Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic development
The text reproduced below appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.
It can be quickly analysed because it has nothing to show for Lee’s several weeks in the portfolio.
But (an interesting appointment) Lee is also Minister of Economic Development and in that role, she popped up to celebrate 10 years of something called Crankworx Rotorua (an event that perhaps was the brainchild of someone with a faulty “s” key on their PC).
Crankworx is a global tour of mountain bike festivals that take place in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, and Canada.
The final stop of the tour is a 10-day festival in Whistler, British Columbia, celebrating “several gravity-fed disciplines” within mountain biking.
Falling off your bike, we suppose, is a gravity-fed cycling activity, but not one that would be counted as a discipline.
Meanwhile, Lee’s colleagues were –
But (an interesting appointment) Lee is also Minister of Economic Development and in that role, she popped up to celebrate 10 years of something called Crankworx Rotorua (an event that perhaps was the brainchild of someone with a faulty “s” key on their PC).
Crankworx is a global tour of mountain bike festivals that take place in Australia, New Zealand, Austria, and Canada.
The final stop of the tour is a 10-day festival in Whistler, British Columbia, celebrating “several gravity-fed disciplines” within mountain biking.
Falling off your bike, we suppose, is a gravity-fed cycling activity, but not one that would be counted as a discipline.
Meanwhile, Lee’s colleagues were –
* Braying about delivering on tax commitments. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts delivered this media statement to say legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be “progressed” in Parliament next week.
The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. This restores interest deductibility for residential investment properties and will reduce the bright-line test for residential property.
The Amendment Paper also removes depreciation deductions for commercial and industrial buildings that were reinstated by the previous government as part of the economic response to COVID-19.
Simon Watts said the Amendment Paper makes a number of other significant changes to the tax system.
These include improving the tax treatment of trading stock disposed of by businesses, requiring offshore online casino operators to pay gaming duty on gross betting revenue and introducing transitional provisions to ensure short-term rental accommodation hosts and marketplace operators are not unfairly disadvantaged by timing issues associated with changes to the tax rules for short term accommodation.
The new gaming duty will close a loophole that enables offshore online casinos to pay less tax than New Zealand operators.
Cabinet has also made an in-principle decision to regulate online casino gambling.
Further information on the measures is available in the Commentary on the Amendment Paper at www.taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz.
* Opening the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. This chore fell to Transport Minister Simeon Brown.
The centre would not have been built in just a few months, we imagine, but Brown took the credit:
“By bringing these agencies together in one centre, I expect to see them working much more closely and collaboratively to provide reliable and predictable metro rail services for Aucklanders.”
* Suspending requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity. The suspensions is for three years while the government replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).
SNAs identified on private property limit new activities and development that can take place on that property.
New Zealand has 180,000 hectares of privately-owned land in QEII covenants. Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard said the impressive engagement and growth of QEII covenants – all voluntary – shows that private landowners do care about conservation
Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. The classification – farmers complain it has taken too long to declare it – will unlock further support for farmers and growers, including tax support.
Up to $20,000 was made available to the Top of the South Rural Support Trust last month to provide support,
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said a $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million a year, and aims to reduce farmers’ reliance on zinc dosing as a preventative measure.
There is no cure for FE and there are limited management tools available.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a “successful” visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.
Can anyone remember a minister admitting to completing an “unsuccessful” visit…?
Latest from the Beehive
14 MARCH 2024
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders.
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event.
The Government is helping farmers eliminate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.
While Winston Peters was on diplomacy duty overseas, Melissa Lee enthused about the Crankworx World Tour returning to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024.
“Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that the event provides to the city and our country.
“The event attracts thousands of international and domestic visitors to Rotorua each year who inject money into the local economy, and it’s watched by more than 10 million people around the globe, providing excellent international exposure for New Zealand. The event organisers also run programmes for local youth and families to encourage them to get involved with mountain biking.”
The Government has supported Crankworx Rotorua through its Major Events Fund since the inaugural event in 2015.
Just over $8 million from the Major Events Fund is committed to supporting Crankworx Rotorua and the Summer Series event from 2022 to 2027.
Whether this is money well spent is a matter for argument.
But it is somewhat smaller than the first-half net loss after tax of $16.7 million reported by TVNZ earlier this month.
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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