Oral Questions for 22 July 2025
To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following:
See terms of use.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Councillors tired of being ‘beaten up' and blamed by central government
The South Wairarapa District Council doesn't want to be "the whipping boy" of central government. Photo: LDR / Emily Ireland Councils feel "beaten up" and blamed for problems outside their control as tensions rise between them and central government. South Wairarapa councillor Colin Olds made the remarks after councils were once again in the firing line of central government. In a statement yesterday, Local Government Minister Simon Watts said some households were getting frustrated by unfair rate hikes during the cost-of-living crisis. It followed comments at the recent Local Government NZ (LGNZ) conference, where Watts compared councils to children and suggested that letting them do what they wanted might lead to bad choices. Olds, who attended the conference, told his colleagues and LGNZ representatives that he was disappointed that councils continued to get "beaten up by central government" over things that were out of their control. Councils had defended rising rates as they were dealing with increased infrastructure costs, unfunded mandates, insurance, and inflation. LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said tensions between local and central government were "a challenge", and that councils bore the impact of frequent changes to government policy. "We all know that in opposition, parties are really strong localists and in government they tend to be much greater centralists and much more likely to want to constrain and tell you what to do and tell you how badly you are doing to deflect some of the challenges they are facing," she said. LGNZ chief advisor Ranjani Ponnuchetty said governments of all persuasions "need a natural enemy". "It's extremely unfortunate that we are here now and somehow seem to be that focal point at this point in time. "No matter the government, no one will take the blame. "No government will ever accept responsibility for the consequences of anything." In response to the comments made at the South Wairarapa meeting, Watts said when it came to spending, the government had been clear that councils needed to prioritise the basics - essential services like roading, water, infrastructure, and rubbish. "There are different councils in different positions across the country - some councils have signalled through their annual plans quite significant increases in rates, and others have not. "The bottom line and most important outcome is ensuring ratepayers get value from money for the service that they pay for. "That's also why we're working at pace on a potential rates capping model to save people money. "Cost of living is the number one issue many New Zealanders are facing right now and we're committed to providing relief - I intend to bring options to Cabinet later this year for consideration." Meanwhile, councillor Alistair Plimmer said the only way forward to fix the "mess" was a complete rewrite of the Local Government Act, instead of continuous tweaks that could result in "a dog's breakfast". He said the Local Government Act was not fit-for purpose, and took no account of the realities of small rural councils. He urged LGNZ to take matters into their own hands and do the rewrite themselves to make it "fit for the next century". "If you don't do it, who is going to?" he asked LGNZ representatives at this week's council meeting. "There is no incentive for central government to do this. They like the whipping boy." Freeman-Greene agreed with Plimmer that the Act was "out of date" and "complex". "It's been added to and amended from, and is continuously tweaked," she said. "We need an Act that is fit-for-purpose and future focused and clear. "Ideally, also supported across the house so that we are not flip-flopping between different intents of what your role is." At the recent LGNZ conference, councils passed a remit calling for a review of the current functions and governance arrangements of local government. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Te Pāti Māori pursuing two-pronged legal action
Te Pati Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngawera-Packer. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Te Pāti Māori's lawyers have clarified exactly what legal action it's taking over reports of missing enrolments from the Māori roll. The party sent out a press release around 3pm yesterday, claiming it had filed "urgent proceedings in the High Court" over the claims. RNZ has now seen a letter dated 1 August from lawyer Matthew Carson to Crown Law that showed the party filed a statement of claim on 18 July, challenging the Electoral Commission's calculation of the Māori electoral population and the corresponding number of Māori electoral seats for the next election. It's Te Pāti Māori's position the commission's calculation is wrong and there should be eight, not seven, Māori seats up for grabs in the 2026 Election. The party has now advised Crown Law it is also "seeking a full explanation" of reports of missing enrolments from the Māori roll, as part of this judicial review. "This is central not only to the present proceedings and the issues they raise, but also for Māori participation in Aotearoa's democracy," the letter said. "We intend to pursue these issues via the present proceeding, and to determine the propriety of any changes made following service of this judicial review. "There is no second proceeding on foot. An amended pleading will be prepared to the extent necessary, given that these issues arose after the judicial review was first filed and served." The letter asks for a formal response to the following questions: Te Pāti Māori have been highly critical of the commission despite assurances from both the organisation and the Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith that there are no issues in the system. RNZ has spoken to several voters, including former political journalist Taryn Utiger, who report not being able to find themselves on the Māori roll despite switching to it as recently as last year. Yesterday, Goldsmith said it was "very easy" for people to make claims and anyone with hard evidence should speak to the Electoral Commission. RNZ has approached the Electoral Commission today asking for confirmation it's certain no one has been taken off the Māori Roll and what work, if any, it's doing to address any impacts on public trust in the democratic system. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Air NZ's CEO appointment stirs racist backlash
Nikhil Ravishankar Photo: Supplied / Air NZ The appointment of Nikhil Ravishankar as Air New Zealand's incoming chief executive caused a stir Thursday after major news outlets were forced to disable comments on their social media platforms due to receiving a barrage of racist remarks. Ravishankar, chief digital officer of Air New Zealand, was tapped to lead the national carrier - one of the country's most respected corporate brands - after Greg Foran steps down in October. However, the appointment of the Indian-origin insider to the airline's top job attracted a torrent of abuse online, with many zeroing in on Ravishankar's ethnicity. The abuse forced the country's leading media organisations to restrict or disable the ability to comment on the social media posts announcing the news. New Zealand Herald disabled comments on the Facebook post announcing the appointment "due to racist comments". "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," the news outlet said in a post in the comment thread. A spokesperson at New Zealand Herald later pointed RNZ towards the company's policy on social media comments. "We want to foster a safe online community by reducing instances of hate, racism, abuse and misinformation," the media organisation's policy said. "We welcome your feedback on articles but there has to be some parameters, and these are explained in our community house rules," it said. "These clearly explain that we will not publish comments that are insulting, inflammatory or derogatory or those that spread misinformation or include personal attacks," it said. "We cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate abuse towards individuals in our stories or other commenters." Radio New Zealand was forced to disable comments on the social media post on Ravishankar's appointment. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," a spokesperson for RNZ said. "In this instance, the comments were disabled after our monitoring found racist comments," the spokesperson said. "We want people to feel safe and respected on our community forums and will continue to proactively disable comments where necessary. We will not tolerate harmful communications." TVNZ's 1News digital service took similar action in terms of restricting comments on the post. "We received a large number of comments on this post," a spokesperson for 1News said. "The vast majority were appropriate, however some were not," the spokesperson said. "With our news team diverted to cover the tsunami event yesterday afternoon and evening we opted to turn comments off given sufficient monitoring wasn't possible." Ravishankar holds bachelor's degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland after attending Mount Albert Grammar School in the country's largest city. He sits on the board of New Zealand Asian Leaders and is an advisory committee member of The Auckland Blues Foundation. Ravishankar has been with Air New Zealand for nearly five years and has been involved in strengthening its technology, loyalty and customer services. Before joining the airline, Ravishankar was chief digital officer at Vector New Zealand, leading the company's digital and information technology function and its transformation programme from 2017. He was previously managing director at Accenture in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and held technology strategy and transformation leadership roles at Spark New Zealand. Ravishankar highlighted the deep legacy of the company he would soon lead in his first public comments after his appointment was announced. "This airline is an institution with a deep legacy but also a fantastic future," Ravishankar said. "It's a privilege to step into the CEO role and take on that responsibility for our people, our customers and our country. "At the end of the day, we are a people business - purposeful, ambitious and deeply rooted in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I'm excited to help shape what this next stage of Air New Zealand looks like." RNZ has approached Air NZ for comment. Latest Census data in 2023 showed that the Indian population had leapfrogged the Chinese community to become the third-largest ethnic group in New Zealand. A total of 292,092 people in the country identified as a member of the Indian community in the 2023 Census, an increase of 22 percent since 2018. The New Zealand European ethnic group remained the largest, with a population of 3,099,858, followed by Māori with 887,493. Auckland's Indian population grew by 13 percent between 2018 and 2023, rising from 154,824 in 2018 to 175,794 five years later.
