.....because the Govt is pumping in up to $6m.
It seemed – at first blush – that your unpaid Point of Order team might be poised to be recognised by the Government.
The prospect of this happening was signalled when the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, posted news headed Right royal shout out to recognise volunteers.
Volunteers? That’s us. We willingly volunteer each day to enlighten our readers about what ministers are doing, where they are going and on what they are spending. Often we do what ministers have failed to do, which is draw attention to government announcements that have not been posted on the government’s official website.
Noble work, in short, and thus worthy of recognition when the efforts of Kiwi volunteers are recognised during a special ‘Big Shout Out’ next month to mark the Coronation of King Charles.
Then we figured we will miss out, because the government will be splashing out on an outfit called Volunteering New Zealand to celebrate at volunteer centres.
The size of the splash was not disclosed in the press statement.
But wait – maybe we won’t miss out, because:
Kiwis will also be encouraged to ‘shout out’ their local volunteers, either in person or via social media.
“We all know people who generously give their time, energy and expertise to causes they believe in. The Big Shout Out will be about recognising and thanking those volunteers doing what may sometimes seem like thankless tasks.”
And:
“I hope everyone will play a part in giving volunteers a right royal shout out this year,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.
While we wait to see if appropriate acknowledgement comes our way, we shall stick to our job of letting readers know who in the Beehive is doing what, where ministers are going and on what they are spending.
Since we last reported on Friday, we note that Agriculture Minister is bound for Washington DC (to speak at the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Summit over the next few days) and Grant Robertson, as Minister of Sport, has found yet another sporting outfit into which he and a ministerial colleague will pour a few million dollars.
Funding up to $6 million, according to Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds.
But isn’t the government keen to bring its borrowing under control?
Obviously not.
The weekend news from the government can be found here –
Noble work, in short, and thus worthy of recognition when the efforts of Kiwi volunteers are recognised during a special ‘Big Shout Out’ next month to mark the Coronation of King Charles.
Then we figured we will miss out, because the government will be splashing out on an outfit called Volunteering New Zealand to celebrate at volunteer centres.
The size of the splash was not disclosed in the press statement.
But wait – maybe we won’t miss out, because:
Kiwis will also be encouraged to ‘shout out’ their local volunteers, either in person or via social media.
“We all know people who generously give their time, energy and expertise to causes they believe in. The Big Shout Out will be about recognising and thanking those volunteers doing what may sometimes seem like thankless tasks.”
And:
“I hope everyone will play a part in giving volunteers a right royal shout out this year,” Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.
While we wait to see if appropriate acknowledgement comes our way, we shall stick to our job of letting readers know who in the Beehive is doing what, where ministers are going and on what they are spending.
Since we last reported on Friday, we note that Agriculture Minister is bound for Washington DC (to speak at the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Summit over the next few days) and Grant Robertson, as Minister of Sport, has found yet another sporting outfit into which he and a ministerial colleague will pour a few million dollars.
Funding up to $6 million, according to Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds.
But isn’t the government keen to bring its borrowing under control?
Obviously not.
The weekend news from the government can be found here –
Latest from the Beehive
The efforts of Kiwi volunteers will be recognised during a special ‘Big Shout Out’ next month to mark the Coronation of King Charles, Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector Priyanca Radhakrishnan has announced.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor will travel to Washington DC tomorrow to speak at the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate Summit being held from 8 – 10 May 2023.
The future of the Winter Games events in New Zealand over the next five years has been secured with new Government investment.
The Games in which the government is “investing” are organised by the Winter Games New Zealand Trust with the support of the Government of New Zealand, Sport and Recreation New Zealand and the New Zealand Olympic Committee.
Our research has been somewhat cursory, but , according to Wikipedia the inaugural New Zealand Winter Games was held in August 2009 in Dunedin, Queenstown, Wanaka and Naseby.
Events included alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, and snowboarding, as well as two demonstration events of winter triathlon and luge. Canada was the overall winner of the games, with the United States and Japan in second and third respectively
The first mention we can find of government funding being provided to keep this outfit going is a press statement from Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges and Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman in 2017.
They employed the usual line of government rationale for pumping public funds into events such as this:
“Hosting the Winter Games in New Zealand is a great opportunity to showcase our country in terms of both winter tourism and international snow sports competitions,” says Mr Bridges.
“The last Winter Games in New Zealand in 2015 attracted around 2,000 international visitors including athletes, coaches, media and spectators.
The National twosome (perhaps with the upcoming election in mind) proceeded to boast they had found a trough from which the readies could be provided:
“The Government has contributed $1.25 million towards the hosting of this year’s games through the Major Events Development Fund.”
That disqualifies the Nats from challenging the latest announcement of public money being used to secure the future of the Winter Games events in New Zealand over the next five years.
The trough perhaps has been renamed, because the money comes from the Major Events Fund, described as a special fund to keep high profile events in New Zealand because of their long-term economic, social and cultural benefits.
Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said the Government will contribute up to $6 million from the Major Events Fund to support the Winter Games between 2023 and 2027, providing long-term confidence to organisers and commercial partners.
The 2023 event will run from 25 August to 16 September and includes Freeski, Snowboard, Alpine Ski racing and Freeride events. Further events and a full schedule are expected to be confirmed soon.
The press statement says separate to the Winter Games investment, Sport NZ and High-Performance Sport NZ currently invest approximately $5 million in Snow Sports New Zealand for both domestic and high-performance sports.
Guess where their money comes from…
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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