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Herald NOW: Paul Henry to host The Chase NZ

Herald NOW: Paul Henry to host The Chase NZ

NZ Herald2 days ago

Chris Bishop frustrated by 'politicalised' Music Awards performance
Senior Government minister Chris Bishop says he was frustrated by the politicisation of Stan Walker's performance at the Aotearoa Music Awards, when he said 'what a load of crap".

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More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests
More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests

Scoop

time9 hours ago

  • Scoop

More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests

Article – RNZ The Privileges Committee proposed a 21-day suspension for three MPs over the Treaty Principles haka. , Political Reporter More than half of voters consider the proposed penalty for three Te Pāti Māori MPs over the Treaty Principles haka to be either appropriate or too lenient, polling shows, ahead of the debate on the matter resuming on Thursday afternoon. That debate – which had potential to become a filibuster – was cut short when Leader of the House Chris Bishop unexpectedly postponed it last month. The Privileges Committee – which recommends punishments for breaking Parliament's rules – proposed a 21-day suspension for the co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and seven days for MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. It means no pay, no ability to vote on legislation, and no presence in Parliament for the duration. The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll asked for voters' views on whether the punishment fit the crime. Overall, more people – 37.0 percent said it was 'about right'; while 36.2 percent said it was 'too harsh'; 17.2 percent said 'too lenient', and 9.6 percent said they did not know: a 54.2 percent majority then backing the punishment or thought it should be stronger, in line with the coalition parties' view. The result puts opposition parties – which all labelled the three-week ban disproportionate – in a difficult position. Broken down by voting preferences, more than half of Labour's supporters (51.2 percent) backed leader Chris Hipkins' view the suspensions were too harsh, but a sizeable number thought the punishment fair (29.8 percent) or too lax (8 percent). Greens supporters were more convinced with three quarters (75.3 percent) calling the punishment too harsh, but still 12.4 percent said it was about right and 3.8 percent too lenient. Surprisingly, 9 percent of Te Pāti Māori's supporters also labelled it too lenient, although a clear 80.8 percent called it too harsh, with just 6.2 percent saying it was about right. The results for the coaltion voters were more predictable, far more National, ACT and NZ First supporters saying it was too lenient, compared to those calling it too harsh. But Speaker Gerry Brownlee, of the National Party, appears to be in the latter camp – he called the punishments 'very severe' and 'unprecedented' when setting down the original debate on Parliament's calendar. He pointed out no MP found guilty of contempt had previously been suspended for more than three days. The Privileges Committee recommendation was also only backed by coalition parties, despite convention dictating the MPs on the committee should aim for consensus. Those responding to RNZ's questions may have known these facts from media reporting – or they may not. Bishop's postponement of the debate took the teeth out of opposition criticisms the government wanted to keep the punished MPs from commenting on the Budget – as it turned out, the co-leaders did not speak in the Budget debate anyway. Budget delivered, MPs return to the debating chamber to discuss the punishment after Question Time today. The length of the debate rests ultimately in Brownlee's hands, and he has signalled a willingness to let it continue until all views were thoroughly aired. Whether parties actually want to filibuster – given the poll, and the risk of voters' patience for politicians talking about themselves wearing thin – is far from certain. Hipkins says a few of his MPs will speak, but they will not be running down the clock with endless speeches. The Greens' co-leaders have said they think the MPs should not be suspended, and they plan to scrutinise the decision 'to the highest degree'. But Te Pāti Māori is eager to put the matter to bed. 'Just got to hurry up and get it over and done with and let's sort it out, otherwise we'll be hanging around here waiting and waiting and waiting. Just, they've made their verdict – let's just get it done,' co-leader Rawiri Waititi said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure a representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here.

More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests
More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests

Scoop

time11 hours ago

  • Scoop

More Than Half Of Voters Back Proposed Penalty For Te Pāti Māori MPs, Poll Suggests

More than half of voters consider the proposed penalty for three Te Pāti Māori MPs over the Treaty Principles haka to be either appropriate or too lenient, polling shows, ahead of the debate on the matter resuming on Thursday afternoon. That debate - which had potential to become a filibuster - was cut short when Leader of the House Chris Bishop unexpectedly postponed it last month. The Privileges Committee - which recommends punishments for breaking Parliament's rules - proposed a 21-day suspension for the co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and seven days for MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. It means no pay, no ability to vote on legislation, and no presence in Parliament for the duration. The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll asked for voters' views on whether the punishment fit the crime. Overall, more people - 37.0 percent said it was "about right"; while 36.2 percent said it was "too harsh"; 17.2 percent said "too lenient", and 9.6 percent said they did not know: a 54.2 percent majority then backing the punishment or thought it should be stronger, in line with the coalition parties' view. The result puts opposition parties - which all labelled the three-week ban disproportionate - in a difficult position. Broken down by voting preferences, more than half of Labour's supporters (51.2 percent) backed leader Chris Hipkins' view the suspensions were too harsh, but a sizeable number thought the punishment fair (29.8 percent) or too lax (8 percent). Greens supporters were more convinced with three quarters (75.3 percent) calling the punishment too harsh, but still 12.4 percent said it was about right and 3.8 percent too lenient. Surprisingly, 9 percent of Te Pāti Māori's supporters also labelled it too lenient, although a clear 80.8 percent called it too harsh, with just 6.2 percent saying it was about right. The results for the coaltion voters were more predictable, far more National, ACT and NZ First supporters saying it was too lenient, compared to those calling it too harsh. But Speaker Gerry Brownlee, of the National Party, appears to be in the latter camp - he called the punishments "very severe" and "unprecedented" when setting down the original debate on Parliament's calendar. He pointed out no MP found guilty of contempt had previously been suspended for more than three days. The Privileges Committee recommendation was also only backed by coalition parties, despite convention dictating the MPs on the committee should aim for consensus. Those responding to RNZ's questions may have known these facts from media reporting - or they may not. Bishop's postponement of the debate took the teeth out of opposition criticisms the government wanted to keep the punished MPs from commenting on the Budget - as it turned out, the co-leaders did not speak in the Budget debate anyway. Budget delivered, MPs return to the debating chamber to discuss the punishment after Question Time today. The length of the debate rests ultimately in Brownlee's hands, and he has signalled a willingness to let it continue until all views were thoroughly aired. Whether parties actually want to filibuster - given the poll, and the risk of voters' patience for politicians talking about themselves wearing thin - is far from certain. Hipkins says a few of his MPs will speak, but they will not be running down the clock with endless speeches. The Greens' co-leaders have said they think the MPs should not be suspended, and they plan to scrutinise the decision "to the highest degree". But Te Pāti Māori is eager to put the matter to bed. "Just got to hurry up and get it over and done with and let's sort it out, otherwise we'll be hanging around here waiting and waiting and waiting. Just, they've made their verdict - let's just get it done," co-leader Rawiri Waititi said. This poll of 1008 people was conducted by Reid Research, using quota sampling and weighting to ensure a representative cross section by age, gender and geography. The poll was conducted through online interviews between 23-30 May 2025 and has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. The report is available here.

Parliament debates punishment for Te Pati Maori MPs
Parliament debates punishment for Te Pati Maori MPs

RNZ News

time12 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Parliament debates punishment for Te Pati Maori MPs

te ao Maori politics 20 minutes ago Parliament has been debating the proposed punishment for Te Pati Maori MPs who stood in front of ACT MPs and performed a haka in protest of the Treaty Principles Bill during its first reading. The proposed suspension is 21 days for the co-leaders, and 7 days for Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke. Last month's debate was cut short and delayed when Chris Bishop moved to postpone it until after the Budget. Political reporter Lillian Hanly spoke to Lisa Owen.

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