Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 29/8/24

What’s gone on in climate-change talks with China? Watts is coy while Brown buries his news about raising road revenue

Point of Order is disappointed that Climate Change Minister Simon Watts didn’t tell us much more about his chat with China’s Minister of Ecology and Environment, Huang Runqiu.

Watts said the Chinese minister is departing New Zealand today ”after the Fifth Ministerial Climate Change Dialogue between New Zealand and China…”

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 18/3/24

Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension looks like a SNAFU

Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today.

Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the government’s official website. Not news that the Beehive website has recorded, at least.

Mike's Minute: The Significant Natural Areas decision is a relief

Of all the things that the new Government has done in their first 100 days, the Significant Natural Areas decision might just have brought the most relief.

It's not a major issue in the cities, but in rural New Zealand it has been a nightmare.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 14/3/24

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.

Gerry Eckhoff: Significant Natural Areas

“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail, its roof may shake, the wind may enter, the rain may enter but the King of England cannot enter - nor all his forces dare cross the threshold of the ruined tenement.”  William Pitt the elder -1763.

Two hundred and fifty years later we still have people in NZ (politicians and the botanical puritans) who simply do not understand the importance of that statement on the rights of the common man or women to hold property against the Crown and all its forces. 

The recent controversy over Significant Natural Areas (SNA) has erupted over the identification of unmodified Maori land in Northland. The use rights to vast areas of private land have been identified for political seizure and effectively removed from private control. Most reasonable people assumed that Maori land rights were finally recognized as belonging to, and the property of, various Iwi and individuals who wish little more than to exercise their rights to their land just as the rest of us do or thought we could do.