SCOOP.CO.NZ archive pages provide PLAIN FULL TEXT search access to the Scoop archives devided into CATEGORIES. The database indexes approximately 4 months of Scoop items and is updated each night. You can search Scoop's complete 8 years of data at Knowledge Basket.
Many readers will have seen or heard yesterday's media coverage of Labour and ACT discussing potential co-operation on Bills before Parliament. More >>
The Health of the Hospitals The hospital system continues to experience considerable difficulties with strike action by different groups - at the time of writing this radiographers are on a 'work to rule', laboratory technicians have rolling stoppages, ... More >>
ACT New Zealand Education Spokesman Heather Roy today congratulated Education Minister Steve Maharey for pulling off, what may be, the biggest scam in New Zealand's history of Early Childhood Education. More >>
There's been a lot said recently about 'foreign doctors', and much of it has been hostile. Foreign-trained doctors have no control over their skin colour or their accent when speaking in a second language. My first criteria when looking for a doctor ... More >>
Green Party MP Keith Locke has confirmed that he will speak at the ACT New Zealand Auckland South Regional Conference this coming weekend. More >>
Island Bay parents now faced with the prospect of having to send their children miles away to gain an education - rather than down the road to the nearest school - are the latest victims of Labour's broken election promises, ACT New Zealand Education ... More >>
Education Minister Steve Maharey would do well to return to pre-school himself - perhaps then he might learn that 'free' early childhood education means 'no payment required', ACT New Zealand Education Spokesman Heather Roy said today. More >>
Health Sector Strikes; 20 Hours Free Please More >>
The news this week has been largely dominated by the case of Folole Maliaga, the Mangere woman who died just hours after her power was cut off by a Mercury Energy contractor. More >>
Tomorrow will see people around the country celebrating the 20th anniversary of Labour's New Zealand Nuclear-Free Zone Disarmament and Arms Control Act - a piece of legislation that has long outlived its relevance and that is now having negative repercussions ... More >>
Not A BANG - But A Whimper; Parliamentary Prayer; Lest We Forget More >>
ACT New Zealand Education Spokesman Heather Roy today demanded that Education Minister Steve Maharey quit encouraging school students to reach the truly dizzying heights of mediocrity. More >>
After months of waiting for the results of a police investigation former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field, who is now an independent MP formally received the news this week that Police are seeking leave from the High Court to proceed with 14 charges ... More >>
Laws on Gangs; The Budget; Why has Gordon Copeland resigned? ; Lest We Forget This week in history More >>
Michael Cullen famously said his polices would be judged on whether they produced four percent real growth. They should be his famous last words. The outlook for the next five years is a paltry 2.3 percent. It's less than two percent for the next ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide has written to Helen Clark and John Key urging them to allow their MPs a free vote on Sue Bradford's Anti-Smacking Bill. More >>
Rodney Hide's Speech to Council of Canterbury Manufacturers' Association, Christchurch, Monday 14 May 2007. More >>
Another 2005 election promise has been on the agenda this week - this time it has been Winston Peters' SuperGold Card for Senior Citizens and Veterans. Parliament has been debating the Social Security (Entitlement Cards) Amendment Bill. This is ... More >>
In response to questioning by Rodney Hide in Parliament today the Prime Minister said she was not aware of any public polling since the 'anti-smacking' compromise amendment deal was struck with John Key. More >>
"Winston Peters' Super Gold Cards will be able to be embedded with microchips if the law passes as it is currently written. The potential for sinister misuse of the information is huge and underestimated," said ACT Deputy Leader Heather Roy today. More >>
If something looks and sounds too good to be true it probably is. In the run-up to the 2005 election many promises were made - nothing unusual in that. However many were policies made up on the hoof in what was essentially a bidding war between the ... More >>
"ACT continues to oppose the repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act - Sue Bradford's "anti smacking" Bill despite the fact that Labour and National consider they have found a compromise," said Mrs Roy. More >>
There is a saying that success has a thousand fathers and failure is an orphan. During my lifetime there have been few successes like the victory of the liberal democracies over Communism. It was a victory with little bloodshed, so it is easy to forget that ... More >>
Remember the days of your childhood? Getting together with the neighbourhood kids after school, not going home till you were called for dinner, biking with a group of friends. Most children nowadays have significantly less freedom than their parents ... More >>
Talk back radio has been running red hot on the subject of state funding for political parties this week. Hosts have asked to see the mandate from the people and lambasted politicians (all lumped in together) for wanting to misuse the public purse - and ... More >>
ACC's $5 million "pat on the back" has come back to bite it with a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority being upheld and ACC required to pull its "Covered" television advertisements in their present form says ACT Deputy Leader Heather Roy. More >>
The long awaited report into police conduct was finally released on Tuesday this week. Dame Margaret Bazley, one of the Commissioners who conducted the inquiry, wrote the report which is lengthy with two volumes totaling 468 pages. More >>
In days gone by, armourers who made faulty weapons were tortured and killed by the survivors of the battle in which the weakness was revealed. If the executive of GlaxoSmithKline were aware of this, they clearly felt that they were out of the reach of the Ribena ... More >>
The $227,500 fine handed down to 'Ribena' makers GlaxoSmithKline yesterday should have PHARMAC examining their medicinal offerings, but also shows the success of New Zealand's current advertising rules, says ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy. More >>
Health issues have dominated the news this week. ACC has decided it was time to give itself a public pat on the back - with $5.1 million of our money. District Health Boards have opted for a 'Herceptin Trial' rather than proven treatment for women ... More >>
Putting Parliament into urgency to pass the "Anti-smacking Bill" is unacceptable and anti-democratic, says ACT's Deputy Leader and Party Whip, Heather Roy. "Around 80% of Kiwis are opposed to banning smacking by good and loving parents. Using urgency ... More >>
Following questions in Parliament today, it is now clear that the Minister of Health, Pete Hodgson, was aware from the 13th of July 2006 that there was a conflict of interest over Dr Tony Bierre's involvement in the tendering of laboratory services for the ... More >>
All contracts for health services must be transparent and properly consulted on, and today's judicial review decision which set aside the contract for laboratory testing services in Auckland, citing a lack of transparency and insufficient consultation, ... More >>
Provisional approval from District Health Boards for a nine-week course of Herceptin is a cost-cutting measure that will fail thousands of Kiwi women with HER2-positive breast cancer, says ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy. More >>
Speech to Upper South Regional Conference, Scenic Circle Cotswold Hotel, Christchurch, Saturday 17 March 2007. More >>
ACC's "Covered" advertising campaign will cost Kiwi taxpayers $5.1 million over the next four years, and answers to Parliamentary Questions reveal that ACC's current television, newspaper, internet and planned radio advertisements are setting ... More >>
Speech to the ACT South Island Conference, Cotswold Scenic Circle Hotel, Christchurch Saturday 17 March 2007. More >>
Graeme Burton was just one of 1244 prisoners released from prison on parole in the year to July 2006. The government has finally been stung into considering changes to parole after Burton breached his conditions, playing out a violent drama in the ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide says he is disappointed that the "Anti-Smacking Bill" appears to have the numbers to pass into law. "The people of New Zealand have not been consulted on this proposal. Once again, Parliament is arrogantly foisting its view on the rest ... More >>
Like many people I was initially surprised by the finding of "not guilty" in the trial of Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards and the two former policemen, Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, who had been facing charges of raping a woman in Rotorua ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide says he is saddened by Bill English's comment this morning that "now is not the time to be giving extensive tax cuts". More >>
Speech to The Newmarket Club, Newmarket, Auckland Thursday 8 March 2007. More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide said today he was very disappointed that the National Party has announced they are sticking with Labour's Employment Relations Act. "The Employment Relations Act is poor legislation, and sets up a personal grievance procedure that ... More >>
New Zealand should examine a new British report into welfare reform, which recommends allowing firms and charities to contract for providing social services and offers beneficiaries more help to get back into the workforce in exchange for a greater ... More >>
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an MP, or thought you could do a better job than the present lot? Do you love robust debate? Do you have a vision for New Zealand's future? If so, the following job might be for you (temporarily ... More >>
The key to turning around New Zealand's relative social decline, which has been highlighted in the OECD report 'Society At A Glance', is to celebrate success and achievement in education and business, says ACT MP Heather Roy. More >>
I know my own children are too old for smacking, as soon I will be the shortest in our household. Even when they were small I seldom used physical chastisement. More >>
A Treasury report highlighting management problems at the Ministry of Health coupled with a Ministry of Health internal review shows that management at the Ministry is in critical condition, said ACT Health Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
Each parliamentary year begins with a 14 hour Address and Reply debate - an address by the Prime Minister followed by replies from other party leaders and then the rest of Parliament. More >>
The Minister of Education is in denial that Labour policies are failing thousands of Maori children, says ACT Education Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
We have just listened to a Prime Minister's speech that epitomises everything that is chronically and terminally wrong with this Government. More >>
It's going to be a great year! A great year for New Zealand. A great year for politics. A great year for ACT. More >>
ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy is questioning the transparency of the Ministry of Health's tender process, after the Ministry announced today that McKesson NZ was the preferred tenderer for Healthline. More >>
The approach of Waitangi Day gives people a chance to dust off the perennial debates over national unity, republicanism and the flag. But regardless of whether we spent Tuesday this week on a Northland Marae, in Wellington's Waitangi Park or at home ... More >>
ACT Deputy Leader Heather Roy has questioned whether politicians are upholding their end of the 'social contract', saying in her weekly email newsletter that Kiwis live in a "waiting list society" where government has stopped delivering for citizens. More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide congratulates John Key on his speech this afternoon, which highlights why new ideas are needed about how to tackle welfare dependency and the social problems that go with it. More >>
Since Labour came to power in 1999 there has been a 40% expansion in health spending. Few of us would complain that government now spends one in five taxpayer dollars on healthcare, were it not for the distressing fact that patients and people working ... More >>
"Labours plan to make forest owners pay $13,000 to the government for the use of their land is just another socialist attack on private property rights" said ACT Leader, Rodney Hide. More >>
ACT Health Spokesman, Heather Roy, says that Healthline's Well Child Telephone Advice Service is failing Kiwi parents by missing its targets since it took over from Plunketline this year. More >>
"Figures released today by the Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HFANZ) show a growing acceptance by Kiwis that the public health system can't deal with all the health needs of the nation said ACT Health spokesman Heather Roy. More >>
The Political Situation; Santa's Christmas List; Seasons Greetings More >>
ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy says that today's announcement by Coca- Cola Amatil and Frucor that they will withdraw full sugar drinks from schools has been reached at the point of a regulatory gun. More >>
ACT has had a fantastic year in 2006. We are often told ACT is the lucky party. Heather Roy and I have taken more Bills to Parliament over the past twelve months than ACT did in any one of the previous five years. More >>
Political 'spin' is the art of finding trendy words to hide unpopular ideas. Even normally intelligent people can be drawn in by "carbon neutrality" or "sustainability", and it's only by digging that we find out what these buzzwords really mean. So it ... More >>
ACT New Zealand welcomes the government's acknowledgment of the issues faced by Vietnam veterans, and their move to deal with the consequences of the Vietnam War, says ACT National Security Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
Ordinary Seaman Roy; Don Brash; Milton Friedman (1912-2006) More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide said today he was disappointed that all other political parties are voting to pinch property rights with the Telecommunications Amendment Bill. "The ACT Party is now the only party opposing this Bill. We consider it an uncompensated ... More >>
Green Party Sports Spokesperson Keith Locke and Act New Zealand leader Rodney Hide are disturbed by media rumours that Sports Minister Trevor Mallard is asking the Cabinet for more time to pursue the waterfront stadium. More >>
Without the prospect of being remembered for their greatness, some people are happy to simply be remembered. This sentiment among politicians gives rise to 'white elephants' or political monuments like the 'Parliamentary Palace' and the proposed stadium on ... More >>
ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy said today that confusion reigns over whether any of Levin's twelve GPs will actually move in and work from the new, purpose built, Horowhenua Health Centre. More >>
Sixty two personal grievance cases were raised with the Department of Corrections in the 2005/06 financial year, and a woman sacked for bringing bacon to an inmate at Christchurch Men's Prison could be the next, says ACT National Security Spokesman, ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide has paid tribute to Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, who passed away last night, aged 94. "Milton Friedman was a tireless advocate of free market economics, individual choice and personal responsibility", Mr Hide said. More >>
Kiwis overseas often like nothing better than a reminder of home. The New Zealand contingent who travelled to the UK to unveil the New Zealand memorial left London on Monday morning, and as we drove around Hyde Park Corner - where the memorial sits ... More >>
The waterfront stadium to be built in Auckland - announced by the government today - will be a blight on the waterfront, if it can be built at all, says the MP for Epsom and Leader of ACT, Rodney Hide. More >>
The call for an independent body to set election funding rules by anti- corruption organisation Transparency International is welcomed by ACT Leader Rodney Hide. More >>
At the time of the roll out of the Meningococcal vaccine there was much publicity around the issue. Parents received consent forms for their children outlining the advantages of having their children vaccinated and possible adverse events were outlined. ... More >>
The call for an independent body to set election funding rules by anti- corruption organisation Transparency International is welcomed by ACT Leader Rodney Hide. "Allowing politicians to set their own rules for election spending is like putting the fox ... More >>
The Quality Regulation Review's First Milestone Report, released today, demonstrates what huge benefits await small business if the Regulatory Responsibility Bill is passed, says the Bill's promoter and ACT Leader, Rodney Hide. More >>
The long wait for the inquiry into local government funding's terms of reference, which have finally been announced today, show Labour's reluctance to help ratepayers, according to Rodney Hide, the promoter of a Bill to cap increases in council rates. More >>
ACT has put a great deal of focus on crime and justice issues since coming to Parliament, and we often say that "A government's first duty is to provide for the safety and security of its people". Recently the Police released crime statistics for the year ... More >>
ACT Health Spokesman Heather Roy said today that she is appalled by National's Tony Ryall putting young lives at risk for cheap political points. "Kiwi parents should be under no doubt that meningitis is a dangerous condition with devastating consequences, ... More >>
One in twenty fisheries officers is seriously assaulted every year, and the Government expects officers to protect our coastal environment without the means to defend themselves, says ACT National Security Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
Associate Defence Minister Annette King, answering on behalf of the Minister, was unable to confirm in Parliament today that full funding availability is a key element for defence units to maintain personnel numbers, says ACT National Security Spokesman, ... More >>
Patients in the Wellington region are being told by private specialists that they will be sent back to GPs to have laboratory tests ordered after 1 November, to save them the cost of the tests and a $13 administrative fee, says ACT Health Spokesman, ... More >>
The Government's response to a report from the Small Business Advisory Group overlooks a key instrument in cutting back red tape - a Regulatory Responsibility Bill that will come before Parliament next month, says the Bill's promoter, ACT Leader Rodney ... More >>
Parliament this week was dominated by validating legislation to right the wrongs around MPs' spending of taxpayers' money last year. The Auditor General had criticised the spending at the run-up to the last election and Labour introduced legislation ... More >>
Few things have generated as much media coverage since the election as this issue. We shouldn't lose track of the principle that lies behind it - and we should be aware of the perversion of democracy that is taking place here today. A good government ... More >>
The Labour Party is taxing its own MPs a low, flat rate of 5% to repay election spending, but is pursuing a less fair policy for working New Zealanders, says ACT Leader Rodney Hide. More >>
Thursday 12 October was the 10th anniversary of MMP, and as the only new party to be elected under the new electoral system, it was also the 10th anniversary of ACT's election to parliament. ACT MPs and members celebrated at a dinner in Auckland. Anniversaries ... More >>
Speech to ACT New Zealand 10th Anniversary In Parliament Dinner, Romford's Tamaki Yacht Club, Auckland, 7.30pm Thursday 12 October 2006. It's great to be back amongst ACT's fellow travellers. Heather Roy and I have recently returned from a trip to ... More >>
ACT Social Services Spokesman, Heather Roy, is astounded that the government is defending a quarter of a billion dollars in debt owed to taxpayers by beneficiaries. More >>
A quarter of a billion dollars of unpaid debt is owed by welfare beneficiaries, according to new answers to parliamentary questions released by ACT Social Services spokesman, Heather Roy. "This $261 million dollars is made up of money owed by recipients of ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide is appalled that both Dr Cullen and Dr Brash are pedalling the line that government cannot afford immediate, dramatic and across-the-board tax cuts. More >>
Fisheries officers denied the ability to carry pepper spray and retractable batons are being placed in harm's way without the means to protect themselves, says ACT National Security Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
This week's contribution is from Jack Edmonds, a 16 year old High School student from Wellington. The introduction of NCEA - the National Certificate of Educational Achievement - was marked by debate, protest and confusion. Having actually been a ... More >>
ACT Leader Rodney Hide said today he was bitterly disappointed - but not surprised - that National Leader Don Brash has u-turned and adopted Labour's tax policy. More >>
Police statistics reveal that a crime was reported every 73 seconds last year, an indictment on Labour's soft-on-crime policies according to ACT National Security Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
While Heather Roy is away, Heather's Diary is being written by guest columnists. This week's contribution is from Mike Bridge, ACT On Campus President at Victoria University of Wellington. More >>
Today's announcement that PlunketLine is 'here to stay' is a public vote of confidence in Plunket, and demonstrates how wrong Labour was to try and kill off Kiwis' favourite Well Child helpline, says ACT Health Spokesman, Heather Roy. More >>
Epsom MP Rodney Hide says ratepayers should be concerned that, more than a month after the Government voted against his Bill to limit increases in council rates, an independent inquiry still has no terms of reference, no timeframe for reporting ... More >>
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