NZ Politics

... this government has not been doing this reluctantly, narrowly, or transparently....It has treated the courts, the Waitangi Tribunal, and the Bill of Rights Act as obstacles to be circumnavigated rather than as structural elements of the constitutional order it is supposed to uphold. The cumulative record is damning.

So far their response has been tax cuts and getting rid of regulations. Two things they love doing. In Australia they're giving subsidies to the oil industry.

None of those will do anything to slow our consumption of oil or help people change their lifestyles to match the circumstances. By clinging desperately to business as usual they will make the eventual change more wrenching than it could have been.

Instead, what if:

Short term:

Free public transport.

Free bikes for everyone.

Begin emergency repairs on any old busses that can be pressed into service.

Implement a priority system for who gets fuel:

Tier 1: healthcare, emergency services

Tier 2: food production & distribution

Tier 3: essential infrastructure (power, water, telecoms)

Everything else: on yer bike, son (or heavily rationed)

Ration fertilizer. A lot of it is wasted, currently.

Daily govt briefings - what’s happening, what is being prioritised, what people should do. Maintain clear communication and transparency.

Medium term (but start NOW):

Electrify all busses.

Repair neglected railways.

Move freight by rail and ship as much as possible.

Build cycling infrastructure. Secure places to park many many bikes next to train stations - big sheds.

Remove regulatory barriers for local food production, farmers markets. Encourage urban gardening, local trade networks.

Plant corn everywhere for ethanol.

Strategic reserves of critical medicines, etc.

Diversify food production - for local needs, not for export market needs.

(everyone knows roading budgets usually blow out - the total final cost of Transmission Gully appears to be $2.5bn – double the projected cost of $1.25bn).

Married, two kids, divorced, and remarried, in the space of three years.

What a ride that must have been.

Back in February 2025, MBIE got a report on NZ’s fuel security. It basically outlined that NZ is extremely dependent on imported fossil fuels, therefore vulnerable to international fossil fuel supply line disruptions. They specifically talked about events like war, estimating a major incident would cost us about 1% of our GDP. (That’ll pour petrol on all those promised ‘green shoots,’ like an over enthusiastic arsonist.)

The solution was clear. It said, “The most cost-effective strategies for enhancing fuel resilience is accelerating the transition to zero-emission vehicles” (And add trucking capacity and increase diesel storage.) Simply put, get more people out of petrol cars and into EVs.

What did the Government do instead?

Beneficiary numbers have soared to a 12-year high, under a government that promised a reduction.

They were the highest both by volume and percentage of the working-age population since at least the 2013 welfare reforms.

Social development minister Louise Upston said in 2024 - less than three months after taking office - that the government was taking action to "curb the surge in welfare dependency" that ocurred under the former Labour government.

But the most recent Ministry of Social Development data revealed that was yet to take hold.

As of December last year, 427,236 people - about the population of Christchurch - were receiving a main benefit.

That was 13.2 percent of the working-age population, the highest recorded since at least 2013, when reforms replaced multiple benefits with three main benefits: Jobseeker, Sole Parent Support and Supported Living Payment.

More than half of beneficiaries - 223,512 people, or 6.9 percent of the working age population - were on the Jobseeker benefit. That was also a record.

Soon after taking power the government set a target of 50,000 fewer people on the Jobseeker benefit by 2030.

So far, there had been an 18 percent jump: from 190,000 in December 2023 to 223,500 in December last year.

The 18 to 24-year-old age group on the Jobseeker benefit had grown the most in that period, rising 32 percent.

Minister blames former Labour government

Upston said the numbers were a result of the coalition inheriting "difficult economic conditions and a tough labour market" from the former Labour government.

"Unemployment has been rising since 2021 and is always one of the last things to improve after a recession," she said.

The Green Party is welcoming news that the government has backtracked on plans to reinstate live animal exports.

Animal Welfare Minister Andrew Hoggard told 1 News he could not get Cabinet agreement on overturning the ban, which formed part of coalition agreements with both ACT and NZ First.

"From the outset, there was overwhelming outrage from veterinary experts who expressed there was no way to maintain animal welfare standards and herd cattle onto ships where they spend weeks at sea wallowing in their own waste. It's fundamentally cruel and there's no way to uphold the barest animal standards while exporting at sea," Abel said.

"They couldn't get it across the line because New Zealanders didn't want to see animals suffering in that way."

A 57,000-strong petition calling for the ban to stay in place was presented to parliament in 2024.

At the time, Hoggard said he wanted the ban overturned by 2025.

The health minister says a doctor using an artificial intelligence scribe tool is able to see, on average, one additional patient per shift.

Simeon Brown has announced every emergency department in the country now has access to the tool, which records consultations and generates draft clinical notes, referral letters and follow-up summaries.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) vice-president Dr Sylvia Boys said she was concerned about how secure the artificial intelligence scribe tool was.

It could also misunderstand what was said, Boys added, especially when it came to an examination.

"You have to verbalise what you're finding at the time, and that difference between patient speak with the patient in front of you and the medical diagnosis, AI can sometimes misinterpret what is going on."

It also could not differentiate between patients when a clinician was dealing with multiple, Boys said.

"Within the ED environment, we also have multiple interruptions, and they have to step out of the room, be talked to about other patients, and so separating out what is going on with one patient and what is going on with another - with an IT system that is listening to both - can be troublesome as well."

The lack of progress happening in New Zealand to reduce child poverty is both "hugely disappointing" and "unacceptable", the Children's Commissioner says.

Data released by Stats NZ on Wednesday for the year July 2024 to June 2025 showed one in seven children are living in hardship.

About 17,900 households were interviewed for the research.

The number of children that were recorded as living in material hardship was 14.3 percent - one in seven.

There was no significant change in that from the year recorded prior or since 2018.

In the latest statistics, a child recorded as facing material hardship was recorded as being in a household going without seven or more of 18 necessities.

Those included being unable to pay for utilities on time, having to put up with feeling cold and putting off doctors visits.

That was a change to the year prior where the threshold for material hardship was six or more.

A total of 25.1 percent of Māori children were recorded in material hardship which was not statistically different to the year prior.

For Pacific children, that figure was 31 percent, which was also statistically unchanged.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has renewed his call for the government to sell its 51 percent stake in Air New Zealand after it reported a significant half-year loss.

The airline posted a bottom-line loss of $40 million in the six months ended December, compared to last year's profit of $106m.

Seymour said Air NZ had been doing "politically motivated stuff" when it couldn't take off and land on time for a decent price.

"Get woke, go broke. We hear about electric planes, glossy reports on climate change, paper cups in the Koru Lounge. What they can't seem to do is take off and land on time," he said.

The title is from the article but doesn't really cover the breadth of changes proposed. The key parts:

The government is proposing to make it legal to ride e-scooters in cycle lanes. It is part of its work to "fix the basics" in the New Zealand transport system, with consultation opening today on two packages for rule changes.

In the first package, the government is proposing to:

• Allow children up to age 12 (inclusive) to ride their bikes on footpaths, helping keep younger riders safer and reflecting common practice;
• Introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders;
• Allow e-scooters to use cycle lanes;
• Require drivers travelling under 60 kilometres per hour to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops;
• Clarify signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.

The second package relating to heavy vehicles proposes:

• Some permit requirements would be removed so rental operators can move empty high productivity motor vehicle truck and trailer combinations between depots and customers without unnecessary delays;
• Driver licence settings would be updated so Class 1 licence holders can drive zero-emissions vehicles with a gross laden weight up to 7500 kilograms, and Class 2 licence holders can drive electric buses with more than two axles with a gross laden weight up to 22,000kg;
• Signage requirements for load pilot vehicles would be made more practical;
• Overseas heavy vehicle licence holders would be able to convert their licences either by sitting tests or completing approved courses.

Companies sending goods up and down the country's railways could begin to favour road transport as KiwiRail manages declining assets, an expert says.

KiwiRail is focusing on upgrades and electrification in Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga - the so-called "golden triangle" - and other main freight lines while it manages older assets elsewhere.

The company said it was the only option that would allow it to meet budget cuts of $200 million over the next three years.

Failure to follow the order is subject to a $2,000 fine or up to 3 months in jail.

The behaviours mentioned in the video (that are not in the draft explanatory note ^pdf^):

• Behavior indicating an intent to inhabit a public place
• Rough sleeping
• All forms of begging
• Breaching the peace
• Obstructing or impeding someone from entering a business
• Disorderly, disruptive, threatening, or intimidating behavior

Hon Mark Mitchel (Minister of Police) chimes in at 10:23 to acknowledge that the people subject to the order are vulnerable people.

At 17:54 a reporter asks about descretionary enforcement and Mitchel confirms the planned use of selective enforcement which increases the risk of targeting marginalised populations.

The YT comments are gold.

Full RNZ article: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/587562/government-announces-homeless-move-on-orders-for-all-town-centres-not-just-auckland

This was also reported on in November '25.

That takes balls, doesn't it?

For those of you tuning in from outside NZ, check these out:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586975/winds-gust-to-240km-h-on-lower-north-island-s-east-coast

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/587001/weather-local-farmers-clear-mudslide-which-trapped-20-vehicles

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/586968/in-pictures-heavy-rain-and-wind-hits-wellington-region-bringing-down-trees-flooding-roads

BTW it's summer here.

Govt to pay up to $180m/year or $2.7b over 15 years to lease LNG re-gasification plant, paid for by $15-$30 'levy' per household per year. That $2.7b would build four Benmore Dams worth of electricity

My biased quotes:

The government says a Liquefied Natural Gas import facility in Taranaki will save New Zealanders about $265 million a year.

Energy Minister Simon Watts on Monday announced a contract was expected to be signed by the middle of the year, with construction finishing next year or early 2028.

"We need to get rid of the dry risk," Luxon told reporters on Monday.

"I'm not going to guarantee, based on the advice I've been given the benefits outweigh the costs."

A factsheet supplied by the government said the infrastructure costs would be paid for through a levy on electricity of between $2 and $4 /MWh.

The facility was expected to cut future prices by at least $10/MWh, and curb an expected 1.25 percent reduction in Gross Domestic Product from higher energy prices.

Procurement started in October in response to the independent Frontier report, which the government largely rejected.

The government largely rejected the recommendations of the review carried out by Frontier Economics, with sector players including Simon Bridges criticising a lack of bold action.

"It would make no economic sense to develop an LNG import terminal to meet just dry year risk as the large fixed costs would be spread over a relatively small amount of output," the Frontier report said.

New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has rejected criticism of his claims that colonisation was positive for the country’s Indigenous Maori population.

Dozens of people started booing and shouting when Seymour stood on Friday to offer a prayer during a dawn service at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where New Zealand’s founding document was signed in 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and more than 500 Maori Indigenous chiefs, setting out how the two sides would govern the country.

Seymour made his controversial comments that colonisation had been an overall positive experience for Indigenous people on Thursday during a speech to mark national Waitangi Day, an annual political gathering that gives Indigenous tribes a chance to air grievances.

“I’m always amazed by the myopic drone that colonisation and everything that’s happened in our country was all bad,” said Seymour, who is leader of the right-wing ACT Party and a member of the Maori community.

“The truth is that very few things are completely bad,” Seymour had said, according to local online news site Stuff.

Describing his hecklers on Friday as “a couple of muppets shouting in the dark”, Seymour said the “silent majority up and down this country are getting a little tired of some of these antics”.

Following Seymour’s prayer on Friday, left-wing Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins was also loudly jeered by those in attendance.

On Thursday, Indigenous leader Eru Kapa-Kingi told parliamentarians “this government has stabbed us in the front,” and the previous Labour government had “stabbed us in the back”.

Seymour’s government has been accused of seeking to wind back special rights given to the country’s 900,000-strong Maori population, who were dispossessed of their land during British colonisation and remain far more likely to die early, live in poverty or be imprisoned compared with the country’s non- Indigenous population.

Controversial legislation that was tabled last year seeking to reinterpret the treaty’s principles and roll back policies designed to address inequalities experienced by Indigenous people led to protests and failed after two of the three governing parties did not vote for it.

Speaking on Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called for national unity and for steps to address challenges faced by the Maori community.

Luxon also said the national debate over the legacy of British colonisation should remain civil.

“We don’t settle our differences through violence. We do not turn on each other; we turn towards the conversation. We work through our differences,” Luxon said in a social media post.

Denial about the destructive legacy of colonialism and its connection to contemporary challenges faced by Indigenous communities remains a frequent subject of contentious debate in former colonies around the world, including Australia and New Zealand.

• Unemployment rises to 10 year high of 5.4 percent
• 15,000 jobs added in quarter, but workforce and job hunters grow
• Underutilisation rate steady at five year high of 13 pct
• Youth unemployment rises, more woman in the labour force
• Annual wage growth slows to near five year low of 2 percent
• Data worse than expected, backs the RBNZ holding cash rate steady in two weeks

Making the announcement in Auckland on Tuesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the current system was "expensive, outdated and no longer works as well as it should".

Key changes

• No more full licence test: Drivers will no longer need to sit a second practical test to move from the restricted to full licence, saving time and money. This applies to Class 1 (car) licences only.
• Longer time spent on learners for under 25s: There will be a 12-month learner period for under 25s, an increase of six months.
• Option to reduce learner period: There will be an option for under 25s to reduce their 12-month learner period back to six months by recording practice hours or completing an approved practical course.
• New restricted periods: The restricted period will be 12 months for under 25s and six months for over 25s, with no option to reduce it with a defensive driving course.
• Cheaper to get a full licence: The total cost of getting a Class 1 (car) licence will reduce by $80 under the new system.
• Encouraging safe driving: Drivers on their restricted licence will face a further six months on their restricted if they get demerits.
• Fewer eyesight screenings: Eyesight screenings will only be required at the first licence application and at each renewal. This applies to Class 1 and Class 6 (motorcycle) licences.
• Zero-alcohol rule expanded: All learner and restricted drivers, regardless of age, will be subject to a zero-alcohol limit.
• Stronger oversight of training providers: NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will gain new powers to monitor and suspend driver training course providers.

Resources Minister Shane Jones shut down the possibility of New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at the annual global climate summit, documents reveal.

Opposition MPs say the documents underscore the disproportionate influence that National's minor coalition partners wield over government policy.

But Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said it was "appropriate" to consult Jones because of his portfolios.

Australia, the UK, the European Union and a group of Pacific nations were among 80 countries pushing for a 'road map' to be included in the formal negotiations at COP30 in Brazil last November.

They were unsuccessful, but Australia and several Pacific nations were among 24 nations that signed the Belém Declaration on the Transition away from Fossil Fuels on the final day of the summit.

Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act show New Zealand's negotiating team was also considering signing the declaration - before officials back in New Zealand informed them that Jones did not want them to.

Similar pattern as with the ferry, health and water systems - Labour had fixes for their problems rolling out but National scrapped them and then did nothing.

political interference in the new curriculum!

Good work Newsroom.

Political division is taking hold in NZ and we need to turn it around.