Superannuitants who were disappointed by the Budget will be cheered (if they are hunters) by conservation news

Buzz from the Beehive

Finance Minister Nicola Willis hadn’t finished with wanting to tell us about Budget 2024 at the end of play on Budget Day.  She had more announcements yesterday.

One of these informed us that people will get to keep more of their own money from 31 July after the passage of the Taxation (Budget Measures) Bill in Parliament yesterday.

Your Point of Order scribes had already checked on their fiscal boost from Willis’ Budget triumph.  It looks like we might get enough – as national superannuitants – to buy an extra cup of coffee per fortnight at the local café, rising to two cups – whoopee! – from next April.

If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fiscal facts – can’t we?”

Buzz from the Beehive

Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”.

He hyped this as a government commitment to save access to medicines, implying that without a change of government last year, the public’s access to medicines would have been denied.

Really?

After hogging out on the Budget Policy Statement, media had less appetite for science reform “plan” (which is to seek advice)

Buzz from the Beehive

The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities

This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver urgently needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders” while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track.

Penny Simmonds is winning the headlines – thanks to an announcement (bungled) that she did not make

Buzz from the Beehive

Penny Simmonds is the minister winning the big headlines this morning.

But they were headlines of the sort best avoided by a politician, such as:

We got it wrong on disability announcement – Minister Penny Simmonds

Fair to say, the announcement that needed explaining was not among those posted on the government’s official website.

Luxon is one of three prime ministers pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza – but the two-state solution they push looks fanciful

Buzz from the Beehive

Two days after hundreds of people rallied outside the New Zealand parliament and the US embassy in Wellington to protest against what they maintain is genocide in Gaza,  Prime Minister Chris Luxon joined with the Prime Ministers of Australia and Canada to express their  concerns that Israel seems to be planning a ground offensive into Rafah.

The prime ministers called for:

• An immediate humanitarian ceasefire;
• The release of hostages;
• The provision of rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian relief to civilians.

Valentine’s Day went unnoticed on the Beehive website – but it is not “baa, humbug” to celebrate National Lamb Day

Buzz from the Beehive

None of our ministers – a quick check with the Beehive website suggests – found cause to mention, let alone celebrate, Valentine’s Day.

But two ministers – Agriculture Minister Todd McClay and Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson – ensured that National Lamb Day did not pass unnoticed.

They hosted “bipartisan celebrations” of National Lamb Day with industry representatives at Parliament to mark the anniversary of the first frozen lamb exports that left New Zealand on 24 May 1882 and to announce a series of woolshed roadshows in support of sheep farmers.

Besides tackling the cost-of-living crisis, the Luxon team can make quick gains in health and education

Incoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has left no doubt one of his top priorities is to fix the cost of living crisis. At  the  same time his government can restore public confidence in the effectiveness of  central government (undermined   by the erratic performance of recent ministers)  in the health and education sectors.

Luxon  has the person for the role of Health Minister in Dr Shane  Reti and even  vocal  critics  accept  that Reti understands what is needed in the health  sector. There is little point in turning back  what Labour started  in restructuring the health system.

Oh, look- the founder of the Maori Party has expressed support for the Nats on the health issue

Buzz from the Beehive

It’s all quiet – yet again – on the Beehive front.

Nothing has been posted on the government’s official website since Grant Robertson (performing his duties as Minister of Sport and Recreation rather than Minister of Finance) announced his travel plans under the heading Sport Minister to represent Govt at RWC final.

Point of Order found the pickings are meagre on another site we monitor to keep an eye on who is doing what to whom.

More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers

Buzz from the Beehive

Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July,

The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during the dawn raids, requires an amendment to the Immigration Act. That’s a job for the next Parliament.

Among the four changes that are being effected by this government, the cap for the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme will be increased from 19,000 workers to 19,500 workers for the upcoming season.

Verrall is curiously shy about the Govt’s injecting $12.3 million into a birthing unit in the Waitākeres

Buzz from the Beehive

Uh, oh.  The Government has nothing to declare – or rather, it had posted no news on the Government’s official website when Point of Order checked at 1pm.

Thus it looked like ministers have had nothing to announce since Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta  yesterday said New Zealand was providing humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco.

This suggests the Beehive’s inhabitants are busy out on the hustings, feverishly doing their bit to try to ensure Labour’s re-election.

But wait:  Health Minister Ayesha Verrall did have ministerial duties to perform yesterday (although nowadays it can be hard to distinguish the performance of  ministerial duties from pitching for votes).

She announced funding of $12.3 million for a new primary birthing unit at Waitākere Hospital.