Parliament Today:

• Weekly Audio - Budget, Bills And Blue - MPs Briefed On United Nations
• Saturday 18 May - Parliament Ends Long Urgency Session
• Friday 17 May - To The Midnight Hour - Parliament Resumes To Pass Budget Bills
• Thursday 16 May - Urgency Progress - Urgency Motion - House Goes Into Urgency - Budget And Bills - Drawn From The Ballot - Budget Day And Urgency
• Audio - Bill English’s Fifth Budget And Debate In Reply
• Wednesday 15 May - Members Bills Progress, Blue Says Goodbye - Ministers Should Take Political Responsibility: Carter - More Goodbyes And Members Bills
• Audio - Grilling Over MMP Ahead Of Budget
• Questions and Answers – May 15
• Tuesday 14 May - Crown Entities Debate Gets Animated Over Asset Sales - Education Reform Bill Progresses - Gilmore Goes Peacefully - Petitions And Papers - Parting Shots And Education
• Audio - Gilmore Goes, MMP Stays The Same
• Questions and Answers – May 14
• Last Week's Audio - Public Submissions on Psychoactive Substances

Salvation Army Report: Pacific Peoples Making Progress Despite Increasing Adversity

Co-author Ronji Tanielu says the report shows that while Pacific communities continue to face social, health, education, and economic problems that became pronounced in the 1970s, and in many cases have worsened, the Pacific community is tenaciously making progress in some areas, but struggling in others. More>>

ALSO:

• Labour - Pacific Ministry Set Up to Fail
• Greens - National Government’s Inaction On Poverty Fails Pacific Kids

Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement: NZ-Born Fair Deal Coalition Gets Global Makeover

The Fair Deal Coalition announces that it is ramping up its presence with a global publicity and education campaign that will raise awareness of intellectual property rights proposals in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Groser to attend Partnership Forum in Washington
• Out-Link - Home | Our Fair Deal

Gordon Campbell: On The 2013 Budget

We are apparently on track for a margin-of-error $75 million surplus, now in sight for 2014/15. But this sickly creature is hobbling out of the lab on the basis of all kinds of facilitative conjuring... With this strictly nominal surplus in sight, the 1984-ish justification for eternal austerity will have a news talisman: namely, getting Crown debt down to 20% of GDP by 2020. More>>

ALSO:

• The Scoop Team - Scoop Coverage of Budget Day 2013
• Scoop Business - BUDGET 2013 COMMENT Plain sailing, but it’s no America’s Cup
• Scoop Full Coverage - New Zealand Goverment Budget 2013 Full Coverage

Auckland Discord: Govt’s Power Hungry Housing Approach A Threat - Labour

Last week the Government said this, ‘The Government commits not to use any proposed or existing powers ... to override the council's planning and consenting processes’. But its housing Bill says this; ‘If an accord cannot be reached in an area of severe housing unaffordability, the Government can intervene by establishing special housing areas and issuing consents for developers’. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Housing accords legislation passes first reading - Legislation For Housing Accords, Land Supply - Housing package improves affordability, access
• Greens - Budget numbers show National’s failure on home affordability
• Auckland Chamber of Commerce - Budget 2013: Housing intervention needed
• Out-Link - Gareth Morgan: Response to housing problem limp-wristed
• Earlier, Pre-Budget - Auckland Accord announced
• Scoop Full Coverage - New Zealand Goverment Budget 2013 Full Coverage