newsroom.co.nz
Yeah, who wants a huge part of our economy confident and productive.
As opposed to the entrenched welfare class?It's happening here
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The corporate class takes over America
Comment: Neal Curtis looks at the forces behind the veil of pomp at the Trump inauguration
Without getting into a left vs right thing, that seat was won by a wafer thin 42 vote majority. Democracy is more important than left vs right.nothing to see here.... absolutely corrupt and an abuse of the democratic process. Can't wait to see the piece Mountain Tui does on this.....
Manurewa Marae inquiry: John Tamihere admits census forms were photocopied
Andrea Vance
February 19, 2025 •09:40am
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere has admitted census forms were photocopied by Manurewa Marae staff.
But he said data from the 2023 survey, collected by the marae on behalf of his Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) and Waipareira Trust was not misused to help the party’s election campaign.
Two damning inquiries into the alleged misuse of census and Covid-19 vaccination information were released on Tuesday.
The findings saw Chief Statistician Mark Sowden step down, and public service boss Sir Brian Roche bar agencies from entering into any new contracts with WOCA, the trust or the marae until safeguards are in place.
Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere is defending his party.Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
Roche also called for a law change after the marae offered $100 supermarket vouchers and winter wellness packs to clients who agreed to switch from the general to Māori roll.
Tamihere has not responded to The Post’s requests for comment.
But he told Radio NZ on Wednesday: “In regards to Manurewa Marae, there were photocopies.
“We had a clear instruction that they be destroyed on the premises on the day ... was any census data used by Whānau o Waipareira or the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency in regard to the 2023 general election? And the answer is no.”
Asked if it was unacceptable that census forms were duplicated, Tamihere said: “Well, we have operating guidelines and those weren’t met.
Manurewa Marae was formerly headed by MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp.ROBERT KITCHIN / THE POST
“But that’s not to say crooked dealings occurred on the marae. That’s something you would have to put to them.”
The marae was formerly headed by TPM MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, who narrowly won the seat from Labour incumbent Peeni Henare by 42 votes.
The police, the Privacy Commissioner Mark Webster and the Serious Fraud Office are now investigating claims Te Pāti Māori misused personal data collected in 2023.
That wasn’t within the scope of the two inquires, commissioned by the Public Service and Stats NZ.
The latter, written by former state services deputy commissioner Doug Craig, did find “it was more likely than not” census forms were photocopied and left unsealed.
This breached legislation that protects information collected for the census.
Craig’s report also said: “We think it is more likely than not that, at least on some occasions, the information entered into WOCA’s database from Manurewa Marae ... was derived directly from census forms.”
Manurewa Marae was was at the forefront of Auckland's vaccine rollout, part of a Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency drive to promote the 2023 census, and a polling booth at the general election.DAVID WHITE/STUFF
The PSC inquiry, headed by Pania Gray and former solicitor general Michael Heron KC, found a number of flaws in how Stats NZ, the Ministry of Health and Health NZ protected personal information provided to the marae, WOCA and the Waipareira Trust.
“While we don’t know if personal information was improperly used, the gate was left open,” Roche said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Marae staff-turned-whistleblowers came forward with the claims last year, reported by the Sunday Star-Times and The Post. Tamihere has repeatedly said the whistleblowers had an employment gripe, were members of Destiny Church and had no evidence to back their claims.
He told RNZ there was “no substance” to allegations that a text message from Te Pāti Maori had been sent to voters who had previously participated in a Covid-19 vaccination drive at the marae.
A Labour Party complaint to the Electoral Commission alleged the shortcode 2661 — text messages used to send reminders or marketing campaigns to mobile phones — belonged to Waipareira Trust and was previously used to send people government health information.
That matter was referred to the Privacy Commission by the PSC inquiry and is now being investigated.
“There is no substance to that at all,” Tamihere told RNZ.
The use of incentives to encourage clients to complete the census was included in contracts with Stats NZ, he said. Any concerns about those incentives “are not my concern”, he said.
“We were deployed to lift the numbers of Māori participating in the census, and we did that,” he said.
The former Labour MP also said Roche had “no legal rights” to suspend new or extended contracts with his organisations. “We’ve been found guilty of nothing.”
Tamihere claimed he was being targeted because of race.
“There's not one rule for all in this country by a long shot,” he told RNZ.
“We are a growing force politically in this country. That will continue whether people like it or not."
Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz
Awesome stuff! This will flow through into the rest of the economy with more tax take. A rising tide lifts all boats.Federated Farmers’ latest Farm Confidence Survey reveals highest level in over a decade
The Country
19 Feb, 2025 01:45 PM6 mins to read
Federated Farmers' president Wayne Langford has noticed a “significant shift” in the mood of rural New Zealand.
Farmer confidence has risen to its highest level in over a decade, rebounding from record lows in recent years, Federated Farmers says.
The advocacy group has released its latest farm confidence survey, which shows falling interest rates, rising incomes and more favourable farming rules have all played a major role in the improvement.
The online survey was conducted from January 22 to February 2, and received 784 responses from farmers nationally.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said he had noticed a “significant shift” in the mood of rural New Zealand.
“Farmers are feeling a lot more positive.”
Langford said the past few years had been “bloody tough” for many farming families, with falling incomes, rising interest rates and unpaid bills piling up.
“At the same time, we’ve also been struggling with an incredibly challenging regulatory environment and farming rules that haven’t always been practical, affordable or fair.
“These survey results paint a clear picture of a sector finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as some of that weight is lifted.”
The January survey shows farmers’ confidence in the current general economic conditions has surged from a deeply negative -66% in July 2024 to a net positive score of 2%.
This marks the largest one-off improvement since the question was introduced in 2016.
Meanwhile, a net 23% of farmers now expect better economic conditions over the next year — the highest confidence level since January 2014.
There has also been a sharp lift in profitability, with 54% of farmers now reporting making a profit — double the number in the last survey six months ago.
Langford said it was important to note that, despite confidence being at its highest point in more than a decade, it was still only just in the positive.
“It’s been a remarkable recovery in farmer confidence over a short period of time, but I’m very conscious that we were coming off an extremely low base.
“We’ve come a long way, but there’s a long way to go yet.”
The survey results show regulation and compliance costs remain the greatest concern for farmers, followed by interest rates and banks, and input costs.
“When it comes to farmer confidence, a lot of it comes down to what’s coming into our bank account, and what’s going out the other side,” Langford said.
“A lot of that is market-driven, and farmers are used to riding those highs and lows, but Government rules and regulations have a significant impact on farmers’ costs.”
Langford said compliance costs could “make or break your season” and affected farmers’ confidence to keep investing in their business.
“The Government has made a great start cutting through red tape for farmers and repealing a lot of the most unworkable rules, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
Interest rates and banking issues have consistently been a top concern for farmers.
Langford said this was why Federated Farmers fought so hard for a banking inquiry.
“Interest payments are a huge cost for most farming businesses and farmers have been under massive pressure from their banks in recent years.
“We want to see the Government take a much closer look at our banking system and whether farmers are getting a fair deal from their lenders.”
The survey shows farmers’ highest priorities for the Government are the economy and business environment, fiscal policy, and reducing regulatory burdens.
“If the Government is serious about their ambitious growth agenda and doubling exports over the next decade, this is where they need to be focusing their energy,” Langford said.
“For farmers to have the confidence to invest in our businesses, employ more staff, and grow our economy, we need to have confidence in our direction of travel as a nation, too.
“As a country, we’re never going be able to regulate our way to prosperity, but with the right policy settings, we might just be able to farm our way there.”
Federated Farmers has been conducting biannual Farm Confidence surveys since July 2009.
See the full results here.
Farm Confidence survey: Key findings
- Farmer confidence has surged by 68 points since July 2024, rebounding from a deeply negative -66% to a net positive score of 2%. This marks the largest one-off improvement since the question was introduced in 2016.
- Optimism is rising, with net expectations increasing by 29 points since January 2024. A net 23% of farmers now anticipate better conditions over the next year — the highest confidence level seen since January 2014.
- The number of farmers making a profit has doubled since the last survey, with 54% of farmers now reporting a profit, up from 27%. The net profitability score has surged by 60 points, the strongest turnaround since July 2022.
- Confidence in future profitability continues to climb, with a net 31% of farmers expecting improvement over the next 12 months — a 41-point increase since July 2024. This is the highest forward-looking profitability score since July 2017.
- A net 16% of farmers expect production to increase in the next year, extending a positive trend. This marks the first time since 2016/17 that there have been three consecutive periods of predicted growth.
- Spending intentions have strengthened, with a net 23% of farmers planning to increase spending over the next 12 months — up 26 points from July 2024. This is the strongest expected rise since January 2023.
- 41% of farmers plan to reduce their debt in the next year, up from 23% in July 2024. Lower interest rates, improved confidence, and stronger production forecasts drive this shift.
- Hiring challenges persist, with a net 16% of respondents reporting difficulty recruiting skilled staff in the past six months, largely unchanged from July 2024. However, this is the least difficult period for recruitment since July 2012.
- The top concerns for farmers remain regulation and compliance costs, debt, interest and banks, and input costs.
- Farmers want the Government to prioritise the economy and business environment, fiscal policy, and reduce regulatory burdens.
Farmer confidence jumps to 10-year high - Feds
Feds president Wayne Langford has noticed a “significant shift” in the mood of rural NZ.www.nzherald.co.nz
Looks like they are having a fair crack at getting the police numbers with current trainees, applications and more to begin training this half of 2025. Be interesting to see how long it takes to get to where they need to be.
www.stuff.co.nz
seems like a weird decision to underwrite homes that cant be used for Social housing?The "genius" that was KiwiBuild is still biting the NZ taxpayer on the butt.....
Crown forced to buy 109 new Auckland, Wellington KiwiBuild homes: trying to sell $77.3m of properties
A group of 109 never-lived-in new homes in Auckland and Wellington are for sale from the Crown, which was contracted to buy them from private developers, who failed to sell their stock in a tough rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/residential-property/">market.
The housing schemes all have an underwrite via KiwiBuild because previous Governments backed new schemes to boost supply by agreeing to bail developers out if they couldn’t sell.
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Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the 109 properties were part of the last Government’s KiwiBuild programme, built by private developers to sell at a capped price to mostly first-home buyers.
“The developers were unable to sell the homes and as a result they exercised KiwiBuild’s underwrite option. This meant the Crown through Kāinga Ora was obliged to purchase the homes. Kāinga Ora is now attempting to minimise losses to the Crown by selling the homes as a portfolio package,” Bishop said.
“This is a black hole,” said one property development specialist of the Crown’s chances of recouping what it had paid for all the homes.
Even though this Government is winding down KiwiBuild for a replacement underwrite scheme, the legacy of the programme is exhibiting itself.
Experienced group developers and house builders working at scale got that Crown underwrite and it is five of those that the Crown bought the 109 homes from.
Advertising said the portfolio of 109 units had a CV of $77.3 million and a total floor area of 7954sq m.
Homes built by New Zealand’s busiest franchised group house builder, G.J. Gardner are in the 109 places: 33 units are at Corban Park, Henderson.
Mike Greer, Oaks Living, ZoomLiving Developments and Jennian Homes developed the other places.
All homes have code compliance certification and a 10-year Master Build Guarantee.
In a campaign headed “portfolio opportunity”, Bayleys in association with Knight Frank advertised Auckland units:
• Corban Park, Henderson: 33 two-bedroom, one-bathroom terraced homes plus one car park each;
• Hillcrest Heights, Manurewa: 14 two-bedroom, one-bathroom terraced homes, 12 with one car park each.
• Bader Drive, Māngere: three three-bedroom/one-bathroom, nine two-bedroom/one-bathroom terraced homes and eight one-bedroom one-bathroom walk-up apartments. Fifteen have a single car park.
• Coronation Rise, Māngere Bridge: 10 three-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom terraced homes with a single car park. • The Green, Glen Eden: four three-bedroom, 1.5 bathroom and five two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom terraced homes with a single car park each.
Wellington and Kāpiti Coast units advertised for sale are:
• Hinau Street, Tawa: 11 two-bedroom, one-bathroom terraced homes with a single car park each.
• Ara Hereke, Waikanae, Kāpiti Coast: 12 two-bedroom, 1.5-bathroom terraced homes with a single car park.
Advertising says: “The properties are owned by the Crown and the portfolio was amalgamated through a Crown underwrite programme, which acquired the properties at a predetermined underwrite value if they had not been sold to private buyers by the respective developers within a specified timeframe.”
Of the 109 homes, 86 are in Auckland, 11 in Wellington and 12 on the Kāpiti Coast.
Mark Fraser, Kāinga Ora urban development and delivery general manager, said the places being sold were not social or state homes.
“They were built by private developers and intended for the private market.”
Developers who built the 109 homes had triggered the underwrite and the Crown had subsequently bought the homes.
“This is an expected possible outcome of any underwrite programme,” Fraser said.
KiwiBuild was a scheme from last decade when then-Housing Minister Phil Twyford introduced the underwrite in 2018. Developers would build and sell KiwiBuild homes at an agreed price in return for those homes being underwritten by the Government.
The former Government later broadened the underwrite, taking it beyond KiwiBuild developments.
In 2019, Judith Collins, then in Opposition, described KiwiBuild as “a potential financial black hole for the Government”.
The buybacks were not a good situation because all the homes built under the scheme should sell readily yet the Crown was being lumbered with the expense through being forced to buy unsold homes all around New Zealand, she said at the time.
Revelations of the 109 homes for sale come at the same time as Kāinga Ora announced it would sell high-value properties and cut new-build costs in its financial turnaround attempt.
Bishop said this month Kāinga Ora was being refocused on its core role as a social housing landlord.
Board chairman Simon Moutter was appointed last May after a critical Sir Bill English review of the agency.
One KiwiBuild sceptic asked about the latest 109 sales: “If those group house builders can’t sell the places, what makes the Government think they can? It’s still the same market. This won’t end well.”
A spokeswoman for Bishop’s office said before the homes were bought by the Crown, all were assessed for suitability as social housing.
“However, in most cases they do not meet social housing guidelines or are not located in priority areas under the current social housing funding allocation framework,” the spokeswoman said.
‘Black hole’: Crown quitting 109 new homes underwritten by KiwiBuild
First home buyers did not snap up these 109 homes: now we the taxpayers have bought them.
There's a very simple reason why these won't work as state or social housing..... the majority of state and social houses are built to accomadate larger families.... generally, KiwiBuild houses were built as small and as cheaply as possible to qualify the developments as "KiwiBuild" houses because they had to be sold "cheaply". They wouldn't be up to the healthy homes standards as the builders wouldn't pay the money for things like a heat pump as KiwiBuild houses were always designed to appeal to the first home buyers market (i.e. built cheaply to comply with the maximum price a KiwiBuild house would sell for) and not to landlords (complying with the healthy homes standards).
While KO could always combine two of these smaller units into a large state or social housing home, the cost of paying the developers for these and then the cost to upgrade them to the standards and size required would be greater than building new purpose, built homes. While I rarely agree with Crusher Collins, in this case, her prediction of KiwiBuild becoming a "financial blackhole" is looking like it's about to come true.
Quite simply..... KiwiBuild looked great in theory but not in practice!!!
Back when KB first came in, I had two builders approach me about doing documents for them. To build the houses a square metre rate to qualify as KB houses for the minimum sizes, they were wanting me to reduce my charge out rate by nearly 40%. An estimator from one of South Auckland's largest timber and truss suppliers told me that other builders had approached them wanting them to supply timber and materials to them at cost plus 15%.... in other words, no profit once they'd paid their providers and gst.
So housing standards for renters is higher, better or more important than for first home buyers?
Yes, yes and yes. The "housing standard" for rental properties is governed by the Healthy Homes Standards and the Building Act/Code while all other housing is governed just by the Building Act/Code. So, the bathroom fan in a rental property has to remove far more air than that governed only by the Building Act/Code. The main living area in a rental property needs to be heated to a set standard (usually requiring the installation of a heat pump or, if the space is small enough, a wall mounted heater) while a living area to all other housing doesn't require anything. A rental requires the installation of a rangehood while it's not required for the others.
My god. So much cowardice in NZ politics. Just politick for state owned generators.Another example of ideology triumphing over the real world if this comes in.
Why? Because most of the people who invest in these companies do so because they're seen as "income" companies from the dividends they pay out and not as "growth" companies where they gain from capital growth in the share price. Remove the dividends and how many of the current investors do Labour think will stay with these companies? Is this privatisation in reverse so a government can reduce the "appeal" of a company to other shareholders in order to increase their own shareholding?
Labour may ask gentailers to reinvest dividends in new generation to reduce prices
Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds has floated the idea of setting an expectation that the large gentailers reinvest dividends into new generation in a bid to ensure enough new electricity supply to keep prices affordable.
rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/topic/energy-prices/">High prices are causing a raft of industrial closures. Most recently, Kinleith Mill in Tokoroa confirmed it would shed 230 jobs after axing paper production at the plant. Owner Oji Fibre Solutions complained last year about power prices. Forward indicators suggest prices will remain high for some time.
Speaking on her way into Labour’s caucus meeting, Edmonds said prices were a problem and suggested instructing the companies to invest in generation rather than paying a dividend might be a solution.
When asked about a solution, Edmonds said: “Part of it is around investment back into the infrastructure so obviously the security of transmission, the security of growing up more renewable sources”.
“Part of the dividend that comes back to the Government as ... shareholder, we need to have a closer look at that and see whether some of it needs to go back to the energy companies in order to reinvest in order to grow renewable energy sources.”
She said this would be covered in an expectations letter.
The Government has a majority stake in Genesis Energy, Mercury Energy, and Meridian Energy. These large firms both generate electricity and sell that electricity to businesses and households. As the majority owner of these companies, the Government can write letters of expectations to their boards.
They are under pressure after a period of high prices, which have been blamed on a lack of net new generation being built ever since the late 2000s. A wave of energy efficiency innovation and uncertainty over whether the closure of the Tiwai Pt smelter or the construction of the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro “battery” conspired to evaporate incentives for constructing new generation, with most new generation simply replacing retired fossil fuel assets.
Energy Minister Simon Watts and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones have appointed consultancy Frontier Economics to lead a review of the electricity sector.
“The power crisis we experienced last winter highlighted how important affordable and secure electricity at internationally competitive prices is to the economic growth and prosperity of Kiwi households and businesses alike,” Watts said.
Council of Trade Unions chief economist Craig Renney, who sits on Labour’s Policy Council and is a significant voice in the party’s economic thinking, published a paper in 2022 with 350 Aotearoa and First Union arguing that the part-privatisation of the gentailers by the Key Government was to blame.
Renney said the gentailers had prioritised paying out dividends instead of investing in renewable generation.
He argued that the gentailers had paid out $4.2 billion in excess dividends over the decade at a time when the national generation capacity had only increased by 1%.
Gentailer Genesis criticised the report, arguing the decision to link dividends to net profit after tax (npat) created a misleading impression.
“Npat includes several non-cash items such as depreciation and revaluation of assets. These items recognise the previous investment in long-term assets and an estimate of the long-term value of these assets,” Genesis said at the time.
Edmonds said breaking up the gentailers into separate generation and retail arms, a policy independent retailers have been calling for, was not currently on the agenda, but Labour’s policy would be finalised closer to the election.
Labour’s energy spokeswoman Megan Woods, who was Energy Minister in the last Government, partly blamed the coalition Government for high prices, saying the decision to scrap the Lake Onslow scheme meant the Government was doing no work on energy storage.
She said the Government was not looking at storage for “ideological reasons” and that this was “concerning”.
On the question of dividends, Woods said: “Keeping the pressure on the gentailers and the Government setting ambitious targets for generation is hugely important.”
However, she appeared to distance herself slightly from that fix, saying the future of the sector would involve generation from independents.
“We can’t just get stuck in those 20th century ways of thinking. Actually, a big part of New Zealand’s energy future is making sure we’ve got the settings right for independent generation.”
Labour’s stimulation of energy demand through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (Gidi) Fund had stimulated generation, Woods said but the new Government has since closed the fund.
“There’s nothing like demand to stimulate supply ... we’ve got a Government [that] won’t look at demand-side measures,” she said.
Labour may ask gentailers to reinvest dividends in new generation
It says the suggested move by the partly Government-owned companies could reduce prices.www.nzherald.co.nz
Shaky start but he's brought me around for sure.Good to see Wayne Brown running for second term. He was heavily criticised early but ultimately has been proven to be correct. One would think he would be likely to get voted in again.
'Back me to finish the job': Wayne Brown announces re-election bid for Auckland Mayor
Brown's first term was marked by blunt talk and a focus on the books.
She needs to respect the other shareholders and, if / when Labour is in power, utilise the shareholders agreement and company constitution to vote on each company’s dividend policy“Part of the dividend that comes back to the Government as ... shareholder, we need to have a closer look at that and see whether some of it needs to go back to the energy companies in order to reinvest in order to grow renewable energy sources.”
She said this would be covered in an expectations letter.
The Government has a majority stake in Genesis Energy, Mercury Energy, and Meridian Energy. These large firms both generate electricity and sell that electricity to businesses and households. As the majority owner of these companies, the Government can write letters of expectations to their boards.
They are under pressure after a period of high prices, which have been blamed on a lack of net new generation being built ever since the late 2000s. A wave of energy efficiency innovation and uncertainty over whether the closure of the Tiwai Pt smelter or the construction of the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro “battery” conspired to evaporate incentives for constructing new generation, with most new generation simply replacing retired fossil fuel assets.
Energy Minister Simon Watts and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones have appointed consultancy Frontier Economics to lead a review of the electricity sector.
“The power crisis we experienced last winter highlighted how important affordable and secure electricity at internationally competitive prices is to the economic growth and prosperity of Kiwi households and businesses alike,” Watts said.
Council of Trade Unions chief economist Craig Renney, who sits on Labour’s Policy Council and is a significant voice in the party’s economic thinking, published a paper in 2022 with 350 Aotearoa and First Union arguing that the part-privatisation of the gentailers by the Key Government was to blame.
Renney said the gentailers had prioritised paying out dividends instead of investing in renewable generation.
He argued that the gentailers had paid out $4.2 billion in excess dividends over the decade at a time when the national generation capacity had only increased by 1%.
Gentailer Genesis criticised the report, arguing the decision to link dividends to net profit after tax (npat) created a misleading impression.
“Npat includes several non-cash items such as depreciation and revaluation of assets. These items recognise the previous investment in long-term assets and an estimate of the long-term value of these assets,” Genesis said at the time.
Edmonds said breaking up the gentailers into separate generation and retail arms, a policy independent retailers have been calling for, was not currently on the agenda, but Labour’s policy would be finalised closer to the election.
Labour’s energy spokeswoman Megan Woods, who was Energy Minister in the last Government, partly blamed the coalition Government for high prices, saying the decision to scrap the Lake Onslow scheme meant the Government was doing no work on energy storage.
She said the Government was not looking at storage for “ideological reasons” and that this was “concerning”.
On the question of dividends, Woods said: “Keeping the pressure on the gentailers and the Government setting ambitious targets for generation is hugely important.”
However, she appeared to distance herself slightly from that fix, saying the future of the sector would involve generation from independents.
“We can’t just get stuck in those 20th century ways of thinking. Actually, a big part of New Zealand’s energy future is making sure we’ve got the settings right for independent generation.”
Labour’s stimulation of energy demand through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (Gidi) Fund had stimulated generation, Woods said but the new Government has since closed the fund.
“There’s nothing like demand to stimulate supply ... we’ve got a Government [that] won’t look at demand-side measures,” she said.
Labour may ask gentailers to reinvest dividends in new generation
It says the suggested move by the partly Government-owned companies could reduce prices.
At the moment heading out, that's a lot of words above
