Latest news with #WellingtonChamberof
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
The Green party releases its alternative Budget
A trailer unit rolled outside Christchurch this morning, spilling hundreds of chickens across the road. Video / George Heard Principals question $100m maths spend, ex-cop faces porn probe, US and China agree to major tariff reductions. Chris Hipkins delivers pre-Budget speech at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Video / NZ Herald Reporter Carter is in Whangamatā where car collector Billy reveals what it took to get this custom 2-door 1950 Cadillac back on the road. Black Power members perform a farewell haka for Manurewa homicide victim Selwyn Robson. Video / Supplied Education Minister Erica Stanford announcing measures to improve mathematics in schools. Video / Mark Mitchell Christopher Luxon answers a question on the resignation of the Police Deputy Commissioner With the countries current vaccination rates, an expert warns New Zealand is at risk of a measles epidemic. Video / Dean Purcell / Katie Oliver / Ben Dickens Christopher Luxon holds a post-Cabinet press conference Gypsy Rose Blanchard stars in season 2 of the Lifetime series Life After Lock Up, streaming on TVNZ+ in New Zealand. Video / TVNZ A house in Napier fully ablaze on Sunday night. Video / Supplied Fletcher Living has unveiled the masterplan for its latest residential project, 'The Hill,' a premium development poised to transform part of the iconic Ellerslie Racecourse. Zookeeping isn't all butterflies, even at Butterfly Creek! Reporter Evie finds out what it takes to feed the meerkats, otters, and even NZ's only saltwater crocodiles. The journalist believes the culprit has been identified. Video / Supplied The Government is making work on restrictions to social media for New Zealanders under the age of 16 part of its official programme. Video / NZ Herald
Newsroom
06-05-2025
- Business
- Newsroom
Luxon needs to grow into the Budget
Comment: Sometimes it takes a circuit-breaker; a trip to the other side of the world to clear your head, re-energise, and gear up for a big moment. The past couple of weeks, during a longer-than-usual, three-week parliamentary recess, Christopher Luxon has been overseas, pressing the flesh with world leaders. This is where he appears most comfortable; you're often good at what you like. Earlier in the year, India offered a similar pleasant escape from the domestic turmoil of an exploding school lunch programme, the resignation of minister Andrew Bayly, and some sub-par poll results. Then too, he looked more at ease alongside the leader of the most populous nation on earth, than back home answering questions on domestic policies and personal blunders. While away, Luxon and India PM Narendra Modi announced the start of free trade talks. He rubbed shoulders with the business community and spoke about how to harness export growth to make New Zealand a more prosperous country. Luxon was in his element. When he returned to New Zealand, he was on a high. Polling was up, trade was on his mind. Then domestic politics took hold – again. By the end of that sitting block of Parliament, Luxon was answering for the contentious Treaty Principles Bill, as it came up for its second reading. It seems he couldn't escape soon enough. On the morning the bill was debated for the final time the PM delivered a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce about trade and the possibilities of expanding CPTPP membership to counter Donald Trump's tariffs. By that afternoon, Luxon was in Auckland making calls to leaders in the Indo-Pacific and beyond; his vision of taking a leadership role in countering the global trade war was starting to take shape. It wasn't long before he was off to the UK to spend a notable six hours with PM Keir Starmer, where the two spoke about how like-minded countries could bolster the existing rules-based order. Then they inspected their combined military prowess at a training site for Ukrainian forces. On Monday, Luxon returned to the Beehive, once again riding the high of a successful overseas tour. And he will do well to harness that positive energy as he looks to sell his Government's tricky second Budget to the country. But he will need to start talking about more than global affairs. Last week, his finance minister did the hard bit; she lowered expectations. In her pre-Budget speech, Nicola Willis made clear to voters there would not only be no lolly scramble, they would barely get a suck of the lollipop – new spending would be almost halved to $1.3 billion. Now that's out of the way, the stage is set for Luxon to set the scene for a Budget that focuses on economic growth. It's his chance to explain why he thinks his focus areas will make voters' lives better. On Monday, with the Budget a little over two weeks away, he used his first post-Cabinet press conference of this parliamentary sitting block to draw attention to the Government's exploits on the world stage. 'I cannot overstate how important trade and investment is to this country,' he said. Luxon talked about promoting trade as one of the five pillars of his Government's growth plan, the one-in-four jobs that rely on export markets, and how supporting businesses to 'expand, invest and create jobs will help grow the economy'. 'As we so often say, we can't get rich selling to ourselves.' Luxon has labelled this the Growth Budget – a return to his 'go for growth' mantra. 'Economic growth means Kiwis have money in their pockets, and we can fund better public services,' Luxon said on Monday. Budgets are lines of figures and projections, engulfed by communications plans geared towards highlighting the good bits and suppressing the unenviable tough decisions all governments have to make. But they also lay bare the decisions administrations make that affect ordinary people's lives. As Labour leader Chris Hipkins said on Monday: 'New Zealanders want to see hope. I think they want to see commitment to investment in health, education and housing. I think they want to see a government that's focused on getting people back to work and making sure that work pays.' Both leaders picked up on the difficult times everyday New Zealanders continue to face, years on from the first Covid-19 lockdowns. It's that feeling that Luxon needs to respond to. The PM has returned seemingly taking comfort from the wins of incumbents in Australia, Canada and Singapore (just don't mention the Trump effect). A fortnight is a long time in politics, but if Luxon and his crew can harness that positive energy he should be able to go into this tricky second Budget with confidence. As much as he believes a strong rules-based system that under-pins increased trade is vital to ensuring economic growth and prosperity back home, and that tit-for-tat tariffs hurt everyday people, trade talk won't be enough to win hearts and minds as Kiwis brace for another grim winter. He will need to do more than sell the importance of that global story to New Zealand; Luxon needs to sprinkle this pre-Budget time with promises in core areas like education and health if he is to create a sense of hope and expectation ahead of May 22.
Al Arabiya
10-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
New Zealand PM prepares to speak to world leaders on buttressing free trade
New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he will be talking to other world leaders by phone on Thursday to discuss how to shore up rules-based free trade, in the face of a barrage of US tariffs. International trade has been upended by US President Donald Trump who announced sweeping tariffs last week on dozens of countries, which were met by retaliatory tariffs by many of them, triggering massive volatility in markets. In a stunning reversal, on Wednesday Trump said he would temporarily suspend the hefty tariffs he had imposed on most countries. Luxon said he would be speaking with world leaders later on Thursday to compare notes on global trade and test what they can do together to buttress the rules-based trading system. A spokesperson could not give any details on which leaders Luxon would be talking to or when the call or calls would take place. New Zealand would continue to work with like-minded countries to promote free trade as a path to prosperity and explore the role of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in strengthening that vision, Luxon said in a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. 'One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice,' he said in a speech. Luxon added he was heading to the United Kingdom later in April to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to talk trade, security, and the geopolitical. 'We can't make the case for New Zealand sitting at home,' he said. 'We have to position ourselves as advocates both for our own economic interests and the institutions that underpin them.' Trump has imposed a 10 percent tariff on New Zealand, the low end of his tariffs for all imports into the United States. Wellington has said it would not retaliate. About 12 percent of New Zealand's exports went to the US last year.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Zealand PM prepares to speak to world leaders on buttressing free trade
By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he will be talking to other world leaders by phone on Thursday to discuss how to shore up rules-based free trade, in the face of a barrage of U.S. tariffs. International trade has been upended by U.S. President Donald Trump who announced sweeping tariffs last week on dozens of countries, which were met by retaliatory tariffs by many of them, triggering massive volatility in markets. In a stunning reversal, on Wednesday Trump said he would temporarily suspend the hefty tariffs he had imposed on most countries. Luxon said he would be speaking with world leaders later on Thursday to compare notes on global trade and test what they can do together to buttress the rules-based trading system. A spokesperson could not give any details on which leaders Luxon would be talking to or when the call or calls would take place. New Zealand would continue to work with like-minded countries to promote free trade as a path to prosperity and explore the role of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in strengthening that vision, Luxon said in a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. 'One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice,' he said in a speech. Luxon added he was heading to the United Kingdom later in April to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to talk trade, security, and the geopolitical. 'We can't make the case for New Zealand sitting at home,' he said. 'We have to position ourselves as advocates both for our own economic interests and the institutions that underpin them.' Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on New Zealand, the low end of his tariffs for all imports into the United States. Wellington has said it would not retaliate. About 12% of New Zealand's exports went to the U.S. last year.
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New Zealand PM prepares to speak to world leaders on buttressing free trade
WELLINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he will be talking to other world leaders by phone on Thursday to discuss how to shore up rules-based free trade, in the face of a barrage of U.S. tariffs. International trade has been upended by U.S. President Donald Trump who announced sweeping tariffs last week on dozens of countries, which were met by retaliatory tariffs by many of them, triggering massive volatility in markets. In a stunning reversal, on Wednesday Trump said he would temporarily suspend the hefty tariffs he had imposed on most countries. Luxon said he would be speaking with world leaders later on Thursday to compare notes on global trade and test what they can do together to buttress the rules-based trading system. A spokesperson could not give any details on which leaders Luxon would be talking to or when the call or calls would take place. New Zealand would continue to work with like-minded countries to promote free trade as a path to prosperity and explore the role of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in strengthening that vision, Luxon said in a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. 'One possibility is that members of the CPTPP and the European Union work together to champion rules-based trade and make specific commitments on how that support plays out in practice,' he said in a speech. Luxon added he was heading to the United Kingdom later in April to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to talk trade, security, and the geopolitical. 'We can't make the case for New Zealand sitting at home,' he said. 'We have to position ourselves as advocates both for our own economic interests and the institutions that underpin them.' Trump has imposed a 10% tariff on New Zealand, the low end of his tariffs for all imports into the United States. Wellington has said it would not retaliate. About 12% of New Zealand's exports went to the U.S. last year.
