The Government’s big dairy surprise
The Government never told Dairy NZ in advance that it would spend $339 million over the next four years on research to reduce dairy...
Consensus breaks out in Parliament
In a rare display of what almost amounted to consensus, National have supported two major Government measures in Parliament. ACT did not and voted against...
Luxon backs James Shaw
National Leader Christopher Luxon has ended speculation and committed National to the bipartisan climate change policy that was negotiated in 2019 by then-leader Simon...
How to pay the huge infrastructure bill
Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson yesterday unveiled the bill to fix New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and then more or less said we couldn’t afford to...
The real reason for Three Waters reforms
The realisation that the country faces a looming crisis over its three waters’ infrastructure goes back as far as 2014. Then a Local Government New...
Saving our cows
Greenpeace and Greens co-leader James Shaw have dramatically fallen out over climate change policy. Shaw told Parliament last week that New Zealand did not need...
Luxon and climate change; an incomplete policy
National Leader Christopher Luxon will have sent a shudder through the farming and transport industries yesterday with his argument that the Emissions Trading Scheme...
Government may say no to farmgate emissions levy proposal
The Government may have to retreat from an ambitious proposal to have farmers account for their greenhouse gas emissions and pay “at the farm...
New staffer challenges Nats’ climate change policies
National’s new economic advisor has today produced a paper which jars with the party’s previous climate change policy and raises questions about how much...
Goff rejects Maori co-governance of Three Waters
The Government’s Working Group review of Three Waters has reported and has backed the Maori-Council co-governance model and decided not to increase the number...
Government looks set to do u-turn on foreign investment rule
The Government looks set to reverse one of its signature policies from 2018. The policy is an exemption it granted overseas investors to invest...
Water wars; Three Waters and the Treaty
Twenty-three Mayors come to Parliament today to protest the Government’s Three Waters proposals. At the same time, another group has filed a claim in the...
Forget Groundswell; now farmers are in a real fight
Forget the tractors and the angry groundswell signs; the real battle between farmers and the Government kicked off yesterday when farmers got the formal...
Suburban angst; the opposition to the bipartisan housing proposal
If National is looking for reasons why it is stuck in the polls and why ACT is surging, it might look no further than...
Another climate change target in doubt
New Zealand’s climate change mitigation intentions appear to be hitting another wall. Already the Government has had to concede that two-thirds of the Nationally Determined...