Labour's Deborah Russell fires up questioning former judge over Regulatory Standards Bill
The legislation would codify a set of principles that Seymour believes are a guide to 'responsible regulation' and require agencies
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Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Higher Tariffs, Higher Cost Of Living For Kiwis
Confirmation today that New Zealand exports to the US will be subject to a 15 percent tariff is a slap in the face for our exporters and could mean higher prices here at home. 'This is a major fail for the Government and for our relationship with the US. Christopher Luxon has failed to secure a low tariff rate for our exports, while others around the world such as the EU and UK have managed to make deals. Unbelievably, the tariff has actually gone up from 10 to 15 percent on his watch,' Labour trade spokesperson Damien O'Connor said. 'Under Luxon, the cost of living is already increasing, making life harder. He promised his business background would help fix things, but it's getting worse. Under this government, this economic uncertainty will only cause more instability and further stifle our economic growth. 'Businesses will have to decide whether to pass the costs on to American customers, or weather those themselves. They may have to explore new markets. None of these options are good for business confidence here at home. 'This is our second-largest market and exporters such as the meat sector will be grappling with the implications of this. This is an additional barrier to competitive access to a hugely valuable market. 'The ripple effects of tariffs imposed by the US on our trading partners will also hit us. 'Christopher Luxon needs to work harder for New Zealand's interests overseas and remind the US that we have low tariffs on their goods and services being imported here,' Damien O'Connor said.
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Government responds to tariff shock as Labour accuses it of ‘major fail'
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Trade Minister Todd McClay will respond to the Trump administration's decision to raise its proposed tariff on New Zealand. In April, US President Donald Trump announced proposed tariffs on America's trading partners including a 10% tariff on New Zealand. That base tariff has been increased to 15%. Other countries, like Australia and the United Kingdom have secured tariffs of 10%. McClay earlier told RNZ the higher rate could be because New Zealand has a trade surplus with the United States, meaning we export more than we import. He said the Government will try to push back on the higher rate. McClay and Willis are scheduled to speak on the matter at 4.15pm. However, Labour pointed the finger at the Government, with trade spokesman Damien O'Connor saying the episode was 'a major fail for the Government and for our relationship with the US'. 'Christopher Luxon has failed to secure a low tariff rate for our exports, while others around the world such as the EU and UK have managed to make a deal,' he said. 'Businesses will have to decide whether to pass the costs on to American customers, or weather those themselves. They may have to explore new markets. None of these options are good for business confidence here at home,' he said. Deputy Prime Minister and Act leader David Seymour said the tariffs were 'a choice' for the American Government. 'Our choice is to continue expanding to new markets with new trade deals,' he said. Seymour said New Zealand believes in free trade and would continue to advocate for low tariffs around the world. 'We can't control other countries' policy at the end of the day. We can seek new markets and new trade deals,' he said. Seymour would not say whether he believed the tariffs would be inflationary. 'There is so much going on in the world economy. One person's reckons are probably not worth the paper they're written on. There are things we can change, there are things we can't change. 'We can't change other countries' political choices, that's their right to make, what we can change is that this is a place that's good to build a business, things that people will beat a path to our door for, rather than us begging them to open theirs,' he said. Trade expert Stephen Jacobi said the tariff was unjustified at 10%. 'And it's now even more unjustified.' 'We impose very few tariffs on the United States. 'They have no major trade issues with us.' He said the impact of the revised tariff regime on New Zealand exports would depend on the individual sector. 'I think it's going to depend, of course, but there may be some water to flow under the bridge on this.' Today's statement from the White House said the Australian tariff would stay at 10%. 'Britain obviously is at 10%, but we don't really compete directly with them,' Jacobi said.
Scoop
4 hours ago
- Scoop
Dunne's Weekly: Oppositions Seldom Win, But Governments Often Lose
That Oppositions do not win elections, but governments lose them is a well-established political maxim. Elections are essentially a judgement on the performance of the government of the day. Seldom does the capability of the Opposition to govern come into the calculation, if the government has lost public favour. Elections are therefore more about getting rid of an unpopular government than the risk of installing an often-unprepared Opposition in power. Moreover, voters often have short memories. A recent poll showed many people believe it is time for another group of parties to govern in New Zealand, despite it being less than two years since that same group was unceremoniously turfed out of office and does not yet seem to fully appreciate the reasons why. Indeed, although the Opposition has not yet released any specific policy, its general attitude seems to be that it will just pick up where it left off last time and resume the same sort of policy approach and style of government voters rejected so clearly at the last election. That is why Labour was able to get away last week with criticising the government's handling of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis without offering any alternative of its own, because, frankly, as the Opposition, its views do not matter. Next year's election will be more a referendum on the government's performance than a critique of the Opposition's alternative. This is not unique to New Zealand. Last year's Labour landslide victory in the British general election was more a repudiation of fourteen years of Conservative rule, than an endorsement of Labour. Now, having rejected the Conservatives so overwhelmingly, and to date being less than impressed with Labour's offering, it is hardly surprising that British voters are flocking in droves to the untried Reform Party. The New Zealand equivalent of that phenomenon has been the increase in support for minor parties, New Zealand First and the Greens in particular. So much so that the next election, and which parties form the next government, could come down to how well the minor parties perform, rather than the major parties they could be expected to align with in government. Given that context, it is not altogether surprising that there is mounting speculation the current government could be the country's first one-term government in 50 years. But, so far, the evidence for that happening is not strong. The National/ACT/ New Zealand bloc has led in most opinion polls since the end of 2021. Today, the latest rolling average of polls shows the coalition government ahead of its rivals by just under 4%, and still able to form a majority government. At the same point in the electoral cycle three years ago, the then Labour Government was trailing the then-Opposition National/ACT/ New Zealand bloc by just under 5%. Nevertheless, National's position is precarious. Its vulnerability, which this column has highlighted many times previously, is its increasing dependence on its coalition partners to get across the electoral line. Until recently, the Prime Minister has shrugged this point aside, saying it is just one of the realities of MMP. However, in recent weeks there has been a perceptible change in the government's tempo, with a slew of major policy announcements from National in a variety of areas, from a new infrastructure plan, a new funding model for general practices, an end to building open-plan classrooms, and even the controversial changes to electoral enrolment provisions, National has shown a new determination in seeking to dominate the political agenda on its terms. No longer does it seem happy to let its coalition partners control the policy agenda as they appear to have done throughout the government's term. With the election just over a year away National looks to have moved centre-stage in terms of the government's performance. It knows that to win the next election the coalition government needs to first lock-in the support of those who voted for it last time, before trying to drag in additional other voters from across the political divide. So, National's current moves are a deliberate attempt to claw back supporters who may have deserted it for ACT or New Zealand First, because they have seen them as more boldly defined. Without locking-in that core government support into National's column, National's position will become shakier and its prospects more uncertain. Things are not quite as challenging for Labour, however. Because it is in its first term in Opposition and because one-term governments are a rarity – only two (both Labour) in the last century – while there may be increasing hope, there is not yet any real expectation that it can win in 2026. That immediately relieves some of the pressure of expectation of returning to office so quickly. Similarly, because governments lose elections rather than Oppositions win them, the level of scrutiny on Labour's promises will always be less than that on the government's promises. That will change a little as the election nears, but for Labour, right now, the longer it can keep getting away with criticising the government and not offering any constructive alternative, the better. None of this means a Labour-bloc victory at the next election is unlikely or impossible. With polls showing increasing disapproval of the country's current direction, it must be acknowledged there is a greater chance of this occurring. And yet again, it will be a case of the government losing, rather than the Opposition winning.
