NZ Politics

For those able to do so, listening to the 15 minutes of interview from RNZ this week is worthwhile (audio link is a few paragraphs in). Otherwise RNZ's text is an okay summary.

For me the most interesting part of this is Geoffrey Palmer's logic for wanting more MPs in Parliament. In short, he's arguing that we need more MPs, but a smaller Cabinet, to protect our democracy from populism and perhaps authoritarian populism. His reasoning is that most of NZ's process relies on the government being accountable to Parliament. Back-bench MPs presently, however, are drastically overworked when it comes to being able to process and understand everything needed for effectively holding the government to account between the other work they have to do.

He thinks we need at least 150 MPs, and that the size of Cabinet should be capped at 20 to increase the ratio of back-bench MPs over Cabinet MPs. (Presently we have 120 MPs but 30 are Ministers.) It'd mean Ministers would hold more portfolios, but also that they'd not be so siloed from each other. It'd also mean that the task of understanding the complexities of legislation that goes through the House, and through Select Committees, would be shared among more MPs.

He's also shared thoughts about Parliamentary process and the electoral system, wants better civics education, and expresses thoughts on misinformation.

For those who don't know him, Geoffrey Palmer is a former MP and Minister known from the 1980s Labour government. He took over as Prime Minister for about a year after Lange stepped down, but left that role shortly before the 1990 election. Apart from the controversies of that government though, he's also an obsessive legal nerd when it comes to constitutional law and Parliamentary process.

This will push a lot of them back towards the Greens I reckon.

Absolutely great read from Bernard Hickey on Hipkins' wealth tax announcement and the treasury report released yesterday:

That’s it. It will now be almost impossible for a wealth or capital gains tax to be implemented within the next decade or two.

The future of Aotearoa’s political economy will now remain frozen in its stagnant, unequal, unjust, unproductive and unhealthy state for the forseeable future. That’s what our leaders, and ultimately the only voters that matter, have decided. Those hoping to change that frozen landscape should now look after themselves and their families, and/or hope and work for an electoral miracle that gives parties who want such taxes dominant positions in any post-election negotiation.

News stories don’t just pre-exist somewhere out there, walking around intact and whole, waiting for an equal chance to step through the door of a media outlet and into the public arena.

They exist in tiny bits and pieces, among heaps of junk and distortions and agendas — and the bits are selected, assessed, ranked, and assembled, according to the rigour and professionalism, or the whim and worldview, of the journalists and outlets involved.

Barry Soper chose to construct a pretty ugly beast out of their scraps. The Herald chose to parade it. Then they stepped back and let everyone else feed it, until the whole thing became something big and real-seeming enough to cause genuine uncertainty and fear, and to prompt genuine attempts to do the proper journalistic work of understanding what this new health initiative is all about.

Hi team,

Just wondering what proportion of you donate to the party you support?

I'm not really interested in which party you support, just if you donate or not. And the reason(s) why.

The Greens are looking to introduce changes to the rental market to "give everyone in New Zealand a healthy home to live in".

Other coverage

• RNZ: Former prisoners say trauma of solitary confinement will haunt them for life

• The Spinoff: The Bulletin: Corrections ‘a divided organisation with systemic issues’

• 1News: Scathing report on Corrections says prisoners 'collateral damage'

• NZ Herald: Ombudsman calls for fair treatment of prisoners, urgent changes at Corrections

• NZ Herald: Kelvin Davis pushes back on Ombudsman’s damming Corrections report

• RNZ: Corrections needs to urgently fix culture and leadership, chief ombudsman says in new report

• RNZ: 'Utterly frustrated': Prisoners' poor treatment sparks call for change

• Stuff: 'Disconnection at all levels': Ombudsman's scathing review of Corrections

• Office of the Ombudsman press release: Chief Ombudsman Calls For Urgent Reset At Corrections

• Department Of Corrections press release: Corrections Statement On The Ombudsman's Self-initiated Investigation

Also, the Beehive and the National Party put out press releases about rehabilitation just before the Ombudsman's report was released:

• Beehive: Boosting rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners
• National Party: National Will Deliver Rehabilitation To More Prisoners

And the Justice Committee is calling for public submissions on the Corrections Amendment Bill, which "seeks to improve rehabilitation, reintegration and safety outcomes in the corrections system". Submissions close 10 August.

An increasingly crowded field of parties are competing to harness the vestigial energy of the parliamentary occupation.

Former TV presenter turned anti-vaccination campaigner Liz Gunn has launched a new political party, asking people to donate up to $1 million.

The government is following through on a promised ban on new coal boilers, and phasing out existing ones by 2037.

Other changes announced yesterday include new standards requiring councils to factor in climate change in decisions about consents for furnaces that burn fossil fuels.

Currently more than half of the heat used to process raw material - for example in dairy and paper production - comes from burning fossil fuels.

It accounts for 8 percent of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods said the changes would reduce emissions equivalent to the exhaust fumes from 100,000 cars a year. [...]

The ban on installing new coal heating devices kicks in from late next month, with the new nationally consistent standards for councils ready for implementation before the end of the year.

The new standards only cover devices used to generate heat for industrial processes.

Stuff had a related story this morning about the last coke-powered foundry in NZ shutting down.

In an analysis, academics recently found several cases of pro-CCP and pro-NZ-National-Party bias in NZ Chinese-language media. It’s long been known that China interferes in Chinese-language media here.

Interestingly, it appears the CCP and NZ Chinese-language media are currently putting their weight behind National MP Nancy Lu. She was secretly “trained as a candidate” by former National MP Jian Yang, according to a statement made by Yang in 2020. Notably, Yang used to train spies for the People’s Liberation Army before he came to NZ, and left parliament after intelligence agencies flagged him over his relationship with the CCP.

~~@Dave@lemmy.nz~~ @SamC@lemmy.nz already posted about this yesterday, but there's been heaps more coverage of this story. This was yesterday:

• Newshub: Government poised to announce major bailout package for universities on brink
• Reuters: New Zealand boosts tertiary funding as universities struggle
• The Spinoff: $128m lifeline for struggling universities to be spread across all institutes
• 1News: 'Throwing money at everything': Uni bail out blamed on Covid response
• The Spinoff: Acting PM teases details of multimillion-dollar university rescue package
• RNZ: Rescue package for universities
• Newshub: Government to throw lifeline to struggling universities, fears 'NZ will be a poorer place' if courses, staff aren't saved
• RNZ: Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni dismisses criticism government isn't funding universities properly
• Star News: Govt poised to help out struggling universities
• RNZ: Government announces extra $128m for cash-strapped universities, tertiary institutions
• Newshub: Government reveals new funding for tertiary education amid concerns of job losses, programmes cut
• Otago Daily Times: Otago University gets $21m bailout
• The Spinoff: $128m lifeline for struggling universities to be spread across all institutes
• Interest.co.nz: An additional $128 million will be invested into the tertiary sector to mitigate current financial problems
• RNZ: Rescue package welcomed by university sector
• NBR: Universities get $128m relief while funding is reviewed
• Stuff: $128 million boost for struggling tertiary sector welcomed
• RNZ: Political parties back extra tertiary education funding
• Interest.co.nz: Comprehensive review of university funding unveiled as government asks them to co-operate more in the wake of a funding grant to help them through crisis
• RNZ: Luxon on university funding

Plus a few press releases:

• The Beehive: Government provides significant extra support to universities and other degree providers
• Tertiary Education Union: Permanent Solutions Needed After Welcome Funding Correction
• Greens: Tertiary Lifeline Buys Time To Get Model Right
• National Party: Bailout Is Band-aid Economics Of Labour’s Making

But by the end of the day yesterday and this morning, stories were coming out saying major job cuts will probably still go ahead:

• RNZ: Major job losses for universities despite govt rescue package
• Newshub: Tertiary sector welcomes Government funding, but too early to say it will save jobs, programmes
• RNZ: Big job losses at Victoria and Otago universities to go ahead despite more government funding
• Stuff: republished on Stuff
• Otago Daily Times: Govt’s bailout won’t rescue troubled university
• RNZ: Uni staff the 'backbone of this country', suffering in proposed cuts - union
• Otago Daily Times: Govt uni bailout likened to a plaster
• Otago Daily Times: Otago Uni cuts still on agenda
• RNZ: Two university Vice-Chancellors calling for cooperation to end funding woes
• The Coversation: Bailout, Band-Aid or back to basics? 3 questions NZ’s university funding review must ask

And last Friday, before the funding was announced, The Spinoff ran a list of which university courses were likely to be dropped

Interesting to see the balancing act of the foreign trip to China & the 5 Eyes having a meeting here. Definitely hard to keep everyone happy.

Other coverage:

• The Spinoff: Food banks get $6m funding boost as cost of living continues to bite
• NBR: Petrol and public transport cost to go up for many
• Otago Daily Times: Govt gives $6m boost to food bank providers

And the Greens' press release in response to this: Food Banks Are Not The Solution

More coverage:

• Newsroom: Iwi joins bidding war for Ruapehu
• RNZ: Government commits $5m for Ruapehu Alpine Lifts
• The Spinoff: $5m lifeline for Ruapehu ski season announced
• NZ Herald: Govt forks out $5m to save this year’s Ruapehu ski season after operator placed into liquidation last week
• Stuff: Govt to put up $5m to ensure Ruapehu skiing this season

Press Releases:

• The Beehive: Ruapehu ski season to go ahead this winter
• Ruapehu District Council: Ruapehu Mayor Applauds Government's $5 Million Support For Ruapehu 2023 Ski Season

The Hākaimangō-Matiatia​ marine reserve would cover a 2350ha area northwest of Waiheke Island, but it's been stalled after opposition from the Ngāti Pāoa Iwi Trust. However, the Ngāti Pāoa Trust Board supports the reserve. This is the fourth marine reserve to be delayed or cancelled recently after opposition from iwi groups.

National received more than 12 times the money Labour did in large donations over the past year

Sat 1 July, 3:00 pm

I'm stopping now and will unpin this soon. Hipkins is back, coverage is winding down, and I'm not keeping up with it anyway. Here are the final stories:

• CNN: New Zealand’s leader Chris Hipkins under fire from opposition over backup plane for overseas trip
• Reuters: New Zealand manages China relationship carefully, works to avoid being caught in rivalry, foreign minister says
• South China Morning Post: As US-China rivalry spikes, New Zealand avoiding getting pulled from ‘pillar to post’: minister
• The Spinoff: ‘The door is wide open’: PM hails China trip as a huge success for NZ business, economy
• The Spinoff: ‘Optimistic and slightly student-like’: What Chinese media has made of Chris Hipkins
• RNZ: The Week in Politics: Success in Beijing, trouble at home
• Beehive speech transcript: Prime Minister Rt Hon Chris Hipkins at Peking University
• NZ Herald: PM Chris Hipkins wishes he could stay in China longer, as New Zealand trade trip draws to a close
• NZ Herald: :Matthew Hooton: Why this arrogant Government doesn’t deserve Chris Hipkins 🔒
• Newsroom: Hipkins in China: Swimming in the deep end
• NZ Herald: Chris Hipkins’ China trip: Trouble at home takes wind from PM’s sails 🔒
• Newsroom: New Zealand foreign policy turns a corner in Beijing
• Newsroom: Political skeleton rattles PM’s Beijing day
• NZ Herald: Fran O’Sullivan: Chris Hipkins’ priorities in China: The economy, the economy - and the economy 🔒
• Stuff: Chris Hipkins earns China's praise - but he won't want it all
• Newsroom: Raw Politics: When 'robust' is just too robust
• RNZ: PM on China visit: 'There is a huge market here for NZ products and services'
• RNZ: Hipkins passes diplomatic test with China's Xi
• Newsroom: New Zealand foreign policy turns a corner in Beijing

Thu 29 June, 11:30 pm

• NZ Herald: Chris Hipkins in China: PM says he has confidence in Kiri Allan, Jan Tinetti
• The Spectator: Will New Zealand regret kowtowing to China?
• Stuff: PM's China trip paying off for primary sector
• RNZ: New Zealand business delegation in China strikes deal for red meat sector
• The Guardian: The New Zealand PM’s ancient plane is embarrassing – but an upgrade risks too much of a backlash

Thu 29 June, 11:30 am

• 1News: Jessica Mutch-McKay: Hipkins taking stardust-free approach in China
• Stuff: Chris Hipkins tries to sell NZ, but must now keep an eye on the Kiri Allan situation
• Newsroom: Political skeleton rattles PM’s Beijing day
• NZ Herald: Letters: A greater good, NZ Post, expiring Rat kits, free speech, Ruapehu, and Chinese diplomacy 🔒
• NZ Herald: Editorial: China trade - precious and precarious 🔒
• NZ Herald: Chris Hipkins heads to Shanghai after securing extra flights to New Zealand
• South China Morning Post: China’s Asia-Pacific trade deal, digital economy pact aspirations backed by New Zealand
• Beehive press release: New China-New Zealand air routes to boost capacity for tourists
• Beehive press release: China and New Zealand Strengthen Forestry Cooperation

Wed 28 June, 10:30 pm

• The Spinoff: Hipkins meets Chinese premier Li Qiang, specifies Māori in opening address
• AP: New Zealand Prime Minister Hipkins visits China to boost economic ties
• NZ Herald: PM in China: Chris Hipkins speaks after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang
• Stuff: Recap: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confronts minister Kiri Allan issue while in China
• Bloomberg: Xi Vows to Protect Foreign Investors in Charm Offensive
• Newshub: Advocacy group says Chris Hipkins should've been tougher with Xi Jinping over China's treatment of Uighurs
• The Coversation: Hipkins meets Xi Jinping: behind the handshakes, NZ walks an increasingly fine line with China
• Reuters: New Zealand signs range of pacts with China
• Beehive press release: New Zealand and China reaffirm importance of agriculture cooperation
• Beehive press release: Prime Minister and Premier reaffirm strong economic relationship

Update 29 June 1:20pm: Added Beehive press releases

Wed 28 June, 1:15 pm and earlier in comments due to character limit

This is about the new self-identification process that the DIA launched ~~last week~~ on the 15th, which makes it easier for people born in New Zealand to amend their registered sex on their birth certificate. They have removed the previous requirements of a trip to the Family Court and proof of medical treatment. It also now allows applicants to amend their registered sex to non-binary.

However, there's still not a solution for those born overseas. The DIA is working on something, but it will likely not apply to asylum seekers until they're accepted as refugees - which often takes many years. In the meantime, the mismatched name issue makes it very difficult for these people to get things like a bank account, an IRD number, a job, benefits, medication, etc. Which puts a lot of roadblocks in the way of these people becoming productive, happy, healthy members of our society.

"AUT law dean and parole board member Khylee Quince said National was proposing 'retrograde' steps."