Two major motorway projects in Christchurch are a step closer following the New Zealand Transport Agency’s announcement today that the construction contracts have been let, Transport Minister Simon Bridges says. The new Christchurch Northern Corridor and stage two of the Christchurch Southern Motorway are the final two projects to be built under the Government’s Roads of National Significance programme. “The awarding of contracts to build these two Christchurch motorways represent a combined $435 million investment by the Government in Christchurch’s transport network. “These are critical for improving travel times for commuters, and to support growth and development in Christchurch.” Once…

  New Zealand First understands that Lowe Corporation is undertaking due diligence on Silver Fern Farms’ Fairton (Ashburton) pelt house operation, that will sweeten its balance sheet ahead of a proposed Chinese takeover. “Silver Fern Farms needs to come clean about what is happening with its Fairton operations,” says the Rt Hon Winston Peters. “On the timeline set by the quislings who want to sell-out to the Chinese, SFF would already be controlled by China’s Shanghai Mailing, so it seems there is a plan and it is being implemented regardless. “Fairton is obviously out in the cold because the Islington…

Speech by New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston PetersGuest LecturerIntroduction to NZ government and policy classForbes BuildingLincoln UniversityWednesday, 10th August, 20169am Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. Next year we will have a General Election and you will be given the choice of supporting the candidate and party you think best represents you. People will be telling you how you should vote, including those of us who are aligned to particular political parties. But we’re here today to talk briefly about your vote and New Zealand First. We are not a…

Speech by New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston PetersPublic meetingCelebrating Age Centre, 30 Victoria St, HamiltonMonday, 8 August, 201610.45amGovernment deaf to the harsher realities of what is happening in New Zealand It must now be apparent to all New Zealanders that we are too dependent on China. We have got so close to them, they are telling us what to do. In 2008 I warned the then Labour Government as well as the National Party, as Labour negotiated the China Free Trade deal that we would rue the day that our largest exporters became perilously dependent…

VIENTIANE – Economic ministers from Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed on a 10-year economic cooperation plan centered on cooperation between Japan and the 10-member grouping to support the creation of new industries by private enterprise in the ASEAN region. The ASEAN Economic Community, which aims at integrating members into a single market, was launched late last year with the aims of sustainable economic growth and reducing the inequality among the member countries. In accordance with these aims, Japan intends to boost ASEAN’s growth and increase its presence in the region. Japan seeks to support new…

Government is an exercise in decision making – and often decisions must be taken despite uncertainty and limited information.Fallibility is unavoidable – it goes with the territory.No one expects a government to get it 100% right – 100% of the time. There is nothing to be gained by expecting perfect performance from a government.New Zealanders understand that – and they have cut the current government a lot of slack over the last 8 years.But public patience has worn thin.What cannot be condoned or excused is a government that persists with a wrong decision even when there is ample and clear…

International packaging company Orora is increasing its New Zealand manufacturing capabilities, with an injection of more than $25 million in its three key sites in Christchurch, Hastings and Auckland. Orora supplies packaging products and services to the fresh produce, meat, dairy, grocery, fast-moving consumer goods and industrial markets in Australasia and North America. In New Zealand, the company delivers fibre packaging through its corrugated packaging business, Orora Kiwi Packaging. “Our investment in a new state-of-the-art Flexo Folder Gluer (FFG) — a complete box-making solution that increases capacity, print capability and print quality — in our Christchurch facility reinforces our strong…

New Zealand First is shocked Spanish firm Acciona is a ‘preferred bidder’ to help build the long overdue Warkworth to Puhoi Motorway that will likely end up being tolled. “We have a government that is incapable of building houses and now it seems, roads,” says the Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First and Member of Parliament for Northland. “So who on earth is doing the due-diligence in National given Acciona executives were arrested in Spain this year for corruption. Meanwhile the toll roads it has helped to build in Spain have gone bust. “Several years ago, the…

The first 10 stab-resistant multi-purpose harnesses for Police’s patrol dogs are being put to action this week. The ‘Mako’ harness will be fitted with layered polymer panels to shield the vital organs from stabbing and slashing. The robust overall design is made from milspec nylon and trelleborg material which does not absorb moisture and also gives the animal protection from blows and kicks. When the animals are in this harness, they’ll have a similar level of protection as an officer does when wearing their stab resistant body armour vest. Ten dogs based across Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Nelson,…

Ports of Auckland Limited and Napier Port today announced a strategic alliance which will provide operational, economic, sustainability and community benefits. “Ports of Auckland and Napier Port are the gateways to two of the largest North Island provincial economies with significant growth and demands on infrastructure,” says Ports of Auckland Chief Executive, Tony Gibson. The partnership will allow Napier and Auckland to work together to find ways to optimise services for freight customers and achieve further scale and efficiencies in the supply chain. It will prompt even greater competitive contestability and resilience in New Zealand’s supply chain to help lower…

A large chunk of data was released last week, with more to come this week. And while nothing was either shocking or terrible, there is mounting evidence the world’s economic growth problem is even more entrenched. Australian inflation was keenly anticipated because of the surprising and concerning low figure last quarter. All groups CPI came with an increase of 0.4% for the quarter, compared to a fall of 0.2% in the prior quarter. But that puts annual growth over the last 12 months at just 1.0%, well below the Reserve Bank’s target band of 2-3% year. The number was encouraging…