1
            21 October 2022 at 12:41 pm

            Yes, those things will certainly result in lower living standards also.

            Really the point I'm getting at is that turkeys don't vote for Christmas. The electorate generally votes for politicians promising a brighter future, so political parties that want to speak the truth about our situation and the future looking dim aren't popular.

            • arkie 3.1.1.1.1.1
              21 October 2022 at 1:06 pm

              Any supporter of the Greens is well aware of that. Activists, scientists and indigenous people have been trying to spur action for over 50 years now.

              Inaction appears to be largely driven by the profit motive and the degree to which politics is about preserving power relations.

              For example; electrified public transport, particularly trams and trains are much more efficient both in terms of lifelong emissions and in actually transporting people versus private EVs. It will always be necessary for some people to need a personal vehicle like a car or truck but it is evident that increasing the amount of well placed public transport infrastructure in places where we are concentrating people and businesses is the sensible and green idea. This was a common place understanding before the existing infrastructure was ripped up in favour of individual ICE vehicles in the mid-20th century. Neoliberal policies mean public transport must be profitable to be justified, but no public service can be run efficiently for profit. If public transport can be modernised, subsidised, made more reliable and extended to towns and cities people wouldn’t need to personally purchase a vehicle, no more maintenance and storage costs along with more walkable and green spaces; all that is an improved living standard.

              • Lanthanide …
                21 October 2022 at 1:38 pm

                Inaction appears to be largely driven by the profit motive and the degree to which politics is about preserving power relations.

                No, it's driven by people's self interest, as I just said – turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

                Given a choice between a lower standard of living – what is being offered by activists, scientists and indigenous people for 50 years now – and a higher standard of living, people will choose the higher standard of living.

                Evolutionarily humans are driven to want more, not less.

                • arkie …
                  21 October 2022 at 1:49 pm

                  Lower standard of living in your opinion, and also that of those who advocate doing nothing or only insignificant things to change the fate of the planet; those that are self-interested in maintaining their financial and political power; those that are self-interested in the continued pursuit of profit at the cost of all life on this planet.

                  Your higher standard of living fatalistically locks-in the climate damage that will be firstly and mostly keenly felt by indigenous people. This is only a short-sighted self-interest, encouraged and made virtuous by a capitalist framing; to think this is evolutionarily derived and yet unchangeable is unscientific, ahistorical and nihilistic.

                  • Lanthanide …
                    21 October 2022 at 2:27 pm

                    Lower standard of living in your opinion

                    Yes, just as you are saying that improved public transport is a higher standard of living. That's just like, your opinion, man.

                    Saying everyone should use public transport and it is a "higher standard of living" is ignoring other reasons for why people choose to buy private vehicles:

                    • Status, humans simply love showing off to other humans about how wealthy they are (another evolutionary adaptation)
                    • Convenience of having a vehicle always available
                    • Being able to store stuff in their vehicle for whenever they want it

                    There'll be many other reasons too, but those are the obvious big ones.

                    those that are self-interested in maintaining their financial and political power; those that are self-interested in the continued pursuit of profit at the cost of all life on this planet.

                    Yes, thank you for agreeing with me that it is driven by people's own self-interest. Companies are owned and operated by humans.

                    Your higher standard of living fatalistically locks-in the climate damage that will be firstly and mostly keenly felt by indigenous people. This is only a short-sighted self-interest, encouraged and made virtuous by a capitalist framing; to think this is evolutionarily derived and yet unchangeable is unscientific, ahistorical and nihilistic.

                    You seem to be of the impression that I am against doing anything about moving off fossil fuels – not true. I've built a passive house, am choosing not to have children and have bought an EV – next year we’re planning to add solar panels and a wood burner to the house.

                    My point is that society is in for a HUGE amount of pain because renewable energy etc cannot provide the number of people on this planet with the living standards they have come to take for granted due to fossil fuel use.

                    • arkie …
                      21 October 2022 at 2:59 pm

                      Yes that’s why I said it was highly debatable @ 3.1.1.1, and here we are, debating it.

                      I didn’t say everyone should use public transport, I said if we made it better people would have more incentive to use it over a personal EV. There would also be hire schemes, and taxis etc still; it’s about improving the balance of uses to prioritise maximum efficiency both in capacity and climate impact. Those are currently external from the current costs of our standard of living and any attempts to add them to the equations are opposed and defined by those who are benefiting from the current harmful accounting oversight.

                      That you are able to have a passive house and are adding renewable energy and heating to it is indeed admirable but the argument is that all houses should be built like that and it’s only because it’s cheaper under our current system (that ignores or externalises climate costs) that it isn’t. Because of the profit motive, the cost of living (a sinister phrase when we consider it) is applied to individuals and distributed unequally despite the fact that we are all living, and rely on each other and the planet to do so.

                      the living standards they have come to take for granted due to fossil fuel use.

                      The dispute over the quality of those standards aside, this is the same argument activists, scientists and indigenous people making for 50 years. That the argument is unpopular, and why, is largely irrelevant to the need for fossil fuel use to be dramatically reduced. If they had been listened to all those years ago much of what is locked-in could have be avoided and the shock and rapidity of the transition lessened.

                    • Lanthanide …
                      21 October 2022 at 6:00 pm

                      That the argument is unpopular, and why, is largely irrelevant to the need for fossil fuel use to be dramatically reduced.

                      It's not at all irrelevant. If you don't know what motivates or concerns voters, you can't craft your message in a way that they can get on board with, and thus you make no progress.

                      Also I'd like to point out the many activists opposed nuclear energy, when it actually has a key role to play in any future where the standard of living remains above 1950s level.

                    • arkie …
                      21 October 2022 at 7:30 pm

                      Change is coming even if we amend our fossil fueled ways now, delaying more drastic action only makes future climate change more severe. The profit motive and the preservation power relations has made this so. You call it self-interest, it's the same thing – sacrificing the future for the now.

                      The lack of urgency exhibited by industries and governments is also because of their continued profits; those in charge are largely insulated from the consequences of climate change by their disproportionate wealth.

                      The politics to remediate these problems are unsurprisingly unpopular; opposed as they are by these wealthy and powerful lobbies. It is they who define the terms in which we discuss the required actions society must make, characterising simple, effective and equitable alternatives to the continuation of the neoliberal status quo as lowering the standard of living; the same standard that locks-in significant future costs and disruptions to society.

                      It seems even those who take their own individual steps toward transition and resiliency are incapable of seeing the hollowness of standard of living based criticism of societal-scale moves.

    • X Socialist 3.2
      21 October 2022 at 2:28 pm

      There's also the problem of recycling wind turbines themselves. First generation wind turbines cannot be easily recycled because of their composition. Hence many have wound up in landfills. Here we have another example of leaving a secure energy generation foothold before securing the next solid foothold in renewable energy. That leads to retrospective measure needing to be implemented to fix unforeseen problems that have arisen.

      https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/11/30/fact-check-recycling-can-keep-wind-turbine-blades-out-landfills/8647981002/

    • left for dead 3.3
      22 October 2022 at 11:13 am

      Yes,in fact some speculate, the world will need all the copper mined since day dot,within the next 30yr's.

    • Bearded Git 3.4
      24 October 2022 at 7:31 am

      Solar is taking over from wind Lanth. It is cheaper and compared with land based wind turbines has less environmental effect in terms of visibility and noise.

      I read somewhere that China intends to install the equivalent of 250 Clyde dams worth of solar NEXT YEAR alone.

  4. KJT 4
    22 October 2022 at 7:39 am

    Banning mining on conservation land, does not prevent mining elsewhere.

    Miners like conservation land because it is undervalued compared to non-conservation land so obtaining mining rights is cheaper. Nothing to do with the concentration of minerals.

    Complaining about resource use for more sustainable options, is a specious argument.

    Sure wind generation is not perfectly sustainable. Nothing is. Entropy always wins.

    Still many times more sustainable than fossil fuel energy.

    Reminds me of the "ships use fossil fuel too" argument from trucking advocates.

  5. pat 5
    22 October 2022 at 11:28 am

    Hoping against hope….we are not going to mine our way out of energy decline.

    There is only one path (by choice or imposed) ….reduction.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0pt3ioQuNc

  6. Poission 6
    22 October 2022 at 11:42 am

    Germany underwrites 800m$ loan to trading house to provide non ferrous metals to German industry,

    https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1583385952638373890?cxt=HHwWhMDUldDIqPkrAAAA

    To keep both lights on and industry running following the munting of the German energy sector by green policies,Germany will fire up 6.9gw of black coal and 1.9gw of lignite for the winter.

    https://twitter.com/SStapczynski/status/1583486043701268481?cxt=HHwWgsDS2diK1vkrAAAA

  7. Mike the Lefty 7
    22 October 2022 at 9:31 pm

    Of course National could agree to some of this.

    But they won't because they are too busy making political capital out of diesel-guzzling Ford Ranger owners whinging about having to pay more for their fuel and their trophy vehicles.

  8. RP Mcmurphy 8
    23 October 2022 at 4:44 am

    do not fret. the world is going to start de-populating shortly.

  9. Jenny are we there yet 9
    23 October 2022 at 9:28 am

    '

    "New Zealand saw many new factories producing goods like fork lift trucks, water jet engines, forage harvesters, Axminster carpets, wallpaper, aluminium sheet and foil, wood screws, glucose, dextrose, instant coffee, and of course fuel in the form of CNG and ammonia." ADVANTAGE

    You left out the most important, most ubiquitous, most essential industrial revolution material of them all.. It is the single biggest component of wind turbines. It is also one we make here. It requires very little mining. Its raw material iron sand is abundant in the form of enormous drifts and dunes either side of Port Waikato. I am talking of course of Steel made from New Zealand iron sand & (unfortunately) imported Indonesian coal. Coal being the most climate devastating fossil fuel of them all.
    There are technologies for making steel without coal, maybe some investment could be made available for that.

    CAN WE MAKE STEEL WITHOUT COAL?

    Coal Action Network Aotearoa

    24 Apr 2013 Jeanette Fitzsimons,

    In this article, Jeanette Fitzsimons considers an issue with very important implications for both the coal industry and the prospects of making major greenhouse gas emissions reductions: whether, and to what extent, we can make steel without using coal. We welcome your comments and feedback – please send your responses to [email protected].

    ……..

    https://coalaction.org.nz/carbon-emissions/can-we-make-steel-without-coal#:~:text=Electrolysis%20has%20been%20shown%20to%20be%20capable%20of,making%20it%20a%20possible%20option%20for%20the%20future.

    Worth a look?

  10. roblogic 10
    24 October 2022 at 2:27 pm

    Yeah this green tech ain't so green when you consider all the industrial inputs. Nuclear is actually a greener option.

    https://twitter.com/Mining_Atoms/status/1584306032653717505?s=20&t=GLfjn4cmD5ULKTD10xd_HA

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Watts going on about climate change – minister’s speech sets out govt’s position to COP28
    Buzz from the Beehive  Just one bit of governmental news has been recorded on the Beehive website since Point of Order last checked on what our new bunch of ministers are up to. It is a copy of the COP28 National Statement for New Zealand which has given Climate Change Minister Simon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 hour ago

  • Climate Change: The wrong direction again
    In 2019, Aotearoa legislated a methane reduction target of 10% (from 2017 levels) by 2030. Dirty farmers think it is unfair that they should be expected to cut their pollution by a fraction of what the rest of us are doing, and want to do less. Meanwhile, the Food and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago

  • Top 10 for Monday, December 11
    Luxon does not see the point in Treasury analysing the impact of some of his government’s ‘first 100-day’ reforms. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Monday, December 11, including:Scoop of the day: A Treasury ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: How should we organise a modern economy?
     Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. Brian Easton writes – The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago

  • Coalition Circus of Chaos – Verbal gymnasts; an inept Ringmaster, and a helluva lot of clowns
    ..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The Curtain Closes…You have to hand it to Aotearoa - voters don’t do things by halves. People wanted change, and by golly, change they got. Baby, bathwater; rubber ducky - all out.There is something ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    8 hours ago

  • “Brown-town”: the Wayne & Simeon show
    Last week Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown kicked off what is always the most important thing a Council does every three years – update its ‘Long term plan’. This is the budgeting process for the Council and – unlike central government – the budget has to balance in terms of income ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    9 hours ago

  • Not To Cast Stones…
    Yeah I changed my wine into waterHad a miracle or four since I saw youSome came on time, some took a whileLocal Water Done Well.One of our new government’s first actions, number 20 on their list of 49 priorities, is the repeal of the previous government’s Water Services Entities Act 2022. Three Waters, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    9 hours ago

  • So much noise and so little signal
    Parliament opened with pomp and ceremony, then it was back to politicians shouting at and past each other into the void. Photo: Office of the Clerk, NZ ParliamentTL;DR: It started with pomp, pageantry and a speech from the throne laying out the new National-ACT-NZ First Government’s plan to turn back ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago

  • Lost in the Desert: Accepted
    As noted, November was an exceptionally good writing month for me. Well, in an additional bit of good news for December, one of those November stories, Lost in the Desert, has been accepted by Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/) for their Winter Solstice 2023 issue. At 3,500 words, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    18 hours ago

  • This Government and their Rightwing culture-war flanks picked a fight with the country… not the ot...
    ACT and the culture-war warriors of the Right have picked this fight with Te Ao Māori. Ideologically-speaking, as a Party they’ve actually done this since inception, let’s be clear about that. So there is no real need to delve at length into their duplicitous, malignant, hypocritical manipulations. Yes, yes, ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    19 hours ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #49
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Dec 3, 2023 thru Sat, Dec 9, 2023. Story of the Week Interactive: The pathways to meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit The Paris Agreement’s long-term goal of keeping warming “well below” ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • LOGAN SAVORY: The planned blessing that has irked councillors
    “I’m struggling to understand why we are having a blessing to bless this site considering it is a scrap metal yard… It just doesn’t make sense to me.” Logan Savory writes- When’s a blessing appropriate and when isn’t it? Some Invercargill City Councillors have questioned whether blessings might ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Surely it won't happen
    I have prepared a bad news sandwich. That is to say, I'm going to try and make this more agreeable by placing on the top and underneath some cheering things.So let's start with a daughter update, the one who is now half a world away but also never farther out ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    Bowalley Road
    2 days ago

  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    3 days ago

  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago

  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

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

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 week ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago

  • First step to flexible labour market
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to repeal the Fair Pay Agreement legislation by Christmas 2023. “We are moving quickly to remove this legislation before any fair pay agreements are finalised and the negative impacts are felt by the labour market,” says Minister van Velden.  “Fair pay agreements undermine ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    51 mins ago

  • Extending 90-day trial periods to all employers
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to extend the availability of 90-day trial periods to all employers.  “Extending 90-day trial periods to all employers gives businesses the confidence to hire new people and increases workplace flexibility,” says Minister van Velden.  “Whether a business has 2 or 200 employees, bringing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    51 mins ago

  • COP28 National Statement for New Zealand
    Tēnā koutou katoa Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. An island nation at the bottom of the Pacific, New Zealand is unique.          Our geography, our mountains, lakes, winds and rainfall helps set us up for the future, allowing for nearly 90 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources. I’m ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-11T03:51:30+00:00