People's Select Committee starts pay equity hearings
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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Shane Te Pou: 6 ways Christopher Luxon can save his Prime Ministership
Luxon spent enough time in corporate management to know that a CEO delivering numbers like that is in danger of getting the chop. He also likes to boast of his credentials in doing 'turnaround jobs'. Well, he needs one now. So, how can Luxon get his Prime Ministership 'back on track'? It's the economy, stupid New Zealand's economy isn't just bad – it's one of the worst in the developed world. We had a deep recession last year; other countries did not. And we're looking at round two. Partly, that's due to the Government suddenly cancelling, delaying or scaling back a bunch of infrastructure work, which contributed to the large loss of construction jobs. Partially, it's soaring energy prices killing our manufacturing sector. You can launch all the policies with energetic names like Investment Boost and Going for Growth you like; it doesn't matter if none of them move the needle. You spend your time trying to blame Labour for spending during a pandemic, while borrowing even more yourself for tax cuts; it doesn't create a single job. You can't spin away a crisis. It's time to take this seriously. Increase government investment and fix the energy shortage. Talk to us like adults You can practically hear the groans across the suburbs each Monday morning as Luxon whines 'well, what I would just say to you is' before repeating the same old talking points on his weekly media round. You're not trying to sell us soap, Mr Luxon. Show us you have a brain and treat us like we have brains, too. Give us genuine, considered thoughts and answers on the issues facing New Zealand. Is Christopher Luxon looking likely to be the first National Prime Minister to last only one term? Photo / Mark Mitchell Have a heart Before the National Party conference, party president Sylvia Wood said the problem is voters aren't seeing Luxon's 'humanity'. I agree. It's hard to see the humanity when he labels poor New Zealanders as 'bottom-feeders', scraps the pay equity process for 180,000 low-income workers and restricts access to emergency housing. If he is a humane guy, it's time to show it. As a Christian, Luxon must know Matthew 7:16: 'By their deeds you will know them.' Spend more time at home When Luxon said he was going to be a Prime Minister who didn't spend a lot of time inside the Wellington beltway, I don't think many of us realised just how far away he planned to be. I'm a man who likes to travel, but Luxon is taking it too far. At least one overseas trip a month, often on some pretty thin premises (what was he doing in Papua New Guinea the other week?) and with very little to show for it in diplomatic outcomes. Spend less time in the Koru Club and more time at the desk. Don't be afraid to change direction No one could accuse Luxon and his ministers of lacking self-confidence. They've ripped up ferry contracts, water reforms, light rail plans, the state house building programme, the RMA Act, the NCEA and more – all with the blithe assumption that they'll come up with something better. It's not exactly working out great, eh? Maybe it's time to revisit some of those impulsive decisions. Maybe it wasn't a great idea to borrow $14 billion for tax cuts and increase the Government's debt. Maybe, it's time to have the humility to adopt some of the Opposition's ideas, rather than reflexively scoffing at them. Pull the minor parties into line Luxon failed from the start to exert any authority over Act and New Zealand First's ministers. Casey Costello's dealings with tobacco companies should've seen her sacked. Karen Chhour's bootcamps disgrace would normally see the portfolio taken off her. Luxon's done nothing. Yeah, Winston Peters and David Seymour can threaten to pull down the Government if Luxon disciplines their ministers. But would they? It would cost them more than him. Have some guts – look them in the eye and see who blinks first. All is not lost for Luxon. But he's looking more and more likely to be the first National PM to last only one term, or less, unless he changes his ways.
Scoop
9 hours ago
- Scoop
Minister To Visit Saudi Arabia & United States For Trade Talks
Agriculture, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Saudi Arabia and then to the United States (US) next week to meet with his trade and agriculture counterparts. In Riyadh, Mr McClay will meet with Minister of Commerce, HE Dr Majid bin Abdullah Al-Kassabi, and Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, HE Eng Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, to advance bilateral trade and investment opportunities, including in food and agritech cooperation. The visit will also be an opportunity discuss how best to leverage the New Zealand-Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement, for which negotiations concluded last year. Mr McClay will then travel on to Washington D.C. at the invitation of United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer. He will also meet with U.S. industry representatives, think tanks, and his agriculture counterpart, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. 'Following the United States' 1 August decision to apply a 15 per cent, or more, tariff to ever country with a trade surplus, this visit will be an opportunity to discuss the impact of that decision and better understand the factors that may influence future U.S. tariffs,' Mr McClay says. 'New Zealand and the United States have a long-standing, well-balanced trading relationship, with periods where the US has enjoyed a surplus and times, like now, when New Zealand has a modest one. Overall, our trade is complementary and reflects the strength of a long-standing partnership. 'I will be seeking to understand the effect of any change in trade flows for example, if New Zealand's current surplus shifted to a deficit, and what that might mean for our exporters,' Mr McClay says. 'The US currently faces an average tariff of just 0.3 per cent when exporting to New Zealand, far lower than what we face into their market. 'It's important that we raise these concerns constructively, while reaffirming our commitment to the strong, cooperative relationship we have with the United States,' Mr McClay says. Meetings in Washington will cover wider bilateral trade, investment and agricultural priorities.
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
Protesters confront Resources Minister Shane Jones in Whangārei over fast-track projects
The protesters confront Resources Minister Shane Jones. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Up to 100 protesters have confronted Resources Minister Shane Jones in Whangārei in a show of opposition to two fast-track projects they say will cause long-term harm to the environment. The at times raucous protest took place in driving rain on Saturday afternoon, as party faithful were arriving for a New Zealand First meeting at McKay Stadium. Some protesters had travelled from the Bay of Islands to oppose a planned 250-berth marina at isolated Waipiro Bay, near Russell; while others came from Bream Bay to highlight their concerns about a large-scale, offshore sand-mining proposal. Both projects are currently making their way through the government's fast-tracked consenting process. Four-year-old Tahuhu-nui-o-rangi Wakefield-Bigelow at the protest. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf The Waipiro Bay Marina, if it goes ahead, will involve significant dredging and reclamation, loss of public access, and the construction of up to 250 berths - including 14 for 50-metre superyachts - as well as shops, parking and a boat ramp. Kohu Hakaraia, of Te Rāwhiti hapū Ngāti Kuta and Patukeha, said the fast-track process silenced community voices. "We're deeply concerned that nine hectares or more will be gifted to a private developer for their own profit," she said. "This has been a kai gathering spot for our whānau for generations. Our rangatira Te Wharerahi lived on the pā there. It's got a lot of cultural and environmental significance for our whole community, Māori and Pākehā." Protesters voice their feelings over two controversial fast-track projects. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Hakaraia said the fast-track system was unfair because developers had money to commission reports and hire any number of experts. All the hapū could do, with limited funds, was try to rebut their claims. "We're really marginalised and disadvantaged because we don't have the same resources as they do. It's David and Goliath," she said. Jones was unapologetic when he came out to address the protesters. He told the crowd his bottom line was that he was pro industry, and pro economic growth. Resources Minister Shane Jones addresses the protesters. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf "Politics is a contest of ideas and I accept the ideas you represent are not consistent with what I stand for, but that's what democracy is about. You have the right to protest, and I have the right to run my narrative on behalf of my leader and the party we belong we to," he said, his voice drowned out at times by chants of "Shame on Shane". If a project was rejected under the fast-track process, it should be for reasons of science, Jones said. "Let it not be on hyperbole or hysteria. Let it be on studies to do with the ocean, while also taking account of economic development. Trust in the process that's been set up. That's not unreasonable to ask," he said. Meanwhile, Bream Bay Guardians spokesman Malcolm Morrison said his community was deeply concerned by McCallum Brothers' proposal to mine roughly 9 million cubic metres of sand over 35 years. "The problems with sand mining in Bream Bay is that it's a closed sand system. Once you've taken sand out, it's not replaced by sand from the ocean, its just gone. And once that happens the beaches will start degrading." Morrison said the process of "sucking up sand with a giant vacuum cleaner" would kill or maim vast numbers of scallops. Bream Bay Guardians spokesman Malcolm Morrison of Langs Beach. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf He was hoping Jones would cancel the project's fast-track process before it even reached the expert panel stage. If that didn't happen, the group had a fighting fund ready, he said. "We will be fighting tooth and nail with our experts against anything that anyone else puts up ... and it that fails we'll be monitoring them until they want to go home." Jay Howell, who lived near the proposed Waipiro Bay development, said both Russell Boating Club and Opua Cruising Club were strongly opposed. While jobs were badly needed in Northland, the marina would not provide substantial numbers of jobs as claimed by the developers, Azuma Property and Hopper Developments, or by Minister Chris Bishop, he said. Protesters against the Waipiro Bay Marina proposal march on Western Hills Drive in Whangārei. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf "The fast-track process takes away Northland's voice to determine how Northland should be developed, and we do need development. We just need sensible development that the community is involved in. This is being imposed on us and it's being developed for the wealthy." The number of jobs cited in the marina's fast-track application had been "grossly over-exaggerated" by adding long-term jobs and short-term construction roles together, and claiming the total was valid for a 30-year period, Howell said. Kororāreka Marae chairwoman Deb Rewiri. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf Kororāreka Marae chairwoman Deb Rewiri, of Russell, said her concern was with the process. "It doesn't actually give an opportunity for whānau, hapū and iwi in that whole consultation process. It's not okay, not in a democracy," she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
