Latest Politics Headlines
Greater protection for vulnerable children welcomed
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 5:52 pm | Office of the Children's Commissioner
The Children’s Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills, says the announcement of legislative changes to protect vulnerable children reflects an important shift in the balance between respecting a parent’s rights and ensuring a child’s right to be safe. More >>
Let’s Get Waitakere Moving Without Paula Bennett, says Unite
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 5:20 pm | Unite Waitemata
Interest is building in a protest at Paula Bennett’s Office at 6.45 pm, Thursday 15 August, against the welfare reforms; called by Unite Waitemata Paula Bennett will be addressing a public meeting about “Moving Waitakere Forward.” More >>
Foundation CEO to take up senior DOC position
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 5:16 pm | Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Pacific Cooperation Foundation (PCF) Chief Executive Markerita (Meg) Poutasi is moving on to take up a senior position at the Department of Conservation (DOC), as Director of Conservation Partnerships in Auckland in October. More >>
Swampy Marsh's August Newsletter
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 5:05 pm | Simon 'Swampy' Marsh
Last week in council was a marathon with over 200 submitting on the Local Alcohol Policy . Bars opening hours cut from a 6am to 5am closing, supermarkets prohibited from serving alcohol after 9pm and more effective policing of drunks in town are ... More >>
Is Auckland Sucking the Life Out of New Zealand?
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 4:50 pm | The Vote
Does New Zealand need Auckland to keep growing, and growing fast – or are Auckland’s gains at the expense of the country and economy as a whole? Is Tenby Powell right when he says the New Zealand economy “wouldn’t exist” without Auckland? More >>
Barnardos welcomes legislation changes to protect children
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 4:17 pm | Barnardos
Barnardos New Zealand has welcomed today’s announcement by Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett to standardise the screening of people working with children, increase the reporting requirements of State agencies, and constrain the movements of people ... More >>
Websites need to improve privacy information
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 4:03 pm | Office of the Privacy Commissioner
Websites and apps that collect people’s personal information could do much better in telling people that they are doing it, why they are doing it and how securely the information will be held, says Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff. More >>
Survey confirms it’s time for a Living Wage
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 3:09 pm | Council of Trade Unions
The New Zealand General Social Survey: 2012, released today confirms it is time for a Living wage, says CTU President Helen Kelly. Helen Kelly says “the survey shows that Kiwis are struggling with low wages and incomes. More >>
Child Abuse Policy Must be Subject to Democratic Process
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 3:06 pm | Rethinking Crime and Punishment
“Minister Paula Bennett proposal for a wide reaching policy aimed at suspect child abusers, deserves the fullest consideration possible”, says Kim Workman, Spokesperson for Rethinking Crime and Punishment. More >>
Local Government Forum Newsletter – August 2013
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 2:32 pm | Local Government NZ
In the lead-up to this year’s local authority elections the Local Government Forum has released its annual newsletter. Forum Chair, Michael Barnett, observed that 2013 is proving to be a big year for local government, perhaps even bigger than last year. More >>
Sensible Sentencing Trust welcomes hard-line on child abuse
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 2:21 pm | Sensible Sentencing Trust
New Zealand’s largest victim advocacy organisation is congratulating Social Development Minister Paula Bennett and throwing its support behind the Ministers proposed hard line on child abuse. More >>
Efforts to protect children from abuse a welcome move
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 1:46 pm | Every Child Counts
Government plans to standardise the screening of people working with children, increase the reporting requirements of State agencies, and constrain the movements of people who pose a safety risk to children are positive moves, says Every Child Counts. More >>
Country needs to work together and clean up its act
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 1:45 pm | University of Waikato
New Zealand’s 100% Pure branding is too valuable to get rid of so the country needs to clean up its act and live up to its promises, a University of Waikato senior academic says. More >>
#stoptheGCSBbill
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 1:23 pm | Joint Press Release
The voice of the crowd is finally being heard in the debate against the GCSB bill with the launch of a crowd-funded and crowd-sourced campaign which aims to stop the legislation and start a conversation. More >>
Sensible Sentencing’s Attack on Justice Coalition
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 1:19 pm | Justice Coalition
“Garth McVicar’s public attack on the newly formed Justice Coalition was unjustified and incomprehensible”, says Coordinator, Kim Workman. He is referring to ‘Child Abduction debacle blamed on Justice Coalition’, a Sensible Sentencing Trust media ... More >>
Hands off our fish
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:50 pm | Conservative Party
“Proposals to reduce the snapper take for recreational fishermen are self-serving for commercial interests, and won’t solve the problem,” says Conservative Party Leader Colin Craig. “The proposals fail to recognise the self-sufficiency tradition ... More >>
RMA reforms undermine communities and the environment
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:50 pm | Organic NZ
"Proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, announced last week by Environment Minister Amy Adams, could result in ratepayers picking up the tab for industry damaging our environment. This is highly immoral and undemocratic," says Debbie Swanwick, ... More >>
New Pieter T video casts light on youth suicide
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:35 pm | Live For Tomorrow
For Immediate Release 13 August 2013 New Pieter T video casts light on youth suicide Taken from the successful second album ‘Completion’ Pieter T releases his new single and video ‘Tomorrow’ in partnership with Live For Tomorrow , a new project ... More >>
Registration of United Future Party
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:28 pm | Electoral Commission
On 13 August 2013 the Electoral Commission determined an application made under Part 4 of the Electoral Act 1993 to register the following political party: Party: United Future New Zealand Abbreviation: United Future More >>
UnitedFuture to be re-registered as a political party
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 12:16 pm | United Future NZ Party
Some ten weeks since it requested the Electoral Commission to de-register it, as it could not comply with existing EC rules, UnitedFuture has today been advised by the Commission that it will be re-registered this Thursday, August 15th. More >>
Q+A Panel Discussion - Response to Judith Collins Interview
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:36 am | TV One
We’ve all seen the letter from Jonathan Krebs, his lawyer, basically saying they’re trying to find the fastest way to get him out, which does seem to be in appeal to the Privy Council at this point, the hope being that they quash the conviction and ... More >>
Q+A Panel Discussion - Response to Theo Spierings Interview
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:34 am | TV One
For the good of New Zealand, he should go, for the good of New Zealand farmers and for China, I think, because the fact is that the Chinese market will be expecting some big changes. More >>
Q+A Panel Discussion - In response to John Key Interview
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:30 am | TV One
Good morning to you all. Matthew, just discussing – it’s good to know National – not a dictatorship under John Key? More >>
Mother & Daughter to Stand for Henderson-Massey Local Board
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:28 am | Tick Two Chalmers
Mother-Daughter team Jesse and Elizabeth Chalmers have announced they will stand for election to the Henderson-Massey local board as TICK TWO CHALMERS. Jesse and Elizabeth Chalmers are local business owners with strong links to the Henderson-Massey ... More >>
Local capsicums and tomatoes hotter than nuked Ozzie imports
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 11:07 am | Soil and Health Association
"There is no consumer demand for irradiated food from Australia, and labelling these new imports as irradiated will merely increase demand for New Zealand varieties of the same," says Debbie Swanwick, Spokesperson, Soil & Health - Organic ... More >>
“Let’s Get Waitakere Moving Without Paula Bennett”
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 9:39 am | Unite Union
Interest is building in a protest at Paula Bennett’s Office at 6.45 pm, Thursday 15 August , against the welfare reforms; called by Unite Waitemata. More >>
Disabled People Discriminated Against In Employment
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 9:33 am | CCS Disability Action
One of New Zealand’s leading disability services provider today urged the Government to help end the discrimination of disabled people in employment. CCS Disability Action said there was clear evidence of discrimination against disabled people in access ... More >>
Commerce Commission seeks further feedback for UBA
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 9:20 am | Commerce Commission
The Commerce Commission has today released an update paper on matters relevant to its price review of the unbundled bitstream access (UBA) service. The UBA price review started last year and the Commission expects to make a final decision in late October. ... More >>
One in One Hundred Sexual Assaults Result in a Conviction
Tuesday, 13 August 2013, 9:12 am | Rape Crisis
Louise Nicholas, National Sexual Violence Survivor Advocate at Rape Prevention Education is a key speaker at this years’ Cartwright Anniversary Seminar “One in a Hundred: Improving justice for sexual violence survivors”. More >>
Work needed to ensure RMA proposals achieve intended result
Monday, 12 August 2013, 9:07 pm | Local Government NZ
Local Government New Zealand, the peak body representing local authorities around New Zealand, says the Government’s Resource Management Act (RMA) changes announced at the weekend should add consistency across local authority RMA plans, but the devil ... More >>
Speakers at Meeting reflect widespread opposition
Monday, 12 August 2013, 5:13 pm | Stop the GCSB Bill
The Coalition to Stop the GCSB Bill has organised a public meeting at the Auckland Town Hall for next Monday 19th August at 7pm. More >>
Child abduction debacle blamed on Justice Coalition
Monday, 12 August 2013, 4:14 pm | Sensible Sentencing Trust
The Sensible Sentencing Trust says the unethical mind-set of many of the organisations involved in the recently formed Justice Coalition’ must accept responsibility for hard core recidivist criminals like Phillip Edwards being let loose on an unsuspecting ... More >>
Upper Hutt City Council call for collaboration across region
Monday, 12 August 2013, 3:20 pm | Upper Hutt City Council
Upper Hutt City Councillors are considering its draft alternative application to the Local Government Commission on the reorganisation of Wellington Region local government. More >>
Food Prices Rise 0.5 Percent For the July Month
Monday, 12 August 2013, 3:14 pm | Statistics New Zealand
This was on the back of higher prices for vegetables, cheese, and bread, and less discounting for some snack foods. More >>
Candidate calls for action over AgResearch
Monday, 12 August 2013, 2:39 pm | Anjum Rahman
A Hamilton City Council candidate says the Mayor, councillors and local MPs need to do more to try and save the loss of 180 jobs from AgResearch’s Ruakura base. Anjum Rahman, who is standing for the East Ward, says the planned loss of jobs would ... More >>
New report gives insight into bullying in New Zealand
Monday, 12 August 2013, 12:29 pm | Victoria University of Wellington
In the first New Zealand study of its kind, a Victoria University researcher has found that 94 percent of the school staff she surveyed have seen bullying in their school. More >>
Enrol Now to Vote In Local Elections
Monday, 12 August 2013, 10:25 am | Electoral Commission
Time is running out to enrol to vote for this year’s local elections, and the Electoral Commission is urging New Zealanders to act quickly. “You will only get your voting papers sent to you if are enrolled by this Friday, 16 August,” says Murray Wicks, ... More >>
Support package welcome, but low supply remains
Monday, 12 August 2013, 10:05 am | Harcourts
New Zealand’s largest real estate group Harcourts is welcoming the government’s announcement yesterday to better support first home buyers through KiwiSaver deposit subsidies and Welcome Home Loans. More >>
Gaping Hole Created by Change to RMA - GE- Free NZ
Monday, 12 August 2013, 9:51 am | GE Free NZ
The National government is seeking to strike out the voice of communities wanting clean, safe food production that benefits local economies and exports, and are creating a hole that will add to destruction of food safety and environmental standards in ... More >>
Removal of Environmental Protections will Inflame
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 2:54 pm | Environment and Conservation Organisations of NZ
ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION ORGANISATIONS OF NZ INC. Media Release - Wellington, Sunday 11 August 2013 National’s Removal of Environmental Protections will Inflame Reputational Damage to New Zealand The National Party’s decision to announce the ... More >>
Q+A Judith Collins Interview
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 2:26 pm | TVNZ
Sunday 11 August, 2013 Q+A Judith Collins Interview 11/8/2013 Deputy Political Editor Jessica Mutch interviews Justice Minister Judith Collins Q+A, 9-10am Sundays on TV ONE and one hour later on TV ONE plus 1. Repeated Sunday evening at 11:30pm. Streamed ... More >>
Q+A John Key Interview
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 2:22 pm | TVNZ
Q+A John Key Interview 11/8/2013 Sunday 11 August, 2013 PRIME MINISTER SAYS PERCEPTION OF NEW ZEALAND PRODUCTS AFTER FONTERRA BOTULISM SCARE IS THE BIGGER ISSUE NOT COST. Prime Minister John Key told TV ONE’s Q+A programme that it’s too early to put ... More >>
Special candidate standing for Gisborne District Council
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 12:55 pm | Hemara Donnelly
A man who cannot read or write and who was described by authorities as ‘mentally retarded’ is gaining wide support in his bid to become a Gisborne District Councillor. More >>
Francisco Hernandez Announces Dunedin City Council Bid
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 12:47 pm | Francisco Hernandez
Francisco Hernandez says it is an honour to stand for election to the Dunedin City Council. Mr Hernandez confirmed today that he will contest the Dunedin Central Ward as an independent candidate. More >>
Thumbs-Up for proposal to put criminal history on-line
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 11:57 am | Sensible Sentencing Trust
Justice Minister Judith Collins proposal to ‘open up’ the Court system by putting decisions on line has been given the thumbs up from the Sensible Sentencing Trust. More >>
Resource Management Act changes welcomed
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 10:55 am | Port CEO Group
The proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA), announced on Saturday by the Environment Minister Amy Adams, have been welcomed by the 14-member Port CEO Group in a statement today. More >>
Major changes to RMA undermine environmental safeguards
Sunday, 11 August 2013, 10:47 am | Forest And Bird
Forest & Bird is describing the proposed changes to the core of the Resource Management Act as confirmation that the government's strategy is to create short term economic growth at the expense of the environment. More >>
Better approach to decision making under RMA
Saturday, 10 August 2013, 12:13 pm | Business New Zealand
Proposals released today to improve the Resource Management Act and its implementation are sensible, says BusinessNZ. More >>
Government’s announcement on RMA reforms are troubling
Saturday, 10 August 2013, 11:56 am | Environmental Defence Society
The Environmental Defence Society is disappointed by today’s announcement by Environment Minister Amy Adams that the Government will proceed with radical changes to Part 2 of the Resource Management Act. More >>
The cost of ignoring a festering sore
Friday, 9 August 2013, 4:04 pm | Canterbury Sustainable Business Forum
The recent description of our once-proud 100% pure brand as a "festering sore" had special relevance to me. A few weeks ago I had a very minor graze on my knee that I dismissed as not worth worrying about, but a week later it turned into "a festering ... More >>
Waipareira And Papua New Guinea – Humble Beginnings
Friday, 9 August 2013, 4:01 pm | Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust
The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea praised Te Whanau O Waipareira for the work they are doing in the community. More >>
The Morning I Woke Up and it Was 1942 AGAIN!
Friday, 9 August 2013, 3:51 pm | David Croucher
My story is not about the GCSB, this simply motivated me into writing. The mechanisms being used here to gain peoples ‘buy in’ (being untruths) clearly work, but is this the best way forward? Who is protected? More >>
Government’s announcement on RMA reforms expected tomorrow
Friday, 9 August 2013, 3:42 pm | Environmental Defence Society
The Environmental Defence Society is expecting really bad news for the environment from tomorrow’s National Party Conference. More >>
Human rights better protected in written constitution
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:57 pm | Caritas Aotearoa
Basic human rights would be better protected if a revised and strengthened Bill of Rights became part of a formal, written New Zealand constitution, says Catholic social justice agency Caritas in a submission on the government’s Constitutional Review. More >>
Candidates for HBRC Reminded to Get in Early
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:38 pm | Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Potential candidates have only a few days to step forward for Hawke's Bay and be nominated for the 2013 local body elections. Hawke's Bay Regional Council is encouraging candidates to get their forms in ahead of time to avoid the risk of missing out. More >>
Coming up this week on The Nation: The Fonterra Crisis
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:34 pm | The Nation
Government ministers met Fonterra executives on Friday and left the meeting with news of a fourth inquiry into what happened with the whey protein contamination scare at the company's Hautapu plant. More >>
Elections 2013: One week left for nominations
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:26 pm | Christchurch City Council
Nominations for the Christchurch local body elections close in one week, and Electoral Officer Clare Sullivan is encouraging candidates to get their nominations in. More >>
King Salmon High Court decision disappoints
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:11 pm | Environmental Defence Society
The Environmental Defence Society has expressed disappointment at the decision of the High Court on King Salmon. The decision went against both the Save our Sounds and EDS appeals. More >>
Korero Mai Ki Ahau - 10th & 11th of August 2013
Friday, 9 August 2013, 2:08 pm | Radio Waatea 603 AM
In April Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples took Maori business leaders including Maori Trustee Jamie Tuuta and Federation of Maori Authorities chair Traci Houpapa to China to look for trade and investment. More >>
Environment West Coast Statement on Bathurst Decision
Friday, 9 August 2013, 1:28 pm | Environment West Coast
The news that the Environment Court has indicated their intention to issue final consent to Bathurst Resources to mine the old Escarpment workings at Denniston has been greeted with a sense of relief and a mood of celebration on the West Coast today. More >>
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