/news/politics/rss 九一星空无限 Get the latest political and government news from 九一星空无限talk ZB's Beehive team. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:43:37 Z en /news/politics/labour-s-willie-jackson-believes-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-split-inevitable-if-issues-not-sorted-soon/ /news/politics/labour-s-willie-jackson-believes-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-split-inevitable-if-issues-not-sorted-soon/ Willie Jackson believes a split within Te Pāti Māori is “inevitable” if internal conflicts aren’t addressed shortly, but he says it’s too early to discount any future collaboration with Labour. He’s pushing for a meeting with Te Pāti Māori by the end of November in the hopes of getting “some indications on where we’re heading next year” before the election, acknowledging questions of whether the party would be a stable partner for Labour. But Jackson said Labour would not be “forced into a position to make a decision with regards to any future relationships with them”. “That internal stuff has to play out. I think it’s still got some way to go, but it’s getting close to terminal, I would say.” The senior Labour MP has been overseas on a parliamentary trip to Barbados over the past week as trouble within Te Pāti Māori boiled over. He was monitoring it from afar and has spoken with his good friend and Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere in recent days. Now back at Parliament, Jackson told the Herald it was “sad” to see the private issues come out, particularly relating to MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, whom he knew well. “She’s been a good MP. We don’t get any joy in watching them killing each other off,” he said on Wednesday. “From a purely kaupapa sense, I’d like to see them fix it. But if they don’t get together soon, you’d just about think it was all over in terms of a future for her and Te Pāti Māori, which I find sad.” Labour MP Willie Jackson said the situation was "sad". Photo / Mark Mitchell Te Pāti Māori late on Monday night released a batch of documents making several serious allegations against Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and her high-profile son and activist, Eru Kapa-Kingi. They included allegations of overspending by the MP’s office and her son threatening violence at Parliament. That followed Eru Kapa-Kingi, a spokesman for the Toitū te Tiriti campaign group, earlier this month attempting to distance the movement from Te Pāti Māori and accusing it of dictatorship-like leadership. His comments came after his mother was demoted as the party’s whip. Eru Kapa-Kingi is yet to respond directly to the allegations, but posted on social media this morning saying he didn’t “regret a single thing” or intend to “throw stones at anyone”, but instead to “speak truth and stand on kaupapa”. His mother also hasn’t fully addressed the claims but acknowledged to the Herald there was an “incident” that went through the “usual processes” at Parliament. She didn’t respond to the Herald’s phone call on Wednesday. Jackson observed that if the internal issues weren’t fixed “quickly”, it could lead to a split within the party, especially if both sides kept having a crack at each other. “I think it’s inevitable that there will be a split there. I think that’s sad for them. I look at it from a kaupapa Māori perspective,” the MP said. “I think it looks inevitable that, unless they can bring it together really quickly, in the next week or so, ... that relationship looks just about over, which I think is very sad for them.” Jackson acknowledged that Tamihere was a friend of his, but said whatever some people say, he had “won six seats for them”. Asked for his thoughts on Te Pāti Māori’s email outlining the allegations, Jackson said, “Let’s be clear, Eru came out and decided to go after the leadership. “I’m not surprised that the leadership, and that’s [Tamihere, Kiri Tamihere, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer] ... that they would respond. “I think a few people are surprised that they’ve responded so harshly, and obviously it was going to get into the media, but that’s their style.” People in Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s seat of Te Tai Tokerau “are thinking that it’s probably just about terminal unless they can patch it up,” Jackson claimed. He said there was also “a section who are not happy with the leadership”. There have been reports that Te Tai Tonga electorate branch wanted a vote of no confidence in Tamihere and the executive leadership. “But it looks like overwhelmingly that the majority are happy with the leadership ... it’ll be fascinating to see what happens in the next few weeks.” John Tamihere is Te Pāti Māori's president. Photo / Mike Scott Jackson, whose experience in Māori politics goes back decades, including his time in the Mana Motuhake party and Labour, said internal issues were not “uncommon”. He noted the Māori Party had a split in 2011, when Hone Harawira went off and formed Mana. He said he found it “amusing” that people suggested just because Te Pāti Māori have “all these internals, therefore Labour can’t do a deal with them”. “They’re not the first party to have internals,” Jackson added. The MP said, “We’re not all saying, ‘oh, it’s all over, we can’t even do a relationship,’ just because the Prime Minister said you can’t do a relationship. I mean, how crazy is that? Why would we discount them as a possibility? I don’t know what sort of relationship. “Why would we discount them just because they’ve got some internals going? Even if Mariameno splits, why would we discount them?” Labour leader Chris Hipkins has made clear Te Pāti Māori has “some work to do internally if they want to be part of an alternative Government”. On Tuesday, he said, “At the moment, it is not clear how many Māori parties there are." Jackson said Hipkins had taken a “very responsible line” as “the public want to see some stability there”. “We’re looking at Government, so we do want some stability there and some assurances,” he said. “One of the things that I’ll be pushing for is for us to meet with them. Might try to tie [that] up before the end of November ... just so we can get some indications on where we’re heading next year.” Members of the Government have called on Labour to rule Te Pāti Māori out of a future governing arrangement, but Labour has said it will make those types of decisions clear closer to the election. On current polling, Labour would need Te Pāti Māori to form a Government. Jackson pushed back on the calls from the Government, suggesting the likes of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon were in no position to make such suggestions about how to deal with minor parties, given criticisms of Luxon’s own coalition. “We’ve all been talking for the last two or three weeks [about] the state of Te Pāti Māori and then the inevitable question of, would they be a stable partner for us? You have [National’s] Nicola Willis and Luxon saying we’ve got to disconnect from them. “Why? Because they are having some internals. It would suit them, because it would take away an opportunity with us in terms of numbers.” Willis on Tuesday said it was “disturbing to see civil conflict within a party”. “A party that can’t manage itself certainly can’t have a role in managing the country. Chris Hipkins should rule them out today. He should have done it yesterday. Te Pāti Māori are a recipe for division in New Zealand, division within themselves, and unstable Government.” Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the 九一星空无限hub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:54:33 Z /news/politics/eru-kapa-kingi-allegations-activist-doesn-t-regret-a-single-thing-on-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-feud/ /news/politics/eru-kapa-kingi-allegations-activist-doesn-t-regret-a-single-thing-on-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-feud/ The high-profile activist accused of threatening staff at Parliament last year says he doesn’t “regret a single thing” over his public feud with Te Pāti Māori.  Eru Kapa-Kingi’s comments follow the party emailing documents to all its members on Monday evening that accused him of making “threats of physical violence” and “inappropriate and vulgar” remarks to parliamentary staffers at a Budget Day protest in 2024.  Some of the comments Eru Kapa-Kingi is alleged to have made include: “You aren’t s***”, “Get f***ed” and “I will f***ing knock you out”.  Te Pāti Māori’s release of the documents was another inflection point in an ongoing dispute between Eru, who as spokesman for the Toitū te Tiriti movement was a central figure at Parliament for the May 2024 protest. Eru is the son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who was demoted and replaced as party whip last month. Eru previously worked in her office.  Toitū te Tiriti spokesman Eru Kapa-Kingi has yet to respond to the claims. Photo / Denise Piper  Eru broke with the party and earlier this month publicly accused it of having a dictatorial leadership style. He has not directly responded to the allegations in the documents released by Te Pāti Māori, first reported by the Herald yesterday.  In a new post on social media on Wednesday morning, Eru referenced reports of others in the party being frustrated with the leadership.  “These are the silenced voices, almost all wahine, I stood up for. I knew I would get dragged through the mud for it, but I don’t regret a single thing.”  He acknowledged some people would be feeling “confused, disappointed, even let down”.  “I suffered through those same emotions for years because I was a die hard TPM supporter, but then I saw things unfold on the inside. I tried multiple ways internally to fix the problems, and kept coming up short.”  Eru said he didn’t intend to “throw stones at anyone” but instead to “speak truth and stand on kaupapa”.  “Even through all of this, I am feeling so loved.”He finished by saying, “let’s fix our whare so we can roll this blardy government.”  Te Pāti Māori’s late-night email to all members  The allegations against the activist and former staffer were contained in a series of documents Te Pāti Māori emailed its members about 10pm Monday in what the party claims is a response to calls for transparency after it faced accusations of a dictatorial leadership style by Eru Kapa-Kingi. (In separate documents sent by Te Pāti Māori to members, officials raised concerns that Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was in danger of overspending her office’s budget by up to $133,000).  One of the documents included in the email from Te Pāti Māori to members was titled “Te Pāti Māori fact sheet – Eru Kapa-Kingi allegations” and details the creation of Toitū te Tiriti, how Eru Kapa-Kingi was established as spokesman and took on the role of party vice-president before resigning on March 25, citing in a resignation letter attached to the email he wanted to “focus on my own little whānau” and “protect the mana and tapu of the Toitū movement”.  The “fact sheet” referenced Eru Kapa-Kingi’s public claims “alleging Te Pāti Māori was led by a dictatorship, bullying and toxic”.  The document mentions Eru Kapa-Kingi’s contract with Parliamentary Service as a party staffer, which Te Pāti Māori alleged was “terminated for serious misconduct” before he returned working under a company, Tautoru Ltd, which the party claimed was a “way of circumventing Parliamentary Services termination”.  The document refers to a written account from a Parliamentary Service staffer about an alleged incident on “Budget day”, understood to be May 30, 2024, when Budget 24 was released.  Eru Kapa-Kingi, the Parliamentary staffer’s written account alleges, was abusive and made “threats of physical violence”.  The identity of the person who wrote the account is redacted in the Te Pāti Māori email to members.  Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been implicated in some of the allegations spread by the party. Photo / Mark Mitchell  The Parliamentary staffer alleged Eru Kapa-Kingi used include vulgar language and made references to race. Some of the alleged comments include: “You aren’t s***”, “Get f***ed” and “I will f***ing knock you out”.  “The language he used had a very aggressive tone and came across with a lot of hatred and intimidation,” the Parliamentary Service staff member alleged in their account.  “With the combination of the abuse, language and racism displayed by Eru, I firmly believed that he was going to go through with his threats of physical violence towards either myself or [redacted].”  The staffer also claimed Eru Kapa-Kingi said to security staff, “Do you know who I am?”, “Do you know who my family is?”, and “You are going to be so embarrassed and f***ed when you find out”.  “Words such as this I believe were used to try and intimidate [redacted] and myself, hoping that we would back down from the situation, let him get away with what he had done and not take things further,” the Parliamentary staffer said in the document released by Te Pāti Māori.  Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi speak to media after the party's "reset" last week. Photo / Mark Mitchell  The staffer called for Eru Kapa-Kingi to be “dismissed from his current employment” and is “denied the ability to reapply for a ‘family’ access card”.  The staffer also referred to an alleged instance when Eru Kapa-Kingi “tailgated” through Parliament security gates and refused to show his Parliament ID.  Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:54:41 Z /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-email-to-members-alleges-eru-kapa-kingi-threatened-parliament-staff-at-protest/ /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-email-to-members-alleges-eru-kapa-kingi-threatened-parliament-staff-at-protest/ Documents released by Te Pāti Māori accuse high-profile activist and son of one its MPs of making “threats of physical violence” and “inappropriate and vulgar” remarks to Parliamentary staffers. Some of the comments Eru Kapa-Kingi is alleged to have made include: “You aren’t shit”, “Get f” and “I will f* knock you out”. Eru Kapa-Kingi, the son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, has not responded to multiple requests to comment about the allegations against him but posted on social media this morning: “The life of a whistleblower. I am not responding to any media. Will put out a statement in response soon.” The allegations were contained in a series of documents Te Pāti Māori emailed its members about 10pm Monday in what the party claims is a response to calls for transparency after it faced accusations of a dictatorial leadership style by Eru Kapa-Kingi. (In separate documents sent by Te Pāti Māori to members officials raised concerns that Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was in danger of overspending her office’s budget by up to $133,000). Eru Kapa-Kingi, spokesperson for Toitū te Tiriti. Photo / Alex Cairns. Eru Kapa-Kingi, as spokesperson for the Toitū te Tiriti movement, was a central figure at Parliament for the May 2024 protest, which was sparked by the Government policies relating to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, co-governance, and the repeal of smokefree legislation. One of the documents included in last night’s email from Te Pāti Māori to members was titled “Te Pāti Māori fact sheet - Eru Kapa-Kingi allegations” and details the creation of Toitū te Tiriti, how Eru Kapa-Kingi was established as spokesperson and took on the role as party vice-president before resigning on March 25, citing in a resignation letter attached to the email he wanted to “focus on my own little whānau” and “protect the mana and tapu of the Toitū movement”. The “fact sheet” referenced Eru Kapa-Kingi’s public claims “alleging Te Pāti Māori was led by a dictatorship, bullying and toxic”. The document mentions Eru Kapa-Kingi’s contract with Parliamentary Service as a party staffer, which Te Pāti Māori alleged was “terminated for serious misconduct” before he returned working under a company, Tautoru Ltd, which the party claimed was a “way of circumventing Parliamentary Services termination”. The document refer to a written account from a Parliamentary Service staffer about an alleged incident on “Budget day”, understood to be May 30, 2024 when Budget 24 was released. Eru Kapa-Kingi, the Parliamentary staffer’s written account alleges, was abusive and made “threats of physical violence”. The identity of person who wrote the account is redacted in the Te Pāti Māori email to members. Toitū te Tiriti spokesperson Eru Kapa-Kingi has yet to respond to the claims. Photo / Denise Piper The Parliamentary staffer alleged Eru Kapa-Kingi used include vulgar language and made references to race. Some of the alleged comments include: “You aren’t shit”, “Get f” and “I will f* knock you out”. “The language he used had a very aggressive tone and came across with a lot of hatred and intimidation,” the Parliamentary Service staff member alleged in their account. “With the combination of the abuse, language and racism displayed by Eru, I firmly believed that he was going to go through with his threats of physical violence towards either myself or [redacted].” The staffer also claimed Eru Kapa-Kingi said to security staff, “Do you know who I am?”, “Do you know who my family is?”, and “You are going to be so embarrassed and f when you find out”. “Words such as this I believe were used to try and intimidate [redacted] and myself, hoping that we would back down from the situation, let him get away with what he had done and not take things further,” the Parliamentary staffer said in the document released by Te Pāti Māori. The staffer called for Eru Kapa-Kingi to be “dismissed from his current employment” and is “denied the ability to reapply for a ‘family’ access card”. The staffer also referred to an alleged instance when Eru Kapa-Kingi “tailgated” through Parliament security gates and refused to show his Parliament ID. In a statement, Acting Parliamentary Service chief executive Amy Brier declined to comment on the allegations as they were “individual employment matters” and “internal party correspondence Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who is Eru’s former manager when her son had worked for the party at Parliament, told the Herald last night there had been an incident but it “went through the usual processes through Parly [Parliament] Services and, yeah, there was a process that was run and ... I’ll leave that there”. Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi has been implicated in some of the allegations spread by the party. Photo / Mark Mitchell Speaking to the Herald last night, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer claimed she first learned about the allegations on Friday last week, something Mariameno Kapa-Kingi laughed at when it was relayed by the Herald. “As a leader, I would expect that she would know,” she said of Ngarewa-Packer. It’s unclear whether Mariameno Kapa-Kingi told the party about the incident. Ngarewa-Packer was adamant informing the membership of the allegations yesterday was not done to discredit Eru Kapa-Kingi, a former party vice-president, in light of his public criticisms about the leadership. “I’ve got a young son and I guarantee you that is not something either of us [other co-leader Rawiri Waititi] would have gone out to do. “This isn’t about crucifying anybody, these are the facts that our team have been able to get out. “I have a lot of aroha for Eru and I don’t like how this has transpired but I also have a lot of aroha and commitment to the party.” Party president John Tamihere has been contacted for comment. Asked whether she knew the claims contained in the documents to be true, Ngarewa-Packer said: “I’ve got no reason to doubt that the information that’s written is incorrect.” She wasn’t able to say whether the party had discussed the allegations, or the decision to send them to party members, with Eru Kapa-Kingi. The party’s national council decided on Sunday to release the raft of documents after a discussion with electorate leaders across the country. Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi speak to media after the party's "reset". Photo / Mark Mitchell Ngarewa-Packer, who was on the call alongside the party’s other MPs, said members had “demanded transparency”. It followed the party’s “reset” last week in which it was acknowledged the party needed to communicate more openly. Ngarewa-Packer lamented how the matter would be played out publicly through the media, speaking of being “crucified by the media … without a right of reply” over Eru Kapa-Kingi’s claims. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:47:49 Z /news/politics/acc-apologises-after-whistleblower-complaint-leads-to-ombudsman-investigation-exposes-costs-from-senior-boss-farewell-event/ /news/politics/acc-apologises-after-whistleblower-complaint-leads-to-ombudsman-investigation-exposes-costs-from-senior-boss-farewell-event/ The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has apologised after a whistleblower complaint led a top watchdog to find it had “unreasonably” excluded the costs of a senior executive’s farewell celebration from its response to Official Information Act (OIA) requests.  The Wellington farewell cost around $17,287, including domestic travel and catering, but this wasn’t disclosed when journalists requested a list of events it had held costing above $10,000. Instead, ACC said it hadn’t identified any events in the scope of that request.  But after a whistleblower alleged to the Ombudsman that senior ACC management “had manipulated data” to bring the event cost below the $10,000 threshold, an investigation was launched.  ACC considered some of the costs associated should be excluded as staff members had other work reasons to be in Wellington, beyond the farewell. This brought the cost down to about $7500, meaning it was below the threshold requested.  In a ruling issued today, the Chief Ombudsman found ACC “has acted unreasonably in its management of its response to the OIA requests” as it had “failed to demonstrate” that much of the farewell costs could be attributed to “other work” and that those expenses would have occurred regardless of the farewell happening.  ACC on Monday directly apologised to the journalists who made the requests, acknowledging the Ombudsman’s view that its decision was “unreasonable and wrong”.  “I apologise for ACC’s failure to disclose information that we should have,” a letter from chief executive Megan Main says.  “We recognise that we should have handled the approach to your request differently and accept the decision we made to exclude those costs from the scope of the request and response was unreasonable.”  It said it had taken “significant steps” to strengthen its record-keeping processes and improve transparency, as well as revising its travel policy so that travel “to be undertaken solely for the purpose of attending farewell events or other staff celebrations” is not allowed.  ACC head Megan Main has apologised for the OIA responses. Photo / Mark Mitchell  The requests were made in August 2023 off the back of revelations the Ministry of Pacific Peoples had spent nearly $40,000 on farewelling its former chief executive. Journalists wanted to know about other agencies’ expenditure on events costing above $10,000, including any hosted by ACC.  According to a report from the Ombudsman, ACC initially identified the farewell event for outgoing deputy chief executive, chief Māori and equity officer Michelle Murray, cost “in the region of $18,000” and was therefore within the scope of the OIA requests.  However, in the process of gathering information and drafting a response to the requests, staff considered whether to exclude employee costs – such as on travel and accommodation – if they had attended the event but had travelled to Wellington for what was described as “other work”.  Internal correspondence within ACC said this “other work” included “transition planning, board and engagement planning and learning”.  One staff member said they advised another it depended on whether the “core purpose” of their travel was to attend the event, “i.e. would they have been traveling to Wellington had the farewell event not occurred?”  “If the answer is yes, their travel and accommodation is out of scope. If the answer is no, then the core purpose of that travel/accommodation is the farewell, and it should be included,” the employee’s advice is reported as.  The Ombudsman, John Allen, said it initially appeared ACC would disclose the cost, estimated at around $18,000, with a caveat explaining that 11 staff travelled to Wellington “to attend the farewell but were also there on other business”.  To evidence the “other work”, ACC provided the Ombudsman with meeting invitations showing some, but not all, of the 11 travelling staff members’ names.  “ACC provided high-level descriptions on the purpose of the gathering and the meetings but confirmed that no formal documentation such as minutes, was available,” the report said.  However, changes were then suggested for the OIA response. For example, the ACC media team is reported to have advised removing a section that broke down the direct costs associated with the event ($7584), and the costs of travel and accommodation for staff who attended but also did other work while in Wellington ($9703).  ACC’s head of government engagement also asked staff for spreadsheets of costs.  One staff member replied, asking if “flights and accommodation for those who ‘travelled to Wellington to attend [DCE] farewell but did work too’ are not in scope?” The head of government engagement responded that “people who did other stuff aren’t included”.  They estimated that “takes 9k off”.  The Ombudsman’s report states “some ACC colleagues appear to express concerns”, with one employee commenting in the work online chat, “‘other work’. This is wrong. Fundamentally wrong.”  The head of government engagement is reported as acknowledging the comment and saying: “Everybody knows that ... Including [chief executive].”  “[Name of Staff 1], can you please change the sign-out on the letter to my name and title. I’ll send you my signature. I’m not going to ask [colleague] to sign this one out and will do it instead. I am sorry both. I worked as hard as I can to get this to land somewhere that I was comfortable with.”  The final OIA responses were then sent, advising the requestors that no events had been identified within scope, meaning above the $10,000 threshold.  Chief Ombudsman John Allen has been investigating the OIA response. Photo / Mark Mitchell  In September 2023, the Ombudsman’s office received a protected disclosure that alleged that senior ACC management “had manipulated data relating to a farewell event in 2023 for a DCE [deputy chief executive]”.  “It was alleged that the actual cost of the event was approximately $18,000 and that ACC purposely manipulated that data to bring the event cost to under $10,000 and as such out of scope of the OIA requests,” the Ombudsman’s report says.  The Ombudsman’s office contacted ACC for information and began an investigation in April last year, leading to today’s ruling.  Considering the information, the Ombudsman said it was its determination “ACC has acted unreasonably in its management of its response to the OIA requests”.  “It is my opinion that ACC has failed to demonstrate the case that approximately $9703 of the farewell costs can be attributed to ‘other work’ and that those expenses would have occurred regardless of the farewell.”  The Ombudsman said ACC hadn’t provided information “which adequately details the specifics of what ‘other work’ entailed and that it would have occurred regardless of the farewell”.  It was also “clear” some staff were “uncomfortable” with ACC’s position, Allen said.  ACC’s “retrospective information analysis” to determine if staff would have been in Wellington regardless of the farewell also suggested “poor record keeping and “potentially a failure to actively monitor costs”.  “This is concerning given it is a matter of public funding. ACC’s sensitive expenditure policy states that records should hold up to parliamentary and public scrutiny, and be consistent with standards of probity and financial prudence. This is not possible with poor record keeping.”  The Ombudsman’s report contains ACC’s response, including its acknowledgement that it could have handled the OIA requests differently.  Changes have been made at ACC to strengthen processes and introduce a new travel policy, effective from August this year, prohibiting travel solely for farewell events or other staff celebrations. Farewells are also only allowed in the case of retirement and costs exceeding $250 must get DCE approval.  Other adjustments include ensuring travel activity is tracked and reviewed and creating a “dedicated Workplace Integrity function to support ethical decision making”.  “Finally, ACC stated that it is committed to fostering a culture where staff feel safe and supported to raise concerns where they feel ACC is not acting in line with best practice or ACC values.”  The Ombudsman said it was “encouraged” by ACC’s steps and, given the improvements it had made, it’s only recommendation was for ACC to apologise, which it had already agreed to do.  “To ensure that other agencies are aware of this investigation and its conclusions. I consider it appropriate to publish my opinion on the Ombudsman’s website.”  In ACC’s apology letter, Main confirmed the total costs of the farewell was $17,287.29, including nearly $17,000 in domestic travel, accommodation and meals for staff attending it and related meetings, and $294 for catering.  These costs also include $603 for flights and accommodation for one family member of the outgoing DCE, “in accordance with tikanga requiring ACC to hand executive leaders back to their whānau”.  “The event was attended by a number of ACC kaimahi, including 18 staff members who travelled to Wellington. While some of these staff also participated in strategic planning meetings, their presence at the farewell was considered culturally appropriate and encouraged.”  Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the 九一星空无限hub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.  Mon, 13 Oct 2025 23:08:39 Z /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-s-mariameno-kapa-kingi-allegedly-warned-of-133k-office-overspend-urged-to-take-action-so-staff-paid-party-emails-claims-about-mp-and-her-son-to-members/ /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-s-mariameno-kapa-kingi-allegedly-warned-of-133k-office-overspend-urged-to-take-action-so-staff-paid-party-emails-claims-about-mp-and-her-son-to-members/ Officials raised concerns that Te Pāti Māori Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was in danger of overspending her office’s budget by up to $133,000 and recommended “urgent action” to ensure her staff were paid.  The Parliamentary Service’s August 1 letter to Kapa-Kingi was included in a raft of documents sent by Te Pāti Māori to its members on Monday night making allegations against its own MP and her high-profile activist son, Eru.  Eru Kapa-Kingi has previously worked for Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s office.  Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the budget issue has since been resolved but the release of the email from Te Pāti Māori is the latest in rifts that has emerged between Eru Kapa-Kingi, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and the party.  The airing of the allegations against the pair appears to be prompted by Eru’s recent allegations against the party of a dictatorial leadership style and the demotion of Mariameno as the party’s whip.  Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and son Eru (inset). Image - Mark Mitchell  Among the documents sent to members by Te Pāti Māori appears to be a confidential Parliamentary Service report alleging an incident on Budget Day 2024.  Asked about the allegations in the document, Parliamentary Service acting chief executive Amy Brier said in a statement: “Parliamentary Service does not comment on individual employment matters.”  The Herald has urgently sought a response from Eru Kapa-Kingi to the allegations against him.  Eru Kapa-Kingi, spokesperson for Toitū te Tiriti, and son of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. Photo / Alex Cairns  Separate to the allegations about Budget Day 2024, one of the documents released by Te Pāti Māori was a letter addressed to Mariameno, which the party claims was sent from Parliamentary Service on August 1 this year.  In it, Parliamentary Service raised concerns that her office was heading towards a $133,000 overspend of her budget and recommended “urgent action” to ensure staff were paid.  The Parliamentary Services letter told the MP that “you now have $4986 for the remainder of the term. Urgent action is required to at least cover your staff costs (about $25,000 monthly).”  The letter said any overspend would need to be covered by Kapa-Kingi personally.  “We are at a point where we need to start taking actions immediately to manage the large overspend.”  The letter lists a range of recommendations including specifically cutting engagement with contractor Eru Kapa-Kingi/Tautoru. It asks whether a July invoice is expected, and “if so, why are we still engaging with Eru?”The letter also recommended:  Bringing forward a 10% portion – or $50,000 – of the MP’s year three budget to cover staff costs to about mid-September;  Reduce casual staff hours to zero;  Stop all travel for staff and reduce all staff pcard limits to $1;  Consider re-structuring staff.  “If we don’t have a satisfactory resolution, this issue will be taken to the Speaker.”  Two days later, Party President John Tamihere appears to have emailed Mariameno regarding the “urgent requirement to resolve significant financial over expenditure out of your Office.”  This letter references “issues and frustration voiced by Parliamentary Services in endeavouring to meet with you” which had now “been escalated, as is protocol” to the Party’s leadership.  “A threat has been made that this matter will be escalated to the Speaker, once that occurs, you open up your Office conduct to full Parliamentary scrutiny.”  Tamihere states there were “only three options” available to the MP which included paying the $130,000 shortfall from personal or external sources; meeting the overspend by reducing staff numbers and “applying external resources as a mixed solution; or by “drastically reducing all kaimahi as recommended by Parliamentary services.”  The Party president said if the matter could not be resolved in the next 72 hours “the Pati must move to protest its interests.”  “What does a Pati decision look like? We will be obliged to carry out Parliamentary Services recommendations to this letter.”  Ngarewa-Packer told the Herald on Monday evening the resolution to Mariameno’s budget issue involved using funds that had been designated for her 2026 budget.  Ngarewa-Packer said she had learned about some of the allegations on Friday and the party’s national council, which featured members of each electorate, had met on Sunday and agreed the documents would be shared with the wider membership.  “It had advanced too much that the membership demanded transparency.”  “This isn’t about crucifying anybody, these are the facts that our team have been able to get out.  “I have a lot of aroha for Eru and I don’t like how this has transpired but I also have a lot of aroha and commitment to the party.”  Mariameno Kapa-Kingi told the Herald late on Monday that she did not want to get into a bigger conversation about the email to members from as it was late at night and “I just need to get my head on ... and just be clear of the things that I think are worth responding to or not responding to.”  Responding to Ngarewa-Packer saying she had only been made aware of the allegations on Friday, Kapa-Kingi said: “Well you know we’re all up for integrity ... so if that’s her response, then that’s hers to live with.”  Asked if it was possible Ngarewa-Packer would have been aware of the alleged incident before Friday, Kapa-Kingi said: “I mean they’re the leaders.”  Eru Kapa-Kingi was the party’s former vice-president and a 2023 list candidate.  Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was recently removed from the role as party whip, with Ngarewa-Packer taking up the position.  The reason for the demotion was unclear, with Mariameno Kapa-Kingi saying she had been enjoying her work.  In the aftermath Eru Kapa-Kingi announced the Toitū Te Tiriti protest movement - responsible for last year’s immense hīkoi to Parliament - would distance itself from Te Pāti Māori.  He claimed the party’s leadership had “effectively a dictatorship model” and condemned an alleged “ego-driven narrative” within the party that it had ownership over the Māori electorates.  Ngarewa-Packer and fellow Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi refused to address allegations of a dictatorial leadership style at a media stand-up held after the party’s much-anticipated “reset”, instead walking out.  Mon, 13 Oct 2025 20:29:32 Z /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-emails-members-with-serious-allegations-against-eru-kapa-kingi-and-his-mother-mp-mariameno-kapa-kingi/ /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-emails-members-with-serious-allegations-against-eru-kapa-kingi-and-his-mother-mp-mariameno-kapa-kingi/ Te Pāti Māori has emailed its members a series of documents making serious allegations against one of their own MPs and her son.  The email, sent to members shortly before 10pm, said documentation had been prepared “in direct response” to recent claims made by Eru Kapa-Kingi, son of MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.  Among the documents appears to be a confidential Parliamentary Service report alleging an incident on Budget Day 2024.  Asked about the allegations in the document, Parliamentary Service acting chief executive Amy Brier said in a statement: “Parliamentary Service does not comment on individual employment matters.”  The party also went into details regarding the demotion of Mariameno Kapa-Kingi as the party’s whip.  The Herald has sought a response to the specific allegations from both Eru Kapa-King and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.  Mariameno Kapa-Kingi said she would get back to the Herald in the morning, saying “if you want a proper and reasonable conversation, which you will get from me, it just won’t be tonight”.  The MP said she did not want to get into a bigger conversation about the email sent out by her party as it was late at night and “I just need to get my head on ... and just be clear of the things that I think are worth responding to or not responding to.”  MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.  Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told the Herald she had learned of the parliamentary report on Friday and the party’s national council, which featured members of each electorate, had met on Sunday and agreed the documents would be shared with the wider membership.  “It had advanced too much that the membership demanded transparency.”  “This isn’t about crucifying anybody, these are the facts that our team have been able to get out.  “I have a lot of aroha for Eru and I don’t like how this has transpired but I also have a lot of aroha and commitment to the party.”  Responding to Ngarewa-Packer saying she had only been made aware of the allegations on Friday, Kapa-Kingi said: “Well you know we’re all up for integrity ... so if that’s her response, then that’s hers to live with.”  Asked if it was possible Ngarewa-Packer would have been aware of the alleged incident before Friday, Kapa-Kingi said: “I mean they’re the leaders.”  Eru Kapa-Kingi, spokesman for Toitū te Tiriti. Photo / Alex Cairns  Eru Kapa-Kingi was the party’s former vice-president and a 2023 list candidate.  Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was recently removed from the role as party whip, with Ngarewa-Packer taking up the position.  The reason for the demotion was unclear, with Mariameno Kapa-Kingi saying she had been enjoying her work.  In the aftermath Eru Kapa-Kingi announced the Toitū Te Tiriti protest movement - responsible for last year’s immense hīkoi to Parliament - would distance itself from Te Pāti Māori.  He claimed the party’s leadership had “effectively a dictatorship model” and condemned an alleged “ego-driven narrative” within the party that it had ownership over the Māori electorates.  Ngarewa-Packer and fellow Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi refused to address allegations of a dictatorial leadership style at a media stand-up held after the party’s much-anticipated “reset”, instead walking out.  Mon, 13 Oct 2025 18:12:54 Z /news/politics/revealed-how-much-will-the-govt-save-with-the-kiwisaver-changes/ /news/politics/revealed-how-much-will-the-govt-save-with-the-kiwisaver-changes/ Changes to the KiwiSaver scheme are expected to save the Crown a total of $2.467 billion over a four-year period. Major changes to the savings scheme were announced in this year's Budget - including slashing the Government’s contribution from 50 to 25 cents for every dollar contributed, cutting the maximum payment to $260.72. In addition, those who earn more than $180,000 a year are automatically exempt from receiving a Government contribution, in changes that came into force on July 1. Contributions are now available to those aged 16 and 17. Treasury has confirmed the total savings are forecast from the 2024/25 financial year, to the 2028/29 financial year. A spokesman for Minister of Finance Nicola Willis said the forecast $2.467 billion savings over that period relates to the change to the Government contribution only. The spokesman pointed out while there is a saving from reducing the Government’s contribution, it’s important to note employer and employee contributions will increase. “The overall impact of that is expected to be higher savings for everyday KiwiSaver investors‚” Willis’ office said. “The Government also extended the KiwiSaver annual government contribution (and employer matching) to 16 and 17-year-olds in the workforce, encouraging a life-long savings habit to secure Kiwi futures.” On April 1, 2026, the default KiwiSaver contribution rate is set to increase from 3% to 3.5%, for individuals and employers - before rising to 4% from April 1, 2028. The savings marked in Budget 2025 were prioritised towards economic growth initiatives like Investment Boost, health expenditure including Dunedin and Nelson Hospitals, education support, law and order, and social services. At the time the KiwiSaver changes were announced, Willis described the scheme as helping to bolster the next generation, and allowing young people today to eventually retire with more savings and financial security. “An increased contribution rate will also grow the funds available to young people for a first home deposit. Kiwis are able to withdraw from their KiwiSaver to purchase a first home, and larger fund balances can only help,” Willis added at the release of Budget 2025. Labour criticised the move on Budget Day accusing the Government of "raiding” retirement savings. Recently-released Treasury documents confirm ministers received advice on getting rid of the Government’s annual contribution around KiwiSaver. Officials noted removing it would have a “a negative impact on KiwiSaver balances,” in their advice on the Budget. KiwiSaver continues to be a hot political topic, as New Zealand First has signalled its intention to campaign on compulsory contributions to rise to 10%, to be off-set with tax cuts. It made the announcement at the party’s conference in Palmerston North in September. Mon, 13 Oct 2025 16:00:27 Z /news/politics/approval-ratings-for-christopher-luxon-and-chris-hipkins-drop-in-new-political-poll/ /news/politics/approval-ratings-for-christopher-luxon-and-chris-hipkins-drop-in-new-political-poll/ Public approval ratings for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins have dropped in the latest 1九一星空无限 Verian poll. The poll, released tonight, had Luxon with an approval rating of 38% while 52% disapproved of his performance. Ten % didn’t know or preferred not to say. These figures give the Prime Minister a score of -14, his lowest approval rating as the country’s leader, according to the poll. Slightly more people approved of Hipkins (42%) - his disapproval rate was 41% and 17% didn’t know or preferred not to say. This gave Hipkins an overall score of +1 - his lowest approval score since the 2023 election, according to 1九一星空无限. Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon. New Zealand Herald photograph by Mark Mitchell 24 April 2024 Presented with the latest poll figures, Luxon said he was just focused on his job – “which is to make sure I deliver for the New Zealand people.” “It’s not really about me, it’s about me making sure I lead a team that does the job for New Zealanders.” Hipkins told 1九一星空无限 he didn’t “read much into” the rating, saying “being leader of the Opposition, you expect your ratings to take a bit of a hit”. “I think it’s important we get out there and we listen to New Zealanders.” Party vote shows who’d hold power As for the party vote, National remains steady on 34%, two points higher than Labour, down 1% to 32%. The Green Party is up 1% to 11%. NZ First and Act both remain steady on 9% and 8%, respectively. Meanwhile, Te Pāti Māori is on 3%, down one point. Winston Peters & David Seymour. Photo illustration. 23 November 2023 New Zealand Herald photograph Based on these numbers, National would score 42 seats – down seven – while Labour would have 40 seats in Parliament, up six. The Green Party would get 14, NZ First would have 12 seats and Act would have nine. Te Pāti Māori would retain their six MPs. WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 09: Te Pati Maori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi during their reset announcement at Parliament, Wellington, 09 October, 2025. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald/九一星空无限) In total, the current Government would have 63 seats, while the left-wing bloc would have 60. The 1九一星空无限 Verian poll surveyed 1014 eligible voters from October 4 to October 8. It comes after a Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll last week put National below 30% and Opposition parties able to form a government. The previous 1九一星空无限 Verian poll in August had National leading at 34% with Labour close behind on 33%. The Green Party was third with 10%, NZ First at 9%, Act on 8% and Te Pāti Māori on 4%. Last week’s poll shows National dropping In last week’s Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll conducted between October 1-5, National came in at 29.6, having dropped 3.5 points on the polling outfit’s previous poll. Labour held the biggest share of support with 31.2%, even after dropping 2.6 points. NZ First gained 2.5 points to reach 10.6%. Act dropped slightly, by 0.1, to 6.6%. The Green Party jumped 1.3 points to reach 12%, and Te Pāti Māori moved up by 0.1 to 4.4%. Translating these results into seats in the House, the centre-left bloc would have 61 seats, enough to govern, while the centre-right would have 59. Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism. Mon, 13 Oct 2025 05:30:53 Z /news/politics/christopher-luxon-education-minister-erica-stanford-front-post-cabinet-press-conference-on-literacy/ /news/politics/christopher-luxon-education-minister-erica-stanford-front-post-cabinet-press-conference-on-literacy/ Education Minister Erica Stanford is celebrating new data showing a “significant boost” in phonics achievement rates at primary schools. The data, released today by the Ministry of Education, showed 58% of students were at or above expectations at their 20-week phonics check in Term 3. This is up from 36% in Term 1. In Term 3, 43% of students were classed as exceeding expectations – more than double the Term 1 rate. “This is an incredible improvement in reading scores in less than half a year and reflects the brilliant work teachers are doing,” Stanford said. “I want parents to know that we are ambitious for your children. We want them to be confident readers.” The data identifies which students require more support after their 20-week phonics check. This has decreased from 52% in Term 1 to a third in Term 3. This extra support could be going off in small groups with a teacher or one-on-one instruction. For Māori students in mainstream education, 47% required further support with phonics in Term 3, down from 62% in Term 1. In Term 1, a quarter of Māori students were “at or above expectations”. This increased to 43% in Term 3. “These results are a significant step in raising Māori achievement and closing the equity gap,” Stanford said. In high equity (low-decile) schools, children meeting expected levels increased from 17% to 35%, and for Pacific students from 27% up to 42%, between Term 1 and 3, she said. Education Minister Erica Stanford unveiled the data on Monday. Photo / Mark Mitchell Structured literacy, which involves explicitly teaching word identification, including through phonics, became mandatory in schools at the start of this year. It was used in many schools before this, but not necessarily by every teacher at every year level. Stanford has called it a “back-to-basics” approach, after several studies that found reading results were declining. For example, New Zealand’s results have been declining since 2006 in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which is done every five years. Alongside structured literacy, phonics checks have also been available to teachers to understand a child’s ability to read words by sounding out their letters. These checks are initially done 20 weeks after a child has begun school, or after about six months. They aren’t mandatory yet but will be in 2026. The results are collected by the Ministry of Education “to build a picture of how well the education system is working for our beginning readers”. In their phonics check, children are asked to read from a list of up to 40 words. Some of these are real words, while others are made up, requiring the child to use their knowledge of the relationship between letters and sounds to read out the word. Teaching structured literacy was a key education election promise by the National Party in 2023. Budget 2024 included $67 million to provide teachers with professional development and resources for structured literacy. Before it became compulsory, the Government announced that, depending on their roll sizes, schools could receive funding of up to $5000 a year over four years to buy structured literacy materials such as decodable books and games. While the mandating of structured literacy and phonics checks was welcomed by some in the sector, others have said focusing on phonics is a narrow approach to teaching reading and some students benefit from personalised learning. “I’m a bit concerned that this preoccupation with phonics and phonics testing is going to put a lot of attention on one element of what is required for young children to learn to read, and it isolates that one element and seems to ignore the others,” University of Canterbury education lecturer Dr Jae Major told RNZ last year. When Stanford announced funding for structured literacy last year, she said it was a “critical part” of reaching the Government’s target of getting 80% of Year 8 students to curriculum level by 2030. “Structured literacy goes hand-in-hand with our requirement for schools to teach an hour a day of reading, writing and maths, as well as implementing a curriculum that is rich in knowledge and clear about what students should be learning and when.” Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the 九一星空无限hub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards. Mon, 13 Oct 2025 03:01:21 Z /news/politics/rotorua-council-elections-tania-tapsell-wins-by-landslide-welcomes-fresh-faces-to-council/ /news/politics/rotorua-council-elections-tania-tapsell-wins-by-landslide-welcomes-fresh-faces-to-council/ Tania Tapsell says she is “honoured” and “humbled” to have been re-elected as Rotorua Mayor for a second term. Tapsell received the call on Saturday from Rotorua Lakes Council chief executive Andrew Moraes while she was at home with her family, a contrast to the party atmosphere when she was first elected in 2022. She later presented an opening address at the Tompkins Wake Rotorua Business Awards. “We worked really hard in the past three years,” she told the attendees. “I give you my heartfelt acknowledgements and thanks for re-electing me to be your mayor.” Tapsell’s first term was dominated by big-ticket issues such as emergency housing, rates and the Lake Tarawera sewerage scheme. At times, it was a fractious three years, with Tapsell the victim of online abuse and harassment. But she told Local Democracy Reporting, it “was worth it” as she believed she and the council were “making Rotorua a better place.” Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell, pictured at the Rotorua Business Awards after being re-elected on Saturday to lead the city for another term. Photo / Alan Gibson “It’s no surprise the past three years were really challenging for our community, and unfortunately people saw some of the hate and threats I received,” she said. “I’m so grateful for the support from our locals to continue leading the council and our community.” Tapsell’s victory was a landslide, with the combined votes of the other four mayoral candidates – Don Paterson, Robert Lee, Haehaetu Barrett and Takeina Fraser – still nearly 3000 behind her tally in the initial progress results. Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell celebrates after being re-elected for a second term. She believed that margin, along with maintaining most of the last council’s elected members, was recognition of the work done over the past three years. “After the last election 70% of our table was brand new, so the community wanted change,” she said. “I’m quite confident that from these election results, they believe we’ve been able to deliver that.” Tapsell said the win was extra special considering her family’s “long history” in the city – both through her Te Arawa and Danish ancestry. “It’s very meaningful to my wider family that we get to be here, helping to give back to the people and the place we care about.” She also praised some of the returning councillors, including Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong, and was “very excited” at the injection of some fresh voices. “We’ll have some new energy in there too, alongside the really well-learned and [wise] councillors such as Gregg Brown and Fisher Wang ... It’s going to be a great team.” Tapsell will be joined on council by re-elected general ward councillors Kai Fong, Brown, Wang, Paterson, Lee, and the rural ward’s Karen Barker. Ben Sandford is a fresh face on the general ward while former councillor Merepeka Raukawa-Tait returns on the Māori ward alongside another newbie, Te Rika Temara-Benfell, and New Zealand’s longest-serving councillor Trevor Maxwell. Conan O’Brien and Rawiri Waru have lost their seats according to progress results, but it is tight between them and Lee and Raukawa-Tait on the general and Māori wards respectively. A clearer picture is expected after preliminary results, due Monday, are released. Ben Sandford. Photo / Andrew Warner Sandford, who previously ran against Tapsell for Rotorua’s mayoralty in 2022, received his call at 2am. The former Winter Olympian is in Germany as part of his work with the World Anti-Doping Agency but he said it was “nice to be woken up” to the news. “I’m looking forward to being involved with the council and making a positive contribution.” He said he had “a good relationship” with Tapsell. “I’m sure we’ll work well together. “I am looking forward to what the council is going to be working on and getting involved and representing the community.” New Māori ward councillor Te Rika Temara-Benfell. Photo / 九一星空无限 Temara-Benfell becomes the council’s youngest sitting member. Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting from Australia’s Gold Coast on a post-campaign vacation, he said he was “humbled” to have come out on top of the Māori ward voting and expressed his “gratitude” to his voters and iwi. “I’ll come with my best foot forward,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with all of the councillors across the table and I’m really excited.” Voter turnout is trending down from the last local election, sitting at 37.5%, compared with 46.5% in 2022. Bay of Plenty Regional Council Newcomers Raj Kumar and Anna Grayling will be the Rotorua Constituency councillors on the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, ousting long-serving councillor Lyall Thurston. Allan Iwi Te Whau is set to be the new Ōkūrei Māori constituency councillor, meaning Te Taru White loses his seat. Progress results for Tauranga’s constituency have Stuart Crosby, Tim Maltby, Glenn Dougal, Kate Graeme and Andrew von Dadelszen taking the five seats available, John Scrimgeour and Ken Shirley taking Western Bay and Malcolm Campbell and Sarah van der Boom taking Eastern Bay. Marewa Karetai and Matemoana McDonald have won the Kōhi and Mauao Māori seats, respectively. Across the region Based on progress results, all Bay of Plenty mayors have been re-elected, including James Denyer in Western Bay of Plenty, Faylene Tunui in Kawerau and David Moore in Ōpōtiki. But the race in Whakatāne is on a knife-edge, with incumbent Victor Luca holding a slight lead over Nándor Tánczos in the progress results. Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years. – LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Sun, 12 Oct 2025 02:48:56 Z /news/politics/ken-laban-makes-history-as-first-pasifika-mayor-of-lower-hutt/ /news/politics/ken-laban-makes-history-as-first-pasifika-mayor-of-lower-hutt/ By Mary Afemata of RNZ Fauono Ken Laban has been elected Mayor of Lower Hutt, making history as Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Pasifika mayor. He secured 8704 votes, comfortably ahead of Brady Dyer (6974), Karen Morgan (5529), and Prabha Ravi (3608). His victory marks a historic milestone for Pacific representation in local government. A long-time broadcaster, sports commentator, and former councillor, Laban has been a visible advocate for inclusion, youth opportunity, and safer communities across the Wellington region. He is also the only Pasifika mayoral candidate to have been successfully elected in this year’s local elections. Also in Hutt City, Mele Tonga-Grant won a council seat in the at-large race by a margin of just one vote, 7759 to 7758 over independent candidate Kath McGuinness, one of the tightest results in the country. The result remains provisional, with preliminary results due on Monday and the final count, including special votes, to be confirmed on Friday. In the Hutt Valley, Pacific representation also continues at the community level. In the Wainuiomata Community Board election, Lesa Bingley (independent) received 2264 votes, followed by Vatau Sagaga with 2097 and Lahraine Sagaga (independent) with 1914. Porirua In neighbouring Porirua, Kylie Wihapi (Māori ward) and Izzy Ford (Onepoto general ward) have both been re-elected as city councillors, the incumbent councillors from the previous term. Both are community advocates known for their work in health, housing, and youth empowerment. Dunedin In Ōtepoti, Marie Laufiso (Building Kotahitaka) has been re-elected to the Dunedin City Council. First elected in 2016, Laufiso has chaired several council committees, including community services, grants, and the social wellbeing advisory group. Nelson In Nelson, Matty Anderson (independent), who is of Niuean and Pākehā heritage, has been re-elected to the central ward alongside Lisa Austin, Pete Rainey and James Hodgson. A former Navy serviceman and community advocate, Anderson has worked across disability, youth, Pacific, migrant and homelessness support. WaitakiIn Ōamaru, Mata’aga Hana Melania Fanene-Taiti has been elected to the Waitaki District Council, representing the Ōamaru ward. A New Zealand-born Samoan with family ties to Vaiee, Moata’a and Saleimoa in Samoa, she holds the matai title Mata’aga from her mother’s village of Vaiee. National significance The 2025 local elections have seen a rise in Pasifika representation across Aotearoa, with both returning leaders and new candidates elected to councils nationwide. Laban’s election as New Zealand’s first Pacific mayor marks a significant milestone in local government, reflecting the growing participation of Pasifika communities in civic life. Saturday’s progress results indicate a tight race for several seats. Preliminary results will be released on Monday, with final results confirmed on Friday once the special votes have been counted. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. – RNZ Sun, 12 Oct 2025 01:36:45 Z /news/politics/local-elections-2025-redemption-for-nz-s-youngest-mayor-champagne-lady-falls-flat/ /news/politics/local-elections-2025-redemption-for-nz-s-youngest-mayor-champagne-lady-falls-flat/ More so than New Zealand’s general election, yesterday’s local government ballots attracted a diversity of candidates that reflect the full array of ages, ideologies and social backgrounds that populate Aotearoa. From New Zealand’s youngest mayor marred in first-term controversy, to our longest-serving councillor seeking to notch 51 years in office, and a newspaper owner who labelled an outgoing councillor a “f***ing cow”, the ballots across the country offered up some exceptional and unconventional races. See the tight races and low turnout, who made it back and who was booted out here - and an interactive to search the results from every election race across the country. Redemption for NZ’s youngest mayor Gore mayor Ben Bell has been re-elected for a second term despite a tumultuous past three years in which district councillors and the council CEO called for him to step down and issued a vote of no confidence. Bell made history as the district’s youngest ever mayor in October 2022 when he was voted into power at the age of 23, beating six-term incumbent Tracy Hicks by just eight votes. But his relationships with councillors and then-CEO Stephen Parry quickly soured. Bell would ultimately survive in the role, but he and Parry required external mediation to work alongside each other. Bell has been convincingly re-elected as mayor for a second term. 26-year-old Bell received 2,917 votes compared to 1,270 for his sole opponent, Gore businesswoman Nicky Davis. Gore Mayor Ben Bell had been asked to resign by councillors. Photo / Gerrard O'Brien These results from the Gore District Council are based on approximately 85% of the returned votes The 2022 Gore District local election campaign was described by one veteran councillor as the ugliest he had witnessed. There were nasty rumours about salacious photos and Bell’s sexuality, with mud slung at the opposing candidate by both camps, RNZ reported. Bell and then-chief executive Parry shared a hostile relationship which left them communicating through an intermediary. An aborted vote of no confidence in Bell followed, as did petitions calling on Parry to resign, failed mediation, and ultimately Parry’s resignation and a new chief executive being appointed. Bell reflected on that tumultuous period in an interview with 九一星空无限talk ZB’s John Cowan in June 2024. “It feels like quite a different reality that I was living a year ago. “This time last year, I was being asked to resign and I had votes of no confidence and all sorts – that was quite horrible back then. But like anything, you stay strong and you hold up against adversity and you carry on.” NZ’s longest-serving councillor set to notch 51 years in local government New Zealand’s longest-serving councillor, Rotorua’s Trevor Maxwell, looks to have booked himself another three years in local government. Maxwell is in his late-70s and has been an elected councillor on Rotorua Lakes Council for 48 years. He was most recently voted on to the newly-formed Māori ward in 2022. The subsequent three-year term put him level with Doug Truman, who served on Grey District Council from 1968 to 2016, for the national record. Asked about plans to take the record outright after the 2025 election, he had a simple statement: “One more term.” New Zealand’s longest-serving councillor, Rotorua’s Trevor Maxwell, looks to have booked himself another three years in local government. Photo / Alan Gibson Maxwell looks likely to be returned to that Māori ward seat with 1,979 votes, just behind Te Rika Temara-Benfell on 2,019. The third available Māori Ward seat on the Rotorua Lakes Council is likely to be taken by Merepeka Raukawa-Tait with 1,731 votes. Rawiri Waru is running fourth with 1,681 votes The results from the Rotorua Lakes Council are based on about 85% of the returned votes Media publisher elected to Auckland Council despite ‘f***ing cow’ comment Bo Burns - a Howick local board member and the owner of Times Media - has been elected as an Auckland Councillor despite earlier this week apologising for expletive-laden comments about an outgoing councillor. Burns called Auckland Councillor Sharon Stewart a “f***ing asshole” and a “f***ing cow” in a staff chat group. Stewart is retiring from public office after 30 years. Stewart had made comments on social media about the issue of “news deserts” - those communities and regions that had lost their traditional media platforms. Dozens of community newspapers, many of them owned by Stuff and 九一星空无限, have closed in recent years. Stewart had suggested in a Facebook comment that “social media seems to be doing a good job. I would like to thank all the community groups/ grapevine and ratepayer organisations for sharing what’s happening around our community”. That comment appears to have incensed Burns, who brought the Howick and Pakuranga Times back from the brink of closure in 2024, taking ownership of times.co.nz and now publishing the newspaper under a refreshed masthead, the Eastern Times. Burns made comments in the staff chat group, the membership of which is understood to have numbered at least 20 people, after another person outlined what Stewart had written. The Times' new owner and publisher Bo Burns. In a series of messages, Burns wrote: “omg”; “what a f***ing asshole”; and “so basically [she is] saying we don’t need community newspapers”. However, the exchange reported by the Herald earlier this week does not seem to have hurt Burns’ campaign to become an Auckland Councillor. Initial vote counts released by Auckland Council at 3pm Saturday, show Burns is leading the vote count in the Howick Ward with 10,222 votes. Former National Party MP Maurice Williamson is in line to secure the second Howick Ward seat with 9,801 votes. Williamson is a sitting Auckland Councillor. Burns was also re-elected to the Howick Local Board, which she will have to vacate to take on the Auckland Council ward seat. NZ’s longest-serving mayor ousted The country’s longest-serving mayor, Wayne Guppy, has missed out on a ninth term as Upper Hutt’s mayor. Guppy, 71, was first elected mayor in 2001, after serving one term as a councillor, and has been in office for 24 years. In provisional votes with 85% counted, Guppy had been beaten by Peri Zee, who campaigned on better transport, a vibrant city centre and more health facilities. Zee received 4,199 votes to Guppy’s 3,200. Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy. Photo / Mark Mitchell A Local Government New Zealand spokesperson told RNZ that if Guppy was voted in again he would be on par with former Gisborne Mayor Harry Barker, who served as mayor for 27 years between 1950-1977. Sir Tim Shadbolt was the longest-serving mayor in the country’s history, leading Invercargill for nearly three decades An Otago Daily Times obituary shows that Sir John Thorn, a mayor of Port Chalmers Borough Council, could be the longest-standing mayor in New Zealand, serving for 33 years between 1956 and 1989. ‘Don’t vote for me’: Television producer’s blunt message to voters pays off Television producer Jamaine Ross’ comical message to Waitākere Ranges residents to avoid his name in the ballot box seems to have paid off. “Don’t vote for me,” Ross wrote in his candidate statement to West Auckland voters. The father, husband and television producer was standing for the Waitākere Ranges Local Board – not because he wanted the job, but because he told a room of 30 people he would. “And when I say I’m going to do something, I do it, even if I don’t want to,” he wrote in his candidate statement to West Auckland voters. “If I won, I’d be spending less time with my adorable 5-year-old daughter. If you vote for me, you’ll break her heart.” And it seems the public have listened. Out of 20 candidates, Ross finished 19th with 538 votes. Ross also admitted in his candidate statement that he was not qualified for the role: “Apparently, it involves reading lots of official documents. The only things I read are young adult novels set in post-apocalyptic futures.” On social media, Jamaine Ross has revealed a hint of political seriousness. He closed with a final plea: “So don’t vote for me. This isn’t reverse psychology. I’m serious. Don’t vote for me. I don’t want this job.” Yet on social media, Ross did reveal a hint of political seriousness, noting there were five candidate meetings – four he wasn’t invited to and one where he says he was ghosted. “It seems a bit suspicious. Are they purposefully excluding the only Māori candidate out of 20? Probably not. They are probably just excluding the one guy who consistently says he doesn’t want to do the job.” The six people who have been elected to the Waitākere Ranges local board on provisional vote results as of 3pm Saturday: Mark Allen 3,931 Allan Geddes 3,775 Gregory Boone Presland 3,713 Linda Diane Potauaine 3,583 Michelle Hutton 3,554 Roman Thomas 3,543 In a somewhat unusual local race, fellow Waitākere Ranges local board candidate Bianca O’Keefe has also failed to register with voters. At 18-years-old, O’Keefe received media attention for being one of the youngest candidates running for local election in New Zealand. The health science student spoke to the Herald about her campaign in between studying for her upcoming exams and working 20 hours a week part-time. “I do believe that if you want to do something, you’re going to make the time for it and you’re going to make it happen,” she said. O’Keefe finished 14th among the candidates with 2,041 votes. Champagne lady falls flat Auckland’s “Champagne Lady” Anne Batley-Burton’s campaign to sit on the Waitematā Local Board in Auckland has fallen flat. The Real Housewives of Auckland reality TV star and self-professed champagne lover was on the centre-right Communities & Residents ticket. Batley-Burton told the Herald during the campaign people might think she is all about celebrity TV and champagne. However, the Parnell resident told the Herald she is “not just a pretty face” - she has a Bachelor of Commerce, was involved in a big family business manufacturing credit cards that went public, and now is in the wine industry importing champagne and wine barrels. She campaigned on reducing crime in places like the Viaduct in the CBD, where it’s “got to the point where a lot of people say, ‘Maybe I won’t go down there on a busy night’.” “There are so many bad things happening. It’s quite scary,” she said. Activist Anne Batley Burton. Photo / Michael Craig As the owner of a cat sanctuary in Huapai, Batley-Burton said she has fought long and hard to get councils on board to support desexing and microchipping of felines. But Batley-Burton looks to have missed out on one of the seven seats on the Waitematā Local Board. In provisional results she sits ninth with 4,283 votes. In a social media video post, Batley-Burton conceded defeat, staying true to her image, while promoting her champagne. “Unfortunately I didn’t get in on the Waitematā Local Board. But as they say [about champagne] In victory we deserve it, and in defeat we need it,” Batley-Burton said while holding a glass and bottle of bubbles. The seven people who have been elected to the Waitematā Local Board on provisional voting results are: Alexandra Bonham 6,272 Caitlin Wilson 6,158 Anahera Rawiri 5,590 Peter Dennis Elliott 5,511 Kara Kennedy 5,446 Greg Moyle 5,422 Sarah Trotman 5,189 Waikato teen fights off headbutting and election tampering allegations A 19-year-old candidate for Waikato’s district council that was subject to allegations of election tampering referred to police appears to have fought off any negative publicity for a slim election win. In September, it was alleged that student Fabio Rodrigues had been handing out voting papers to those visiting their Post Office boxes inside the GAS Pōkeno, where he works, and encouraging people to vote for him. It wasn’t the only controversy of Rodrigues’ campaign, who was also allegedly head-butted by the husband of a rival candidate. But it seems Rodrigues has come through the controversy to secure one of the two seats in Waikato District Council’s Tuakau-Pōkeno general ward. Rodrigues sits second with 954 votes as Vern Reeve leads the way with 1052 votes Third in votes is Stephanie Henderson with 833. These results reflect 90% of counted votes. Fabio Rodrigues It was also alleged during the campaign that Rodrigues put his own flyers into the PO boxes while placing mail in them on behalf of NZ Post. Election Services, which oversees the Waikato District Council election, said it had forwarded the allegations against Rodrigues to police. Police declined to comment, citing privacy concerns. Rodrigues categorically denied the allegations, claiming they were a part of a “smear campaign” against him. He confirmed he handled mail as part of his role, but denied using his position for any wrongdoing. “We can have disagreements, but we don’t have to ruin people’s livelihoods like what is happening. “I really don’t care what my other opponents think, right? I care what the people think. I care what my voters think and the people who are struggling ... that’s what I’m worried about.” Mister Organ flops at the polls The subject of David Farrier’s 2022 documentary Mister Organ has failed in his bid to become a Whanganui District ward councillor. The documentary followed Michael Organ for three years after he gained notoriety for clamping cars outside an Auckland antique shop. Organ said anyone who found the film’s assertions plausible was “unlikely to be voting for me, anyway”. The property investor and art collector campaigned on preserving heritage buildings in Whanganui. He opposed Māori Wards, which he said would lead to disproportionate representation, and would be voting against their retention. He also proposed offering free CBD parking for the first hour. But the messages fell flat with his electorate. Organ finished 20th of the 23 candidates, receiving only 1,628 votes. Property investor and art collector Michael Organ was running for the Whanganui District Council. Photo / Mike Tweed Nobby’s brother fails to excite Nobby Clark’s brother has failed to register with voters in quite the same way as the outgoing Invercargill mayor. Andrew (or Maxwell) Clark threw his hat in the ring for the top job at Invercargill City Council, as well as the Tasman District Council in the 2025 Local Government elections. Andrew Clark finished sixth in the polls for Invercargill Mayor with just 248 votes. Winner Tom Campbell received 6,064. These results are based on 85% of the returned votes. One curiosity of his campaigns was that Clark was running under different names in each district – Maxwell in Tasman and Andrew in Invercargill. He said there is nothing secretive about it. “My full name is Andrew Maxwell George Clark. Locally here [in Tasman] I’m known as Maxwell. In business and personal letters, people call me Andrew. I’ve advised the electoral officer in Invercargill. There’s no issue.” Yet the name change did nothing for his fortunes with the Tasman electorate. Maxwell Clark finished third in the Tasman Mayoral race with 991 votes. Incoming mayor Tim King received 8651 votes. Andrew Clark was bidding for the Mayoralty in Tasman and Invercargill. Screenshot / Herald NOW Sat, 11 Oct 2025 20:01:21 Z /news/politics/local-elections-2025-wayne-brown-wins-second-term-as-auckland-mayor-beating-kerrin-leoni-as-voters-back-his-fix-auckland-agenda/ /news/politics/local-elections-2025-wayne-brown-wins-second-term-as-auckland-mayor-beating-kerrin-leoni-as-voters-back-his-fix-auckland-agenda/ Wayne Brown has stormed home to win a second term as Mayor of Auckland, comfortably beating his main challenger, Kerrin Leoni. In progress results, Brown secured 146,642 votes - about 90,000 clear of Leoni, who has received 56,612. Third place, based on the provisional results, is Ted Johnston, an independent candidate, with 21,661 votes. Wayne Brown addressing media at Karanga Plaza, Wynyard Quarter, today after progress results came in re-electing him as Auckland mayor. Photo / Jason Dorday. Progress results include votes received up until yesterday evening. They do not include special votes or votes received this morning. Preliminary results will be announced on Monday. They include votes received today, but special votes are still not included. Final results and official results include all votes, including special votes. They will be released by Friday, October 17. Brown addressed media at Karanga Plaza on Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter this afternoon with Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson. He said it was “heartening” to receive the result, labelling it an endorsement from the city for his policies. He said he was here to “finish the job that I’ve started” and was “relieved and humbled by the fact that I’ve got an overwhelming support.” “I haven’t quite finished everything I’ve set out to fix. Auckland mayoral candidates from left to right: Rob McNeil, Kerrin Leoni, Wayne Brown and Eric Chuah.  “I’m looking forward to getting my hands on AT. It’s taken me three years.  “The most important thing now is to take full advantage of taking control of Auckland Transport.  He said its focus should be on public transport.  Brown said his focus was on improving transport, road works and the level of construction in the city. He also said he was determined to lift Auckland’s ability to improve the economy.  “I think the finances are in pretty good condition now.  “Now that we’ve got in place the 10 rules on how we spend money the waste will go away. They’ll be less dumb stuff.”  He said Auckland’s “biggest opponent” was Wellington.  “They need to let us have the ability to make our own decisions.”  Desley Simpson joined Brown at his press conference.  “Congrats boss,” she said as she arrived.  Brown jokingly observed she was in the typical “subtle colours”, as she had come straight from the Diwali festival in Auckland’s city centre and was draped in a bright orange top and green scarf.  Simpson said she believed Brown made the biggest “transformational change” since the super city came into being in 2010.  She cited the Auckland Future Fund and CCO reform.  “He has made a huge leap in these changes and now people want to see those changes embedded over the next three years.”  Simpson said the next three years would be a “dot the i’s and cross the t’s kind of term”.  “I look forward to sharing the role with the mayor.”  In a pre-election interview with the Herald’s Simon Wilson, the 79-year-old leader of the country’s largest city said he wanted one more shot “to finish the things I started”.  They include: to fix Auckland’s infrastructure, stop wasting money, get Auckland moving, make the most of Waitematā Harbour, and take control of council organisations.  “The one that I’m most interested in is the AT [Auckland Transport] thing. And I’m only just getting my hands on it…and also the culture of not wasting money is starting to take hold. I think three more years and they’ll stop that, but I won’t do any more after this, that’s for sure, Brown said.  For Leoni, her single term on the Auckland Council as the Labour councillor for Whau is over. She stood as an independent candidate for the mayoralty and did not contest the Whau seat.  Brown won the mayoralty in 2022 as an outsider, seeing off two potential rivals on the right, restaurateur Leo Molloy and Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck, and the left’s Efeso Collins.  He adopted a blunt and combative style early in his first term and faced criticism for his response to Auckland’s devastating storms in early 2023. Since then, however, he has grown into the role and made progress on his “Fix Auckland” agenda.  Wayne Brown and Desley Simpson, left, teamed up in June to run under the mayor's Fix Auckland ticket.  Looking back on the 2023 floods, Brown said: “I wasn’t particularly well prepared. The council wasn’t particularly well prepared. Auckland Emergency Management wasn’t well prepared. The city wasn’t well prepared. I’ve learned a lot.” Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, who considered a tilt at the mayoralty but chose instead to be Brown’s running mate on his ‘Fix Auckland’ ticket, has been re-elected unopposed and will retain the deputy role. There was a last-minute flurry of voting before the polls closed today at noon. This morning’s votes were secured and delivered to the Election Services for counting. These votes will contribute to the preliminary results to be announced on Monday. Low voter turnout As of yesterday, Auckland’s voter turnout was 23.1%, which is 6 percent less than 2022’s turnout on the eve before the close of voting. Auckland Council’s General Manager Governance and Engagement, Lou-Ann Ballantyne, was disappointed with the rate of Auckland’s participation despite the council’s efforts to make voting as accessible as possible. “Anecdotally, we’ve heard people didn’t know who to vote for. And typically, when voters are unsure about candidates or are happy with the status quo, they are likely to abstain from voting, and this could be a reason for the decrease in turnout, said Ballantyne. “There is no straightforward solution to get more Aucklanders voting,” Ballantyne said. In 2022, Brown won the mayoral race with a total of 181,810 votes ahead of Efeso Collins by 57,008. Sat, 11 Oct 2025 00:53:48 Z /news/politics/local-elections-2025-who-will-be-your-next-mayor-follow-all-the-election-results-as-they-come-in/ /news/politics/local-elections-2025-who-will-be-your-next-mayor-follow-all-the-election-results-as-they-come-in/ (function(n){function c(t,i){n[e](h,function(n){var r,u;if(n&&(r=n[n.message?"message":"data"]+"",r&&r.substr&&r.substr(0,3)==="nc:")&&(u=r.split(":"),u[1]===i))switch(u[2]){case"h":t.style.height=u[3]+"px";return;case"scrolltotop":t.scrollIntoView();return}},!1)}for(var t,u,f,i,s,e=n.addEventListener?"addEventListener":"attachEvent",h=e==="attachEvent"?"onmessage":"message",o=n.document.querySelectorAll(".live-center-embed"),r=0;r',c(t.firstChild,i)))})(window); Fri, 10 Oct 2025 23:10:12 Z /news/politics/another-senior-greens-staffers-exit-deepens-party-s-term-of-upheaval/ /news/politics/another-senior-greens-staffers-exit-deepens-party-s-term-of-upheaval/ The Green Party’s director of communications, Louis Day, has resigned just weeks after its now-former chief of staff, Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield, made the same decision. In an email to journalists, Day said that after taking time off over the parliamentary recess, he felt now was the right time to step away. “I felt that now was the right time for me to move on from Parliament and take a bit of a break before finding a new challenge for my career. “I leave with a lot of love for the co-leaders, MPs and party, as well as a lot of hope for the Green movement I have had the privilege of being part of for almost four years now. “My last day on precinct will be next Thursday, so I will try and make my in-person goodbyes before then. “I will then be using the remainder of my notice period to tie up some loose ends in the background. “It has been a pleasure and a privilege working with you all. Hopefully, this won’t be the last you hear from me.” According to his LinkedIn, Day started his director of communications role in June 2024 after working as a senior press secretary, press secretary and research and policy adviser. The Greens were already shaken up recently with the departure of Prestidge-Oldfield as their chief of staff. Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said Prestidge-Oldfield had “decided to step away from the chief of staff position to focus on her health, wellbeing and her whānau”. Tom Haig, the party’s policy and research director, would be the acting chief of staff until the position was permanently filled. This is the latest in what has been a tumultuous parliamentary term for the Green Party. Footage emerged of former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman allegedly stealing a designer handbag from a Ponsonby boutique Scotties. In January 2024, it was revealed that MP Golriz Ghahraman was caught in a $9000 shoplifting spree, which led to her resignation. Tragedy struck a month later with the sudden death of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, prompting tributes from across the political spectrum. In March last year, MP Darleen Tana was suspended amid an investigation into claims of migrant exploitation at her husband’s e-bike business. Tana’s ties to the alleged exploitation remained murky, but it prompted her to split from the Greens before being kicked out of Parliament after her party used the waka-jumping legislation it had previously opposed. Chlöe Swarbrick has been co-leader of the Greens since March 2024. Photo / Mark Mitchell In the same month Tana’s suspension occurred, Chlöe Swarbrick rose to become the party’s co-leader beside Marama Davidson, replacing James Shaw, who in turn retired from politics in May of last year. Celebrations of his career were cut short, though, after MP Julie Anne Genter was referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee for displaying intimidatory behaviour towards Government minister Matt Doocey. Co-leader Davidson revealed in June 2024 that she was beginning treatment for breast cancer and would step away from politics to focus on her recovery, but has since returned to normal duties. More recently, New Zealand’s first non-binary MP, Benjamin Doyle, suddenly resigned in September after controversial old Instagram posts were unearthed which resulted in death threats against them. Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle resigned from Parliament in September. Photo / Mark Mitchell In their valedictory speech, Doyle described Parliament as being “the colonisers’ house”, built on “exclusion and control, on taking, hoarding, and guarding power”. “This place is hostile and toxic, especially if you are not a cis straight white man with a blue suit and a briefcase, but most of all, it is not fit for purpose,” Doyle said. Fri, 10 Oct 2025 05:47:44 Z /news/politics/winston-peters-partner-injured-by-glass-after-window-smashed-in-attack/ /news/politics/winston-peters-partner-injured-by-glass-after-window-smashed-in-attack/ Winston Peters’ partner has been injured by some of the glass that smashed into the couple’s Auckland home after an alleged crowbar attack.  The incident just before 6pm on Monday, for which a 29-year-old man was due to appear in court today charged with burglary, came days after a pro-Palestine protest outside the central city home where actor Acacia O’Connor shared Peters’ address during a livestream – prompting One NZ to say this week it would remove her from its ads.  This morning, Peters – with the boarded-up window behind him – told Ryan Bridge on Herald NOW his partner, Jan Trotman, and her guest were “lucky they’d just left the room” when the window was smashed.  “But, this morning, Janice cut herself because she found some glass. So this is a deplorable, gutless, spineless situation.  “I wish I had been here at the time this person pulled this filthy act off.”  Winston Peters and partner Jan Trotman, pictured last year. Photo / Jason Oxenham  Bridge had initially asked how Peters’ dog Kobe was, as the dog was in the room at the time and left covered in glass.  “Thank you very much for asking. A terrible thing. I suppose we’re perverted to be worrying about the dog and not the two women who were here who could have been covered with glass.  “But they’re very, very lucky … and he’s awfully lucky despite all the glass on him.”  Winston Peters and his dog Kobe.  Meanwhile, Peters has described the ceasefire plan in the Hamas-Israel war that was announced by US President Donald Trump yesterday as the “first steps”.  The plan will see all remaining hostages from the October 7 2023 attack released and Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza.  People celebrate at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv yesterday, after the announcement of the new Gaza ceasefire deal. Photo / John Wessels / AFP  Caution was still needed, the Foreign Minister said.  “Anybody that’s ever had any regard to the history of this area will know to be ultra cautious. However, we’ve got our fingers crossed.  “People in different countries are putting a lot of work into this, and it is possible, just hopefully, that peace will be breaking out and it’ll be permanent.”  He was pleased countries with influence had shown the leadership needed in what was an “absolute crisis”, and not just Trump but Middle Eastern nations and others, including Indonesia and Pakistan.  Last month Peters told the United Nations that New Zealand was not yet recognising Palestine’s statehood in fear it would embolden terrorist group Hamas, justify Israel’s illegal land acquisition in Palestinian territory and be used for political propaganda.  The move separated New Zealand from countries including formal ally Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada which have formally recognised Palestine, and sparked protests at home – including outside Peters’ home.  Asked by Bridge who should run Gaza, noting UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron had said there was no role for Hamas in any future governance of the area, Peters said the UK’s position was New Zealand’s “position as well”.  “There’s no role for them to be there, to have armaments, or in any country. And that’s one of the reasons why, when all this conversation about recognition was going on, here’s the point – can people see the blunt on the ground facts? These negotiations are taking place, guess with who? With Hamas. That’s not Palestine of the future.  “So those of us who’ve been cautious about recognition have been proven right. And whether this [peace plan] works or not, we’ll still be proven right just on the chronological facts of who’s dealing with who.  “But we hope to see a situation where they’re gone, that the utilities and institutions of an independent state can be quickly established, and the two-state solution will then begin to operate.”  Thu, 09 Oct 2025 20:00:49 Z /news/politics/giving-it-away-winston-peters-lays-into-fonterra-over-sale-of-iconic-brands/ /news/politics/giving-it-away-winston-peters-lays-into-fonterra-over-sale-of-iconic-brands/ By Giles Dexter of RNZ New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is demanding answers from Fonterra over the sale of its consumer businesses to French dairy giant Lactalis. Fonterra has agreed to sell major brands including Mainland and Anchor for $3.8 billion. The potential inclusion of Bega licences held by Fonterra’s Australian businesses could take the headline value of the transaction to $4.2b. The sale includes a long-term agreement for Fonterra to sell milk and ingredients to Lactalis. The deal is expected to settle in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Voting has opened for shareholders, with a virtual special meeting set down for October 30. Peters said farmers needed to think “very carefully” about the deal and questioned how long the long-term agreement would be. “Whatever the number, the clock will stop and New Zealand’s milk will become just another in a long line of milk jugs. What stops Lactalis from diluting ‘New Zealand’ products with vegetable fat and lower-quality milk?” he asked. He also questioned whether Fonterra executives would be getting bonuses for the deal and if they planned on leaving the company after the deal was done. Peters said Anchor was a flagship and quality brand, with growth ahead of it, and $4 billion was “giving it away”. “No successful milk futures market exists globally – so why does Fonterra think it will succeed where others have failed? Other dairy giants, like the company they seek to sell to, thrive because of their consumer brands.” RNZ has approached Fonterra for comment. Criticising Fonterra for selling its brands is not new ground for Peters. In 2019, he expressed disappointment over the sale of Tip Top. – RNZ Thu, 09 Oct 2025 02:39:46 Z /news/politics/speaker-to-investigate-unauthorised-haka-after-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-mp-oriini-kaipara-s-maiden-speech/ /news/politics/speaker-to-investigate-unauthorised-haka-after-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-mp-oriini-kaipara-s-maiden-speech/ Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee says he will investigate whether an unauthorised haka, deemed to be in contempt of the House, was organised in concert with any political party following the end of Oriini Kaipara’s maiden speech. Browlnee briefly suspended the House after Kaipara’s address, during which she paid thanks to those who had experienced the “ache of disconnection” through generations of te reo Māori being discouraged and welcomed its current revitalisation. Attention now turns to the party’s planned “reset” announcement this afternoon when it is likely the party’s leadership will address recent allegations of dysfunction. After a planned waiata at the conclusion of Kaipara’s speech, the majority of those in the public gallery erupted into a haka that was not sanctioned by the House. Brownlee rose to his feet, calling for the haka to stop. Members in the public gallery ignored him. Some MPs joined in on the haka, including Kaipara and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. MPs and parties must seek permission if their supporters wish to do a haka or sing a waiata from the public gallery. Kaipara joined in on the haka at the conclusion of her speech. Photo / Mark Mitchell Having suspended the House for a short time, Brownlee returned and declared the actions “contemptuous” and promised to investigate whether any parties had been involved in planning the haka. “People go on to marae all over the country and respect the protocols. We have a protocol here, it is our tikanga,” Brownlee said. “That tikanga is based, as I said before, on agreement and for people to decide they’re not going to participate in that process, then they put themselves very firmly in contempt of Parliament.” Kaipara, the new Tāmaki Makaurau MP, used her speech to confess she and her party still mourn the late MP Takutai Moana Tarsh Kemp. As she began, Kaipara spoke of Kemp, who perished earlier this year after a battle with kidney disease. “You dedicated yourself to your region so that our families of Tāmaki Makaurau would have strong shoulders to lean upon,” she said. “We mourn you still.” Much of her speech focused on the promotion of te reo Māori over the last five decades, just recently celebrating 50 years of Māori language week. Kaipara said her career had come through “Māori resilience”, acknowledging those who had suffered through regimes where use of the Māori language was discouraged, describing it as the “ache of disconnection”. “We’ve been fighting for a very long time for te reo Māori to survive and thrive. “Thank you for the sacrifices you made, the riduicule you faced and the courage you showed ... for a better life for us.” Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara spoke about her passion for te reo Māori. Photo / Mark Mitchell Prior to her speech, several MPs moved over to speak to Kaipara, including deputy Prime Minister David Seymour. Labour MP Peeni Henare, whom Kaipara defeated at the byelection, left the House earlier, speaking to her on the way out. The House was fairly full, with MPs from both sides present. Among those in attendance is the Finance Minister Nicola Willis, Health Minister Simeon Brown, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, Seniors Minister Casey Costello, Labour police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen, Labour Justice spokesman Duncan Webb and others. The public gallery was a little over half full with supporters and other observers. Kaipara’s party has organised event at Parliament to celebrate her arrival and its much-anticipated ‘reset’. Kaipara’s speech went well over her allotted time. The bell used in Parliament to signal to speakers that their time is coming to an end has rung several times. “I will wrap it up everybody”, Kaipara said as she gave her final comments amid gentle laughter. Kaipara this afternoon took the Oath of Allegiance in the House, becoming New Zealand’s latest MP after winning the recent byelection in the Auckland Māori electorate of Tāmaki Makaurau. She convincingly beat Labour’s Peeni Henare, a former Tāmaki Makaurau MP of three terms. The byelection was prompted by the death of Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp, who had suffered from kidney disease. New Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara walks into the House with Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Photo / Adam Pearse Kaipara won by a margin of about 3000 votes, her platform largely based on revitalising te reo Māori. Shortly after Kaipara gives her speech, she and her party will gather in Parliament’s Grand Hall to first celebrate Kaipara and then announce the party’s much-anticipated “reset”. Speeches are expected to begin about 4pm and will be livestreamed in this article. The party had promised it would detail a path ahead after it had been hit by controversy and allegations of a dictatorial leadership style by the son of one of its MPs. Eru Kapa-Kingi, son of MP Mariameno and spokesperson for the Toitu Te Tiriti protest group, last week claimed the party had not lived up to its constitution and alleged power within the party was centralised to its leadership. It followed MP Tākuta Ferris copping flak for criticising Labour for allowing non-Māori to help campaign during the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi being demoted from the party’s whip position. Labour leader Chris Hipkins has said he didn’t believe Te Pāti Māori was ready to govern. Multiple public polls suggest Labour would need Te Pāti Māori to form a government. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Thu, 09 Oct 2025 02:07:14 Z /news/politics/trade-minister-todd-mcclay-dodges-questions-on-alleged-deal-after-swearing-stuart-nash-text-messages/ /news/politics/trade-minister-todd-mcclay-dodges-questions-on-alleged-deal-after-swearing-stuart-nash-text-messages/ Trade Minister Todd McClay is refusing to answer questions about allegations a deal was made to not tell the media the truth about why former minister Stuart Nash was dumped from a United States trade trip. McClay cut Nash from the trip over comments the former Labour minister made about women. In a September interview with radio show The Platform, Nash stated a woman is a “person with a p***y and a pair of t**s”. Nash apologised for the comments. Texts from Nash to McClay, obtained by 九一星空无限talkZB under the Official Information Act, include: “So have you really thrown me off this delegation because of something I said on Tuesday but have completely owned and accepted responsibility and apologised fulsomely for??? WTF”. It was followed by a second text from Nash: “I’ve pulled out”. Nash claimed a “deal” had been reached with NZ Trade and Enterprise chief executive Peter Chrisp, now interim chief executive of Invest NZ, in which Nash would withdraw from the trip and “the story would not be that I was asked to withdraw”. Former Police Minister Stuart Nash during his valedictory speech in Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell McClay refused to directly answer several questions from reporters at Parliament this afternoon on the allegations of a “deal”. “You should take that up with him, it wasn’t communication between us, I never responded to him.” McClay said the concerned entity for this particular trip was Invest NZ rather than NZ Trade and Enterprise. The communications were released to 九一星空无限talk ZB under the Official Information Act. McClay did say: “I grew up in Taupō playing rugby, people say all sorts of things. I’m not going to be precious about it ... I’m dealing with councils who are putting costs up for consents on farmers, we have got a film industry that could face 100% tariffs from the US and we’re negotiating a trade deal with India – 1.5 billion people – this is the least important thing I have to deal with”. He reiterated having Nash on the trip would have been a distraction “Ultimately, he may swear, that’s his business ... there are many other things that are more important to the Government than talking about Stuart Nash’s text messages.” Nash suggested the Trade Minister was being "amateur" while swearing at him. McClay walked away from reporters as they continued to question him about the alleged “deal”. The controversial remark from Nash to The Platform about women came after he spoke at NZ First’s convention in Palmerston North, where leader Winston Peters suggested he could be a “seamless” addition to the party. NZ First leader Winston Peters and former Labour minister Stuart Nash sitting at the same table at the party’s annual conference in Palmerston North. Photo / Mark Mitchell Peters told reporters he had not seen the story so could not comment. “I’m sorry sunshine, you should have sent it to me earlier. If you send me a copy now ... I’ll go and study it carefully.” One reporter produced large printed images of the texts while another told Peters they had texted the story to him about an hour ago. “With all the things that are happening around the world and in this country, you ask pissant questions like that.” Nash was sacked from Cabinet and stripped of all portfolios after disclosing confidential information from a Cabinet meeting to two businessmen, both former donors. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said Peters and McClay needed to be “very upfront” about any deal that had been made. When asked about how he felt about Nash potentially re-joining Parliament given his interest in NZ First, Hipkins said: “He seems a long way away from [being in Government] at the moment”. Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism. Wed, 08 Oct 2025 03:25:36 Z /news/politics/new-poll-national-dives-into-the-20s-nz-first-climbs-into-double-digits-centre-left-bloc-can-govern/ /news/politics/new-poll-national-dives-into-the-20s-nz-first-climbs-into-double-digits-centre-left-bloc-can-govern/ The National Party has dropped into the 20s in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll, while New Zealand First has risen into the double digits.  The results, which come from a poll conducted between October 1 and October 5, show Labour remains in the lead at 31.2%, though it has dropped 2.6 points since last month.  National has fallen 3.5 points to 29.6%, mirroring its result from this same poll in January. Its coalition partner NZ First has gained 2.5 points to reach 10.6%. Act meanwhile has dropped slightly, by 0.1, to 6.6%.  The Green Party has gained 1.3 points to reach 12%, while Te Pāti Māori has moved up by 0.1 to 4.4%.  Translating these results into seats in the House, the centre-left bloc would have 61 seats, enough to govern, while the centre-right would have 59.  Labour would have 40 seats, National 38, the Greens 15, NZ First 13, Act 8 and Te Pāti Māori 6.  National has fallen, while NZ First is on the rise. Photo / Mark Mitchell  Chris Hipkins, the Labour leader, has also overtaken National’s Christopher Luxon as the country’s preferred Prime Minister.  Hipkins has gained 3.2 points to reach 20.9%, while Luxon has dropped 1.9 points to 19.8%. NZ First leader Winston Peters is down 1 point to 9.9%, the Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick is down 2.5 points to 6.3% and Act’s David Seymour is up 0.3 to 4%.  The cost of living remains New Zealanders’ most important issue. It is the top issue for 26.4% of people, down 1.1 points since the last poll.  The economy more generally comes in second, the most important issue for 17.4% (up 1.3 points), then health on 10.3% (down 0.8), employment on 5.1% and poverty on 4.1%.  Back in January, when National was last in the 20s in this poll, Labour was on 30.9%. However, with the support of NZ First and Act, the centre-right could govern at the time.  The poll was conducted in the second half of last week, which was dominated by news of the Government’s energy announcement. It received a mixed reaction, with some in the industry considering it a good step, but others wanting bolder action.  It also followed Foreign Affairs Minister Peters announcing New Zealand would not yet recognise Palestine as a state, suggesting there were conditions yet to be fulfilled before the Government would take that step. Labour in the aftermath said it would “very quickly” recognise Palestine as a state.  The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the Taxpayers’ Union. It is a random poll of 1,000 adult New Zealanders and is weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between Wednesday 01 October and Sunday 05 October 2025, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1% and 13.9% were undecided on the party vote question.  Tue, 07 Oct 2025 23:40:02 Z /news/politics/finance-minister-suggests-one-nz-will-take-another-look-at-ads-featuring-winston-peters-protester/ /news/politics/finance-minister-suggests-one-nz-will-take-another-look-at-ads-featuring-winston-peters-protester/ One NZ says it will remove the woman who publicised Winston Peters’ address online from its ads following a window at his home being smashed. Acacia O’Connor, an actor who appears in current One NZ ads, was one of a crowd of pro-Palestine protesters outside the Foreign Minister’s Auckland home last week, which she livestreamed online and publicised Peters’ address. Yesterday evening, a window at Peters’ home was smashed. A 29-year-old man has been charged with burglary and is set to appear in court on Friday. In a statement, One NZ head of sustainability Nicky Preston said the company didn’t support any activity that put people at risk. “We don’t back any behaviour that puts people’s safety at risk. “What’s happened doesn’t line up with our values, so we’re taking the character out of our advertising.” Preston said the company would be “reviewing and replacing” current adverts as well as future ads, which could take time “depending on the channel”. O’Connor has been approached for comment. Acacia O'Connor is recognisable for starring in a popular series of One NZ ads. Photo / One NZ Earlier today, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she expected One NZ would “take another look” at its advertisements that feature O’Connor. Willis also implored Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick to “call the dogs off”, given Swarbrick stood alongside O’Connor at a press conference yesterday concerning New Zealanders who had been detained by Israel. Asked whether O’Connor’s presence in the ads was a bad look for the company, Willis said: “I’m sure that One NZ will want to take another look at that.” Labour MP and media spokesman Reuben Davidson acknowledged it had the “potential to be a bad look“. “Well, potentially it is, but I mean they’re a commercial company, it’s up to them to decide who they want in their campaigns and how they manage that.” On the incident concerning Peters’ home, Willis said it was “appalling” for protesters to congregate outside politicians’ homes and encouraged Swarbrick to use her platform to reiterate that message. “They are innocent bystanders in this and I think it shows a really appalling lack of human decency to engage in this sort of behaviour,” Willis said. “You know what Chlöe Swarbrick could do today? If she agrees with me, she should call the dogs off and tell those protesters to stop protesting outside politicians’ homes.” Swarbrick has been approached for comment but earlier said she condemned the incident concerning Peters’ home. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:56:34 Z /news/politics/person-arrested-after-winston-peters-auckland-home-attacked-with-crowbar/ /news/politics/person-arrested-after-winston-peters-auckland-home-attacked-with-crowbar/ A man has been charged in relation to a crowbar attack on Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ home in Auckland. The incident saw one of Peters’ windows smashed while his partner Jan Trotman was at home, also leaving shards of shattered glass over his dog. This morning, Auckland city district commander superintendent Sunny Patel confirmed that at about 8pm yesterday, a man believed to be responsible for the damage handed himself into police. A 29-year-old man will appear in Auckland District Court on October 10 charged with burglary. “I know these ongoing occurrences have caused angst and frustration amongst residents,” Patel said. “Police recognise the right to lawful protest, however we will not condone protest action where property is damaged. “Police continue to urge protestors to remain within the bounds of the law, especially in residential areas.” Peters blasted whoever may have smashed the window on social media yesterday evening, saying the act was perpetrated by a “disgusting coward”. It follows the gathering of protestors outside his home over the weekend in support of those on board the Global Sumud Flotilla. Peters said on Herald NOW this morning he has “no doubts” that Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s rhetoric around the Government’s response to the war in Gaza is inciting acts of violence like what had occurred at his home. Peters claims Swarbrick knew the perpetrator: “who was shouting out outside our home in the middle of the dark night, breaking all the noise abatement laws, waking up all the young kids in the street, and all the neighbours – poor things.” “[Swarbrick] was at her press conference yesterday, as stupid and incoherent as she was when she tried to explain herself.” “There she was… the new superstar of performative politics.” But this morning, Chlöe Swarbrick said she did not know who attacked Peter’s home and that she “explicitly condemned this violence”. “This crosses a threshold and goes well beyond people’s right to protest,” she said. Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge fired questions to Swarbrick about her relationship with the woman who shared Peter’s address at the press conference yesterday. Swarbrick denied being close with her and denied facilitating violence at the press conference. “I know a number of people who are involved in a number of protests. I had not been aware of that behaviour at that point in time when it came to, as you are now putting to me, sending out the address or otherwise,” Swarbrick said. In response to claims she had incited the violence with terms like “from the river to the sea”, she said she only supported peaceful protest. “So if we want to talk about the behaviour that we should here be supporting, and the behaviour here that we should be condemning and we are asking for this government at a really basic level to condemn the genocide and to sanction Israel for its war crimes,” Swarbrick said. Peters revealed yesterday on X that his home had been vandalised in a “violent, hate-filled” incident. “A disgusting coward has gone to my home and smashed a window,” he said in his social media post. “Glass was shattered all over our dog. He also left a sign on the front door. “I wasn’t home. But my partner and a guest were. This is truly gutless.” The Herald understands the attack was carried out with a crowbar. Peters said it was the “type of violent hate-filled behaviour we warned about in the past few days about the radical left”, although at this stage it’s unclear who is responsible. “When we have protesters, political bloggers and MPs alike encouraging this behaviour, posting politicians’ home addresses online, and acting with pure ignorance and extremism, this is the result.” Peters said New Zealanders should be “deeply concerned” about where the country was going. Police last night told the Herald they were called about 5.40pm to St Mary’s Bay after a report of wilful damage. “The offender had left the scene, and was not immediately able to be located. Inquiries are ongoing,” a spokesperson said. The attack has been condemned by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who called it “totally unacceptable”. “MPs’ homes are not the place to protest. No matter the cause, political violence is never ok and should be condemned,” he posted to X. “Free speech is healthy in a democracy, political violence is not.” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also weighed in, calling it a “disgrace”. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the vandalism this evening at the home of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters,” he wrote. “Nothing justifies someone in public life having their home targeted and their family intimidated.” Last week, in response to protests outside his home, Peters said New Zealand had one of the most tolerant democracies in the world, and people had every right to express their views. “But with that comes the responsibility to be a decent person and respect the places and times when you can exercise those rights,” he said on X. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Mon, 06 Oct 2025 18:28:41 Z /news/politics/prime-minister-christopher-luxon-speaks-to-media-at-start-of-parliament-week-to-recap-benefit-changes-for-18-19yos/ /news/politics/prime-minister-christopher-luxon-speaks-to-media-at-start-of-parliament-week-to-recap-benefit-changes-for-18-19yos/ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will this afternoon hold his weekly post-Cabinet press conference. He’s expected to highlight the announcement made on Sunday about limiting welfare support for 18- and 19-year-olds whose parents can support them. A livestream of the press conference can be found above. Luxon announced on Sunday a $1000 incentive to keep young people on their new job coaching service off the benefit, an addition to a previously announced plan to cut the dole for 18- and 19-year-olds who could be supported by their parents. Those plans have also been fast-tracked to next year, with Luxon saying he wants to tackle the “trap” of starting on welfare at a young age. He told 九一星空无限talk ZB’s Mike Hosking that if parents are earning a little over $65,000, they will be required to support their unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds. He acknowledged this number meant only people from “very low-income” families would be exempt from the Government’s crackdown. “But we know it’s quite low, but the reality is it puts the pressure back on parents to say get those young people into work or education. “I’m trying to get this notion of rights and responsibilities understood ... it’s the principle of there are rights to being Kiwi and there are responsibilities as well.” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston during an announcement on Jobseeker in Ellerslie. Photo / Dean Purcell Yesterday, the Prime Minister, alongside Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston, announced a $1000 incentive to keep young people on their new job coaching service off the dole. “Young people participating in the Ministry of Social Development’s new Community Job Coaching service can apply for a $1000 bonus payment if they get a job and stay off the benefit for 12 months,” Upston said. “Going on welfare when you’re young is a trap, with recent modelling suggesting that people under the age of 25 on Jobseeker Support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes.” It was also revealed how much money parents can make before they are expected to support them. If parents are earning a little over $65,000 they will be required to support their unemployed 18- and 19-year-olds, rather than the teens receiving the benefit. Upston outlined the details further yesterday and said young people would stop being eligible for the benefit if their parents could support them. “Today, I can confirm that we are bringing our Budget initiative forward for implementation to November 2026. From then, all young people aged 18 and 19 without dependent children will have to pass a Parental Assistance Test in order to access Jobseeker Support or the equivalent Emergency Benefit,” she said. “This targets welfare assistance to those who need it the most, as young people will be expected to first be supported by their parents.” As of June this year, 15,045 18- and 19-year-olds were on Jobseeker Support, and more than 4000 are expected to become ineligible when the changes kick in. The change was originally planned to happen in July 2027. Budget documents showed that it was forecast to save the Government $84 million a year from 2027. Mon, 06 Oct 2025 02:52:43 Z /news/politics/ministry-for-regulation-probed-needlessly-restrictive-regulations-on-playgrounds/ /news/politics/ministry-for-regulation-probed-needlessly-restrictive-regulations-on-playgrounds/ The Ministry for Regulation investigated playground equipment standards, including if regulations were “needlessly restrictive” after a concerned parent wrote to regulation minister David Seymour about a closed-down slide. A Regulatory Response Issue stated Seymour’s objective was to “make playgrounds available by removing needlessly restrictive regulations, while keeping logical safety precautions in place”. A parent wrote to Seymour’s office about the closure of a slide in a playground in Rotorua, sparking a closer look at the standards. Rotorua Lakes Council, which oversaw the slide in question, said it supported the ministry’s assessment of the case. The slide which prompted the red-tape probe was deemed “unsafe” after a vandalism event at the Rotorua lakefront playground in April 2024. Rotorua Lakes Council group manager for community experience Alex Wilson said the slide had to be isolated from the rest of the playground with hazard tape. While welding repairs were attempted, they only lasted “a few weeks” and a replacement was sought, but due to supply chain challenges from Germany, the delivery of the slide took longer than expected. “To keep everyone safe, only the area around the broken slide was fenced off, while the rest of the playground remained open for use,” Wilson said. The regulation agency’s reporting noted New Zealand has a voluntary safety standard for playground construction, and found some councils require playground comply with the standard through planning policies, district plans and risk management. The Rotorua Lakes Council was also engaged, with the document confirming the council’s preference to purchase from local suppliers but finding low availability upon enquiry. The ministry found significant variance with councils’ voluntary compliance with the standard, which it stated aims to balance safety with play value, inclusivity and developmental benefits. “The New Zealand standard is less restrictive than the American or Chinese standards as it allows for greater leeway in interpretation and creativity in playground design,” the Ministry noted in its regulatory response issue. It was concluded the standard was not creating any material barriers to playground availability and appeared to be regarded as best practice. “From our research and limited engagement, we consider the Standard is effectively balancing safety, risk and accessibility.” The availability of playgrounds in New Zealand was favourable compared to other nations, with approximately 3,500 playgrounds in the country making up an average of around 267 children per playground. England has about 300 children per playground, and Australia has about 500, according to the agency’s research. “Based on this analysis, the Ministry does not consider that there is a clear problem with the regulation of playgrounds and therefore recommends that no further work is undertaken,” the document stated. In a statement, Seymour said “no problem is too big or too small” for the agency. “I’m pleased that while they tackle big red tape, they also offer fast fixes to problems like a council that was wrongly keeping their playground closed.” Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined 九一星空无限 in 2022 and became a 九一星空无限talk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending. Sun, 05 Oct 2025 16:00:26 Z /news/politics/government-brings-in-1000-bonus-to-keep-teens-off-the-dole-speeds-up-benefit-cut-plans/ /news/politics/government-brings-in-1000-bonus-to-keep-teens-off-the-dole-speeds-up-benefit-cut-plans/ The Government is introducing a $1000 incentive to keep young people on their new job coaching service off the dole, amid efforts to tackle the “trap” of starting on welfare at a young age. A previously-announced plan to cut the dole for 18- and 19-year-olds who could be supported by their parents is also being brought forward to the end of next year - and it has now been revealed how much money parents can make before they are expected to support them. If parents are earning a little over $65,000 they will be required to support their unemployed 18 and 19-year-olds, rather than the teens receiving the benefit. Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston has today announced a carrot on the stick alongside the stricter rules: a $1000 bonus for certain young people who stay off the benefit for long enough. “Young people participating in the Ministry of Social Development’s new Community Job Coaching service can apply for a $1000 bonus payment if they get a job and stay off the benefit for 12 months,” Upston said. “Going on welfare when you’re young is a trap, with recent modelling suggesting that people under the age of 25 on Jobseeker Support will spend an average of 18 or more years on a benefit over their lifetimes. There are more than 15,000 people aged 18 and 19 who are on the Jobseeker benefit right now, she said. “I have far greater hopes and aspirations for those young Kiwis than a life on welfare.” Upston outlined further details around the earlier announcement that young people would stop being eligible for the benefit if their parents could support them. “Today, I can confirm that we are bringing our Budget initiative forward for implementation to November 2026. From then, all young people aged 18 and 19 without dependent children will have to pass a Parental Assistance Test in order to access Jobseeker Support or the equivalent Emergency Benefit,” she said. “This targets welfare assistance to those who need it the most, as young people will be expected to first be supported by their parents.” The new Parental Assistance Test will kick in when young people apply for a benefit and comprises: A parental income test, demonstrating whether their parents earn income at or below the income limit, and/or; A parental support gap test, demonstrating they cannot reasonably be expected to rely on their parents for support. The income limit will be set at an income cut-out point for a couple with children receiving the Supported Living Payment and will be adjusted annually. Currently this limit is $65,529 and it is expected to rise to reflect the Annual General Adjustment of benefit payments. This limit will ensure that young people from very low-income families will still be able to access support if required. Eligibility for the new $1000 bonus payment will apply to people aged from 18 to 24 on Jobseeker Support: who have worked with Community Job Coaching after being on the benefit for at least 12 months who find work who stay off the benefit for 12 months who are in work at the time of their application The payment will be available for eligible young people 12 months later, from October 2026, and is part of National’s Welfare that Works policy. “Our Government is focused on reducing benefit dependency in young people, and we have already introduced a number of initiatives such as a new phone-based employment case management service,” Upston said. “We’ve got 4000 places for young people to get community job coaching. We’ve also got more regular work seminars and a traffic light system to help them stay on track with their benefit obligations. “I am determined that young New Zealanders see education, work and training as their best options for the future.” As of June this year, 15,045 18- and 19-year-olds were on Jobseeker Support, and more than 4000 are expected to become ineligible when the changes kick in. The change was originally planned to happen in July 2027. The Government announced part of the plan in Budget 2025. “With this announcement, we’re clearly saying that 18- and 19-year-olds who don’t study or work and can’t support themselves financially, should be supported by their parents or guardians, not by the taxpayer,” Upston said at the time. Budget documents showed that it was forecast to save the Government $84 million a year from 2027. Green Party social development and employment spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March said at the time the Government was “pulling the rug” on young people receiving income support. “The Government has just told teenagers doing it tough that they are on their own. A lot of teenagers having to rely on benefits for support do not have family to lean on – the Government knows this, it just doesn’t care.” Treasury expects unemployment to worsen over the next few years. The jobless rate was now expected to be 5% over the next year, up from a forecast in December of 4.8%. In 2027, unemployment is expected to be 4.8% – up from earlier forecasts of 4.5%. Sun, 05 Oct 2025 02:58:10 Z /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-mp-hana-rawhiti-maipi-clarke-named-by-time-as-one-of-the-world-s-most-influential-rising-stars/ /news/politics/te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-mp-hana-rawhiti-maipi-clarke-named-by-time-as-one-of-the-world-s-most-influential-rising-stars/ Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has been recognised by Time magazine as one of “the world’s most influential rising stars”. Maipi-Clarke was aged just 21 when elected to Parliament in 2023. Time said she “shook the world” when she performed a haka during a vote on the Treaty Principles Bill last year. The influential news magazine said she followed in the footsteps of ancestors who sustained Māori language, traditions and culture. Writing for Time, Deb Haaland – former US secretary of the interior under President Joe Biden – said Maipi-Clarke was a “link in the chain of activists who sacrificed for us and inspire us every day”. “Using her platform and voice, she staved off attempts to disenfranchise communities and attack Indigenous rights. In the grand scheme of things, she represents something that rings true: young people are not just leaders of tomorrow, they are also taking the helm and fighting for the future they deserve.” For her actions in Parliament, Maipi-Clarke was suspended for seven days after it was determined she – and other Te Pāti Māori MPs – had been “acting in a manner that could have the effect of intimidating a member of the House”. Before the haka made international headlines, Maipi-Clarke had already been named the One Young World Politician of the Year, which recognised the world’s most outstanding politicians between the ages of 18 and 35, using their positions to have a positive impact on young people in their communities and countries. Earlier this year Maipi-Clarke starred in a music video for Stan Walker. – RNZ Sat, 04 Oct 2025 19:31:43 Z /news/politics/labour-leader-chris-hipkins-says-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-a-long-way-away-from-government-amid-toit%C5%AB-te-tiriti-split/ /news/politics/labour-leader-chris-hipkins-says-te-p%C4%81ti-m%C4%81ori-a-long-way-away-from-government-amid-toit%C5%AB-te-tiriti-split/ Labour leader Chris Hipkins believes Te Pāti Māori appears to be a “long way away” from being ready for a role in Government as claims about the party’s culture spread. Protest movement Toitū Te Tiriti, largely responsible for last year’s nationwide hīkoi to Parliament that drew tens of thousands of protesters, today announced it was distancing itself from Te Pāti Māori, with spokesman Eru Kapa-Kingi seeking to clarify that Toitū Te Tiriti was not a lobby group for the party. Kapa-Kingi, son of Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and a former party vice-president, claimed Te Pāti Māori had a “problematic” leadership style which amounted to “effectively a dictatorship model”, as reported by Te Ao Māori 九一星空无限. He also alleged the party hadn’t honoured some of its constitutional commitments, such as holding scheduled party meetings. Te Pāti Māori had not responded to the Herald’s request for comment but in a statement to Te Ao Māori 九一星空无限, it rejected allegations its constitution hadn’t been observed and noted no formal complaints had been laid through its disputes process. Speculation about the party’s instability had grown since Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi was suddenly demoted from the party’s whip position last month, replaced by co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. Labour leader Chris Hipkins is yet to outline which parties he could work with in Government. Photo / Dean Purcell Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris has also come under fire over criticising Labour for allowing non-Māori to help campaign in its failed bid to win the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, won by Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara. According to recent opinion polling, Labour would need support from both the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori to form a Government, presuming none of the three parties in Government supported Labour. However, Hipkins has remained quiet on which parties Labour would accept working with in Government, saying he would establish that closer to next year’s election. Speaking to media today, the Labour leader said Te Pāti Māori had some “internal issues of their own to work through” before the two parties could discuss the potential of working in Government together. “They look like they’re quite a long way away from being ready to play a constructive role in any future Government,” Hipkins said. “They need to sort themselves out.” The Herald has asked Te Pāti Māori for a response to Hipkins’ comments. Hipkins wouldn’t be drawn on whether today’s allegations would influence his party’s position on working with Te Pāti Māori. “I’m not going to make those calls based on the ups and downs of every news cycle; I am going to make that call closer to the election. “We’ll do that in a very considered way where we set out who we can work with and who we can’t, and where we think the areas that we have in common are and where we think the areas are [where] we won’t be able to find common ground.” Hipkins did state Ferris’ commentary about Labour’s byelection staff made him “wholly unsuitable for any kind of leadership role in Government”. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Thu, 02 Oct 2025 02:39:13 Z /news/politics/power-prices-government-reveals-actions-on-energy-sector-after-review-of-electricity-market/ /news/politics/power-prices-government-reveals-actions-on-energy-sector-after-review-of-electricity-market/ The Government has rejected major recommendations for the Crown to readjust its involvement in the energy sector, including to focus on thermal generation and divest shareholdings in the gentailers. Instead, its main actions after a months-long review of the electricity market and amid rising anxiety by New Zealanders about power prices include writing to gentailers assuring them capital is available for investment, starting a procurement process for a new liquified gas facility, and asking for more information. Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis confirmed on Wednesday morning she had written to the gentailers the Government has a stake in – Genesis, Mercury and Meridian – to stress to them the Crown is prepared to support capital funding requests for investments that support the country’s energy security. “This is to ensure a perceived lack of access to Crown capital does not stand in the way of New Zealand’s energy security,” said Willis. “The assurance is one of several measures the Government is taking to address the gaps in New Zealand’s energy system that are keeping prices high for consumers.” She said the Government was committed to maintaining its legally mandated 51% stake in the companies and accepted it would need to participate in any equity raise required for major new investments. “We are more than willing to do this, if the proposals stack-up,” said Willis. The Government's energy announcement is highly anticipated. Pictured are Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (left) and Energy Minister Simon Watts. Photo / Mark Mitchell It comes after a review announced by the Government last year into the electricity market, led by global consultancy firm Frontier Economics. That was prompted by the 2024 winter power crisis which saw energy prices soar amid record-low hydro lake levels, inadequate wind and sun, and depleting natural gas supply. One of the Government’s main concerns has been around a lack of back-up generation that can be relied upon during dry years. While historically New Zealand has been able to use natural gas, the depleting supply has made this more expensive. Announced on Wednesday, the Government will launch a procurement process for a Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) import facility. Last year, it moved to remove regulatory barriers to the construction of a LNG facility, though studies have found importing LNG could require costly investment in infrastructure. Energy Minister Simon Watts said the Government was “stepping in to investment in energy security” through this procurement process, which will start next week and the results of which will be considered by Cabinet by the end of the year. “By bolstering domestic gas supplies, LNG can help manage the impacts of dry years and keep the wider energy system up and running.” The Electricity Authority will also be strengthened to make it a “more powerful decisive regulator”, with Watts saying it will be given a “sharper stick to crack down on bad behaviour and boost competition”. “This will be bolstered by a more sophisticated risk monitoring role for Transpower with better forecasting of security of supply risks; new rules to ensure power companies deliver the back-up supply we need; and greater efficiency across New Zealand’s electricity distribution businesses to avoid unnecessary costs being passed on to consumers in their power bills.” The Government will also ask the energy sector for more information. A formal “Request for Information” will be issued asking industry how the Government can work in partnership with it to kickstart new projects to boost supply. “Leveraging government energy demand will help unlock new investment in energy generation across a range of technologies,” said Watts. The 270-page Frontier Economics report that was delivered to ministers earlier this year was also released this morning. The Government had this peer reviewed and made several decisions on its recommendations based on this insight. Frontier’s assessment of the market wasn’t pretty, warning without “bold action”, “irrevocable harm could be done to the New Zealand economy”. Dry-year risk would lead to “increased prices, loss of supply, and economic disruption that will drive industry out of New Zealand”, it said. “We have identified that the core problem is one that has been caused by Government, and so it requires a solution by Government as the private sector has no means by which they can address this problem,” the report says. “Timely and sufficient investment in substantial new long-duration dispatchable capacity is not occurring, in large part, due to the considerable risk imposed by Government policy volatility. At the stroke of a pen the value of an investment can be destroyed. This is a risk the market is unable to manage efficiently.” Among the recommendations made is for the Government to refocus its involvement in the electricity sector to securing and selling themal capacity, ensuring the country has backup generation in case there are shortages from the likes of hydro. To do this, the report recommended establishing a new entity with responsibility for securing and selling thermal fuel. Independent retailers, generators and large direct customers would have priority to this capacity, which the report says would widen competition. “By taking primary responsibility for securing and selling dispatchable generation capacity, the Crown can act as guarantor of New Zealand’s energy security and reliability. Achieving energy security and reliability will provide a more stable investment environment for investors and consumers.” The Government rejected this recommendation in favour of other actions, pointing to the peer reviews which it said were critical of this option. Another of Frontier’s recommendations is around the divesture of the Government’s shareholding in the gentailers. The report says that, other than in regard to flexible generation capacity, there are no major obstacles in New Zealand to investment in renewable assets. “In general, the market design works well, provided there is enough capacity and energy, so we do not see a need for fundamental changes to the design of wholesale markets. “However, we believe that majority Government ownership of the main gentailers is distorting market outcomes. This is primarily because Government ownership constrains the ability to invest in larger projects. “This is because Government is unable to manage the budget implications of providing equity injections into large scale new investments – the gentailers can raise debt and they can apply retained earnings, but they struggle to obtain adequate equity injections.” It said divesting would allow the gentailers “greater flexibility to raise capital, make larger investments and respond more dynamically to market demands”. Funds generated from this could then be invested into ensuring “the proper functioning of the New Zealand electricity market” and projects the private sector cannot by itself manage. In response, the Government said that shareholding ministers in Genesis, Meridian and Mercury had been clear the companies “should explore commercially sound opportunities for new generation, and perceived barriers should not impede consideration of such projects.” “Asset sales are not being progressed.” Other recommendations not supported include removing electricity from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and merging the Electricity Authority and Gas Industry Company. NZ First MP Shane Jones has been vocal about his concerns regarding the current set-up of the electricity market. Photo / Mark Mitchell  In terms of actions already being taken to address energy supply issues, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has pointed to fast-track consents and Resource Management Act (RMA) reform, arguing they would help get renewable energy infrastructure delivered quicker.  On Tuesday, the Herald revealed he had also written to Labour leader Chris Hipkins to seek bipartisan support for offshore gas exploration for the next decade.  While Labour has said it will reinstate the recently reversed ban, Luxon said it’s critical to have a secure supply of fuel to support New Zealand’s energy transition. Critics of the ban reversal, however, say there’s no certainty any gas will actually be found.  Elsewhere, the Electricity Authority in August also agreed to progress a new rule for gentailers to offer their generation at the same rate to all retailers and not offer themselves discounts.  In anticipation of today’s announcement, the CTU on Tuesday called on all political parties to bring the gentailers back into public ownership. That would involve, according to its plan, using the current dividends from government shares in the companies to purchase the remaining shares.  “The NZCTU proposes that [the] Government should use its dividends to progressively bring the gentailers back into full public ownership,” economist and policy director Craig Renney said.  “It should also use its power as a major shareholder to direct the gentailers to support the wider economy and network resiliency. Bringing on new generation and delivering the green energy transition need to be priorities.”  Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the 九一星空无限hub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.  Tue, 30 Sept 2025 18:27:25 Z /news/politics/payment-surcharge-ban-will-raise-prices-reduce-competition-between-big-and-small-businesses-officials-warned/ /news/politics/payment-surcharge-ban-will-raise-prices-reduce-competition-between-big-and-small-businesses-officials-warned/ A ban on credit, debit and contactless surcharges will force up prices and weaken competition, officials warned the Government. It could also see some retailers refusing to take credit cards at all, unwilling to pay large fees they can’t recoup.Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson said it will make prices more transparent - and give consumers more choice. But Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young said it’s possible consumers could be worse off - as her organisation and 35 business groups around the country call for a halt to the changes. Documents released this week by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment show officials investigated three options to curb surcharges. One was no law change and potential Commerce Commission regulation, the second was a law banning surcharges on debit cards only, and the third was a ban on both credit and debit surcharges. The third option, later adopted by the Government, was preferred by officials, having both the greatest “strengths and weaknesses”. Officials found Kiwis pay $45-65m a year in surcharges, while the average consumer pays roughly $35 each year. Consumers are also often overcharged: the average surcharge costs double the fee paid by the merchant. The Ministry concluded removing surcharges from credit, debit and contactless payments would streamline the consumer experience. But it also found that a ban would cause “many merchants to respond by raising prices across all consumers,” as retailers are forced to pick up the cost of the fees - especially from high-fee credit cards. Smaller merchants would bear the brunt of that, struggling to absorb additional cost “leaving them particularly exposed.” That could mean some merchants might stop accepting credit cards entirely. Officials also found a ban would impact competition among businesses. Small businesses are paying fees as high as 2.5 per cent when consumers use Visa or Mastercard cards.But larger businesses have greater negotiating power, often paying in much lower fees. “It is likely that the competitive position of smaller merchants will weaken relative to bigger competitors,” the briefing said. The ban would also disproportionately target lower-income shoppers who pay with cash or Eftpos, who would effectively be subsidising those with reward-scheme credit cards that charge retailers much higher fees. The briefing said officials did not have time to consult with stakeholders. Government has ‘something to hide’ - Retail NZ Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young said the ban will be inflationary. “We imagine where retailers can, they will increase prices to cover the cost they’re going to be absorbing.” She said there’s been no consultation with the sector - and questions what’s behind the swift change. “[The advice goes] on to say the retail payment system is the most used financial service in New Zealand. “If you’re making a change to the most used financial system in New Zealand and you aren’t consulting with the people that are most impacted by it, it feels that there’s something to hide here. “It feels they’re leaning into the credit card companies, where obviously they’re going to get more transactions going through their switches.” Young said consumers could be worse off with the changes. “They’re looking to rush a piece of legislation through to provide benefits to consumers that they actually don’t know. “They can’t quantify what those benefits are because they haven’t taken time to find out if retailers will increase prices due to increasing costs.” Young also questioned whether this could hasten the death of Eftpos, as consumers will be more inclined to move to Visa and Mastercard as they won’t pay surcharges. 九一星空无限talk ZB asked Simpson whether increased costs were acceptable - and if the warning around reduced competition aligns with the government’s priority to increase competition. He didn’t address the questions directly - instead sending a generic statement. “Surcharges cost Kiwis up to $150 million a year, with up to $65 million of this being ‘overcharged’. We’re removing this cumbersome hidden cost for customers - the price on the shelf should be the price at the checkout.” “Around the world, other countries are banning surcharges. This move puts us in line with United Kingdom and Europe, where surcharges are already banned. “By the time the surcharging ban is in place, businesses will already be saving money from reduced banking fees, as announced by the Commerce Commission. This will save businesses up to $90 million every year, on top of the $140 million annual savings from 2022 fee caps. “By banning surcharges, we can ensure these cost savings can be passed directly onto consumers.” Ethan Griffiths is a political reporter with 九一星空无限talk ZB, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. He joined 九一星空无限 as a print journalist in 2020, previously working as a general reporter in Whanganui and an Open Justice reporter in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington. Tue, 30 Sept 2025 16:00:38 Z /news/politics/cabinet-agrees-pharmac-and-health-nz-will-share-medical-device-procurement/ /news/politics/cabinet-agrees-pharmac-and-health-nz-will-share-medical-device-procurement/ Pharmac and Health New Zealand will now share the country’s medical device procurement responsibilities, a process one minister says has been “paralysed” for more than a decade. Cabinet has agreed the two agencies will divide procurement duties for the more than 50 categories of medical devices in an attempt to resolve a debate that has long persisted in the health sector. “Device procurement has been paralysed for at least 13 years. In 2012, it was recommended Pharmac take over device procurement. It never happened,” Pharmac Minister David Seymour said. “Then the DHBs were merged into Health NZ, and there was a recommendation for them to take over. It was rejected. The industry has been exasperated by the uncertainty.” Health NZ would lead procurement of items requiring lower clinical expertise such as beds, lights, gowns, gloves and needles. Pharmac would be in charge of procuring more technically advanced equipment such as for dental and oral health, respiratory and cardiology treatment, renal dialysis and neurophysiology. “Pharmac are experts at assessing more technical devices with a direct therapeutic impact on patients. Those devices often need a high level of clinical input,” Seymour said. “For Kiwis this means better health outcomes, greater productivity, and a stronger future. “Patients may not have felt the problem, because inefficiency was the status quo. They will feel the difference.” Health NZ’s annual spending on medical devices totalled nearly $1.5 billion. Health Minister Simeon Brown said Health NZ would use its ability to bulk-buy and re-tender contracts to ensure “every dollar is delivering good value for patients”. “Health New Zealand is best placed to lead procurement for devices that are less therapeutic but have higher integration requirements with facilities and models of care – such as hospital beds, diagnostic machines, and imaging equipment." Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for 九一星空无限 since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland. Tue, 30 Sept 2025 01:03:28 Z