Work on privatisation under way

Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, August 23rd, 2010 - 38 comments
Categories: privatisation - Tags:

For the last few months, the Standard has been politely asking Treasury for their papers on the sale of Crown assets.  To say they weren’t keen to share would be an understatement. After several OIAs and numerous deadline extensions we’ve managed to get a few papers dating back to the early days of the National government. You can read them here(9.6mb) but these are some of the key passages:

“While recognising Government policy, and the broad political support for retaining state control and ownership of current commercial assets, we think better performance will be achieved by moving towards greater private sector involvement in SOEs. There are a range of options for achieving this while retaining 100% government ownership.”

” put pressure on SOEs to increase their gearing (which as a side-effect will result in greater dividends being paid to the Crown). The way that Ministers think about SOE gearing and special dividends may link to the wider Crown balance sheet management issues that Ministers are interested in”

“There are strong arguments for the Government to put pressure on SOEs to increase their gearing ie encouraging SOEs to borrow more from the private sector and pay special dividends to the Crown.”

“Higher debt levels put increased pressure on SOEs to perform, by committing a fixed part of their future cashflow to debt servicing”

“Higher debt levels do put SOEs under greater financial stress and increase the chance they will require additional capital from the government”

“Shareholding Ministers and SOEs are likely to have different perspectives on the appropriate balance. SOEs will favour lower than optimal gearings as that increases the SOEs operational flexibility, and reduces the likelihood of having to ask shareholders for additional capital.”

“Without sustained and effective pressure from Ministers, SOEs will tend to err on the side of having too little debt on their balance sheets . We suggest that if persuasion continues to be ineffective Ministers should consider directing an SOE or SOEs to pay a special dividend.

Ministers have never directed an SOE over dividends in the past. Such a direction could undermine the Board’s accountability.”

“Which SOES?

Genesis, Meridian, Mighty River Power, NZ Post, Landcorp, and Solid Energy. Together, these six SOEs make up about 87% of the total SOE portfolio.”

And, from the cover letter:

“There are an additional eight documents covered by your request that I have decided to withhold in full [because they are] still under active consideration“.

It’s clear that this is the first stage of the privatisation agenda others have posted about on the Standard. The Government knows it is politically impossible right now to sell public assets straight out, so it is looking at how to sell the value while retaining the company. They’re calling it “private sector ‘involvement'” but it also provides significant new cashflow to the private sector, so it is privatisation in all but name.

Forcing SOEs to fund special dividends and take on private sector debt by issuing bonds effectively privatises the profit stream of public assets, while leaving the companies nominally in public hands. It’s like selling the pearl, leaving you the oyster shell, and telling you that you’re no worse off. With that privatisation ‘private sector involvement’ comes comes an imperative to maximise short-term profits – leading to asset stripping, and the risk that SOEs will need bailouts in the future. This is just what happened in  the 1980s, when the bailouts led to outright sales.

The eight withheld papers tell us the Government is actively working on this privatisation programme right now. One of the most disturbing aspects of this is that two of those papers examine why New Zealanders are opposed to privatisation. Treasury is just telling to government how to sell our assets, they’re trying to work out the propaganda for it too.

Is this surprising? No. This is National doing what National does. But let’s not pretend their goal is not to cut the value out of our public assets and give to their wealthy mates.   National is the party of privatisation. Their branding might change but their fundamental ideology does not.

38 comments on “Work on privatisation under way ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Marty G 1
    23 August 2010 at 9:22 am

    forcing the SOEs to sell bonds is like selling the family silver but keeping the box it was stored in, and telling New Zealand we’ve lost nothing

  2. Bored 2
    23 August 2010 at 9:34 am

    You might note that every one of the SOEs mentioned were built with state raised capital. Which begs the question, if that was a good model when they were built, what has changed? If capitalists were so keen upon having these things why did they not build them in the first place?

    The answer of course is that capitalists never commit cash to major infrastructural enterprises unless any risk is taken by the public via government. Banks rarely loan developement cash to private companies to build this type of asset. Its too risky. Now what capital wants is a way to clip the ticket on SOEs as no risk rentiers. These risk averse parasites disgust me.

    • Craig Glen Eden 2.1
      23 August 2010 at 9:59 am

      Agreed Bored If they want to enter the electricity market go a head build a power station and enter the market. Na to hard why not just pay national some money for their election fund and have National sell off the Nations assets. Screw the tax payer and make out that they are so smart because they have money like they actually earn t it.

  3. Zaphod Beeblebrox 3
    23 August 2010 at 9:52 am

    Shouldn’t this cash be going into exportproducing enterprises.

    • ZB 3.1
      23 August 2010 at 10:58 am

      Look that’s how the scam works. Work harder NZ to export more, means NZ
      can carry more foriegn owners who need a profit income stream going the other way.
      Its the whole chinese finger trap, the harder you pull to get your fingers out, the
      stronger the trap is.
      We need less foreign ownership, so we don’t have to work as hard to produce
      profits to pay our debts!
      National selling assets when the government books are very rosy is blantent
      corruption in my opinion. Government should be investing in infrastructure
      while cheap oil is still with us by nudging highly indebted foreigner companies
      into bankruptcy, instend National LOWERED their taxes! So they could continue
      paying their debts (undoubtly to themselves as the creditor in the foriegn domicile).
      We should be build stronger local economies where owners live next door, or
      next town over, not in China, Japan, or Europe (US is now bankrupt thanks to neo-liberal
      policies still being employed by Key and National).

      • Bored 3.1.1
        23 August 2010 at 1:31 pm

        ZB, You are quite correct in what you say, the biggest issue we face as we sell off our incomes is that we lose our freedom. We become a nation of serfs to some party we saw fit to give our assets to.

        Another problem I have with “business” here is that the infrastructural costs do not just benefit citizens, they provide the necessary things that “business” too needs to operate. What these pillocks are saying is that state assets should be privatised so they dont have to pay the taxes etc….what the fools need to realise is that they will still be asked to pay for the usage by whoever buys them, and most likely a lot more.

  4. Bright Red 4
    23 August 2010 at 9:53 am

    Raising capital with a bond issue to expand an SOE is one thing. Forcing SOEs to pay special dividends to the Crown, which they in turn fund by issuing bonds (effectively, selling off their profit stream) – that’s privatisation

  5. just saying 5
    23 August 2010 at 10:07 am

    Excellent work.

    It’s almost worse than an outright buy-out because in addition to losing the value, the public is underwriting private failure if it occurs.

  6. Bright Red 6
    23 August 2010 at 10:26 am

    Silence from the Righties.

    It’s a hard one for them. Key and co have been lying to us, they are planning privatisation.

  7. Anne 7
    23 August 2010 at 10:38 am

    “Silence from the Righties.”
    Good grief! The Tory propoganda machine has been caught by surprise. Their research capabilities are going to be streteched on this one. They’ll need a few hours at least to figure out what spin to give their online bovver boys and girls.

    • luva 7.1
      24 August 2010 at 12:05 am

      IB has banned most of them

      [lprent: Not that many – they make far more noise than their actual numbers.

      We have accumulated 16 people marked as having permanent bans, two on bans that expire next month, and one that I’m awaiting an apology from for making unfounded assertions about the authors at The Standard.

      Banning is pretty much about behaviour, and around here most of the bad behaviour comes from a small but noisy minority. ]

  8. Draco T Bastard 8
    23 August 2010 at 11:25 am

    Who are the Treasury working for? Because it certainly doesn’t appear to be NZ as what they’re recommending there is no less than taxpayer subsidy of the private finance sector.

    • Tiger Mountain 8.1
      23 August 2010 at 11:43 am

      Treasury is acting like comprador capitalists as they used to be called, or more accurately the CCs representatives in Government. Dispensing corporate ‘welfare’ no less. Mr “Shithead’ and the treasury minions must be loving this. It will be interesting to see what their fanclub makes of it when they get their script together.

  9. Lanthanide 9
    23 August 2010 at 11:27 am

    So just to clarify what all this means, can someone confirm if I’ve got it right?
    – Government will ask SoE for a ‘special’ dividend, which the SoE will not have the funds to pay
    – SoE is forced to sell bonds on the private market to raise money required to return to the government
    – Private investors now own bonds in the SoE, which the SoE will have to pay out at a future date, out of their normal income stream.

    Once the bonds are paid back, the SoE would essentially be 100% government owned again, right? Of course that never happens, because like a ponzi scheme, they have to keep selling bonds to raise the money to pay back the old bonds that are maturing, not to mention fund any other additional ‘special’ dividends that the government has asked for as well.

    • Bright Red 9.1
      23 August 2010 at 11:38 am

      The key phrase is “Once the bonds are paid back”.

      When a bond matures, you have to find the cash from somewhere to pay it. Either the SOE would have to save even more for that time, or the government would have to repay its special dividend, or the SOEs would have to issue new bonds to repay the old ones – the latter would be normal practice. From the point of view of the govt’s books, you may as well consider the term of a bond indefinite unless a govt decides to pay down debt.

      • Lanthanide 9.1.1
        23 August 2010 at 11:58 am

        Right, that’s what I thought.

      • MrSmith 9.1.2
        23 August 2010 at 8:24 pm

        Can’t we find a replacement for the word KEY please! I’m am sick to death of people in the MSM using it every chance they get, especially national lakys and having it mentioned here makes me feel ill.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.2
      23 August 2010 at 11:57 am

      You forgot one point – the government will be forced to loan more money at interest to keep the SoEs afloat and to put in the needed investment in infrastructure which will come from the private sector as well. As I said – nothing but taxpayer subsidy of the private finance sector. It’s nothing but a huge rort (ponzi scheme) that the Treasury is recommending.

      They should all be fired for this shit.

      • Bright Red 9.2.1
        23 August 2010 at 12:01 pm

        yeah. borrowing costs money.

        you do it when there’s a good reason – like funding expansion that will give you returns greater than the cost of borrowing.

        But this is just selling off the profit-stream permanently in return for a one-off cash injection (which will probably be used for tax cuts for the rich)

  10. Zaphod Beeblebrox 10
    23 August 2010 at 11:33 am

    Don’t you see, this is about energy conservation. Shareholders demand SOE’s maximise profits, so they put up electricity prices to exhorbitant levels. Then we are all forced to freeze to death because we can’t afford the bills! Brilliant!

    Now normally you’d expect everyone to go out and put in photovoltaics- but somehow I don’t expect the SOE’s and the government to encourage that sort of individualism as it will affect the SOE’s profits.

    • DS 10.1
      23 August 2010 at 1:22 pm

      To be fair, if the pensioners etc all freeze to death then you can ratchet down the Health budget as well.

      Cunning.

    • Bored 10.2
      23 August 2010 at 1:39 pm

      Shareholders are dangerous creatures because they have only one goal. return on investment. Social or even national economic utility dont come into it. Therein lies the bankruptcy of the “free market” model, we can be as price effecient as sin whilst people who cant afford to be in the market freeze. Some costs we actually socialise because to not do so is highly inefficient as well as anti social.

    • loota 10.3
      23 August 2010 at 1:48 pm

      I don’t get it. So SOE’s will be forced to take on more debt regardless of the business case (because more debt is the answer, uh, to what again?) and also pay the Govt more in terms of dividends. However to service that debt and to pay the Govt more, SOEs will have to extract more money from the community.

      Huh?

      So the NATs are saying forget making business decisions based on business cases; ideology will do thanks.

  11. BLiP 11
    23 August 2010 at 12:43 pm

    Now we see what National Ltdâ„¢ meant when it said it was going to “deepen the markets”. And the result, sink or swim, suckers.

  12. ZB 12
    23 August 2010 at 2:59 pm

    We breed the best dairy cows (invest and build core infrastructure and services) and then National
    get into power and sell the best milkers! Sorry even Fonterra isn’t that stupid. Fact is you can
    expose a market to outside investors without selling the silver. You sell a ownership right
    to the production for that year! Not the frigging dairy herd! National have no idea about
    business, only about harving them up and selling them low.

    Its the bottom of the market, why is National even considering this?

    • Bored 12.1
      23 August 2010 at 4:33 pm

      Look ZB, let you into a little secret. The selling of cows on dairy farms to overseas interests is actually a smokescreen so we dont notice that the whole of the proposed John Key Memorial Cycleway falling into overseas private hands. Its a double whammy because foreign interests noticing the depletion of oil based urea fertilisers are going to mine the urea soaked soil beneath the cows. Brownlee put them onto it, hush hush. I also hear that the Cycleway will become an SOE shortly, the capital costs of construction being done with a public bond float.

  13. marsman 13
    23 August 2010 at 5:52 pm

    Sneaky Nasty NACT.

  14. G Duff 14
    23 August 2010 at 6:10 pm

    I believe there is a good opportunity for Local and Central Government to issue what I term “InfrastructureBonds” to help fund much needed infrastructure.

    Many retired people were badly let down by the collapse of the finance sector over the last four years and are looking for a safe place to invest their retirement savings. They want a fair return on their funds but above all want a return of their funds at the end of the investment term.
    For the SOE, or Local body, this does not require them to give up Govenment/Taxpayer or Ratepayer ownership or control of their enterprise, but allows them to raise sufficient capital for much needed expansion.
    While Rates or taxes should fund most of the budget, the local authorities from time to time require capital for new roads, sewerage works, or maybe in the case of Greater Auckland, a rail link to the Airport.
    These are the sorts of ventures which could be encouraged to the long term benefit of all.
    I prefer this option to that of Toll roads or Public-Private Partnerships. which tend to privatise the profits and socialize the losses.

    • loota 14.1
      24 August 2010 at 1:06 am

      Many retired people were badly let down by the collapse of the finance sector over the last four years and are looking for a safe place to invest their retirement savings. They want a fair return on their funds but above all want a return of their funds at the end of the investment term.

      What kind of ass-backwards capitalism is this?

      Creating an investment vehicle for the sakes of putting money into it without any plan of generating value? How do you think these bond holders are going to get paid their capital back plus interest? By SOE’s magicking $$$ out of think air?

      So lets start with answering the basic question of whether or not any SOEs actually need extra funds for investment now and what they are going to use those funds for – what ROI can they get for the funds they borrow.

      Coz if they can’t get a good ROI on the funds they are supplied with through the issuing of bonds its a very bad deal for them and a very bad deal for tax payers.

  15. tc 15
    23 August 2010 at 8:41 pm

    Treasury appear to have a severe case of the double diptons.

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      24 August 2010 at 12:58 am

      They’ve been so well trained in the illogic of neo-liberalism that they fail to recognise when something is logically false.

  16. innocent bystander 16
    24 August 2010 at 7:20 am

    SOEs already borrow from th private sector. They also often pay dividends to the Crown. The question in relation to borrowing is one of degree ie are they incentivised to borrow at the optimum amount to deliver services to other SOEs or the public in the most efficient and effective way. The special dividend would be used to ensure the former where other incentivies haven’t worked. Read the report.

    Personally I find the selective quoting that some posters do here worrying becuase it dumbs down the debate rather than invigorating it with cogent arguments. I for one would a appreciate a well structured argument for or against Treasury’s advice rather than some half arsed political smear.

  17. David Lloyd 17
    26 August 2010 at 11:49 am

    Why don’t they privatise Treasury?

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  • 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    1 week ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    2 weeks ago

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