NBR Rich List, Fieldays, climate challenge and Orr's resignation
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was almost euphoric about the List, saying it was fantastic the country had people with ambition, aspiration, and positivity and that we should all celebrate success.
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The Spinoff
an hour ago
- The Spinoff
The motley crew of contenders trying to take down Auckland mayor Wayne Brown
A list containing Wayne Brown and the people who will almost certainly lose to Wayne Brown. There are 12 people running for the Auckland mayoralty, though running might be a strong term. The incumbent, Wayne Brown, has barely broken into a light canter as he sets course for re-election. It's not just a coronation though. At least some of his rivals are putting up a fight, with at least one of them promising to emulate Elon Musk and turn what he calls his 'great mind' to fixing Auckland's problems. John Alcock When John Alcock ran in the Pakuranga electorate in the 2023 general election, it was on a platform of reclaiming 'New Zealand from ideological extremism'. Though that phrase is usually the hallmark of a candidate who possesses moderate and politically mainstream views, Alcock appears to have some out-there ideas, including decentralising our financial and governmental systems and crafting a future 'where empowered individuals build resilient communities'. Alcock was once a board member for the Act Party and is now highly interested in cryptocurrencies. Wayne Brown Remember when mayor Wayne Brown failed to publicly declare a state of emergency until nearly 10.30pm on the night of the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods? Remember how, in the criticism that followed, he grumped that it wasn't his job to ' rush out with buckets '. Remember how, worst of all, he referred to the universally delightful people of the media as ' drongos '? If you'd told Aucklanders then that in just a few short years' time, Brown would be paddleboarding to almost certain re-election atop an unstoppable wave of mildly favourable voter sentiment, they would have spat a mouthful of brown floodwater straight into your face. Sorry to those stuck in a 2023 time prison, but that's what's happening. Brown has engineered one of the most remarkable redemption arcs in local politics history, going from being perceived as a godawful angry old boomer to a lovable angry old boomer. He's done it through playing against type and learning the art of political compromise. For all his self-aggrandising Mr Fix It branding, Brown's shown a surprising ability to take new ideas on board. He's elevated people from outside his natural circle of allies, demoted naysaying local government lifers, talked up intensification around train stations and busways, and spruiked for cheap mass transit options. Brown still texts the chief executive of AT when he sees a rogue road cone. He remains offensive, in ways that are sometimes funny, and sometimes not. But ask most Aucklanders what they think of him, and they'll say he's grown on them. The man with one of politics' most polarising personalities is somehow one of its most unifying figures. Brown's re-election odds are so good, he seems to have eschewed campaigning to focus all his efforts on getting rid of the councillors he doesn't like. He'll likely win, provided no floods hit between now and October. Eric Chuah Dr Eric Chuah once worked as a strategist for United Future's Peter Dunne, which should stand him in good stead for securing a sliver of the vote in an election race dominated by more popular and well-known rivals. Chuah's promises are nonspecific on minor issues such as minimising rates, reducing unnecessary council spending, and ensuring safer policing. However he gets into granular detail on how to fix dog walking, proposing a timeshare scheme where dog owners would be allowed to walk their dogs between 3 and 5pm, and the rest of the public are permitted to go outside without being mauled by an aggressive labradoodle outside those hours. Michael Coote Michael Coote appears to be a finance professional. He stood for mayor and Waitakere ward councillor in the 2022 local elections, where he distinguished himself by failing to give any detail to and appearing in several lists of people who are also standing for mayor at the bottom of coverage on other candidates. Coote didn't respond to an email from The Spinoff. Ted Johnston Johnston is perhaps best known for his handpainted 2019 local election hoardings, which gave people the distinct impression that if they didn't vote for him, he would murder them with an axe. Obviously the implied threats paid off, because soon after, Johnston became a leader in the New Conservative Party. He was stood down from that gig by the party board in 2023, and is back to his first political love: running strident, ultimately doomed independent campaigns to become Auckland's mayor. Johnston has more than 30 years of experience as a criminal barrister. Kerrin Leoni Kerrin Leoni appears to be the only high-profile candidate actively campaigning for the mayoralty right now. The Whau ward councillor was the sole respondent when Auckland university's debating society invited three candidates to a debate last month. She's put up hoardings touting her experience as an 'economist and business owner'. She's taking what chances she can to talk down Brown in the media. Though her chances remain relatively slim, Leoni remains the mayor's most credible rival in the race. Her policy priorities include building more affordable housing and prioritising investment in public transport, walking and cycling. Rob McNeil Rob McNeil is the executive president of the Animal Justice Party. He could fill a similar nature-focused political niche to Michael Morris, who campaigned to replace concrete in the city centre with greenery and confine development to places with 'little or no biodiversity' while running for the Auckland mayoralty under the Animal Justice Auckland banner in 2022. Ryan Pausina According to his 2022 candidate blurb, Ryan Pausina's local political awakening came after a friend encouraged him to run for mayor of Coromandel. He quickly realised he would fix everything there within five months and decided to turn his talents to a more substantial challenge. Anything other than running the nation's biggest city would be, as per the blurb, a waste of his talents. 'It has been said that Elon Musk realised at one point in his life that other people don't think like he does,' the text concludes. 'People with a great mind should use it.' The blurb doesn't contain any advice for what people should do if they're blessed with the gift of great humility. Jason Pieterse Jason Pieterse did not respond to an email from The Spinoff asking who he is and why he's standing for mayor of Auckland. A person with that name does appear to have offered support to the New Zealand rugby team 'The All Blacks' in a Facebook comment from a year ago. Simon Stam A man named Simon Stam ran in Round The Bays in 2014, achieving a time of 48 minutes and 18 seconds, at a pace of nine minutes and 39 seconds per kilometre. Peter Wakeman Wikipedia describes Peter Wakeman as a 'perennial candidate', and he does appear to have stood in a remarkable number of political races around the country over the last few decades. In 2013, Wakeman rushed the stage during the launch of Lianne Dalziel's campaign to become Christchurch's mayor. Though he had to be restrained, his actions were credited with breathing new life into the race. Denise Widdison Facebook lists two Denise Widdisons in Auckland. One regularly offers free stuff to Te Atatu residents, including toys and, most notably, a full box of lemons. Another is a self-employed former student of Auckland Girls Grammar. Which one is standing for mayor? You decide.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Government accused of 'fence-sitting' on Palestinian statehood
Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone An academic is accusing the coalition of sitting on the fence during the Gaza conflict so they don't upset the United States. New Zealand has fallen out of step with Australia, Canada, France and the UK in its positioning on Palestinian statehood. Australia confirmed it would make the formal recognition at next month's UN General Assembly on Monday afternoon. Minutes beforehand, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters put out a statement saying he had raised the issue in Cabinet . "Cabinet will take a formal decision in September over whether New Zealand should recognise a state of Palestine at this juncture - and if so, when and how," his statement said. Fronting questions in his post-Cabinet media conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon would not elaborate on what factors Cabinet was considering, what his colleagues views were, what his view was or what the decision-making process would look like, other than "ongoing conversations" among Cabinet members. Auckland University law professor Treasa Dunworth said the statements put out by countries like Australia weren't without their problems. "It's conditional on Hamas not being part of the post war governance structures in Palestine but the whole idea of state recognition is that the state gets to choose. That's what self determination is," Dunworth said. However, Dunworth said "the time for action was some time ago" and New Zealand had fallen behind many other countries in its position on Palestinian statehood. "I don't accept that they haven't been thinking about this because that's just not credible. They do know and therefore they're fence-sitting because they're not entirely sure which way the wind is blowing," Dunworth said. "We have to raise questions about whether this is all about our diplomatic relationship with the United States and looming above that is the question of the tariffs being imposed by Donald Trump. "If they want to sell New Zealand out on the basis of trade advantage or disadvantage then so be it, at least say that honestly, rather than hiding behind, 'oh it's complicated'." Luxon has denied the coalition's position has anything to do with the United States, reiterating New Zealand has an independent foreign policy. "We'll make our own decisions that are right for New Zealand and consistent with our values," he told reporters on Monday. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said a move to recognise Palestinian statehood was well overdue. "What's really concerning is that New Zealand doesn't appear to have a coherent position on Palestine, doesn't seem to be able to articulate why we're not recognising Palestine as a state or what the criteria might be for us to recognise Palestine as a state," Hipkins said. "It's well and truly time for the government to put this issue to bed. Recognise Palestine. It's the right thing to do." Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick - who's put forward a members bill to sanction Israel - said the whole situation was baffling. "It's just honestly mind-blowing. This government for the better part of two years has said that is is doing everything it can while it sits on its hands. Palestinians can't eat empty statements." RNZ asked voters hurrying home in the wintry weather on Monday night what they thought the government's position should be. "If they're considering it they've probably got their reasons for and against," one Wellington woman said. "It's a very complicated situation," another woman said. "I really don't know. In a way it's none of our business, in another way it's a humanitarian crisis," a Wellington man said. "The least we should be doing is recognising a Palestinian state," another Wellington man said. "There's people starving there, there's people dying there every day. It's stupid not to recognise Palestine," an Auckland woman said. "I think it's the only pathway to peace really... the sooner the better," an Auckland man said. Peters will travel to New York in late September to represent New Zealand at the UN General Assembly. Asked if the public would know Cabinet's decision on recognising a Palestinian state before Peters heads to the US, Luxon said he suspected so. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Here's what was in Winston Peters' letter to UN Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights
Winston Peters sent the letter in his capacity as Foreign Minister. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Foreign Minister Winston Peters' response to a UN official raising concerns about the government's approach is far milder than the one initially sent by ACT leader David Seymour. Seymour was rebuked by Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon after writing back to the Geneva-based UN Rapporteur on Indigenous Rights Dr Albert K Barume, who raised concerns about the Regulatory Standards Bill. His letter, in his capacity as Regulations Minister, said Barume's views on the government's agenda were wrong and an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty, and Barume's letter itself was "presumptive, condescending and wholly misplaced". Peters and Luxon at the time said the Foreign Minister - who the letter was addressed to - was the appropriate person to send New Zealand's official response. While Luxon said he "fully agreed" with the contents of Seymour's message, Peters rejected Seymour's suggestion his official response would "make the same points". That official response , published on Monday night with a handful of redactions by the UN, said New Zealand "deeply regret this breakdown in protocol and appreciate the opportunity to put the record straight". It said the Regulatory Standards Bill was "a result of a Coalition Agreement between two of the three political parties that currently comprise the New Zealand Government", and was "intended to reduce the amount of unnecessary and poor-quality legislation". David Seymour was rebuked by Peters and Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The letter also pointed out the bill was being considered by a select committee. "As a mature democracy, New Zealand has well established systems for developing legislation in a way that takes account of a wide range of interests." It said New Zealand "honours the undertakings that the Crown has made through past Treaty of Waitangi settlements and continues to address historical Treaty grievance claims", pointing to 101 such claims having been signed by iwi, hapū and the Crown. An appendix to the letter also provided further information about "relevant constitutional provisions", pointing out that "all legislative proposals that are submitted to the New Zealand Cabinet must consider the human rights and Treaty of Waitangi implications of the proposal". A second appendix on the Regulatory Standards Bill set out the bill's purpose, and how it aimed to achieve that - providing a straightforward explanation of how the bill would work, with links to public consultation and other publicly available information, noting it would not constrain Parliament's ability to make laws. It also noted "nothing in the bill will prevent any additional principles from being considered in the process of lawmaking, or in the review of existing law", and stated the absence of the Treaty of Waitangi from the bill "reflects a decision to focus on a discrete set of goals, including promoting the accountability of the Executive to Parliament". RNZ has sought comment from David Seymour.
