Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 3/9/24

Billions are being invested in transport infrastructure – but on the revenue side of the books, tourists will pay a higher levy

They’ve been busy, in Transport Minister Simeon Brown’s Beehive office.

The latest batch of ministerial statements included his announcement that a new 110km/h speed limit for the Kāpiti Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS) has been approved to reduce travel times for Kiwis travelling in and out of Wellington.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 17/8/23

Increased taxes are not forgotten in road-funding announcement – but look what’s missing from RMA reform statement

Ministers have become adept at burying politically discomforting words in their press statements – or omitting them.

While announcing the passage through their third readings of bills to replace the Resource Management Act, for example, no mention was made of “matauranga Maori” or “the Treaty”.

But be sure they will play a part in the way resource use is managed henceforth.