Govt curries favour with farmers with climate change investments – but a collaborative strategy (don’t forget) led to Five Waters

Buzz from the Beehive

Governmental news for the farm and forestry sectors flowed too fast from the Beehive for your Point of Order team to quickly grasp all the implications.

At first blush, we are tempted to wonder if something that looks like good news for farmers has been deftly released to camouflage the not-so-good news buried in these announcements or in some yet to be released.

Many millions of dollars of government funding were among the goodies that might distract farmers from programmes designed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by reducing their output – and incomes.

The latest Beehive releases tell us the government is …

Expecting the newly launched  Climate Action Centre to help farmers to maintain their international edge

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, launched the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions alongside the primary sector partners today at Mystery Creek Fieldays.

 The bullet points emphasise

• New Climate Action Centre launched to support farmers reduce ag emissions through R&D investment
• 50:50 joint venture between Government and agribusiness to accelerate product development
• First Centre projects launched to get farmers the emissions reducing tools sooner
• Indicative funding commitment rising to $35 million per year by Joint venture partners, seeing at least $170 million invested over the next four years

Govt reports on how millions of our money are being used to improve our wellbeing – but the disarmament news is grim

Buzz from the Beehive 

Our improved wellbeing – hurrah – has been high among ministerial considerations as they spend our money over the past 24 hours.

We are  being safeguarded against falling into debt traps, funded to improve the quality of rural water supplies, provided with more mental-health support, and protected from bosses who would do our health and safety a mischief.

For good measure, Phil Twyford has been updating an audience about international efforts to secure the world against nuclear attacks (but he admitted progress is slow).

Their efforts are recorded on the Beehive website, which tells us ministers have been  

Eight Sisters will be chuffed after landing a chunk of the lolly as Govt finds innovative and arty ways to dish out $32m

Buzz  from the Beehive

The applicants who applied for public funds under the name Eight Sisters have done nicely, thank you, from a trough called the Innovation Fund.  They will receive $659,520 to develop a project called Wharenui Harikoa, described as “a large scale crocheted Wharenui to transform intergenerational trauma into joy and global connection”.

Wow.

And what will we get for our $659,520?

The information posted on the Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s website about the latest recipients of funding did not enlighten us because it has been written in a bewildering mix of English and te reo.

It says:

“This Kaupapa – Ko Wharenui Harikoa, he poro whaka hakoko, Ko Uenuku tawhana ki te Rangi. Whare Harikoa – is a refracting prism of Tūpuna-inspired light shining like a rainbow across the sky.”

More Russians on the sanctions list – that will punish Putin’s cronies, but what might he do next to express his displeasure?

Buzz from the Beehive

Wow.  The long weekend seems to have been a powerful pick-me-up for our politicians, who have pumped out a raft of statements over the past two days.

Most of their press releases were to alert us to decisions to improve our wellbeing, although we wonder if that’s the case when we retaliate against President Putin for his antics in Ukraine.  He is threatening to up the ante by unleashing some of his nuclear weapons, after all.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta nevertheless has announced the imposition of further sanctions on members of Putin’s inner circle and other representatives of the Russian political elite, as part of the Government’s ongoing response to the war in Ukraine.

Since the passing of the Russia Sanctions Act in March, New Zealand has imposed sanctions on over 1000 individuals and entities,

“… a key part of our efforts to hold Russia accountable and support Ukraine,” Nanaia Mahuta said.

No, Prime Minister – those lunches are not free and they draw attention to shortcomings in the war against poverty

Buzz from the Beehive

It’s not the sort of accomplishment – some of us might think – that a Prime Minister would be proud to bray about.

The Government’s healthy lunches in school programme has ramped up to deliver a million free lunches to school kids every week.

The PM dished up these numbers:

• Savings for a family with two children at school of up to $62 a week, over $2000 a year
• Lunches now reaching 220,000 kids at 950 schools every school day
• A million lunches delivered a week, over 63 million in total to date
• 2,361 jobs created or retained

What should we make of this?

On the one hand, yes, it is noteworthy that the Government is delivering a million lunches to school kids every week.

But is it praiseworthy?

The PM calls them “free” lunches, opting for political patter that is apt to find favour with lefties. But free lunch

“… refers to a situation where there is no cost incurred by the individual receiving the goods or services being provided, but economists point out that even if something were truly free there is an opportunity cost in what is not taken.”

In this case, the critical question is: why must the government feed school children?

The answer can only reflect badly on the success (or otherwise) of its assault on poverty.

The Ardern Cabinet includes a Minister with the Child Poverty Reduction portfolio.

Ardern appointed herself to this job, presumably to underscore the importance she attaches to it.

Success  – we suggest – will be reflected in an announcement that significantly fewer “free” lunches are being served in our schools.

Government money meanwhile is being pumped into an array of initiatives, some of them unabashedly designed to help eligible people on the basis of race. 

Recovering our relationships with China, ASEAN and Samoa while grappling with climate change and protecting the kauri

Buzz from the Beehive

New Zealand’s relationships with China, the ASEAN countries and Samoa were embraced by speeches and announcements that flowed from the Beehive after Disarmament Minister Phil Twyford had delivered his Statement to the 2022 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Trade Minister Damien O’Connor addressed the China Business Summit, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departed for the Indo-Pacific region for a programme of talks on security and economic issues, and the PM announced the launch of a new climate change partnership with Samoa and confirmed support for the rebuild of the capital’s main market.

The PM’s announcements were accompanied by $15 million to support Samoa’s response to climate change and $12 million toward the rebuild of the Savalalo Market in Apia

Ministers with a domestic focus meanwhile were getting on with telling us about their legislative and regulatory agendas and other programmes.

A major item was the launch today of New Zealand’s first National Adaptation Plan, designed to ensure communities have the information and support they need to prepare for the impacts of climate change.

But our lives will also be affected – for better or worse – by:-

Fonterra puts electric tanker on the road while Hyundai and NZ Post turn to hydrogen (thanks to govt co-funding)

Buzz from the Beehive

It’s great to have Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods – while “celebrating” the launch of two initiatives for energy decarbonisation in the transport sector in New Zealand – give as an idea of what happens to handouts of government money.

Too often, the handouts are announced – and that’s the last we hear of it.

In this case Woods has drawn the public’s attention to two projects  which (she contends) were

“… made possible with the help of Government funding”.

This implies they would have been impossible if Government funding had been denied.

Really?

Whatever might have happened without the state’s investments,Woods could boast that the money has resulted in –

• New Zealand’s (and possibly the world’s) first electric milk tanker entering Fonterra’s fleet; and
• Hyundai and NZ Post getting the country’s first hydrogen truck on the road.

Buzz from the Beehive: While climate change assault is outlined, DoC Minister plants a kauri and Mahuta rocks Belarussia

The big news from the  Beehive in the past day has been the announcement of the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan to put the country on track to meet its first emissions budget, securing our environment and economy.

More of that in our next post.  For now, suffice to say Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared:

“This is a landmark day in our transition to a low emissions future  

“We’ve all seen the recent reports on sea level rise and its impact right here in New Zealand. We cannot leave the issue of climate change until it’s too late to fix.”

Buzz from the Beehive: the lights are changing and mandates going as PM declares Covid success (but how will Daniel react?)

 In a letter to the Dominion-Post today, a Daniel Smith from Lower Hutt tells us what he thinks of at least one aspect of National Party policy on Covid-19.

He says recent calls by Chris Bishop and Christopher Luxon to immediately withdraw Covid-19 mandates at a time when the majority of New Zealand is still experiencing very high rates of hospitalisation

“… beggars belief and is nothing less than irresponsible.

“Have these people not seen what has occurred in the multitude of other countries with limited pandemic control measures in place?  If not, they need to start paying attention.”

“Clearly the opposition parties in New Zealand, which are supposed to be advocating for greater accountability, don’t feel they should be held accountable [for] their own poor-quality policy proposals.  We deserve better.”

Whether or not things are better under Jacinda Ardern is open to debate.  But they are different.

The PM has resisted the call to immediately withdraw Covid-19 mandates.  No, she informed us today – they won’t be withdrawn until April 4 (with some exceptions remaining in place).

ACT staffers were monitoring the announcement, resulting in this press statement:

“No wonder we have a productivity problem when even the Prime Minister takes 22 minutes to deliver 2 minutes of information,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

Buzz from the Beehive: No place to hide (at least, not if govt gets it right with money-laundering law changes)

The Government is intending to force the disclosure of the real owners of companies and limited partnerships with legislation to curb money laundering, tax evasion and terrorism financing.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said the legislation – to be introduced later this year – will make it mandatory for the beneficial owners or controllers of companies and trusts to be identified.

Other announcements from the Beehive deal with …

• Mental health: a recruitment campaign has been launched, targetting “the next generation of mental health nurses”.
• Horticulture: public funding is being pumped into the trial of a new hydroponic growing technique that aims to have higher yields and a lower impact on the environment.
• The war in Ukraine: New Zealand will provide a further $5 million contribution of “non-lethal military assistance” to support Ukraine and are making available a range of surplus defence equipment to share with Ukraine at their request.
• Biosecurity: This year’s New Zealand Biosecurity Awards winners have been announced.

The Bill to “crack down” on global and domestic criminals who use businesses to hide money laundering, tax evasion and the financing of terrorism gel with the Government’s National Security Priorities to help identify threats, risks, and challenges to New Zealand’s security and wellbeing, David Clark said.