Shane Jones and Tama Potaka invite Maori troughers to slurp into a $20m swill and Jones tells us his focus is on … guess what?
Three of the latest posts on the government’s official website result from the Prime Minister’s trip to Japan, aided and abetted by Air New Zealand stepping in to provide transport for him and his entourage after their Defence Force aircraft got them no further than Papua New Guinea.
In one statement he enthused about finishing a successful three-day visit to Japan, where (he insists) he strengthened political relationships and boosted business links.
A second statement boasted about significant business deals being closed during the visit, including in the areas of space, renewable energy and investment.
And the third post is a copy of the “Strategic Security speech” which Luxon delivered to “the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies and NEC”.
NEC?
Luxon went on to say:
Whether in our ambition to innovate and develop future technologies, as with the work here at NEC demonstrates.
Our guess is NEC Corporation, the Japanese multinational corporation which produces telecommunications equipment and related software and services. Its headquarters are in Tokyo.
Another bunch of ministerial statements are rooted in new statistics.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is crowing about the latest school attendance data. The figures he has highlighted show an increase in the number of students regularly attending school to 61.7 per cent in term one.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis is turning the latest GDP data to promote her policy agenda. She says the March-quarter figures reinforce the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth.
The Stats NZ figures show GDP rose 0.2 per cent for the quarter to March.
Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston – using data from a source which her statement does not specify – gave not the hint of a blush when she said…
A second statement boasted about significant business deals being closed during the visit, including in the areas of space, renewable energy and investment.
And the third post is a copy of the “Strategic Security speech” which Luxon delivered to “the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies and NEC”.
NEC?
Luxon went on to say:
Whether in our ambition to innovate and develop future technologies, as with the work here at NEC demonstrates.
Our guess is NEC Corporation, the Japanese multinational corporation which produces telecommunications equipment and related software and services. Its headquarters are in Tokyo.
Another bunch of ministerial statements are rooted in new statistics.
Associate Education Minister David Seymour is crowing about the latest school attendance data. The figures he has highlighted show an increase in the number of students regularly attending school to 61.7 per cent in term one.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis is turning the latest GDP data to promote her policy agenda. She says the March-quarter figures reinforce the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth.
The Stats NZ figures show GDP rose 0.2 per cent for the quarter to March.
Acting Minister for Women Louise Upston – using data from a source which her statement does not specify – gave not the hint of a blush when she said…
“Women continue to make up over 50 per cent on public sector boards”.
So no attempt is being made under National to strike a 50:50 balance?
Apparently not.
Upston says women’s representation on public sector boards and committees has reached 50 per cent or above for the fourth consecutive year, with women holding 53.9 per cent of public sector board roles.
“This is a fantastic achievement, but the work is not done. To maintain similar levels of women representation at public board and committee level, deliberate action is needed across government, business, and organisations for years to come.”
Transport Minister Simeon Brown was into the numbers game, too, when he announced a record 41 per cent increase in indicative funding for public transport services and operations, and confirmed the rollout of the National Ticketing Solution (NTS) that will enable contactless debit and credit card payments starting this year in Auckland.
But the big headline grabber, in the judgment of the Point of Order team, came from Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones.
Their press statement was released under the heading:
The two ministers have affirmed that their government is as brazen as the previous government not only in being generous with its corporate welfare handouts, but it is providing slops from some troughs only to applicants who must pass muster by brandishing their ethnicity credentials.
The Coalition Government is supporting Māori to boost development and the Māori economy through investment in projects that benefit the regions.
It has agreed to commit about $20 million for projects to support iwi, hapū and Māori businesses.
And how much support do you imagine is being committed to support Asians to boost development and the Asian economy through investment in projects that benefit the regions?
It’s a figure much closer to zero than to $20 million.
Latest from the Beehive
Release
20 JUNE 2024
School attendance data released today shows an increase in the number of students regularly attending school to 61.7 per cent in term one.
The Government has announced a record 41 per cent increase in indicative funding for public transport services and operations, and confirmed the rollout of the National Ticketing Solution (NTS) that will enable contactless debit and credit card payments starting this year in Auckland.
GDP figures for the March quarter reinforce the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth.
Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees has reached 50 per cent or above for the fourth consecutive year, with women holding 53.9 per cent of public sector board roles.
The Coalition Government is supporting Māori to boost development and the Māori economy through investment in projects that benefit the regions.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced that the review into better managing the risks of earthquake-prone buildings has commenced.
19 JUNE 2024
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has just finished a successful three-day visit to Japan, where he strengthened political relationships and boosted business links.
Significant business deals have been closed during the visit of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to Japan this week, including in the areas of space, renewable energy and investment.
Thank you for the invitation to speak to you today and thank you to our friends at the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies and NEC for making this event possible today.
The dubious consequences of race-based corporate welfare programmes was reported yesterday, when Point of Order drew attention to an admirable report in Newsroom about how…
Tāwhaki Aerospace got millions of dollars it wasn’t eligible for.
The Hipkins Cabinet, last October, had approved $5.4 million for the Aerospace centre from a regional fund despite officials advising it shouldn’t.
Officials who advised against this funding did identify some benefits.
Among them were “the support of Māori aspirations” – a concept palpably (and shamefully) rooted in race.
Shane Jones and Tama Potaka have made plain they are as keen as their Labour predecessors to keep replenishing the trough.
Jones made the astonishing statement:
“As the Regional Development Minister, I am focused on supporting Māori to succeed.”
Seriously? He is focused not on supporting a region to succeed – he is focused, instead, on applying ethnic criteria to support a small portion of its people.
“The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), established under my oversight, has supported Māori to drive economic growth, create employment opportunities and empower entire communities to make a difference,” Mr Jones says.
“That’s why we are pleased to share that the Government has agreed to commit about $20 million for projects to support iwi, hapū and Māori businesses.”
A total of $3.7m has been reprioritised from PGF funds for the Regional Development portfolio to support Māori development, Māori tourism and Māori agribusiness.
Tama Potaka said a total of $3.1m has been provided to the Tapuae Roa Taranaki Crossing project, to help Te Kotahitanga o Te Atiawa “realise iwi aspirations” by developing the North Taranaki Visitor Centre.
Potaka says this investment will enable Te Atiawa to own and operate a special tourism asset “while providing the cultural narrative of the maunga”.
“The Visitor Centre will deliver benefits including an opportunity to generate income from commercial activities of the 130,000 visitors each year, which will support employment for Te Atiawa people.”
Through Te Haumanu o Te Kapua project, Nga Hua o Ngāti Pukenga in Bay of Plenty received an additional $600,000 which enabled them to turn underutilised whenua Māori into a high-value gold kiwifruit orchard, as well as restoring wetlands and protecting a pā site. This investment was crucial to accelerating the project and make it more financially viable, as well as providing employment, Potaka says.
Another $16.1 million has been approved through the North Island Weather Event Primary Producer Scheme to three whānau businesses. Miro – Meihana Koata in Bay of Plenty; Ngāi Tukairangi in Hawke’s Bay, and Torere Macadamias in Bay of Plenty are being supported to restore their horticultural assets after the cyclones last year.
“These are crucial regional horticulture businesses that employ and support many local Māori.”
And if they didn’t do that – no government handouts?
Jones says the Regional Infrastructure Fund, announced in Budget 2024,
“… has the potential to create a funding source for regional infrastructure projects led by Māori businesses and landowners that otherwise would not proceed. Given the barriers to investment faced by Māori entities, whenua Māori, iwi and Māori business, Minister Potaka and I have worked with Cabinet to agree that Māori development will be one of the initial focuses of the fund.”
A total $4.8 billion of support has gone into regional projects since the establishment of the Regional Development portfolio in 2017, with over $800m directly invested Māori development projects.
North Island Weather Event Funding Breakdown:
- $3.5m to Miro – Meihana Koata, Bay of Plenty
- $12m to Ngāi Tukairangi, Hawke’s Bay
- $0.6m to Torere Macadamias, Bay of Plenty
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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