On Tuesday parliament recommenced for the year. The first item of business was the Prime Minister’s Statement (24-pages), which was followed by replies from other party leaders. (Opposition leaders were, predictably, against the Government’s proposals, while the Māori Party used the opportunity to defend Whānau Ora again against Winston Peters.)
Day: February 4, 2014
Over the weekend major political parties attended the Ratana celebrations .[Footnote] In contrast to the previous day in West Auckland, at this event Mr Key indicated the National Party does focus on Māori, and he emphasised the progress of Treaty settlements that have occurred under his Government, housing improvements (including
At the end of last week the main political parties commenced the process of setting out their political views and policy objectives for the year. This process typically has two stages; semi-formal ‘state-of-the-nation’ speeches, including new policy ideas, given to a receptive audience; followed by formal statements in parliament. In
On Wednesday a cluster of major entities within the forestry sector indicated they would fund an independent panel to review safety within the sector. This has been endorsed by the Council of Trade Unions, the Māori Party, the Government, and other groups. (Previously the responsible Government Minister, Simon Bridges, had
This week the Gisborne District Council gave approval for a water storage dam to be built at Whatatutu. The dam will be built by the Wi Pere Trust, on its land, and will be designed to hold enough water to service their farmlands, vineyards and orchards for up to 20
On Wednesday the Government announced seven consortium groups who have been selected to deliver its Māori and Pasifika Trade Training initiative. (This initiative, of circa $10 million per year was announced in Budget 2013 and provides funding for Māori and Pasifika people aged 18-34 years to gain qualifications, apprenticeships and
The Ministry of Social Development has released the Benefit Factsheets for the quarter 1 October to 31 December 2013.[Footnote] This is the second publication of data relating to the three new benefit categories, which came into existence on 15 July 2013. We have undertaken an analysis of the various factsheets,