Daily Archives: June 15, 2022

Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison, it seems, were never quite in sync.

Before New Zealands leader trumpeted a reset of the relationship with Australia on Friday, she exchanged gifts with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who was known at one stage or another as DJ Albo.

I know that he enjoys music and so I shared with him a few [records] from the Flying Nun label in New Zealand, Aldous Harding, The Clean, Ardern said in a cheerful appearance on Australian breakfast television on Friday. And in exchange, I got Powderfinger, Spiderbait and Midnight Oil.

Putting aside some sledging from across the ditch about Albaneses choices, Ardern was asked why this exchange of records could never have happened when Morrison was in office. Arderns very diplomatic formulation was: We did talk about music on occasion but Im not sure that I wouldve exactly picked necessarily the right music if I think I was given that task, so

She let the words linger.

The last time Ardern was in Australia was 28 February 2020, on the same day the first Covid-19 case in New Zealand was announced. It was a visit notable for some particularly forthright exchanges with Morrison. A lot has changed between then and now.

It was a four-flag press conference at the commonwealth parliamentary offices in Sydney on Friday: two Australian, two New Zealand. The two leaders were positively beaming, and seemed to genuinely respect each other, as they vowed to take the trans-Tasman economic relationship to a new level.

Ardern smiled as Albanese recounted how the New Zealand PM had snuck in the very first congratulatory phone call when the Labor leader was on his way to the election night party to give his victory speech on that Saturday in May. Ardern already had Albaneses number as they had spoken when he was opposition leader. Albaneses message, in referencing the call, was: were good friends, weve hit the ground running, the only way is up.

When Albanese did what Morrison was always reluctant to do explicitly and unequivocally acknowledge climate change as a national security challenge Ardern nodded in agreement. When Albanese observed that it was as if Australia was now out of the naughty corner on climate policy, Ardern chuckled.

There were none of the fireworks from some previous leaders meetings, which mainly arose from differences over Australias practice of deporting New Zealand nationals on character grounds, including those who had moved to Australia as children and had no real connections in their country of citizenship.

In 2019, Ardern said bluntly after talks with Morrison in New Zealand that the issue had become corrosive in the trans-Tasman relationship. Visas are not citizenship, Morrison had replied. After the meeting in Sydney on the brink of the pandemic in 2020, Ardern accused Morrison of deporting your people and your problems.

The change in tone on Friday could not be more stark. Ardern was heartened by Albaneses acknowledgment of her strongly held view about the problems associated with returning people who had little or no connection to New Zealand. She said she detected in Albanese a real awareness of some of the issues that weve long raised.

Albanese pledged to consider changes to the way the policy was implemented friends: we hear you and will deal with this issue maturely and deployed what one Twitter user described as empathy gold.

And whats clear is that, if people look at some of the cases [of visa cancellations] its not surprising that the prime minister would make the strong representations that she had, because I would be, if I was in the same position, Albanese said.

Albanese wouldnt say publicly exactly what mechanism he would use. Labor sources had previously suggested the ministerial direction could be tweaked to ensure decisions better take into account the length of time a person has been in Australia and the historic special immigration status of New Zealand citizens. That seems to overlap neatly with Arderns request for Albanese to take greater account of potential deportees links to New Zealand and look at its model of not deporting individuals who had lived in the country for 10 years or more.

In any case, both leaders were keen to emphasise this was only one issue in a large number of topics they discussed, and that the two countries would be stronger together at a time with many regional and global challenges.

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Albanese said the two countries were in lockstep about how to confront the challenges in the Pacific including increasing strategic competition with China seeking new security and economic deals in the region.

Ardern went as far as saying the new Australian government offered the prospect of a reset.

Officials from both governments had laid down some restrictions at the beginning of the joint press conference: three questions from Australian journalists, three from New Zealand journalists. There was minor confusion at the end about the counting, with Ardern thinking it was possible there was one last New Zealander on the list. But Albanese was confident the quota had been filled.

Forgive me were done, Ardern said, as both leaders started to make their way towards the door.

Ive just been through an election, so I can count, Albanese assured Ardern.

77s the key, he joked, referring to the number of seats Labor will hold in the lower house. And then they were off.

Read more here:

The change in tone at Ardern and Albaneses meeting could not have been more stark - The Guardian

Cabinet gets a reshuffle, the aftermath of the latest wild weather and why your next flight ticket could be more expensive than you expect in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be hoping Monday's Cabinet reshuffle focuses the eyes of the electorate and her caucus firmly on the future.

The dual retirements of Speaker Trevor Mallard and Minister Kris Faafoi gave Ardern ample excuse for what her office called a "minor" reshuffle (a mid-level reshuffle is probably more accurate).

Most importantly, it gave Ardern the opportunity to gently shove her Police Minister Poto Williams sideways (Williams retains her Cabinet ranking of 10), and publicly acknowledge dissatisfaction with the state of policing. Much like Ardern's belated acknowledgement of the cost-of-living crisis earlier this year, this was an important signal to the electorate that five years into government, Ardern has not become so distant she does not hear public concerns.

The fact she's appointed Chris Hipkins, fast becoming this Government's "Mr Fix-it", to replace Williams is further evidence Ardern saw a problem that needs to be solved. Like a ministerial fire blanket, he's the sort of person you throw at problems before they rage out of control.

Ardern herself said the "current narrative" around the Police portfolio had become distracting. That narrative shifted gears last week when National leader Christopher Luxon challenged Ardern in the House to confirm that Williams would retain her portfolio following the next reshuffle.

Ardern said she had confidence in Williams, but would not confirm she would keep her job. The answer was met with the braying of the National and Act caucuses. Labour was silent. Williams had essentially been sacked in advance in front of 120 MPs.

There's plenty of work for Hipkins to get on with: firearms protection orders, the gun register, and the discussion with Police Commissioner Andy Coster about what can be done to bring the current outbreak of gang violence under control

Whether Hipkins is up for the job is a question for the future. It helps that Ardern has relieved him of the Covid-19 Response portfolio (which has gone to Ayesha Verrall). Having brought a level of order to the messy and ad-hoc Covid-19 Response, which often struggled with excessive partitioning of responsibility, Hipkins is probably better prepared than most to bring some order to policing.

Where he may struggle is that, unlike in the Covid-19 portfolio, in which he was able to create clear lines of communication between the front lines of the response through the Ministry of Health, DPMC, all the way up to the Beehive, there's only so much Hipkins can do to bring the police under control. The police are operationally independent from the Beehive - and for good reason. But this necessary independence does mean corralling them into action can be a challenge.

Ardern also stripped Williams of her Building and Construction portfolio, giving it to Megan Woods. This portfolio, which comprises not just the perpetually beleaguered construction sector, but also things like earthquake building standards, does not get the attention it deserves. Ardern said it was given to Woods to consolidate housing-related portfolios in one minister. One could wonder whether it was given to Woods to pre-emptively fix before it becomes a problem.

As for Mallard's retirement from politics, Ardern has known this was coming for some time, but she will likely not be displeased it has come now. Mallard's likely replacement, Adrian Rurawhe, seems to enrage the opposition less than Mallard. In the last sitting block, he deputised for Mallard who was overseas, and ably chaired Question Time. He was firm but fair in the chair, and was able to bring MPs into line without generating the rage Mallard seemed to.

This rage seemed to come from all sides, fed by Mallard's actions, and by the Opposition's baiting him.

His decision to move on gives all sides the opportunity to reset the clock.

Faafoi might have served for longer as minister, although Ardern might have sought to remove his Immigration and Justice portfolios (on Monday, Faafoi admitted that being a non-lawyer in the Justice portfolio had been a challenge). His retirement gives Ardern the chance to promote a fresh face to Cabinet, Priyanca Radhakrishnan, and a fresh face to the executive, Kieran McAnulty, who will be minister outside of Cabinet.

Both are deserving of their promotions. McAnulty, a former bookie, will enjoy the racing portfolio, but as a rural MP with the Associate Local Government portfolio he'll have his work cut out for him selling the Government's Three Waters reforms to rural New Zealand where it is particularly unpopular.

The most significant announcement on Monday was perhaps (as it often is with this Government) an announcement of an announcement: Ardern intends to do another reshuffle earlier next year.

If this reshuffle was tipped as "minor" that one could see Ardern shifting a number of senior or non-performing ministers off to greener pastures.

Ardern said on Monday this would be a more "comprehensive" reshuffle "with a constant review to the future", balancing experience with the need to bring on fresh talent.

Ardern would not say whether other ministers had approached her about retirement (there's a good chance at least a couple will have spoken about stepping down in 2023).

This reshuffle is where the focus should be. It's a signal that lagging ministers may find themselves turfed from Cabinet to free up new space for up-and-coming talent. John Key's mid-second term reshuffle saw the promotion of Nikki Kaye and Simon Bridges, two important talents for the party - Ardern needs to find her equivalents, and promote them.

Promotions for Kiritapu Allan, Michael Wood, Megan Woods, and Barbara Edmonds are a good start, but Ardern might want to reach further into the backbench for her next reshuffle.

Ardern has an unique problem this term. Her 2020 victory presented her with an enormous caucus of 65 MPs, 20 of whom (an entire Cabinet) would lose their seats if the most recent public poll is anything to go by.

Labour did a good job in 2020 of selecting a crop of ambitious and talented MPs, doing the work of cultivating a diverse group of future leaders National currently regrets it did not do many elections ago.

Ardern's challenge will be making sure the best of these MPs aren't swept away in 2023. This reshuffle isn't just about Ardern's possible third term - it's about achieving that most elusive and unrewarded feats: leaving sufficient talent in caucus to build a solid opposition after the Government eventually loses.

Easing the way to promotion will ensure discipline from this new crop, as well as ensuring existing Cabinet members step up in the knowledge that if they don't, a replacement is nibbling at their heels.

Here is the original post:

Thomas Coughlan: Jacinda Ardern proves she's listening, but it's the next reshuffle that matters - New Zealand Herald

Politics

11 Jun, 2022 07:37 AM4 minutes to read

Jacinda Ardern represented New Zealand well at the White House, reminding voters why she sparked Jacindamania. Photo / Joy Asico

OPINION:

Labour seems to be panicking over falling polls. They shouldn't panic. They should definitely be worried. But panicking is only making things worse.

Ten polls since January have put Labour behind National. As the year's gone on, the gap has widened. Labour is further and further behind. The PM's popularity is dropping too. Every month, fewer people tell the pollsters Jacinda Ardern is their preferred PM.

Labour's right to be worried. It's quite early in this term to be less popular than the Opposition. It's also quite early in the Government's life to be this unpopular. Labour is only halfway through the nine years we accept as standard nowadays.

The international trends aren't promising either. Voters around the world are tiring of pandemic leaders. Australia's Scott Morrison lost his election last month. The UK's Boris Johnson probably only has months left in his job after being booed by Platinum Jubilee crowds and losing the support of 40 per cent of his MPs.

But panicking won't help Labour.

So far, nothing they've done has stopped Labour's slide in the polls. If anything, hitting panic buttons has made them look cynical.

The panicking seemed to start with Labour's petrol tax reduction. It came only days after the PM refused to acknowledge there was a cost of living crisis. The ultimate move was welcome but it screamed of a party forced by weekend polling to do something it really didn't want to have to do.

Then came the Budget's $350 cost-of-living payment, clearly cobbled together in a rush. Again, welcome. But why exclude beneficiaries and pensioners? Workers know that if we're doing it tough, they're doing it tougher. Most likely they were excluded because polling told Labour they needed to show Middle New Zealand workers some special love. But, again, too cynical. Not elegant enough. How insincere is the PM if child poverty was the reason she joined politics and yet she's prepared to deny financial help to the families of New Zealand's poorest children?

Voters didn't love it. There was no traditional Budget poll boost. Both polls taken after the Budget showed another two-point drop for Labour.

Then last week, Labour launched attack ads on National's Christopher Luxon.

The ads are good. They hit Luxon's weakest point: the sense that he has no actual plan other than to win in 2023. The ads feature a picture of a smiling Luxon with the quote, "The cost of living crisis - that's how we'll win this election." Luxon said it at a recent National Party Central North Island conference.

But, coming this early in the term, the ads betray Labour's panic. And they're not very kind. Labour enjoys pretending to be the party of kindness that refuses to indulge in petty politics, yet it is the very party running nasty, personal attack ads.

Panicking like this risks doing long-term brand damage. Voters are losing track of what this party stands for. It's all over the show. If it isn't in government to fix child poverty, then what is it in government for? And if it isn't kind, then is it just like every other cynical party obsessed with staying in power?

Really, Labour's solution is to go back to basics. Return to the things voters loved about it back in 2017: a charming leader and a promise to improve life for Kiwis.

Seeing the PM perform in the US might've reminded voters what they used to like about her at the start of her leadership. We've got used to the patronising 1pm press conferences and glib responses like, 'I utterly reject the premise of that question.' But on the world stage that was gone.

She shone at Harvard. She was charming on Stephen Colbert's show. She represented us well at the White House.

Luckily for Labour, Ardern's just been in Australia and will soon be in Madrid for Nato and hopefully, voters will again be reminded of why she sparked Jacindamania. Labour needs to bottle the offshore Jacinda and bring it back here again.

And Labour needs to get back to actually trying to make this country better. It captured the zeitgeist back in 2017 when rising poverty worried us. Rising poverty still worries us. But so does rising crime, rising gang violence and rising living costs. More of dealing with that and less of the unnecessary and divisive reforms like Three Waters.

The next election is not yet lost for Labour, but if they keep panicking they will ensure they lose it.

Here is the original post:

Heather du Plessis-Allan: Labour and Jacinda Ardern's slide in the polls could be halted by being kind and caring - New Zealand Herald

Politics

15 Jun, 2022 05:00 PM3 minutes to read

Gangs get together to put an end to drive-by shootings, ram raids see bollards in high demand and the Covid test requirement set to be scrapped in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

As of next Tuesday, people travelling to New Zealand will no longer need a negative pre-departure test.

Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall said the Government had "taken a careful and staged approach to reopening our borders to ensure we aren't overwhelmed with an influx of Covid-19 cases. Our strategy has worked and as a result it's safe to lift pre-departure test requirements much sooner than planned.

"I'm advised the challenges pre-departure tests pose to visitors are now no longer outweighed by the public health benefits," she said.

The current rule means people coming to New Zealand by air must get a negative PCR, RAT or Lamp test 24-48 hours before departing on the flight to New Zealand depending on the type of test.

Pre-departure testing is one of the last border restrictions still in place. It is not the last however: even when pre-departure testing is gone, non-citizens and non-residents will still require proof of vaccination to travel here.

New Zealand is one of a diminishing number of countries to have pre-departure tests and tourism operators had voiced concerns that testing was putting travellers off.

The Government is also concerned it will become more difficult to get pre-departure tests as more and more countries drop them as requirements for travel. The United States dropped its pre-departure testing requirement on Sunday.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had said the tests would be gone by July 31 at the latest, but the Government's increased confidence in the Covid outlook has meant this date could be brought forward.

"While we are still working through this transition, it's fair to say we are confident that pre-departure testing will be removed by the time we come to the final phase of our reopening in July," Ardern said earlier this year.

The timing will also allow the border to be more fully open for the ski season and Australia's coming school holidays."

The final phase of border reopening will occur on 11.59pm on July 31, when all vaccinated travellers and students will be able to enter New Zealand, provided they have a visa.

People who arrive in New Zealand are also given a pack of RATS to do after arrival. About 90 per cent of people are completing these tests and 2-3 per cent are reporting a positive result.

The Government does not see this changing significantly after the requirements are dropped.

National has been calling for pre-departure testing to go. Earlier this week, the party's Covid-19 response spokesman Chris Bishop said the tests should be dropped.

"The world is moving on, but New Zealand insists that anyone coming here must present a negative test before getting on a plane," Bishop said.

"Pre-departure tests made sense when we were pursuing elimination. But they make zero sense when we already have thousands of cases a day at home," he said.

Covid cases continue to level off after a peak earlier in the year. Another peak is expected later in the year, but the Government does not expect this to be impacted by changes at the border.

Hospitalisations with Covid-19 are also levelling off. The seven-day average of people in hospital with or due to the virus was 362 yesterday, down from over 900 during the peak earlier this year.

The Government does not believe dropping pre-departure testing will lead to a surge of domestic infection.

View original post here:

Pre-departure tests into NZ gone on Monday - New Zealand Herald

Gangs get together to put an end to drive-by shootings, ram raids see bollards in high demand and the Covid test requirement set to be scrapped in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald

While Jacinda Ardern was in Australia discussing the controversial 501 deportation policy, Immigration New Zealand was serving deportation papers on a former inmate who left Samoa as a preschooler.

It's a contrast the man is calling deeply hypocritical, especially given how outspoken the Government has been of the 501 policy - going as far as labelling it "corrosive".

"I'd rather go back to jail than Samoa, I know what it's like, I know what's expected of me in there, I know how to behave and how to live," Mose Vaipapa told Open Justice.

"I'm not a saint. But I've paid for that."

On Friday last week Vaipapa was served with deportation papers to return to his home country; a place he hasn't lived since he was 4 years old, doesn't speak the language and has no family or other connections.

The now 29-year-old served 15 years in jail for two serious rapes he committed when he was 14 years old. At least one of his victims was a teenager, both females were unknown to him and the rapes happened on separate occasions.

While in prison he was involved in a riot that closed Hawke's Bay Prison's Youth Unit for more than 11 months, and seriously assaulted two guards, one of whom ended up in hospital.

Those offences added to his sentence which he served in full, without parole.

Despite those crimes Mike Sceats and the staff from the Porirua Community Law Centre are working to keep Vaipapa in the country. They have appealed to the Minister of Immigration on his behalf, claiming New Zealand has a responsibility to look after him.

"We institutionalised him. We made him. It seems wrong to now just foist him off onto Samoa," Sceats said.

Sceats said Vaipapa fell through the cracks at primary school because the teachers thought he was stupid.

By the time they figured out he had glue ear and could barely hear them, he'd missed so much school he never caught up.

After that he began getting into trouble and went through a number of boys' homes in Porirua between 2004 and 2009 before being sent to the now infamous Epuni Boys' Home in Lower Hutt.

There Vaipapa says was sexually assaulted at the age of 12.

"He's been labelled as stupid, dangerous and violent. He's been set up to fail all his life," Sceats said.

"My personal view is that technically he wasn't born here but he was made and broken here."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has long been critical of the Australian 501 deportation policy where New Zealanders are deported from Australia and sent back home.

Any non-citizen who has been sentenced to more than a year in prison in Australia can be deported under the 501 policy, even if they've already served their time years earlier.

So far more than 2000 ex-Kiwis have been deported since the policy was introduced in 2014. The deportees are named after section 501 of the Australian Migration Act which allows their visas to be cancelled.

On Friday last week Ardern met with Australia's new leader Anthony Albaneseto push for changes to the law. Albanese said after the meeting that the 501 policy would stay, although he promised to "work through" implementation issues with New Zealand.

The Prime Minister's spokesman, Andrew Campbell, told Open Justice that the New Zealand Government has never opposed Australia's right to have a deportation policy.

"However there are significant differences between the breadth of Australia's deportation policy relating to 501s and New Zealand's," he said.

Senior lecturer in politics and international relations Dr Timothy Fadgen of Auckland University told Open Justice that to say New Zealand is engaging in a completely different practice is inaccurate.

"It's a difference without a distinction.

"New Zealand has a track record of a high number of deportees to the Pacific and beyond and this has been going on for many years, and it creates the same sorts of problems in those communities that the Australian policy is creating here."

Open Justice reported earlier this year that New Zealand sent 400 criminals back to Pacific nations between 2013-2018 - a move that a newly released report said was contributing to a growing crime and drug addiction in those countries.

At present Vaipapa is under strict supervision and electronically-monitored bail while he waits to see whether the Minister for Immigration accepts his plea to remain in New Zealand.

The minister has discretion over whether to intervene in immigration matters like this, however, in May Associate Minister of Immigration Phil Twyford declined the request.

Vaipapa came to New Zealand with his mother and siblings when he was 4, piggybacking on her passport.

He committed his first imprisonable offences while she was in the process of sorting out residency for her family and it was recommended that her son be removed from the application for the rest of the family to be successful.

When Open Justice met with Vaipapa at his address in Trentham this week he said he was extremely sorry for what he'd done.

"I don't remember one of them but when I was told what I'd done I just It's really messed up."

"I wish I could go back and punch myself, shake that young Mose and ask him what the hell he's doing?"

Vaipapa said years later while in prison he'd been denied leave to go to his stepfather's funeral, and then one of the prison guards called him a "porch monkey".

He beat the guard so badly he ended up in hospital.

"When I read the victim impact statement from his daughter It just grabbed me by the heart. There was no excuse for what I did."

Vaipapa said when he was first served the deportation notice in prison when he was 17, he didn't understand what it meant.

"I was still just a kid. The only thing that sunk in was that if I ever got parole then I'd be straight on a plane.

"I don't even remember being in Samoa. I thought I was a New Zealander for half my life."

Vaipapa said he wouldn't know what to do if he was deported as there was nothing for him in Samoa.

"It would be real hard for me. I don't speak Samoan. I don't know anyone. I don't even know where I'm gonna stay. All I know is New Zealand."

Read more from the original source:

'The same as how Australia treats the 501s': Samoan deportee calls Govt hypocritical - New Zealand Herald