Category Archives: Jacinda Ardern

A bunch of policy plans, we count 14, have had their names called by the reprioritiser-in-chief over the last few months. Toby Manhire puts them all on one page.

Bonfires. Guillotines. Purges. Its hard enough to keep up with the metaphors, let alone the full suite of policies impacted by Chris Hipkins bread and butter revolution. The process, remember, was begun in the twilight of 2022, when Jacinda Ardern announced in a series of interviews a summer of reprioritsation to just pause, stand back and say, in the next 12 months what are the things we really need to prioritise, and by prioritising does it mean there are things that you then just say we dont have the capacity within government to pursue, [that] theyre just not the most important things for us.

Little did we know then, but it was the twilight of Arderns premiership, too, and in the middle of January she revealed she was reprioritising herself out of office. A blink of the eye later, it was Chris Hipkins standing in the Beehive theatrette. But the policy reprioritisation lived on. If anything, it was amplified. It came in two major tranches or three, if you count the reinvention of Three Waters as whatever it is theyre calling it now. The government resisted calling that part-three of the reprioritisation, however. Which is just as well because it would have only have inspired someone to accordingly rebrand the reprioritisation as Three Slaughters.

Reprioritisation is an eternal task, of course, and Hipkins says to expect more in the budget next month. But will that include turfing out more work already under way? It will be more of a business-as-usual reprioritisation process, says Hipkins.

As good a time as any, then, to review the policies that had their names called during that process of reprioritisation. The government says they collectively will save more than a billion dollars, for reallocation to support New Zealanders with the cost of living, as well as saving on the more nebulous bandwidth. Below, theyre sorted into three categories. Theres the purged, for ideas that have been dragged onto the trash icon. Theres the punted, in which the government has essentially said: not this term, but well get back into it next time, should we be re-elected. Oh, and the pruned, protracted and upholstered, for good measure. Hang in there.

The sixth Labour government has been variously brilliant and terrible at doing communications. Just under Three Waters in the terrible column is the media merger. What should have been a proud banner policy cementing public service journalism and rich, local programming ended up an albatross. Somehow, no one managed to give it a McAnulty heres the guts.

And so as soon as Ardern volunteered in December that it wasnt top of the priority, the last rites were being read. It was the top of the list when Hipkins played grim policy reaper on February 8. The project, intended to take form in the middle of this year, has cost just about $20 million, but the reversal means saving just shy of $365 million across four years, said minister Willie Jackson. RNZ will receive $25.7 million more a year, while NZ On Air gets a $10 million one-off top-up.

Jackson at first indicated the merger was still an ambition, but quickly clarified that it was off the table and in the sea. He has not given up on reforms, however. Alongside the extra funding for RNZ, he is looking at the reintroduction of a TVNZ charter, a fresh board intake at the broadcaster and a broad culture change. Simon Power has announced his resignation as CEO of the broadcaster after just over a year in the role.

Under a scheme set to have come in at the start of this month, a proportion of fuel sold in Aotearoa would have been required to be biofuel in the cause of reducing emissions. That went out the window in February. Introducing a biofuels mandate will increase the price of fuel and, given the pressure on households, thats not something that Im prepared to do at this time, said Hipkins. As to the impact on the emissions budget, he said: Weve got work to do to identify how we fill the hole thats created by the decision around biofuels, and well do that with haste.

The plan had encountered various practical problems and was not expected to have a massive impact on emissions. The Greens, who had claimed the policy as a victory in 2021, didnt raise objection to its demise, but that was before the next round of policy purges, with its unmistakable green shadow.

Not to be confused with the clean-car discount, the upgrade scheme aka cash for clunkers was designed to get lower- and middle-income earners out of gas guzzlers and into more environmentally friendly vehicles. It was hailed at the 2022 budget by ministers Michael Wood and James Shaw as a critical part of the Emissions Reduction Plan that will put Aotearoa on the path to net zero.

Trials of the scheme have already proven to be difficult, and its not clear that this is the most effective way to increase the uptake of low-emissions vehicles, said Hipkins on March 13. Sending the plan to the wreckers produced by some measure the biggest saving of the purge: $568 million. It also produced more questions about the governments commitment to its emissions budgets. Climate minister James Shaw said he and his Greens co-leader Marama Davidson had been called for a really positive conversation with Hipkins a few hours before the announcement was made. But was he not pissed off? Yes, he said. Ive been pissed off for a while now. Its just exasperating and disappointing that we keep making short-term decisions at the expense of the future. It drives me nuts.

Unveiled at the same time as the upgrade programme, a social leasing scheme had been trialled with a view to support low-income families to lease a safe, low-emission vehicle from a community organisation, said Shaw in 2022. This will provide a leg up to those who wouldnt otherwise be able to afford to shift to a low-emission vehicle, helping them reduce their living costs and get ahead.

No dice, said Hipkins last month. It was proving difficult to implement, and several of the communities where it was due to be trialled have been affected by the recent weather. It meant $19 million of the $20 million assigned would be saved, he said.

This was hardly inked in the government programme, but Hipkins did announce as part of the reprioritisation that any legislation to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections is off the table. It will, however, respond as required to the Supreme Court decision in favour of Make It 16, and it would be introducing legislation by the end of the term to lower the voting age for local elections. So, a purge and a pledge, really.

With families and businesses under pressure, its not the time to pursue this change and put additional costs on them, said Hipkins, kicking the social insurance scheme championed by finance minister Grant Robertson into a hypothetical third term. The proposal, also known as income insurance, also known as unemployment insurance, would cushion the impact of a job loss, providing a freshly unemployed person with 80% of their income for six months, funded by a new ACC-esque levy of around 1.4% on incomes. Its off the table for this term, and until we see significant improvement in economic conditions, said the PM.

Around $60 million had been set aside to develop the scheme.

The Human Rights (Incitement on the Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill had emerged out of the recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Christchurch mosque attacks. It had a bumpy ride, got diluted, and as of January was punted to the Law Commission for consideration alongside other issues around hate speech and discrimination, which allows them the opportunity to consider a difficult and a highly contested area of the law in its totality.

How would that decision save money? Well, one of the things is that it consumes time and energy and, at the moment, we need to have our time and energy focused on those issues that Ive set out as priorities for the government, said Hipkins. They had not walked away from the commitment, he insisted.

Changes to address the imbalance communities faced in challenging licensing decisions are ongoing, but a second, bigger chunk of alcohol reforms, covering sponsorship, advertising, and pricing, has been pushed back, the government deferring receipt of advice by a year to April 2024. These are areas that we do need to take the time to investigate properly so that we can ensure that there arent unintended consequences, said Hipkins.

The Greens Chle Swarbrick, whose members bill containing similar measures was voted down this month, said the government decision had been an absolute slap in the face.

In 2019, then associate minister for the environment Eugenie Sage launched work on a container return scheme that would require small refunds for returned beverage containers. Hipkins said last month: The evidence overseas shows that this does help to reduce waste. However, its also estimated to add small additional costs to households, and we dont want to be imposing those additional costs right at the moment. This policy does remain on the agenda, and we will look to assess it again in the future when the time is right to do so.

Sage was not impressed by a rubbish decision. She said: [Im] gutted for all the work that Ministry for the Environment staff and stakeholders have done Deferring the container return scheme is just kicking the can down the road on ending plastic pollution.

Following a landmark Employment Court ruling that Uber drivers should be classed as employees rather than contractors, the government said it would launch a consultation on how to assess such employment classification. Given an appeal is under way, said the prime minister, rather than pushing ahead with our proposed consultation on changes, well be putting that work on hold until the appeals in that case have been heard.

The clear-car upgrade had been announced with other climate measures including initiatives to boost public transport use, with vehicle kilometres travelled targets introduced as part of the Emissions Reduction Plan dropped for tier two councils, meaning they are required only in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch, where, said Hipkins, where there is the scale for decent public transport alternatives. He said: We need to focus our efforts on the areas where we can achieve the greatest reductions.

The speed reduction programme will be narrowed to focus on the most dangerous 1% of state highways. Hipkins said: Speed limits will reduce in the places where there have been the highest numbers of deaths and injuries. Well continue to make targeted reductions in the areas immediately around schools and marae and in small townships that state highways run through.

The refocus here, which follows pressure from the opposition and some lobby groups, throws into question how the Road to Zero targets can conceivably be achieved.

It might hardly have seemed as if anyone was getting the speed wobbles with the much delayed process towards light rail for Auckland, but Hipkins nevertheless announced a slowing, or as he put it, staging, with the first stage expected to be confirmed by the middle of this year.

In a field in the Wairarapa, Hipkins and his local government minister, Kieran this is the guts of it McAnulty, buried Three Waters, and from the soils did spring a shoot called Affordable Water Reforms or was it Water Services Reform Programme? Honestly, if youre feeling a little sleepy at this point, it probably worked, but in truth that new shoot looked substantially like Three Waters.

The big difference is that the four entities that had been set up under legislation to run tap water, wastewater and stormwater will now be 10. Thats designed to assuage concerns from councils that felt they were losing local control. It means some of the economies of scale will be lost, but the shift in the balance sheet is still there, so the entities can borrow in a way that councils, the smaller ones especially, simply couldnt. National remains committed to repeal.

The co-governance element remains, though the government is now insisting that what it once very clearly called co-governance is not and never was co-governance. As before, the regional representation groups that set the broad direction and appoint the boards of the entities will be comprised 50-50 by council appointments and mana whenua. The start date was also kicked out a couple of years to 2026, by which point, well, who can say where priorities might be.

This post was updated to remove an erroneous reference to the Transport Choices package, which remains intact.

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Purged, punted and pruned: the Chris Hipkins reprioritisation in full - The Spinoff

ASUCI election season began earlier this month, with the voting period opening on April 17. Voting for offices such as ASUCI president will run until April 21.

In order to learn more about them, the New University spoke with Jonpaul Cohen and Jun Jang, the two candidates for ASUCI president.

Jonpaul Cohen, a third-year cognitive sciences student, is running with the election slate Empowered Anteaters. He told the New University that the importance of community influenced his decision to run for president.

I grew up volunteering a lot in my community, Cohen said. Something that always meant a lot to me was being able to serve my community and give back Whether Im the one that gives back or whether [Jang] gets to give back whichever one of us wins, I just want to give back.

For example, Cohen has experience working directly with the government of New Zealand on the issue of climate change.

A July 2022 School of Social Sciences newsletter says that Cohen wrote a letter to the New Zealand Parliament and was invited to speak before them a month later. Cohen also claims to have been nominated for a Pacific Island Youth Award by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Cohen also spoke about his Jewish and Polynesian identities, a background that he says has shaped his experiences at UCI.

Being Jewish has been the absolute hardest, Cohen said. Being Jewish here [is] not easy at all.

Cohen claimed that he had trash thrown and slurs hurled at him in the past for being Jewish.

I realized the campus hasnt felt very safe for me as a Jewish student, he said.

Cohen also identifies as Polynesian. During the presidential debate on April 11, he said that he was from New Zealand, that his family was from Samoa and that his grandmother was from Tuvalu. Cohen said he is involved with UCIs Pacific Islander community and meets with Pacific Islander students and faculty every quarter to socialize and eat Pacific Island food.

Cohen also discussed the limitations of emergency housing at UCI and how a lack of housing affects students.

I feel like the bar for emergency housing is a little low, he said. You have to meet with a social worker and then you get very short term housing. I dont think we can expect students to academically succeed if theyre [housing] insecure.

Cohen also clarified his comments on R58-97, a piece of legislation passed by the Senate earlier this year to address the effects of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. During the presidential debate, Cohen claimed that R58-97 endorsed a controversial political organization.

Thats not a part of my campaign, he said. My campaign is about student housing. Its about food Anything that I have said with Turkey, I said as a friend of people that were struggling, not as a candidate for student government.

The New University asked Cohen to share some fun facts with members of the UCI community.

In his free time, Cohen sings and acts in musical theater shows in Redlands, his current city of residence. He also enjoys karaoke and plays a number of instruments: the piano, drumset, ukulele, imzad, baglama and theremin.

The New University also spoke with Jun Jang, a third-year political science and Asian American studies student who is running with the election slate ANTvocating for Change. He is the current ASUCI Senate President.

Jang spoke about his various involvements on campus.

During his two years in the Senate, Jang led the now-dissolved Anteater Safety Net Grant special committee, to which eligible students could apply for a $1,000 grant to pay for basic needs expenses.

While Jang did not create the committee, he was the vice chair from the 2021 fall quarter to the 2022 spring quarter and the committee chair from the 2022 fall quarter to the 2023 winter quarter. During his time on the committee, its budget allocation increased from $20,000 to $200,000, allowing 200 students to receive the grant as opposed to the initial 20 students. Jang also led the charge to increase the grant from $275,000 to $350,000 in the winter 2023 quarter.

In addition to serving as the Senate President, Jang is the commissioner of the Office of the Presidents Student Programming Funding Board (SPFB), which allocates funding to on-campus organizations with the goal of promoting social, cultural and education awareness on campus.

Its one thing to suggest an idea for how our fees are used and its another thing to actually understand the limitations, Jang said. It makes me sad [that] there are a lot of limitations on how we can use our student fees.

Outside the Senate, Jang is the current chair of the Student Fee Advisory Committee (SFAC), a campus committee in the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor that looks at the fees that students pay in their tuition along with the budgets of campus departments that receive funding from student fees.

Jang also holds two jobs. He works at the Student Success Initiatives office, where he helps students file for scholarships with the Learning & Academic Resource Center (LARC), and as a CalFresh Advocate, assisting operations at the Basic Needs Center at times and helping students apply for CalFresh at others. Jang is also a member of Hansori, a traditional Korean drumming club at UCI.

Im all over campus, Jang said. With that, naturally, comes the opportunity to speak to a lot of people Out of all the candidates in all the elections, I may have the most relationships and connections to administrators on campus.

Jang also spoke with the New University about his various identities and how they have affected his experience at UCI.

Thats a reason why I got into Asian American studies, Jang said of his Korean background. I dont really see Korean Americans reflected much [outside of entertainment] Theres a whole host of things that people should know about Korea and Korean Americans.

Jang said that he plans to pursue a masters degree in Asian American studies at UCI once he graduates.

Jang also identifies as a first-generation and low-income student, which has affected his experience at UCI including his work in student government.

[I have] been low-income all of my life, and so there are a lot of things that come up in life when youre low-income Being low-income isnt an ideal situation, so that guides a lot of the work that I do, Jang said.

Like Cohen, Jang brought up UCIs emergency housing program, which both described as inadequate.

We only have three emergency housing units on campus, Jang said. Realistically, when hundreds of students dont have a home, three units isnt nearly enough.

For his fun fact, Jang shared that he loves boba a love shared by his fellow candidate Jonpaul.

Members of the UCI community who are interested in learning more can watch the presidential debate here and read the recap here.

Voting will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 21. Students can cast their votes on the UCI Elections website.

Rustin Roudi is a Campus News Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at rroudi@uci.edu.

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Meet This Year's ASUCI Presidential Candidates | New University ... - New University

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This weekendsvisitto Australia by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins speaks volumes about major changes underway in New Zealand foreign policy.

Hipkins is flying toBrisbane Australias third-biggest city and home to around 100,000 New Zealand citizens to meet with his counterpart, Anthony Albanese.

The trips significance comes in part from its timing. Hipkins is visiting just beforeAnzac Dayon April 25. On this day each year, Australia and New Zealand both remember the role played and losses suffered by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (or Anzac for short) in World War I, and by their forces in other conflicts.

In advance of the New Zealand prime ministers travel, a newpartnershipcalled Plan Anzac has been unveiled, which promises sustained cooperation between the Australian and New Zealand militaries. The arrangement covers a wide range of areas that include strategic engagement, capability, training, readiness and common personnel issues.

Get briefed on the story of the week, and developing stories to watch across the Asia-Pacific.

Hipkins visit is alsoexpectedto serve as an occasion for Australia to unveil a more generous pathway to citizenship for the near million-strong population of New Zealanders living in Australia an attempt at putting to bed disquiet from New Zealanders who feel Australia has not upheld traditional Anzac mateship.

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There is no better time of year for Canberra and Wellington to send signals of unity. And the bonhomie comes as New Zealand increasingly follows in Australias foreign policy footsteps.

The most recent example of the alignment came in the acceptance by both Albanese and Hipkins of an invitation to the NATO leaders summit in Lithuania this July. The joint RSVP was almost certainly coordinated between Canberra and Wellington.

After NATOs Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg publicly invited the pair to attend the meeting a fortnight ago, Hipkins initially remained non-committal,tellingreporters he hadnt decided on whether he would attend and pointedly noting his busy schedule during New Zealands election year.

Mediareportssurfaced soon afterwards that claimed Albanese would be a no-show in Vilnius.

The reporting was not initially denied.

Albanese already has a packed internationalcalendarthis year. The Australian prime minister perhaps thought that his guest attendance at the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, and hosting of a Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) leaders summit in Sydney next month would be more than enough to satisfy U.S. and European leaders.

If Albanese was planning on skipping NATO, this also explained why Hipkins showed a marked lack of enthusiasm.

Butcriticismby political rivals and commentators and perhaps some pressure behind the scenes appeared to change Albaneses mind and by Monday this week, the Australian leader wassayinghe would be very pleased to accept the NATO invitation.

Yesterday, Hipkinsannouncedthat he would also be heading to Vilnius. In other words, Australia led and New Zealand followed.

The countries are also becoming closer in other ways.

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Most notably, New Zealand Defense Minister Andrew Littlesignaledlast month that Wellington was interested in joining the second pillar of the AUKUS arrangements, which focuses on cybertechnology.

A week later, Little heldtalksin Wellington with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles. Little was typically circumspect about the substance of the talks and played down the AUKUS element. However, Marles noted alignment between Australia and New Zealand, adding that its really important that we are working as closely together as possible.

The pairs meeting came not long after avisitto New Zealand by Kurt Campbell, the White Houses Indo-Pacific coordinator illustrating how pressures and interests from further afield are also at play, a factor reinforced by the NATO invitation.

Then there is the small matter of TikTok. Both Australia and New Zealand have issued bans over the past month and surprisingly, this time New Zealand appeared to be the leader, not the follower.

In March, New Zealands Parliamentary Service effectivelybanneduse of the smartphone app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, by MPs and staffers who accessed Parliaments network. The move followed adirective(issued in November 2022, although only publicly revealed months later) by New Zealands Defense Force ordering its personnel to delete TikTok from their devices.

For its part, Australia waited until earlier this month to make its decision, but it then issued a far more sweepingbanthat prohibited the use of TikTok on devices used by employees at all Australian federal government departments and agencies.

It was also reported that more than half of Australias federal government agencies had already banned TikTok. This suggested Australia was the leader after all.

If alignment is a keyword in the 2023 version of the Australia-New Zealand relationship, another is interoperability. Littlespokeof the need for a seamless sort of interoperability with Australia after taking on the defense portfolio earlier this year, and the word is alsousedrepeatedly to justify the new Plan Anzac military partnership.

Expect to hear more about the need for New Zealand to harmonize its capabilities with those of Australia especially when the results of New ZealandsDefense Policy Revieware soon announced. The outcome of the Defense Policy Review is also likely to serve as a justification for New Zealand to announce greater military spending.

It remains to be seen how China will react to New Zealands increasing willingness to fall in line with Australia and NATO. Trade repercussions seem unlikely, although cannot be ruled out if New Zealand becomes deeply intertwined with AUKUS.

China and Australia are currently in a healing phase over trade, after Beijing effectively offered tosettlea dispute with Canberra over the tariffs China imposed in 2020 on Australias barley exports.

In the short term, any displeasure from China at New Zealands decision to take a more Australia-friendly path is more likely to come in the form of playing hard to get.

A notable omission from Hipkins travel announcements this week was any confirmation of a trip to China.

In her final months in office Hipkins predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, indicated she was seeking to visit China early in 2023 a plan that Hipkins initially reaffirmed, but later walked back.

In the announcement of his travel plans this week, the Prime Ministers Office didaddthat the government was continuing to pursue a trade focused trip to China later in the year.

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But for Hipkins to visit China, he will need an invitation. And that invitation may have just become that much harder to obtain.

After all, Hipkins is choosing Brisbane over Beijing, at least for now.

This article was originallypublished by the Democracy Project,which aims to enhance New Zealands democracy and public life by promoting critical thinking, analysis, debate, and engagement in politics and society.

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Why New Zealand's Prime Minister Is Heading to Brisbane Not ... - The Diplomat

Andrea Vance is a senior Stuff journalist and regular Sunday Star-Times columnist.

OPINION: Its usually the third term before the rot sets in.

Labour is displaying early symptoms of third term-itis, a kind of arrogance and complacency that can be fatal to future electoral success.

The longer they spend in office, the more a government start to look a little grubby. And there is nothing dirtier than money in politics.

READ MORE:* The week ahead in parliament: Jacinda Ardern to say goodbye, while questions around Nash won't go away * Cock up over conspiracy? There is a more obvious explanation to the Stuart Nash scandal* Stuart Nash scandal puts OIA and lobbyist laws in the spotlight

Stuart Nash emailed two donors about a confidential cabinet discussion. They were commercial property owners who had an interest in the decision.

His office then refused to disclose this information a breach of official information laws, in which the then-prime ministers office was complicit.

It was his fourth strike, and Nash was out. Donations from the forestry industry, which he went on to regulate as minister, were already controversial but there was never any suggestion of impropriety.

Chris McKeen/Stuff

Minister of Justice Kiri Allan apologised after criticising Radio NZ at an event for one of its outgoing staff members.

He had a parting shot, quoting Theodore Roosevelt. It is not the critic who counts...the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.

Using the words of the former US president, Nash appeared to be taking issue with those cold and timid souls in the media, who had pointed out his breaches of Cabinet standards.

To draw heat out of the scandal, PM Chris Hipkins changed the narrative by pretending to fix a problem that was never really there.

With Trumpian-level gaslighting, he promised transparency and vigilance around lobbyists and their relationships with politicians.

The real issue of influence in politics comes from the fact that we have a fundraising regime that sells access to the highest bidder and outdated, compromised freedom of information laws that allow politicians (and their officials) to cover it up.

I can promise you ministers are much more likely to pick up the phone to a donor, than scratch the back of a colleague-turned-shill begging a favour.

But sure. Take away the swipe cards that allow a handful of professional schmoozers to sip burnt coffee in Parliaments cafe. Thatll fix it.

If youve been paying attention, youll know a review is code for make it go away until the public forget about it.

Chris McKeen/Stuff

With Trumpian-level gaslighting, Hipkins changed the narrative.

Still, once government starts to go off, the smell lingers in the nostrils.

It soon emerged another minister had broken Cabinet manual rules. Kiri Allan criticised Radio NZ's treatment of Mori reporters and urged the public broadcaster to examine its culture during a farewell event for her fiance, outgoing RNZ broadcaster Mni Dunlop.

The legislation that establishes editorial independence of the public broadcaster stipulates that no minister can give it direction in that way. The Cabinet manual makes it clear ministers must conduct themselves at all times in the knowledge that their role is a public one.

Allan sincerely apologised, and PM Hipkins took no further action.

On Friday, it emerged Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon gave about $10,000 (in cash and in kind through a rent subsidy) to Allan ahead of the 2020 election. (He also gave $1000 to National's East Coast electorate.)

Ex-Gisborne mayor Foon was appointed in July 2019, by the Labour Government but not Allan, who was then a backbencher. However, she is now Justice Minister, and holds the power of appointment.

Foons position is now probably untenable. As a former politician he should have identified that his donations were inappropriate while he held a supposedly apolitical role, charged with holding the Government to account.

MPs should not be taking money from state servants, and Allan should never have accepted the donation. It must immediately be repaid.

It compromises the neutrality of the public service in the eyes of the public. But that will worry Labour less than the damage it does to its own image.

This drip feed of mini-scandals have common threads. They paint a picture of a cosy elite bound by mutual back-scratching, most of which happens within the limits of the law, but that dont quite pass the voters sniff test.

Power eventually corrupts. And once that happens, it's really hard to get the stink out.

What do you think? Email sundayletters@stuff.co.nz.

Read more about how Stuff manages the distinction between opinion and reporting by its journalists.

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Why Labour is starting to look a little grubby - Stuff

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION:

Nothing highlights the extent to which new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has reversed Jacinda Ardern-era policy like the incredible turnaround in migration numbers.

After months of concern that Labours tough immigration rules were squeezing the economy, the policy has been relaxed to the point that, suddenly, migration is smashing records.

The net migration gain of 11,700 in February this year was the second highest for any month ever, (behind February 2020 which had a net migration gain of 14,600 ... and was completely distorted by the onset of Covid-19), according to the latest Stats NZ data.

The February result was driven by a record number of arrivals on work visas, Stats NZ said.

It took our provisional annual net migration gain to 52,000 - made up of a net loss of 17,300 New Zealand citizens, which was more than offset by a net gain of 69,300 non-New Zealand citizens.

Thats getting back to John Key-era migration gains - when the nation was gaining around 60,000 people a year.

But wait, theres more!

The annual gain of 52,000 actually understates recent strength, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon has pointed out.

If our net migration rate across the past four months was annualised wed be looking at a net migration gain of around 100,000 for the year - an unprecedented number.

Bearing in mind that the Government only really began carving exemptions to its migration policy last year, theres no reason to assume the monthly rate wont continue at something like these high levels (even allowing for the possibility of some sort of quirk in the February figures).

We could be about to blow the numbers from last decades migration boom out of the water.

It is hard to think of a bigger policy turnaround, by the same political regime, in living memory.

These big arrival numbers ought to silence some of the concerns business groups have had about government immigration policy.

I have certainly shared those concerns about the timing and implementation of the policy.

To recap, in the 2017 election campaign, both NZ First and Labour made capital out of the stress elevated immigration levels were putting on the economy.

Labour wanted numbers cut by 2030,000 a year. NZ First targeted a net migration figure of just 10,000.

Moves to cut immigration were slow, then Covid hit and everything went a bit haywire anyway - we had record arrivals as Kiwis flocked home, followed by completely closed borders.

The Government forged on with policies designed to limit low-skilled migrant numbers, with a view to driving up local productivity and wages.

There was some solid economics underpinning the argument.

Studies have shown that a steady supply of cheap, low-skilled labour is a disincentive for businesses to invest in the kind of new technology that boosts productivity.

And New Zealand does have a productivity problem.

But the timing - in the middle of an inflation crisis and a global labour shortage - was not good.

Business groups have lobbied hard, making the point that labour shortages are restricting economic growth and driving up wage inflation without any productivity gains - exactly the thing the new immigration policy sought to reverse.

The Government appears to have listened and has incrementally dialled back the policy.

But the strength and speed of the turnaround have been astounding.

A lot of commentary from business leaders and critics of the Government has bemoaned the fact that New Zealand has lost ground in the international race to attract immigrants.

Weve been told were no longer the preferred choice, with the likes of Australia and Canada now leading the pack.

But that argument may have been overblown.

In fact, according to the OECD, New Zealand is currently the most desirable destination for highly educated migrant workers

The OECD has just launched its Indicators of Talent Attractiveness (ITA) index, which it says is the first comprehensive tool to capture the strengths and weaknesses of OECD countries regarding their capacity to attract and retain different types of talented migrants.

New Zealand tops the list for high-educated workers. We come in fifth for attracting entrepreneurs and fare less well (15th) for attracting start-up founders.

Still, its a heartening reminder that New Zealand still has plenty of power to attract immigrants.

High migration is of course a double-edged sword.

Were going to have to move fast to ensure we dont strike the same kind of infrastructure and housing issues we had back in the middle of the last decade.

You can run high immigration to boost economic performance but you cant ignore the costs involved in having a large population.

More migrants should make life easier for employers in the coming months, but as well as helping to ease labour force pressure they add demand to the economy.

In other words, they pull both the supply and demand levers on inflation and the net outcome isnt clear.

On balance, the net inflation effect is likely to be broadly neutral for the economy as a whole, Westpacs Gordon has said, though the effects might differ across sectors.

One thing we can be sure of, the sudden surge in migrant numbers added another fascinating variable to an already complex economic experiment as we seek to find some economic balance in the post-pandemic era.

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Liam Dann: Is this the biggest policy U-turn in NZ history? - New Zealand Herald

Supplied/National Party

National's Taieri candidate Stephen Jack posted a sexist joke on Facebook.

Andrew Gunn is a Christchurch-based film and television scriptwriter, and columnist.

OPINION/SATIRE: Welcome to National Party Headquarters! So youve decided to apply for selection as a candidate. Thats great! Before you proceed to your interview, please fill out this pre-interview screening questionnaire to cover our butts/ensure you are the right fit for the job.

Question 1: Are you

A bloke?

A lady?

Something else?

If you answered a) a bloke then well done! Proceed directly to Question 2.

READ MORE:* Poem shared by National candidate 'disgusting', disrespectful to Ardern, MPs say* National candidate Stephen Jack resigns after sharing a poem likening Jacinda Ardern to Adolf Hitler* 'Crass' post about young women doesn't reflect National's candidate vetting Luxon* How an offensive joke reveals a problem with how National chooses its MPs* Christopher Luxon faces a real challenge in National Party selection

If you answered c) Something else then we are required by our lawyers to tell you that the National Party welcomes a diverse range of candidates and takes its responsibilities pursuant to the Human Rights Act 1993 very seriously. Having said that, come on. Read the room.

If you answered b) a lady: are you prepared to stand in the back row of a press conference nodding empathetically while a male National Party candidate expresses regret for acts of violence in the past and adds that he has changed a lot since then?

If your answer is No then we regret to advise that your values do not match those of the New Zealand National Party. Please return your lanyard and leave the building immediately.

Braden Fastier/Stuff

Christopher Luxon insisted this week National has a very good vetting process in place for its candidates, despite the controversy that ultimately led to Taieri candidate Stephen Jack stepping down this week.

If your answer is Yes then congratulations! You have passed the pre-interview screening test. You may go immediately to your interview. Wear something nice.

You are now in the blokes-only section, which usually means the chance for some informal networking and speaking freely without some snowflake misinterpreting what you say. But in this questionnaire it just means a few more questions that we need you to tick the box on before your interview:

Question 2: How do you like your women?

If your answer was anything at all apart from Equal then return to Question 2 and keep answering it until you say the right thing. You may have unlimited attempts.

Question 3: Get up from your seat and go directly to the Mens bathroom. Look in the mirror and keep repeating The National Party takes climate change very seriously until you can do so without visibly smirking. Return to your seat and proceed to Question 4.

Question 4: At the beginning of todays pre-screening process you were issued with a National Party mobile phone. If you have managed to avoid texting send nudes or taking photographs of your genitals then proceed to Question 5. Otherwise, use the hand sanitiser provided, return the phone and leave the building immediately.

Question 5: If we looked on your Facebook page right now, would there be anything that could be embarrassing for you or us? (Examples might include, say, drawing comparisons between a New Zealand prime minister and one of historys most reviled and murderous dictators).

If your answer is Yes then delete your social media post and feel free to reapply for candidate selection in the next round.

Alden Williams/Stuff

Andrew Gunn: You are now in the blokes-only section, which usually means the chance for some informal networking and speaking freely without some snowflake misinterpreting what you say.

If your answer is No do you pinky-promise that you are telling the truth? The selection committee are technologically-challenged and do not understand how to use The Google, so were relying on you.

If you do so pinky-promise, then congratulations! You seem just the sort of chap were after. Hand in this form and go to the next room where youll be fitted with the standard dark blue suit-jacket and trou, and regulation tie-less white shirt. And good luck in the interview - not that youll need it! Wink wink!

Read more:

'Dear would-be candidate, do you pinky-promise that you are telling ... - Stuff

Oscar Sims has been selected as Labour candidate for Auckland Central. A software developer and urban housing activist, he was chosen today ahead of sitting Auckland-based list MP Naisi Chen to run in the high-profile seat. In a contest that three parties can claim a shot at winning, he will take on the incumbent Green MP Chle Swarbrick and the National candidate, Mahesh Muralidhar, who runs a venture capital fund.

In a statement, Sims said: Ill work hard to win the seat and give local people a strong voice inside Chris Hipkins government. Auckland Central is a youthful, diverse electorate and I want to make sure all of our communities have their voices heard in parliament.

He added: As someone who has been a strong advocate for community housing, I know that Labours record of building more public housing, making it easier to consent new dwellings and building more infrastructure is making a real difference As a young person, I know that more affordable housing, better wages and better public transport will make a difference for local people, help bring down carbon emissions and make Auckland Central an even more vibrant place to live, work and raise a family. I am driven by a belief in fairness and opportunity for every one who calls our city home, and Ill work hard every day of this campaign to earn the trust and support of local people.

In spite of the red wave that returned a historic Labour majority, Swarbrick won the seat in 2020, beating Labours Helen White by about 1,000 votes. White, who entered parliament on the list, won the Labour candidacy for Mt Albert, the seat formerly held by Jacinda Ardern, David Shearer and Helen Clark, in a contested selection last month.

Swarbrick, who was re-selected unopposed, is the Greens only electorate MP, and just the second to win an electorate after Jeanette Fitzsimons.

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Oscar Sims wins Labour candidacy for Auckland Central, seeks to ... - The Spinoff

Stuff

Inflation means the amount of money earned today wont go as far as it would have yesterday.

Rino Tirikatene is the Labour MP for Te Tai Tonga

OPINION: Inflation is, on the face of it, a problem thats easy to define.

Its a general increase in prices and a corresponding decrease in the value of money. That seems simple enough. But underneath that functional definition, stripped of any description of how inflation impacts people, is a wicked public policy problem.

For high income earners and the wealthy, the value of their savings diminishes. What the wealthy held yesterday is worth a little less today.

But more importantly for low- and middle-income earners inflation means the money you make today struggles to go as far as it did yesterday.

READ MORE:* Benefit increase will mean more money for emergencies, student says* 'Dumb' policy to extend petrol price cut benefits higher-earners: Economist* Fuel excise tax cut and half-price public transport extended, PM Chris Hipkins confirms

The cost of food, fuel, and utilities increases even as wages you earn may remain the same. This is where the burden of inflation falls or where its felt more sharply: among low and middle-income earners.

This is why Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is committing to a singular focus on the cost of living.

Governments can seem distant. Especially in Southland as far from Wellington and Auckland as you can get.

But inflation reinforces the importance of Government and good policy. The decisions the Prime Minister and Cabinet make today can impact your life tomorrow.

The decision to extend the fuel excise reduction to June means the Government is keeping a lid on the cost of gas. This means the money you earn goes further even as the cost of a barrel of oil continues to escalate.

Similarly, the decision to increase financial support for the 880,000 people collecting superannuation and the veterans pension, 354,000 working-age beneficiaries, 52,000 students collecting student allowance, and 74,000 people receiving supplementary assistance means that more than one in five New Zealanders are receiving cost of living support thanks to this Government.

MONIQUE FORD/Stuff

Rino Tirikatene, Labour MP for Te Tai Tonga, says both inflation and Government policies impact our everyday lives.

That bread-and-butter package, to borrow Prime Minister Chris Hipkins phrasing, means superannuitants living together receive an additional $102.84 per fortnight between them while single people living alone receive an extra $66.86.

Thats significant, and it demonstrates our commitment to supporting New Zealanders with the highest needs.

This is also why former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an extensive childcare subsidy in 2022. Inflation and the cost-of-living impact people across the age spectrum from the young to the elderly.

Bruce Mackay / STUFF

Reserve Bank deputy governor Christian Hawkesby discusses inflation in February.

The extent of Government support should and does reflect that from support for childcare to increasing student allowance. In this sense, then, the inflation and Government policy isnt just theoretical.

It impacts our everyday lives.

For Southlanders this might seem very Wellington. Inflation. Policy. What about the real world?

But these issues do result in real world impacts.

Increasing the student allowance means people from lower income families can study without the need to, say, work full-time. Increasing superannuation means people who are retired can afford to live decent, dignified lives without having to worry about, say, the next power bill (thanks to Jacinda Ardern, superannuitants also receive the Winter Energy Payment).

Keeping the fuel excise subsidy means getting to and from work, school, and travel is cheaper than it otherwise would be. These are the bread-and-butter issues that this Government is focused on.

Read the original post:

Inflation in the real world is a greater burden on middle and low ... - Stuff

Friday, 21 April 2023, 8:40 amOpinion: The Common Room

The governments disdain for democracy is a gift toNational and Act.

Last week, we watched the PrimeMinister rebrand the contentious Three Waters project with aname so banal it is surprising he didnt fall asleep whileannouncing it. Affordable Water Reform is, in essence,a Post-It note to stick on your computer while you struggleto come up with an arresting title. If you suggestedAffordable Water Reform to your colleagues in anadvertising agency theyd assume you werejoking.

Theres a lot that is risible in Laboursongoing attempts to find a Three Waters arrangement thenation might even grudgingly accept. The Water ServicesEntities Act was passed in December and within hours asecond bill that included extensive amendments to the firstwas introduced to Parliament. In fact, that bill is as longas the Act it seeks to amend. Now, the government willintroduce and pass further legislation to implement thechanges Hipkins announced last Thursday as well asassociated matters all before this yearselection.

At the press conference held inauspiciouslyin a car park in Greytown, Hipkins also attempted to amendhis own partys history. Apparently, everyone hasmisunderstood all along what co-governance actually means.The Regional Representative Groups which have nowmetastasised from four overarching strategic groups to 10 arent examples of co-governance after all, accordingto the Prime Minister. This despite the extremelyinconvenient fact that he, and Labours most influentialministers including Nanaia Mahuta, Kieran McAnulty,Grant Robertson and the recently departed Jacinda Ardern have repeatedly referred to the RRGs, with their 50:50 splitof mana whenua and council representatives, as examples ofco-governance.

Inevitably, this bid to magic awayco-governance has resulted in a glorious muddle, with aNewshub headline declaring Hipkins rejects [that the] newwater reforms include co-governance while 1News announcedThree Waters reset: McAnulty explains why co-governancestays.

The Prime Minister and McAnulty faced themedia together in the car park. Hipkins promoted him fromAssociate Minister to Minister of Local Government in lateJanuary because it was clear that Nanaia Mahutas handlingof Three Waters had become electorally toxic. She retainedher portfolio of Foreign Affairs, however, and, despite herwell-known aversion to travel, has barely been seen since.It appears the minister has suddenly developed a taste forlong flights, high-level meetings and foreign hotels.Rumours that she has been locked in the basement of theBeehive until after the election are entirelymischievous.

McAnulty has shone brightly in comparisonwith his predecessor not least because he actuallyanswers questions rather than answering a question thathadnt been asked, which Mahuta had turned into an artform.

Lean and wiry as a whippet, McAnulty staresunwaveringly ahead while speaking without moving his lipsany more than is strictly necessary. You get the impressionhes happy to be seen as a hard man. Certainly, hiscultivated persona of a cross between good keen man BarryCrump and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor lends itselfto the perception of him being capable of tough in-fighting,which wont do him any harm. No doubt he will be hopingagainst hope that most voters wont see him and the PrimeMinister as having slavishly kowtowed to the demands of theMori caucus.

That hope would have been moreplausible if Waikato-Tainui grandee Tuku Morgan had managedto contain his effervescent glee and had not immediatelyperformed a victory dance for media, declaring he wasover the moon and that iwi were euphoric withthe changes to Three Waters.

Morgan was happy to boastthat when he and other iwi representatives had met ministersKieran McAnulty, Willie Jackson, Kiritapu Allan and KelvinDavis a week earlier and presented their immovable demands,they had been warmly received. Their three bottom linesconcerned Partnership Boards; the preservation ofEntity A incorporating Auckland and Northland; and thestatus of Te Mana o te Wai statements. All these demandswere met.

Morgan crowed: Those are the three pointswe debated with the ministers and we got what we wanted. Iam very, very happy.

Acts David Seymourcharacterised the situation as Mori caucus 1; Hipkins0. He said: Co-government remains part of Three Watersbecause the Prime Minister was either too scared to staredown the powerful Mori caucus, or he did and helost.

This shows how powerful the Mori caucus isand that Chris Hipkins has no control over them. If Hipkinshad control over of them, he would have at least dropped theunpopular and divisive co-government element of ThreeWaters. Instead, Mori MPs are riding roughshod overhim.

If this view becomes widespread, it will bedisastrous for Labour. After Hipkins sent Mahuta tumblingdown the Cabinet rankings from No 8 to 16 in late January,his apparent willingness to keep the Mori caucus on a muchtighter rein than Jacinda Ardern ever managed was animportant factor in his surge in popularity. And after hisannouncement there would be imminent changes to the ThreeWaters programme, many had high hopes he would dealdecisively with the most controversial aspects of ThreeWaters, particularly co-governance. Those hopes have beenshattered.

A perceived victory by the Mori caucuswill have ramifications far beyond the popularity of ThreeWaters (to use its dead-name, as most will). It will signalto voters that if the Labour Party is re-elected withHipkins at the helm of a coalition it will continue to giveway at every turn to the Mori nationalists not only inits own caucus but also in the Greens and Te Pti Mori(if either or both make it back into Parliament).

JohnTamihere a former co-leader of Te Pti Mori and nowits president did nothing to allay such fears when hetold Newshub Nation in the weekend that the debate aroundco-governance was simply misguided. The right to theasset called water is still a customary entitlement to allMori, he said. Mori rightly say, How do we getco-governance when we own 100 per cent of it? The realissue is how do the Pkehs get into the room [viaco-governance]? Evidently, for Te Pti Mori,co-governance is simply a way station towards full controlof water at every level.

And any lingering hopes thatLabour might defend democracy disappeared when McAnulty wasinterviewed by Jack Tame on Q&A on Sunday. Asked whetherhe agreed that the RRGs, with their equal numbers of iwi andcouncil representatives, are not strictly a one-person,one-vote model, McAnulty said firmly, Yes. In hismind, democracy with equal suffrage seems to be an academicconcept that is incompatible with honouring theTreaty.

Voters, of course, have never been asked toapprove such a profound constitutional shift. Yet it isclear that we now have democracy with New Zealandcharacteristics sanctioned at the highest levels ofgovernment.

All this opens a clear path for Nationaland Act to legitimately damn any prospective Labour / Greens/ Te Pti Mori coalition as the sworn enemies ofdemocracy at least of the traditional one person, onevote of equal value kind that New Zealanders havecherished since suffrage was extended to women in 1893.Its obvious now that a win for any combination of thethree main parties of the left will further embed themechanisms and policies of an ethno-state.

AlthoughMcAnulty told Newsrooms Jenna Lynch that while hedidnt think Three Waters would be an election issue, healso said voters have a clear choice at this election.Nationals proposed water management model, he said,doesnt have mana whenua representation; our onedoes. A general election is rarely fought on a singleissue but this is so important to the nations future itwill undoubtedly be pivotal.

One consequence ofHipkins and McAnultys clumsy attempts to diminish theimportance of co-governance in Three Waters is that itinvites a focus on the power and scope of Te Mana o te Waistatements. These are edicts that only iwi and hap canissue and as Mahuta and the Department of InternalAffairs have affirmed the Water Services Entities areobliged to give effect to them. They give Moriuntrammelled power over freshwater and coastal andgeothermal water. Although many believe the statements onlyrelate to the purity and health of water, that is far fromthe truth.

Anything an iwi or hap thinks is relevantto Mori wellbeing whether in employment opportunities,investment or spiritual matters can be the subject of aTe Mana o te Wai statement. In fact, the last category mayeven include accommodating the presence of a taniwha. WhenAct MP Simon Court asked Mahuta last October: Arespiritual beliefs such as the existence of a taniwha ona bend in the river permissible subject matter for TeMana o te Wai statements?, she did not deny thatpossibility.

Former mayor of Kaipara Dr Jason Smith,who was appointed to Mahutas Working Group on ThreeWaters in late 2021 and has been a consistent critic of thestatements undemocratic nature, responded to Hipkinsand McAnultys announcement last week by drawing attentiononce again to their role.

Describing the edicts asthe very core, the citadel at the heart of the ThreeWaters programme, he wrote: Te Mana o te Waistatements are in a league of their own within the ThreeWaters reforms, far removed from the already-controversialco-governance arrangements, or entity size andshape....

Te Mana o Te Wai statements arelegislated to cover every square centimetre of all the land,including under every home, farm or place of business aswell as many kilometres out to sea. Simple and powerful,whatever these statements contain must be put into effect,no questions asked. The problem is only some parts ofsociety are allowed to write them, though they affect usall. There is no co-governance in the simple truth thatMori only may write Te Mana o te Wai statements. There isnothing co- about this, its a different type ofconstitutional arrangement from anything weve seenbefore.

Dr Smith predicted the undemocratic anddivisive nature of the statements sets up everyone forcivil unrest in the future.

Given that thestatements have been almost entirely ignored by mainstreamjournalists, it was surprising that Hipkins felt the need tomention them in last weeks announcement. Discussingco-governance, the Prime Minister said: There is also anability for Te Mana o te Wai statements [to be issued byiwi]. And weve introduced an equivalent for othersignificant interested parties in water use to also have asay in that.

The operating principles of the WaterServices Entities, which manage day-to-day operations on theground, already include engaging with the communities theyserve but they are under no obligation to act on theirrecommendations.

Tuku Morgan made it clear, however,that no matter what legislative amendments are introduced,Te Mana o te Wai statements will lose none of their force.He told the NZ Herald: Even though theres a provisionfor communities to have a priority status, it will not inany way shape or form, overshadow, minimise, or compromisethe standing of Te Mana o te Wai statements being providedby iwi and hap.

The fact Hipkins referred to TeMana o te Wai statements, albeit briefly, means news hasreached his ears that they are an issue that needsaddressing publicly. But hell have to do a lot betterthan glossing over them or offering a sop to the 84 percent of the population excluded from issuing them if hehopes to placate the growing number of voters who are awareof their scope and deeply undemocratic nature.

Labourstrategists should be very worried. Co-governance is alreadyelectoral dynamite but Te Mana o te Wai statements arethermonuclear devices in comparison.

For more articlesand videos go commonroomnz.com.

TheCommon Room - GrahamAdams

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Labour's Three Waters Refresh Is A Tragi-comedy | Scoop News - Scoop

Jacinda Ardern gives her farewell speech in parliament in Wellington on April 5. Mark Coote/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Jacinda Ardern gives her farewell speech in parliament in Wellington on April 5.

Welcome to the NPR series where we spotlight the people and things making headlines and the stories behind them.

In a rousing and, at times, personal farewell speech this week in parliament, Jacinda Ardern touched on family, politics and one of the very few things she will ask of her colleagues as she departs.

Who is she? The former prime minister of New Zealand.

Jacinda Ardern's final speech to New Zealand's parliament.

What's the big deal?

Ardern hugs a mosque-goer at the Kilbirnie Mosque on March 17, 2019 in Wellington, days after the attacks. Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images hide caption

What is she saying? In her final speech this week, Ardern spoke of both her personal and political ambitions and achievements.

On describing herself as a "worrier":

Some might say the worst possible character trait to have as a politician, or the best depending on how you cut it.

I've always believed this to be a place where you can make a difference. I leave knowing that to be true ... And not only can you be here, you can lead just like me.

On climate change:

Climate change is a crisis. It is upon us. And so one of the very few things I will ask of this House on my departure is that you please take the politics out of climate change.

On her personal life:

I had not long experienced a failed IVF round when I became leader of the Labour Party. I thought that I had found myself on a path that meant I wouldn't be a mother. Rather than process that, I campaigned to become prime minister, a rather good distraction as far as they go. Imagine my surprise when a couple of months later I discovered I was pregnant.

So, what now?

Learn more:

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New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern takes on a new role after leaving ... - NPR