Christopher Luxon tops list of world leaders ranked by confidence in handling foreign affairs, Australian poll reveals
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon heads to China and Europe this week as the world leader Australians feel most confident to do the right thing regarding foreign affairs.
The Lowy Institute, a well-known Australian think tank, has today released its annual poll on how Australians view international matters. It's been
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Press secretary sex scandal: Investigation to conclude in August
Michael Forbes had audio recordings of multiple sessions with sex workers, as well as zoomed-in photos of women in public and footage of women getting changed for a night out. Photo: LinkedIn/Michael Forbes The government says it will "consider what information can be made public" about the sex scandal surrounding the prime minister's former deputy chief press secretary, after the investigation ends in August. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has ordered Ministerial Services - run by the Department of Internal Affairs - to carry out a "deep dive" investigation after it was revealed Michael Forbes had audio recordings of multiple sessions with sex workers, as well as zoomed-in photos of women in public and footage of women getting changed for a night out, filmed through a window. Forbes resigned as Luxon's deputy chief press secretary this month after the Stuff investigation looking into the matter contacted him for comment. The recordings, photos and footage was discovered by a Wellington sex worker in July last year. In a statement, the Department of Internal Affairs said its investigation would look into "employment and device policies, procedures and information sharing practices". "The deep dive is expected to conclude in August 2025, at which point DIA will determine what information can be shared and when. "We will not be commenting further as the deep dive is in progress." The statement follows a report by the NZ Herald quoting DIA chief executive Paul James, who said he did not have terms of reference "per se", but that he expected to release the investigation's findings publicly in August. James told the Herald officials were checking the range of security clearances Parliamentary staff had, and with police and the Security Intelligence Service would assess information sharing practices - likely in July. James also told the paper he did not expect the inquiry would prompt wide-ranging changes but he wanted to remain open minded, including around whether employees were expected to raise concerns about a change in their circumstances, or whether departments should check in about that regularly. In statements after the scandal was revealed, Forbes said he had sought therapy over the past year, and should have apologised to the women affected at the time. Police investigated the same month the recordings were discovered and seized two phones in a search warrant, but said the available evidence did not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. After the scandal broke, the DIA said all Ministerial Services staff were subject to standard pre-employment checks including reference checks, serious misconduct checks and a criminal conviction check when first employed - but this was not required when Forbes was temporarily assigned to the PM's office. Luxon himself told reporters it was Forbes' responsibility "to actually declare those issues or those incidents to us - that didn't happen which is why his employment would have been terminated, obviously". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Please Explain! The Proponents Of The Retrospective Law Change Need To Front Up
Those responsible for pushing a retrospective law change that could wipe out the rights of tens of thousands of New Zealanders must now front up to provide a formal 'please- explain'. That's the call from Scott Russell, the lawyer leading the Banking Class Action against ANZ and ASB, who has formally written to Cameron Brewer, MP as Chair of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee urging him to call key decision-makers and proponents of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Amendment Bill to publicly explain the rationale for this extraordinary intervention. The Committee has the power to compel individuals to appear and a more clear-cut case for using that power would be hard to imagine. 'The Government is rewriting the law half-way through an active legal case to benefit two powerful Australian-owned banks – and no one seems to be taking responsibility for making the decision,' said Russell. 'Hon Scott Simpson, Commerce Minister says the banks didn't ask for it. The banks haven't commented. MBIE won't release the documents. And the public is being asked to accept it all on blind trust. Enough. It's time for answers.' Russell's submission urges the Select Committee to summon the following to 'Please Explain': The Chair and Chief Executives of ANZ and ASB to explain their role in the process; Senior MBIE officials to justify the sudden shift to retrospective legislation following private meetings with the banks; The Reserve Bank to provide any evidence backing claims that the law change is needed to protect financial stability. 'If their rationale is sound, let's hear it. Because right now, no one has offered a credible explanation for why a law change ruled out during the public consultation stage was suddenly resurrected behind closed doors – and timed perfectly to potentially limit the liability of two banks in a live court case.' The Government has refused to release unredacted versions of the Regulatory Impact Statement and delayed key OIA responses until after the public submission period closes on 23 June. The Ombudsman is now investigating. 'The Select Committee process cannot be allowed to rubber-stamp a law change that overrides consumer rights and undermines public trust – especially when those responsible won't even show up to explain it,' Russell said. 'If this is in the public interest, let the public hear why.'
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
'China's vision of its future is not as a new overlord'
Zichen Wang of the Center for China and Globalization, speaking today in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Phil Pennington China is not interested in becoming "a new overlord", a researcher at a Beijing thinktank has told a conference in Wellington. Christopher Luxon has travelled to China in his first trip as prime minister , where he will meet China's top three leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Zichen Wang - from the Center for China and Globalization - told the Institute of International Affairs conference in Wellington on Tuesday the sheer size of China has led to Washington being worried, but Beijing's foreign policy was focused ono preventing conflicts. "Many people worry about a stronger China will inevitable seek hegemony. "But Beijing has made it clear - and I think most Chinese... agree - that China's vision of its future is not as a new overlord." Luxon's trip to China was a "great start," Wang told the conference. He added that while officials in the Trump administration were hawkish on China, the US president himself did not appear to be ideologically driven. A New Zealand-based researcher said more Chinese researchers and policymakers had begun asking about New Zealand's strategic posture. Dr Jason Young of the NZ Contemporary China Research Centre told the institute's conference that on his trip to China last week he saw a "noticeable shift" in how New Zealand was being talked about. This focused on the bilateral ties and "what does New Zealand want?", he said. But the Chinese he talked to also had a strategic question. "I think there's what I would consider a very unrealistic expectation in China for New Zealand to have more strategic clarity and strategic autonomy in what has become a very open, contested relationship between the United States and China," said Young. The rationalisation he heard was the China was a great power and a "global good", so it was natural that its economic growth would extend into providing security. China would also reciprocate when it came to military activity by other countries that got close to its territory. The Chinese navy taskforce in the Tasman Sea in February "really reflects a new reality for New Zealand", Young said. The live exercises dominated NZ-China talks earlier in the year. That had fed into a "quite distressing" shift up in threat perception of New Zealanders towards China, Young said. A newly-released survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation - carried out in March - found China was considered both a 'friend' and a 'threat', with "recent events causing a spike in threat perception". The question was would this be a trend or a blip, Young said. The US was now perceived as less of a friend than a year ago. "Trust in the US to act responsibly was at an all-time low, the survey found . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
