Regulatory Standards Bill: Opponents lash David Seymour's legislation at select committee
The Regulations Minister hadn't watched all of the submissions,
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Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: voting, pubs and mining
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including non-resident ratepayer voting, backing the local pub, and trashing our heritage for overseas mining interests. Candidate claim runs counter to principle Green Party mayoral candidate Mickey Treadwell is mistaken in his opinion that non-resident ratepayer voting violates New Zealand's democratic principles ( ODT 11.7.25). "No taxation without representation" is a fundamental principle of democracy. This principle has been established as far back as the Boston Tea Party of 1773, which triggered the American Revolution and the establishment of the first truly democratic modern state. For Mr Treadwell to claim that long-term holiday home owners and non-resident owners of say, commercial property in Dunedin city, have less of an interest in the future of the city and "less investment in public good" is just plainly untrue. Compared to a bunch of students living in a rented flat for a couple of years, each of whom has a residential vote and who will all likely depart the city forever on graduation, who does Mr Treadwell think has a greater stake in the city? I suspect the real reason for Mr Treadwell's concern is that he (rightly) believes that non-resident ratepayer electors are less likely to vote for a Green Party candidate. And just for the record, it doesn't matter how many properties a non-resident ratepayer elector owns within a local body territory: they only get one vote in that territory, even if the property or properties within that territory are jointly owned. Power and votes Green Party mayoral candidate Mickey Treadwell complained that non-resident ratepayers had disproportionate power because they can vote in the council elections. He is quoted as saying: "it's a pretty direct violation of our one-person, one vote democratic principle". I am sure that Mr Treadwell, as a Green Party member, is a supporter of unelected Māori having voting rights on council committees. How he and many liberal lefties reconcile this with his above quote I don't know. I am afraid that we have far too many ideologues as councillors and would-be councillors, who as the above quote reveals are quite happy to foster democracy, but are quite prepared to ignore their principles, when their ideology demands it. We did great There has been a surfeit of grizzling and faux outrage from the right wing and the ignorant regarding Jacinda Ardern, Ashley Bloomfield, and the excellent public health team who led our Covid response. Aotearoa saved 20,000 lives due to the border closure, mask mandates and our vaccination programme, according to statistician Michael Planck and epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker. Official statistical sites reveal that the US suffered 3493 deaths per million people (as at July 2025), the UK 3404, France 2613, Canada 1424 and New Zealand 834. Our economy came out of Covid strongly with low unemployment and with Triple A or Double A plus ratings from Moody's and Standard and Poor's. Yet there is a barrage of often hysterical criticism of the Ardern government's brilliant response to a major pandemic. Perhaps next time a pandemic arrives, the coalition apologists and the egotistical show ponies should go and live in the US and watch as hospitals split at the seams and morgues overflow into the streets while mass graves are dug, as in 2020. Local customer backs his local establishment In the ODT (8.7.25) article regarding the on-licence and off-licence renewal application for Mackies Hotel, Port Chalmers, the Dunedin City Council licensing staff were insinuating Mackies was poorly run and opposed the renewal of the liquor licence. On the contrary, this hotel is a well-run and well-maintained spotless pub. I question the decision made by DCC licensing inspector Tanya Morrison and medical officer Aaron Whipp suggesting Mr Sefton was not a suitable applicant to hold a licence. He admits he got slack with ever-changing compliance, but no need to make a mountain out of mole hill. A word in his ear would have sufficed. Publican Wayne Sefton and his family have been a big support to the Port Chalmers community and sports clubs over the last 40 years. Mr Sefton, like most community publicans, also takes an interest in the wellbeing of his patrons. DCC licensing staff should be supporting and help promote our community pubs: most of them are managed well with no trouble. I would love to see more young people use these establishments. Whilst having a beer or two they would meet a lot of interesting people of all ages and demographics and walks of life. Mining and its legacy I was shocked to hear about the proposed Santana mine at Tarras. Do we really want a Central Otago where the noise of explosions, trucks and stamping machines echoes across the quiet Lake Dunstan, where 24/7 flood-lighting blots out the stars, where carcinogenic arsenic is released from the smashed schist and hangs around in the air and coats the soil, where toxins from a massive tailings dam leaches into the Clutha, where three huge open-cast mines are highly visible? Eventually the Santana mine will expand through the Dunstan mountains and the Maniototo. Everyone who lives, works and plays in Otago and will feel the irreversible effects of the Santana mine. The proposal is being fast-tracked, with diminished local or environmental input. We don't have much time. Parliamentarian Shane Jones has ranted in respect of digging up our landscape and trashing our cultural heritage in favour of carte blanche access for Australian mining interests. In Chillagoe, a one-time mining centre in far north Queensland, there is an abandoned smelter. This small centre is the acknowledged "start-of-the-outback", with something of a character of its own. The place has been suspended in time, in the condition which probably existed on the day the last worker quit the site, no doubt to seek alternative employment at another mine. My argument is: if that is the condition in which Australian mining conglomerates leave their own landscape, what assurances of remediation of our own landscape in the wake of gold, or whatever, finally giving out in New Zealand may be relied upon? We as a country with much less territorial area able to be trashed than Australia, exist in their eyes with only one justification for our existence: our potential to be exploited, for their rapacious gain. [Abridged — length. Editor.] Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
RNZ News
13 hours ago
- RNZ News
David Seymour agrees to withdraw scathing letter after critiques from coalition
The Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has agreed to withdraw a scathing letter he wrote to the United Nations - after being hauled into line by his coalition partners and the Prime Minister. But he's refusing to accept he did anything wrong. Acting political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Christopher Luxon Tells Off David Seymour Over Letter To United Nations
Article – RNZ 'I've just made it clear that I expect Winston Peters to be the person that engages with the UN,' the prime minister told reporters. , Acting Political Editor Regulations Minister David Seymour has been given a telling-off by the prime minister for sending a scathing letter to a United Nations official about his red-tape-busting legislation. Speaking to media on Tuesday morning, PM Christopher Luxon said, while he 'fully agreed' with the content of Seymour's message, the responsibility for engaging with the UN lay with Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Luxon said he had not asked Seymour to retract his letter but had spoken with him directly. 'I'm not going into those conversations,' Luxon said. 'I've just made it clear that I expect Winston Peters to be the person that engages with the UN.' In a statement to RNZ, Seymour said he stood by the contents of his letter but acknowledged he had been 'too efficient' in his correspondence. 'One response should come from the Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of all ministers,' Seymour said. 'Winston and I have fixed the problem. I'm going to withdraw my letter so that the government can send one response. I expect that letter to make the same points.' Last month, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Albert K Barume, issued a letter to government ministers expressing a number of concerns, including about Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill. One of his criticisms was that the legislation excluded Māori traditions and failed to uphold principles guaranteed by the Treaty of Waitangi. As first reported by the NZ Herald, Seymour fired back, in his capacity as Regulations Minister, describing the UN letter as 'presumptive, condescending, and wholly misplaced'. He said Barume's description of the Regulatory Standards Bill's approach to tikanga was 'not only incorrect but offensive'. 'As an indigenous New Zealander myself, I am deeply aggrieved by your audacity in presuming to speak on my behalf and that of my fellow Māori regarding legislation that aims solely at ensuring clarity, consistency, and accountability in regulatory processes.' Seymour signed off his letter: 'We neither require nor welcome external lectures on our governance, particularly from bodies whose understanding of our nuanced historical, cultural, and constitutional context is so clearly deficient.' Luxon said he agreed with Seymour that the UN letter was 'a total waste of time' but stressed proper processes needed to be followed. 'All of us in government can read the letter and say, hey, it's total bunkum,' Luxon told reporters. 'But our response will come from Winston Peters… he will have a comprehensive reply in due course.' Also speaking on Tuesday morning, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the events proved the 'dysfunctional' nature of the coalition and were 'downright embarrassing'. 'Most days, it doesn't appear that Christopher Luxon is actually in charge of his own government,' Hipkins said. 'Winston Peters and David Seymour seem to do whatever they like.' Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the matter of who replied to correspondence from the UN had been resolved. Peters said experience matters in the business of diplomacy and 'fixed' the issue after speaking to Seymour. He said he was still consulting affected ministries, and would craft a response when that's complete.
