10 Nov 2017  -  Foreign Minister Winston Peters says Japan’s decision to continue whaling in the Southern Ocean is out of step with international opinion and defies scientific advice.  Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research announced on 9 November that the Japanese whaling fleet had departed Japan for the Southern Ocean.

“While the world calls for greater protection of the ocean’s ecosystems, Japan’s whaling vessels will be heading to the Antarctic to hunt over 300 minke whales.

“New Zealand has long been opposed to whaling and has repeatedly urged Japan to end its whaling programmes,” Mr Peters says.

“Japan’s decision to conduct whaling in the Southern Ocean flies in the face of the clear recommendations of the International Whaling Commission, its Scientific Committee and its expert panels.”

“Put simply, Japan can achieve its stated research objectives without killing whales. This is an outdated practice and needs to stop,” Mr Peters says.

| A beehive release  ||  November 9,  2017   |||

9 Nov 2017  -  The Bonn climate change meeting will put the global spotlight on the concerns of vulnerable Pacific nations, Ministers say.  Climate Change Minister James Shaw and Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio are attending the climate change meeting in Bonn, Germany, known as COP23[1]. “Under Fiji’s leadership the voice of low-lying small islands, such as those in the Pacific, will be heard clearly at this COP,” Mr Shaw says.

“Aupito and I will be listening closely to Pacific Island leaders’ concerns and priorities.

“This is the first time a small island developing state has presided over the COP. This is important, because these countries are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts such as threats to food and water supplies, and energy security.”

Mr Shaw and Mr Sio will also be attending a meeting in Rome between Pacific Island Forum Leaders and His Holiness Pope Francis, en route to COP23.

Mr Sio says the Government and Pacific peoples need to speak together in responding to climate change.

“The Government recognises that Pacific Island nations are at particular risk of rising sea levels as a result of climate change and global warming. People from low-lying island nations face real threats of being displaced from their homes and may need to find new homes in future years.

“We will work with regional partners and organisations, and review migration policy with the Minister of Immigration to establish a better approach to deal with this very real issue for Pacific nations and peoples, and we will keep fighting climate change,” says Mr Sio.

“We want to see on-the-ground action to reduce emissions, and progress on the Paris Agreement work programme. The aim is to make good progress so the rules and procedures for the Paris Agreement can be completed by COP24,” Mr Shaw says.

“New Zealand’s goal is to work constructively with the rest of the world to accelerate the global transition to a low emissions future.”

[1] The 23rd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or COP23, takes place from 6-17 November in Bonn, Germany.

| A Beehive release  ||  November 9,  2017   |||

8 Nov 2017  - On day one in the House, Labour struck a deal with National to save face, but the consequences of that deal could mean a difficult three years for the government writes Lynda Walters for Stuff today.

On Tuesday, during the election of the Speaker of the House, National caught Labour off guard, suggesting the government didn't have the numbers to elect its nominated man, Trevor Mallard.

In what appeared to be a mad scramble, leader of the House Chris Hipkins conversed with Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson and NZ First's Ron Mark over how best to proceed.

Continue here to read the full article ||  November 8,  2017   |||

8 Nov 2017  -   The last government has a lot to be proud of, writes National MP Chris Bishop for The Spinooff, from fending off the GFC and Canterbury earthquake recovery to social investment and addressing child poverty.  As the dust settles on the election and the new super-sized Labour/NZ First/Greens ministry gets to work, it’s worth looking back on nine years of National-led government, and what has been achieved for New Zealand.

Let me say at the outset that no government is perfect. All are affected by global economic circumstances and – as encapsulated in Macmillan’s famous dictum – “events, dear boy, events”. Governments never deliver all the fervent desires of their most ardent supporters, and most aren’t anywhere near as hopeless as partisans from the other side would have you believe.

I believe New Zealanders can look back with pride on nine years of National government. The country is demonstrably a better place than it was in 2008. Since Muldoon (who infamously, and depressingly, promised to leave the country no worse than he found it) that has surely been the litmus test for good government in this country. New Zealand is prouder, wealthier, more confident and aspirational than it was nine years ago.

Here then are 10 of National’s achievements.

1. Getting the country through the global financial crisis – and back into the black

Any account of the last National government has to start with the GFC. Sir John Key, Bill English and team took office in the teeth of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and it’s worth recalling that New Zealand actually entered recession a year before the rest of the world. Treasury predicted never-ending deficits, unemployment to rise to over 10%, and debt to peak at 40% of GDP.

The government didn’t panic – and nor did it slash and burn. Social support was maintained, but poor quality programmes were rationalised, and new Budget operating allowances were pared back. In the years preceding 2008, Labour had increased spending unsustainably (50% in its last five years) for little to no effect. With Bill English in charge of the purse strings, departments were told to focus on results, not just to lobby for ever-escalating spending.

The government books got back into the black in 2014/15. Unemployment is now down to 4.6% and labour force participation is at record levels. Our debt to GDP topped at just 25%, and is coming down (Australia’s is 40, the UK’s is 90 and the USA’s is 108%!).

I’m proud that we did this while maintaining investment in core public services. For example, since 2009 health spending has increased by $3 billion per year, or around 25% (population growth has been 14%).

The incoming government inherits books that are the envy of the developed world.

2. Building a more productive, diverse and competitive economy

While dealing with the GFC, National started the process of consistent, moderate and sustained economic reform to build a more productive and competitive economy.

Continue here to read the full article on The Spinoff ||  November 8,  2017   |||

8 Nov  -  Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker says the Government will not shrink away from New Zealand’s leadership role on free trade - but it must be on our terms. Before heading to Apec, Parker spoke to Sam Sachdeva, Newsroom's Foreign Affairs and Trade EditorNewsroom's Foreign Affairs and Trade Editor about taking on “the excesses of globalised capital” and avoiding a public backlash.  Befitting his status as one of Labour’s policy wonks, David Parker has been handed an array of challenging roles.

The economic development and environment portfolios, both areas where the Government has some ambitious plans, would be challenging enough, with the Attorney-General position adding more work again.

Yet Parker’s toughest role may be as Trade and Export Growth Minister, where he will be tasked with satisfying the scepticism of supporters regarding free trade deals while placating exporters and the business community.

Early signs have been positive, with a ban on foreign buyers fulfilling Labour’s pre-election pledge without jeopardising TPP talks and existing trade deals (with the exception of Singapore). Yet tougher obstacles may lie ahead.

FTAs 'sexy' but not enough

Under the previous National government, trade ministers Tim Groser and Todd McClay made a virtue of signing New Zealand up to as many free trade agreements as possible.

The Trade Agenda 2030 strategy, unveiled by McClay earlier this year, set a target of having 90 per cent of New Zealand’s exports covered by FTAs.

Parker is less convinced, saying of FTAs: “They’re sexy but they’re not the be-all and end-all.”

“Exports could go down and you could still meet that [90 per cent] target - FTAs are not the driver of investment in the new products and services that we need to sell to the world.”

Continue here to read the full article on Newsroom  ||  November 8,  2017   |||

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will travel to Da Nang, Viet Nam to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting 10-11 November. The Prime Minister will then travel to Manila, The Philippines where she will attend the East Asia Summit 12-14 November.

Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, and Trade and Export Growth Minister, David Parker, will accompany the Prime Minister in Viet Nam and attend the APEC Ministers’ meetings. Associate Trade and Export Growth Minister Damian O’Connor will also attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting in Manila next week.

“I’m very much looking forward to meeting other regional leaders. At the beginning of my leadership, it’s important that I work to strengthen what are very important relationships.”

In Da Nang, the Prime Minister will meet with a number of political leaders, and will attend both the APEC Leaders’ and TPP Leaders’ meetings. She will also speak at the APEC CEO Summit on ‘Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Growth’.

“This year’s APEC Leaders’ meeting is focused on economic, financial and social inclusion. This responds to a rising concern in the region about the impact of globalisation and the demand for inclusive and sustainable growth,” says Ms Ardern.

“The APEC region is vital for New Zealand’s economic future and my attendance at the meeting will provide a valuable opportunity to promote New Zealand’s commitment to the region. APEC has been a driving force for better connecting the dynamic Asia Pacific region, and the relationships we have developed with our regional partners have helped lay the foundation for several of our regional FTAs.”

In Manila, the Prime Minister will meet with key counterparts in the region and attend the East Asia Summit, at which strategic challenges such as North Korea, will be discussed.

“New Zealand is committed to working with member countries to address the Asia-Pacific region’s most pressing strategic challenges and opportunities.

“New Zealand will continue to support UN Security Council Sanctions and international efforts to send a clear message to North Korea and to support a diplomatic solution to the situation,” Ms Ardern says.

The Prime Minister will also attend a celebration to mark ASEAN’s 50th Anniversary, and will return to New Zealand on 16 November.

| A Beehive release  || November 7,  2017   |||

New Zealand’s 52nd Parliament will meet on Wednesday 8 November to hear the Speech from the Throne by Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“We promised we would be a government of action so I’m pleased to announce the opening of Parliament next week.

“The Speech from the Throne will set out our vision for a fairer, better New Zealand and the measures we intend to introduce over the next three years to achieve that.

“Our priorities are to take action to reduce child poverty and inequality, help Kiwis to live in affordable, warm, dry homes, restore funding to our health system so all can access it, expand jobs and opportunities in our regions, make post-secondary school education more affordable, clean up our rivers and play our part in tackling climate change.

“The opening of Parliament means we will be able to start making progress on many of the key elements of our 100 Day Plan and start delivering real change to improve the lives of New Zealanders.”

Background

The opening of Parliament consists of two ceremonies – the Commission Opening on Tuesday 7 November and the State Opening on Wednesday 8 November.

The Commission Opening will take place at 11.00am on Tuesday 7 November. The Chief Justice, acting as a Royal Commissioner, will open Parliament so that members can be sworn in and a Speaker elected.

The formal State Opening will be on the next day, Wednesday 8 November at 10.30am.

The Speech from the Throne takes place at the State Opening when the Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy sets out the Labour-led Government’s intentions for the next three years.

The public can watch both ceremonies in Parliament grounds or live on Parliament TV and RNZ.

| A Beehive release  ||  October 30,  2017   |||

Foes become best of enemies sharing the applied Utu of the United States entertainment industry.

Question. What do the National Party and Kim Dotcom have in common apart from both being domiciled in New Zealand, and both being each other’s nemesis?

Answer. They are both targets of the entertainment industry’s determination to demonstrate the power and the long reach of its copyright enforcement.

Kim Dotcom was arraigned in New Zealand at the behest of the United States entertainment industry on the grounds that his gigantic computerised transit warehouse was being used to handle US entertainment products.

The National Party was similarly constrained to appear in court over the similarity of its 2014 campaign jingle with that of the output of a United States performing artist.

Now we encounter the divergence between the two unlikely parties in that Kim Dotcom’s enforced presence in the United States remains on hold, while the National Party must wear a fine of $600,000 for lifting a snarling, tattooed US warbler’s rhythm.

These two entities, the National Party and the Dotcom one also share the distinction in that in the same 2014 election they both fielded competing political parties –the Dotcom Party known as the Internet Party and the National one

Similarly these two rather disparate entities share several mysteries. Among them:-

• Why did the National government deem it necessary to be party to an SAS-style raid on Kim Dotcom’s Auckland residential headquarters when the subsequent evidence indicated that Mr Dotcom would have come quietly?
• Why did Mr Dotcom, if he believed himself guilty of anything, have had his digital storage company’s servers – the virtual warehouse-located in the United States which he must have known has an extradition agreement with New Zealand?

The degree to which the courtroom proceedings in Wellington leading up to the National Party copyright decision will be a presence in the continuation of the proceedings against Mr Dotcom will of course be an element for the jurists involved to conjure with.

The two defendants resemble two bruised and bloodied martial arts combatants, tag wrestlers, obliged to lean on each other to remain standing up.

The Kim Dotcom corner murmuring to the effect that it was encouraged to settle in New Zealand by a National government viewing the burly digital genius as an avatar who would encourage others of that stripe to set up shop here

The National Party corner meanwhile rumbling away how their various professional imaging advisers had let them down and after all, they only wanted to get the younger vote in their corner anyway---the same people who were supposed to pick up the Dotcom digital entrepreneurship follow-me message

The fact that these two, the hunters and the hunted, now find themselves in the same copyright corner again underlines the bizarre nature of the general election of 2017.

| From the MSCNewsWire reporters' desk  ||  Friday October 27,  2017   |||

Last Thursday a 72-year-old man used his time at the most-watched podium in the land to make a rather extraordinary ideological statement about the state we find ourselves in and, it seems, to swing a hammer at what has felt like a layer of thick ice between New Zealand as it is and New Zealand as it will be writes Anna Connell for Newshub.

"Far too many New Zealanders have come to view today's capitalism, not as their friend, but as their foe” said Winston Peters

"That is why we believe that capitalism must regain its responsible - its human face. That perception has influenced our negotiations."

In making these remarks, Peters joined Dame Anne Salmond and Jim Bolger as elder statespeople calling time on neo-liberalism, and in making the call to go into coalition with Labour, propelled Jacinda Ardern, a 37-year old woman, to the top political role you can hold in New Zealand. In an odd twist for our country and maybe Peters himself, he became a catalyst for a new generation of political leadership and a new kind of thinking.

Ardern is the first of her generation to hold the office of Prime Minister and her ascension is symbolic of more than the ideology she represents as a member of the Labour Party or the ideological disenchantment Bolger and Peters refer to.

Ardern, like me, sits on the cusp of latest of the late Gen Xers and the Millennial generations. We both grew up in the Waikato and may have battled against each other at the finest of sporting events for nerds, interschool debating. Ardern is not only the first political leader whom I can refer to as a peer and a contemporary but one of the first leaders across any sector who is more like me than not. And that is exciting, not just because my generation now has a PM in its number but because, as Salmond says, ‘it marks a changing of the guard between generations, and a time to try out new ideas.’

In part, Ardern comes equipped to try out new ideas simply by virtue of what being her age means. The New Zealand she grew up in, what she learned at school and the changes she has observed are all markedly different to that of her predecessors English, Key and Clark. She has lived almost half her life in the 21st century and the future is less likely to look like the Jetsons in her head and more like driverless cars.

Maile Carnegie, Group Executive, Digital Banking at ANZ bank recently shared her views on what it takes to shift a legacy business into the 21st century at a symposium in Sydney earlier this year. While I have never been a fan of equating government with business, I can’t help but refer to her use of the term ‘the frozen middle’ in reference to businesses struggling to adapt in the context of New Zealand right now.

Having friends who are renters won’t be unusual to this PM and the desire to use public transport rather than drive will be something she’ll understand. There will be no ambiguity from this Prime Minister about same sex marriage or whether climate change is a real threat.

Within business the frozen middle is a layer of middle management who Carnegie says “are no longer are experts in a craft, and who have graduated from doing to managing and basically bossing other people around and shuffling Powerpoints.”

The frozen middle is the most conservative layer in the organisation and the most resistant to chnage. Individuals within the ‘frozen middle’ will choose the safety of the tried-and-true over inventiveness and ingenuity. Carnegie names tackling the ‘frozen middle’ as one of the greatest challenges business leaders must face. “The frozen middle will resist change like death.” She says.

For a lot of my career, it has felt like being a part of my generation was akin to being underneath that frozen middle and waiting for it to crack or lightly thaw. Like many people of my age, I have spent a lot of time convincing people older than me that social media wasn’t a fad, that same-sex marriage wasn’t going to be the end of the world, that using basic Te Reo in signage or speeches shouldn’t be optional and that consumers did care about things like the environment and gender equality. I have spent a lot of time arguing for evolution and adaption knowing that what they regarded as contestable was, in fact, a fait accompli. I have expended a lot of energy in essentially being told to accept the things I cannot change while watching them become inevitable.

No one is going to have to explain social media to Ardern. Facebook, Netflix, Uber and Air BnB will all be well embedded technologies used by the PM’s peers as opposed to reasons you call your kids and Ardern’s contemporaries have probably all had mobile phones for at least 15 years. Having friends who are renters won’t be unusual to this PM and the desire to use public transport rather than drive will be something she’ll understand. There will be no ambiguity from this Prime Minister about same sex marriage or whether climate change is a real threat. Ardern will be a Prime Minster that will attempt to correctly pronounce Māori placenames and use Māori language because that is the right thing to do and Guyon Espiner speaking Te Reo on RNZ won’t just be a good thing but a normal thing in a country where Māori is an official language. Our government will look more like the New Zealand we live in than ever before because diverse representation will be a norm, not an exception.Winston Peters - an unlikely but effective ally to New Zealanders seeking generational change in the corridors of power. Photo: Lynn Grieveson

Accepting these things as the status quo and not contestable ideas isn’t ideological, it’s generational and it’s a prerequisite to being able to move conversations and ideas on from where they’ve been languishing in the change resistant frozen middle. With Ardern as Prime Minster there is hope and optimism and it’s about more than policy or ideology. There is a new generation feeling empowered to make change and there is now space for us to have the conversations we need to have; conversations that are different from the ones we’ve been having for the last 30 years.

I owe much of this week’s column to being able to have some of those new conversations with friends over eggs and many pots of coffee on Saturday. One of those friends sent me a text on Sunday with a quote from Dr. Angela Davis that she described as ‘maybe summing up a bit of the tipping point I was trying to articulate.’

‘I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.’

I think that quote more than maybe sums up the tipping point we’re at. What was once change is now the status quo, creating more room for the pursuit of greater change and less acceptance of not being able to make it.

The gap between New Zealand as it is and New Zealand as it will be has shrunk somewhat as a new generation steps up and oddly enough, we owe some thanks to a 14 term, pre-Boomer politician called Winston.

|  A Newshub  release   ||  October 24,  2017   |||

DIY defeat in which Blindness to symbols blended with analysis-induced paralysis.

Political buffs everywhere will refer to the fall in 2017 of the National Government as an example of how flourishing terms of trade and other positive economic indicators are insufficient to compensate for a failure to quickly get on top of emotive domestic issues.

The National Government fell through becoming paralysed by its own over-analysis.

It could never get a clear vision of its overriding objective which was to stop its older adherents bolting to Winston Peters and his New Zealand First alternative party.

Similarly, National had to lock in its farmers.

Yet with its inability to put out clear policies, notably on water, National allowed Winston Peters to insert himself in the policy vacuum and declare himself the champion of farmers

Again, in taxation, National was unable to put across the obvious dual message to the effect that yes, capital gains tax was a good idea, but oh dear! It simply had had the opposite effect of the one intended in countries that had it. They might have quoted Spain, for example

In a curious example of reverse laws in physics, the more advisers and “consultants” the Nationals recruited to its cause from at home and abroad, the less the grasp it gave the impression of having on the issues

Neither was it able to recognise its own strengths in order to de-fuse the anticipated accusations of absence of much caring-sharing in regard to minority groups. It’s allegiance with the now extinct Maori Party was one of these hidden symbolic advantages.

It was in its absence of comprehension of political symbols that from the outset of its third term that the governing-alone National Party was most manifestly out of its depth.

The caucus, the Parliamentary party in toto, did not know how to handle a celebrity prime minister, and especially one who would not be taking them into the next election

Without anyone to counter his own exuberance, the caucus allowed Mr Key to launch his personal flag-changing campaign which was to alienate the growing proportion of its elderly supporters, and to near universal surprise, a sizeable chunk of the younger ones as well.

A pride of the National government was that under the tutelage of old Wall Street hand prime minister John Key, it understood pretty much what was going on in United States politics.

In the event it gave the impression of having little comprehension at all.

It seemed as surprised as its contacts in United States media and politics that Donald Trump became the new president.

It was revealed for example that the National government had signed off on a large donation to the Clinton Foundation.

Worse was to follow.

The National government now followed through on its pledge as a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council to back a measure against Israel.

This had the effect of alienating its support among New Zealand’s accelerating congregations in evangelical churches in which anything to do with the holy land is regarded with extreme sensitivity

As the election drew near and grappling now with the excesses of house prices and unable to explain how this was due in part to regulatory constraints, many introduced by Labour, the National Government now stood mutely by as it found itself on the receiving end of the biggest own goal in New Zealand political history.

Former prime minister, by now Sir, John Key now sold his Auckland property.

New Zealand is quite different from the United States and Australia in that great wealth is not necessarily admired.

Attitudes to large scale individual capital formation can quickly change from sneaking regard, furtive envy, to outright resentment

Which is what happened now as the general election drew near .

Neither can the National Party point to Fifth Column-style enemies of the type that are supposed to be neutral.

Certainly not the mainstream media.

The old legacy media nowadays is neither to the right nor to the left.

It is though intensely pc, something which National finds it hard to grasp, and thus accommodate itself to.

In the end it was a DIY defeat.

National fell into all the bear traps dug for it by Winston Peters.

Then added its own.

| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ||  Monday 23 October 2017   |||