UN letter: PM firm with ministers on who should be sending responses
Appearing at his post-Cabinet media conference on Monday, Luxon was pressed on RNZ's revelations that
Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith had been consulted
before David Seymour issued a forthright reply to the UN in July.
"I'm not going to get into that," Luxon told RNZ. "We've canvassed that before."
Luxon reiterated his "very clear position" that Winston Peters, as foreign minister, was responsible for coordinating all responses to the UN.
Asked what it said about his Cabinet that multiple ministers appeared to misunderstand that process, Luxon was blunt.
"It's pretty clear to them now," he said. "I've made it pretty clear."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
However, new correspondence - as reported by RNZ on Saturday - show Seymour's staff stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's preferred approach was actually for a joint reply from "relevant ministers" Seymour, Goldsmith and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka.
The controversy stems from a June letter from UN special rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples Albert K Barume, who flagged concerns that Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill excluded Māori traditions and failed to uphold Treaty of Waitangi principles.
Seymour, writing as regulations minister, fired back a response in early July, describing the critique as "presumptive, condescending and wholly misplaced" and "an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty".
That letter was later withdrawn and both
Luxon
and
Peters
publicly rebuked Seymour for bypassing proper process.
Peters eventually
sent a government-wide response in August
, striking a softer tone and expressing regret for the "breakdown in protocol".
On Saturday, RNZ revealed new documents, obtained under the Official Information Act, which showed Seymour had run his draft past Goldsmith beforehand and been told his colleague was "happy for us to send it".
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NZ Herald
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Inside the drop in serious youth offenders, and where numbers remain stubbornly high
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Graphic / DPMC Several other indicators reinforce this downward trend: First-time entries into the cohort of serious and persistent young offenders fell to 43 in January 2025, the lowest monthly number for two years, and down from 94 first-time entries for July 2023. A 16% drop in the annual number of serious and persistent young offenders heading to court. A 6% drop in police proceedings against children and young people for the year to January 2025, compared to the previous year. There have also been drops across all age groups, though the biggest reductions have been among those aged between 14 and 17: A 16% drop in the number of 14 to 16-year-old serious offenders. A 21% drop in the number of 17-year-old serious offenders. A 9% drop in the number of 10 to 13-year-old serious offenders. 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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Is Auckland really the 'City of Fails', or does it just have a cashflow problem?
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
How Jacinda Ardern's ‘groundbreaking' climate law has become ‘a shell'
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The main function was to set legally binding long-term targets, intended to align with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The Act committed Aotearoa to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions (excluding biogenic methane) by 2050, and to cutting biogenic methane from livestock and waste by 24-47 percent by 2050, with an interim target of 10 percent by 2030. Then-climate minister James Shaw and former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the passing of the Zero Carbon Act in 2019. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas To ensure progress, the Act also introduced a system of five-yearly emissions budgets, which cap total emissions across the economy. These budgets are not sector-specific but are supported by Emissions Reduction Plans (ERPs), which outline how the government intends to meet them through policies and funding across energy, transport, agriculture, and industry. This was meant to "anchor climate ambition in legislation", making a stable framework that would survive election cycles. The rest of the climate policies - from transport subsidies to decarbonisation incentives - were meant to fill out its bones. The following sections show what remains of that original body of work, what has been stripped away, and what has replaced it. NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): The ETS is the main market tool used to reduce emissions. The Labour government aimed to adjust its settings to balance direct emissions cuts and offsets like forestry. The coalition government instead wants to restore confidence by ending vintaging, treating forestry NZUs (New Zealand Units) equally, and reducing the number of credits available. Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions: The centre is a core component of the Luxon government's climate change response and one of the only major policies to continue from the Labour government. It houses both the national agriculture emissions research centre and a public/private partnership named AgriZeroNZ, designed to accelerate the development and uptake of emissions-reduction tools, practices, and technologies on farms. Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure: Labour's prior commitment to improving electric vehicle charging infrastructure across New Zealand continues, although the coalition government shifted from using grants to using concessionary loans, and light EVs began paying Road User Charges (RUCs) from April 2024. The government's target is 10,000 public EV charging points by 2030, however there are currently under 1400 in commission. Improved insulation standards: Efforts to improve insulation standards for new buildings, aiming for significantly reduced energy requirements for heating, remain ongoing despite initial plans to roll them back. Grant scheme for clean heavy vehicles: The Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund aims to encourage businesses to adopt cleaner heavy vehicles, including trucks, heavy vans, and non-public transport buses. The fund received new funding in 2024. Cheaper public transport: Half-price public transport for under 25s and free transport for kids ended last year, but the discount remains in place for community service card holders. Regulated product stewardship for refrigerants: A mandatory product stewardship scheme for refrigerants, initially investigated under ERP1, is coming into effect from 2025. Sustainable aviation fuels partnership: Collaboration with Air New Zealand on sustainable aviation fuels remains ongoing. Coal boiler phase-outs : The government's commitment to replace all remaining coal boilers in schools by 2025 remains in place, alongside the broader ban on new low- and medium-temperature coal boilers and the phase-out of existing ones by 2037. Develop a Māori climate strategy: This initiative is intended to elevate te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori within the overall climate response. Despite a funding cut, this initiative remains ongoing. Half-price public transport for under 25s and free transport for kids ended last year, but discounts remain for community service card holders. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro Many distinct policies and the overall framing of the Ardern era's emissions reductions plan (ERP1) have been altered, put on hold, or had funding cut by the current government. These include: Agricultural emissions pricing: ERP1 envisioned an emissions pricing mechanism for agriculture by 1 January 2025. The current government has delayed this to no later than 2030 and committed to keeping agriculture out of the NZ ETS. This is a fundamental change from the previous government's approach under the He Waka Eke Noa model. Climate Emergency Response Fund (CERF): The ERP1 established the CERF, which ring-fenced revenue from the ETS for climate initiatives, with an initial payment of NZ$4.5 billion. The current government ended the CERF in May 2024, meaning future climate investments will go through the usual Budget process. This discontinuation is estimated to result in a loss of 11-24 million tonnes CO2e of abatement over the first, second, and third emissions budget periods. Clean car discount: This initiative, which aimed to make electric vehicles more affordable, was an ERP1 policy. It was stopped on 31 December 2023. Sustainable biofuels obligation: This was an ERP1 initiative aimed at reducing freight emissions. It was discontinued as part of a government policy refocus in February 2023. Oil and gas exploration ban: The Labour-led government banned offshore oil and gas exploration. The current government reversed this ban. This reversal is estimated to lead to an extra 14.2 million tonnes of emissions to 2035, and 51.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions up to 2050. Subsidies to large carbon polluters: Climate Change Minister Simon Watts rejected advice from Inland Revenue and Treasury to review hundreds of millions of dollars in climate grants to major emitters like NZ Steel, Methanex, Rio Tinto, and Fletcher Building, despite findings of "very limited results". Science sector reforms and cuts: The Te Ara Paerangi - Future Pathways science-system reform programme has been discontinued. There have also been job cuts at the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) which critics say will negatively impact climate change science, including marine biodiversity, climate modelling, and physical oceanography. Transport initiatives: The ERP1 aimed to improve travel choices by providing convenient, affordable public transport, walkways, and cycle lanes. The current government has ordered officials to end work on programmes that would reduce vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) by passenger cars through providing alternatives like public and active transport. It also cut an initiative to increase the uptake of e-bikes, ended some public transport subsidies, got rid of equity measures to help low-income households access low-emissions cars, and defunded a $56 million fund specifically for electric buses. Auckland Light Rail and Let's Get Wellington Moving were canned, although the City Rail Link and extra Auckland busways will continue. A commitment to set a high threshold for investing in new roads was also discontinued. The current government is instead prioritising motorway funding and increasing speed limits. Equity and 'just transition' focus: Several ERP1 actions related to an equitable transition have been discontinued, including those which seek to support industries and workers to retrain in low-emissions jobs. The development of an income insurance scheme was also cut. Circular economy and bioeconomy strategy: ERP1 included a Circular Economy and Bioeconomy Strategy and supporting businesses moving to circular economy models. These actions have been stopped. Energy efficiency rebates: ERP1 included rebates for energy-efficient equipment. This has been stopped. New fossil-fuel baseload generation ban: ERP1 included a ban on new fossil-fuel baseload generation. This has been cancelled. New Zealand Battery Project: ERP1 stated that options for dry-year electricity storage through the New Zealand Battery Project would be investigated. This has been cancelled. Gas transition plan: ERP1 included developing a gas transition plan. This was associated with the Labour government's ban on offshore oil and gas exploration and has been abandoned with the reintroduction of exploration. Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund: In 2020, the government created a $70m fund to incentivise companies with large fossil-fuel boilers to decarbonise. It has been closed to new applications. The estimated loss in emissions reductions from discontinuing the GIDI fund is 4.3 million tonnes of CO2e for 2026-2030. Forestry in the ETS: The Labour government introduced changes for "permanent forestry" in the ETS from 1 January 2023. The National-led coalition has announced an independent review of forestry in the ETS. The government is also limiting whole-farm conversions to NZ ETS forestry to protect highly productive farmland. Monitoring renewable electricity target: While ERP1 set an aspirational target of 50 percent of total final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2035, monitoring progress towards this target has been stopped. Climate finance: The New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF), a fund established to support renewable energy and other low-emission projects, has been stopped. Pacific climate finance: Future climate finance to help our Pacific neighbours was cut from $250m to $100m this year. Climate-Related Disclosures (CRD) Regime: The government has proposed raising thresholds so the regime applies to fewer large entities and reducing the liability exposure for entity directors. Warmer Kiwi Homes initiative: Funding for the Warmer Kiwi Homes scheme, including subsidies for hot water heating, low-cost energy efficiency measures, and an LED lighting scheme were cut, alongside funding for a community-focused outreach programme to target hard-to-reach households. Waste management: The government put four out of five waste minimisation policies on hold in 2024, including plans to improve recycling systems and introduce a kerbside food scraps composting scheme. The Waste Minimisation Fund also had its funding cut. Tikanga-based agriculture programmes: Dedicated funding for programs to support Māori aspirations in agriculture was cut. Native trees to absorb carbon: Funding for Establishing Native Forests at Scale, a research and planting programme, was cut by $50m in Budget 2024. Dedicated climate-focused farm advisory and extension services: This was intended to include multichannel information campaigns, extension programmes (workshops, action groups), and growing a pipeline of trusted industry advisers. This has been stopped, although support continues through existing public and private advisory services. National Adaptation Plan: The coalition government discontinued a number of measures from the first National Adaptation Plan (NAP1) including work on risk management and planning for managed retreat. Although ERP2 outlines three adaptation goals, the Climate Change Commission noted there was not enough information to assess whether they are achievable. The government put four out of five waste minimisation policies on hold in 2024, including plans to introduce a kerbside food scraps composting scheme. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS): The government is developing an enabling regulatory regime for CCUS, with legislation expected this year, to allow industries to access this technology for emissions reduction and removal. Fast-track approvals bill: The controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill is designed to streamline and accelerate the consenting process for various development and infrastructure projects, including renewable energy. Critics say it allows the "override of environmental laws" and does not give sufficient weight to climate considerations, potentially making it more difficult to meet emissions budgets. Methane review: An independent review of biogenic methane science and targets has been initiated to provide up-to-date scientific evidence regarding methane's warming impact. It is widely expected the government will drop the methane target post-review. Electrify NZ: This aims to double renewable energy by 2050. This includes streamlining consenting processes through the Fast-track Approvals Bill. Work is underway to develop a regime for offshore renewable energy by mid-2025. Adaptation framework: Work is underway on an adaptation framework that aims to minimize long-predictable funding, improve information flows, and address market failures. Afforestation on Crown land: ERP2 includes exploring private sector partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land for afforestation. The policy is still under development. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
