Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Does economic development minister Steven Joyce see himself as a future leader?
"No, I have no aspiration in that regard," he told TVNZ's Q+A.
"I’ve watched the big guy from up close, and, believe me, I think I work hard, but he works a heck of a lot harder."
Mr Joyce acknowledged that the size of the current migration cycle is ‘quite significant’ but said "We can’t just sort of turn around and say we’re going to cut migration levels hugely, because that would impact on many successful parts of the economy. So you’ve just got to walk and chew gum at the same time, train lots of locals and also be prepared to bring in people, particularly experienced people, if there are shortages."
When asked about increasing exports as a percentage of the economy from 30% to 40% Mr Joyce said, "Well, to be fair, that’s a long target. It’s targeted out for 2025. Let’s look at the export strategy.
When it was put to him, "But it has gone nowhere since you’ve been in. It’s still at 30%", he replied, "No, that’s not true. If you look at exports, calendar year 2015, exports went up from $67 billion to $69 billion in that year at the same time as dairy, our biggest export, was going backwards by 3 billion, which meant that non-dairy exports had to grow by 10.5% in one year. That’s across the average, and they’ve done that.’
KiwiRail has ordered 15 more CRRC Dalian diesel locomotives.
NEW ZEALAND: An agreement for CRRC Dalian to supply a further 15 DL Class diesel locomotives was signed by KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy in Dalian on August 2.
The 1 067 mm gauge locomotives are scheduled for delivery in 2018. They will have improved braking systems compared with the 48 locomotives which CRRC Dalian supplied in 2010-11 (20), 2013 (20) and 2015 (eight).
The six-axle twin-cab locomotives rated at 2·7 MW with a maximum speed of 100 km/h have MTU 20V 4000R43 engines, and are used on freight services on the North Island.
KiwiRail and CRRC have also formed a joint venture which will be responsible for maintenance.
See also; KiwiRail release
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 industries utilizing Japan’s manufacturing prowess and the creation of new businesses in the health and medical fields. Consultations will be held at the national level to reform systems hampering the entry of foreign companies.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters after Saturday’s meeting in Vientiane that he hopes Japan and ASEAN “will stimulate each other, help each other and growth together.”
At the meeting, agreement was also reached on strengthening cooperation on infrastructure development, including the building of roads and railways, areas where Japan has placed emphasis.
Regarding the trade pact known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India have been negotiating since May 2013, the ministers also agreed to aim for the “realization of a high-quality agreement.”
The Japan Times August 7, 2016
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.
The Puhoi to Warkworth motorway was to be one of those Roads of National Significance on which the formerly rural road subsidy money was to be spent. Yet here we are now in 2016, seven years later, and they haven’t built one millimetre of it.They conned the provinces, in this case Northland, whilst not remotely keeping the promise they made on that motorway.
And where is the mention of the motorway from Warkworth to Wellsford thatMr Joyce promised during the Northland By-election?
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 evidence that a mistake is being made.But that is exactly what we are seeing in the National government.There is abundant evidence we have a government that is addicted to policies that are directly counter and detrimental to the welfare of New Zealanders as a whole.Yet in the face of overwhelming evidence to change course the government is stubbornly refusing to change tack.In short, the National Government has become many New Zealanders worst enemy.As an example, in 2009 the National government removed the rural roading subsidy on the basis that the money was to go to Roads of National Significance.The Puhoi to Warkworth motorway was to be one of those Roads of National Significance on which the formerly rural road subsidy money was to be spent. Yet here we are now in 2016, seven years later, and they haven’t built one millimetre of it.They conned the provinces, in this case Northland, whilst not remotely keeping the promise they made on that motorway.In 2009, Steven Joyce told Parliament that the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway would be delivered by 2019. Now National is talking of delivery by 2022.And where is the mention of the motorway from Warkworth to Wellsford that Mr Joyce promised during the Northland By-election?Both Mr Joyce and Mr Bridges know that both Warkworth and Wellsford are part of the Auckland Super City but they keep on telling local government in the North that they are helping them.On Wednesday New Zealand First was shocked to learn that Spanish construction and engineering firm Acciona is a ‘preferred bidder’ to help build the long overdue Puhoi to Warkworth leg.There are questions to be asked about the role Acciona will play.- First, who is doing the due-diligence in National given Acciona executives were arrested in Spain this year for corruption over the handling of public contracts?
- Second, can the Transport Minister categorically rule out any direct or indirect donation Acciona may have made to National given Acciona has a track record of funding political parties in both Canada and Australia?Be under no illusion, any Private-Public Partnership means the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway will be a toll road.There is a toll booth at Puhoi now. So the question is, is there going to be a second toll to Warkworth and a third toll to Wellsford whenever in the remote future they are separately completed?And can we rely on a partnership with Acciona when toll roads they’ve worked on in Spain in the past have gone into liquidation, leaving the Spanish government to cover the debt?Another example of how the National Government has become many New Zealanders worst enemy is on the issue of rampant immigration.Immigration is running at record levels and this is the cause of New Zealand’s very rapid population growth.Net immigration – now running at over 69,000 annually – is adding the equivalent of a city the size of New Plymouth to the population every year.You will have noticed we are not building or providing the services to meet anything like that level of need.What you are seeing – everywhere from Auckland to Queenstown- is bottlenecks.Auckland’s housing is a dangerous bubble.Over the year to June 2016 the average Auckland house price rose 16% to just shy of $1m – at $975,000.These are staggering numbers but should come as no surprise as we know that almost 50% of new migrants settle in Auckland.They add to the housing demand.This has forced the Reserve Bank to take all sorts of measures – including the latest lending restrictions on property investors – to try and defuse this timebomb.The latest measures will be as ineffectual as others have been because they are tinkering – they ignore the elephant in the room – immigration.Here are the facts:There is no shortage of potential immigrantsOn the contraryPeople want to come to New ZealandWe are a highly desirable destination in a crowded, often dangerous and uncertain world.A sensible immigration policy would start from that premise and look at what would serve the New Zealand national interest.That would mean taking only immigrants who bring critical skills to our economy where we have shortages of these skills.We do not actually need more taxi drivers and employees to do entry level jobs – our own young people are struggling to get a foot hold in the jobs market.When New Zealanders are facing acute housing and infrastructural shortages and rocketing property prices a government would be mad to allow immigration at record levels.So why does John Key’s government refuse to act?Why doesn’t the government do the obvious thing and wind back the immigration influx?Why does it refuse to show some judgement – some sense?The reason is that we have a government that is not actually committed to New Zealand’s national interest – or the public’s welfare.The government is like a driver at the wheel of a sports car speeding along recklessly oblivious to the road conditions and the risks.Ignoring the “speed limits” on New Zealand’s capacity to absorb immigrants is crazy and feckless.So what is really behind government inaction on immigration?The truth of the matter is that it has an unspoken agenda.Giving away citizenship wholesale fits the government’s phony success story.It’s a fix – it’s a con – and its suits its mates and cronies.Massive immigration – at least in the short term – pumps up consumption and inflates GDP.By boosting GDP it creates the facade of success. Were it not for mass immigration our GDP growth would be less than .5 per annum.It allows the Government to boast about how well New Zealand is doing relative to other OECD countries.Economic growth based on population growth is of course bogus.There are no free goods.New Zealanders are not better off just because the population has surged.On the contrary, when spending and public services are adjusted on a per capita basis, on almost every measure the standard of living is falling for most Kiwis.The stress and strains from a surging population are clear.Health services are under severe pressure and “official” waiting lists now lack all credibility.The education system is struggling to cope with rapidly rising rolls.Infrastructure capacity is falling behind – Traffic jams are not just an Auckland phenomenon – Queenstown has traffic problems too.In Auckland passenger numbers on the suburban rail network have soared by 20% over the past year as the system became all electric.That is passenger growth of almost 3 million over the year!Yet while services are already overcrowded no more electric trains are on order.Importing immigrants who are willing to work for even less than low paid Kiwis has certainly benefited some businesses.But this has done nothing for young Kiwis looking to gain a foothold in the workplace or the housing market.Employment and the so-called export education scams and rorts abound.Whether it is the foreign student racket or the thousands of restaurant workers who have been waved through immigration on the spurious grounds of skill shortages the impact has been to undermine the pay and conditions of Kiwis.John Key’s government will not adopt the common sense immigration policy that New Zealand First alone has consistently called for because to do so would expose how fraudulent its policy is.It would reveal that the Key government has been deceitful and duplicitous· They are only pretending to tackle the housing crisis· They are only pretending to care about the job prospects of Kiwis· They are only pretending to be doing something about public services in health and educationJohn Key’s legacy will be of having done enormous damage to New Zealand. His legacy is a poisoned chalice of hyper inflated demand.A smart government learns from its mistakes and has the courage and honesty to change policy.There is no sign of learning or contrition from National for its failure.If there is one country on the planet that can have absolute control over immigration policy it is New Zealand.Of course New Zealand citizens may come and go as they choose.But over the number of new migrants the government has a complete say.So for the Key government to persist with its open door immigration policy – a policy that is so contrary to the interests of New Zealand – is utterly indefensible.If the government were actually serious about the housing crisis it would announce tomorrow that it was taking emergency measures to limit the number of new non-New Zealand citizens and non-New Zealand resident migrants to, say, 10,000 a year.The result – the housing market would begin to stabilise.New Zealand First is the one political party that has a common sense policy on immigration.New Zealand First is the one party that has consistently called for an immigration policy that puts the interests of New Zealanders first.And in the election next year New Zealand First will be the one party to offer New Zealanders a real choice on immigration.Finally, New Zealand First is deeply concerned with the rise of crime and the under-resourcing of our police.We have just obtained information by way of an official Information Act request which shows Mangawhai had nine reported burglaries in 2008 and no arrests were made.In 2014 there were 29 reported burglaries – one arrest was made. Last year there were 27 reported burglaries – one arrest was made.Burglars will be happy with these statistics but what about the residents of Mangawhai?In Northland criminal offending has jumped 66 per cent from 11,593 in 2008 to more than 19,274. Yet over the same period of time arrests fell from 3144 in 2008 to 2735 in 2015.We know also that of Northland’s 22 stations only seven had more than a single officer on continuous duty over four consecutive Fridays and Saturdays.Today in the media we have reports of first responders being overwhelmed by crime in Kaitaia which has been given the terrible name – murder capital of New Zealand.Police Association president Greg O’Connor said there was a chronic situation in Kaitaia and officers are facing ever increasing workloads.This is happening not just in Kaitaia or Northland – it’s happening all over the country.Our police are over-stretched. Ignore all the spin from the government because that is all it is – spin.New Zealand First brought in one thousand more front line police during 2005-2008 because we were concerned that policing was suffering through lack of police numbers. This policy has been thrown out the window because the Government has effectively reduced police work by budget cuts.Now we are beginning to pay the price.When police budgets are cut, civilian staff numbers are inevitably reduced and sworn officers are forced into jobs that could be done by non-sworn civilians. This takes even more feet off the beat.The primary duty of any government is to protect its people. Policing is an essential part of this protection and it must be adequately funded.Our thin blue line is the boundary between law and order and anarchy. Politicians should support the dedicated men and women who try to keep the streets safe and give them the resources they need to do their duty.Ladies and gentlemen you can be assured New Zealand First will make this happen.
The unmanned aircraft could be used to interfere with a facility’s computers and other equipment, a researcher said.
Industrial facilities should be on guard against drones. Even off-the-shelf versions of the unmanned aircraft could be used to disrupt sensitive systems.
On Wednesday, Jeff Melrose, a presenter at Black Hat 2016, showed how consumer drones could do more than just conduct aerial spying. The flying machines can also carry a transmitter to hack into a wireless keyboard or interfere with industrial controls, he said.
It’s not enough to place a fence around a building to keep intruders out, according to Melrose, who is a principal tech specialist at Yokogawa, an industrial controls provider. These days, some consumer drones can travel up to 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) or more.
Dexion was commissioned to deliver a complete racking solution for the new PAK’nSAVE flagship store in Blenheim.
Dexion’s National Supply Centre Manager, Jeff Darby said that the major project objective for Dexion was to install a racking system that would protect against the risks caused by seismic events. Given the recent earthquakes in Christchurch, Foodstuffs was understandably concerned about the risk to staff and customers from earthquake damage to the store, and how Dexion would be able to mitigate this risk with its pallet racking system.
It is seen as a positive development in the maintenance, repair and overhaul business of the aviation sector in Malaysia.
KUALA LUMPUR: The AirAsia Group is serious about entering the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business.
It is currently holding direct negotiations with Airbus Group SE to purchase its wholly owned Sepang Aircraft Engineering Sdn Bhd (SAE).
The deal is worth between USD14 million and USD20 million, people close to the talks told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR).
Analysts see this as a positive development for the MRO sector and the growth of the aviation-based industry in Malaysia.
AirAsia and Airbus are committed to formalising the purchase agreement by January 2017, according to the report.
SAE, an Airbus SAS subsidiary company and part of the Airbus Group, is European Aviation Safety Agency approved. It services commercial aircraft, engines and components.
If the deal materialises, AirAsia is expected to bring its fleet to SAE and also to service third-party carriers. Currently, AirAsia’s MRO activities are undertaken partly by SAE, Singapore and China.
“AirAsia’s volume would be enough for SAE to sustain financially, but third-party MRO is where the profit margin is captured,” sources told TMR.
An analyst told TMR there was a vacuum in the MRO market as Malaysia Airlines Bhd had yet to restart its MRO business while another local MRO player, Airod Sdn Bhd, was unable to bridge the gap.
“Slots are the most important aspect in MRO and completing the deal as soon as possible would create better business prospects for SAE and also help to pull foreign investments into this country through MRO spending.
“Malaysia can compete directly with China in attracting MRO, as labour and capital expenditure costs remain competitive unlike the rising costs seen in Singapore,” it quoted an expert as saying.
SAE was established in 2006, to provide Airbus aircraft support services in the South-East Asia region. Based near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, SAE’s 17,000 sq m purpose-built hangar is able to accommodate up to four Airbus A320 series aircraft, four ATR 42/72 series or two A330/340 series aircraft, according to TMR.
A bus that straddles traffic has made its first journey in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao. Although only one car was used for the test journey, up to four TEB cars can be linked together. Eventually, the vehicle is expected to reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.
A bus that straddles traffic has made its first journey in the Chinese city of Qinhuangdao
The Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) made its first ever test journey earlier this week. It is designed to help combat gridlock on the congested roads in China's major cities by carrying passengers over the tops of cars.
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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