Latest news with #PaulGoldsmith
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Retail crime advisory group costs $500k in three months
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says he is confident the group has done what it was set up to do. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The justice minister is defending the amount of money spent on the government's retail crime advisory group in 100 days, saying the group has come up with ideas the government will implement to better deal with retail crime. The Labour Party says the half-million dollar sum is hard to stomach, and that ideas the group came up had previously been dismissed as being too dangerous. But the group's chair says its budget is strictly managed and controlled, and he had robust checks and accountability measures in place. The government has announced a suite of law-and-order reforms designed to crack down on retail crime, including on-the-spot fines for shoplifters, citizen's arrest powers, and toughened trespass laws. The reforms were suggested by the ministerial advisory group, chaired by Sunny Kaushal. Answering a parliamentary question from Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said "The Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime has spent $507,468.71 from 1 March 2025 to 10 June 2025." Those costs include personnel costs ($329,900.93), chair and member fees ($102,788.26), travel and accommodation ($9,605.71), and admin ($65,173.81). Member remuneration is in accordance with the Cabinet fees framework, with the Ministry of Justice reimbursing invoiced fees. On Tuesday, Goldsmith told media the MAG's budget was $1.8m a year, so it was under budget. "The point of the advisory group is to come up with well-thought-through, oven-ready legislation for us to get on with, and that's what they've done," he said. However, some of the policies still needed time to work through before the bill is introduced, or during the select committee process. When announcing the trespass law changes, Goldsmith said the government would explore how best to support retailers when distributing notices to those who refuse to engage. He also said the precise details on the use of facial recognition or CCTV to identify shoplifters would be "argued out" over the select committee process. Andersen said it was unclear why that amount of money had been spent by the group. She said when she was police minister, Kaushal had come to her suggesting a citizen's arrest policy, but it was dismissed as police had advised it was dangerous. "It does seem an exorbitant amount for ideas that were given to our government for free, and ideas that have been advised as dangerous," she said. Goldsmith, however, said he was confident the group had done what it was set up to do, and criticised Labour for not implementing such ideas. "A lot of them weren't taken up because their government was frankly soft on crime and they weren't actually listening and making the changes that needed to be made." Kaushal said the group operated under a clearly defined and stringently managed operating budget, controlled and overseen by the Ministry of Justice's finance team. "In line with public expectations around the responsible use of funds, I have robust checks and accountability measures in place across all areas of expenditure," he said. Kaushal said the group's "strict cost control and efficient operations" had already delivered a significant savings underspending from its allocated annual operating budget. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Retail crime advisory group spends $500k in three months
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says he is confident the group has done what it was set up to do. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii The justice minister is defending a half-million dollar spend-up in 100 days by the government's retail crime advisory group, saying the group has come up with ideas the government will implement to better deal with retail crime. The Labour Party says it is a hard sum of money to stomach, and that ideas the group came up had previously been dismissed as being too dangerous. But the group's chair says its budget is strictly managed and controlled, and he had robust checks and accountability measures in place. The government has announced a suite of law-and-order reforms designed to crack down on retail crime, including on-the-spot fines for shoplifters, citizen's arrest powers, and toughened trespass laws. The reforms were suggested by the ministerial advisory group, chaired by Sunny Kaushal. Answering a parliamentary question from Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) for Victims of Retail Crime had spent $507,468.71 from 1 March to 10 June. On Tuesday, Goldsmith told media the MAG's budget was $1.8m a year, so it was under budget. "The point of the advisory group is to come up with well-thought-through, oven-ready legislation for us to get on with, and that's what they've done," he said. However, some of the policies still needed time to work through before the bill is introduced, or during the select committee process. When announcing the trespass law changes, Goldsmith said the government would explore how best to support retailers when distributing notices to those who refuse to engage. He also said the precise details on the use of facial recognition or CCTV to identify shoplifters would be "argued out" over the select committee process. Andersen said it was unclear why that amount of money had been spent by the group. She said when she was police minister, Kaushal had come to her suggesting a citizen's arrest policy, but it was dismissed as police had advised it was dangerous. "It does seem an exorbitant amount for ideas that were given to our government for free, and ideas that have been advised as dangerous," she said. Goldsmith, however, said he was confident the group had done what it was set up to do, and criticised Labour for not implementing such ideas. "A lot of them weren't taken up because their government was frankly soft on crime and they weren't actually listening and making the changes that needed to be made." Kaushal said the group operated under a clearly defined and stringently managed operating budget, controlled and overseen by the Ministry of Justice's finance team. "In line with public expectations around the responsible use of funds, I have robust checks and accountability measures in place across all areas of expenditure," he said. Kaushal said the group's "strict cost control and efficient operations" had already delivered a significant savings underspending from its allocated annual operating budget. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Newsroom
6 days ago
- Business
- Newsroom
RNZ reviving a national news wire as it aims to be journalism's cornerstone
MediaRoom column: Public broadcaster RNZ plans to launch a national news and content 'wire' service this year, bringing together at least 30 other media partners. The wire – which would be the country's first substantive news sharing-system since the NZ Press Association was closed in 2011 – is in the early stages of development by RNZ as it pursues 'digital acceleration'. RNZ says raising new revenue 'is not a motivation behind the work'. If it were to charge news organisations, or other entities or individuals to sign up for the new service it could open up subscription income, a central element in most successful online news operations. The broadcaster's forecast profit and loss table for next year includes a new, 'other' income stream for the year ahead of $2.05m, helping towards a projected ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) surplus of $2.53m. The plan is disclosed in RNZ's statement of performance expectations for 2025/26, tabled in Parliament. The news wire is set to launch by the end of this calendar year as part of RNZ's goal of creating 'new audience experiences'. RNZ had its annual public funding cut in May's Budget by $18m over the next four years, and is conducting a cost-cutting round now to find more than $4m in savings for the coming financial year. The broadcaster is under pressure from the Government, through Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith, to increase its radio audiences, which have been falling stubbornly since a listenership boom during the pandemic. RNZ National now ranks the eighth-highest station in the country, after being a clear first five years ago, when commercial radio brands are included. RNZ's expectations document doesn't talk up a quick return to bigger radio audiences. 'Simply maintaining cumulative weekly live radio audience and time spent listening is difficult in a tough market, which is suffering incremental long-term decline.' Goldsmith also wants RNZ, and the other major public broadcaster TVNZ, to improve their 'trust' ratings with their audiences in light of industry-wide declines. The company is targeting an increase in the next year from 55 to 60 percent of New Zealanders who say RNZ is an organisation they can trust. 'RNZ will focus even more tightly on providing information people can trust and making our editorial processes as transparent as we can,' the tabled document says. RNZ wants to be a 'public media cornerstone and provider' by investing in quality journalism and content, ensuring there is strong regional NZ coverage and providing the new wire service. How the national news wire service, making RNZ journalism more easily available to third parties to publish or broadcast, would assist either the radio audience or trust goals is unclear. An RNZ spokesperson told Newsroom: 'It would be an RNZ-run and operated news wire service, and it would draw on RNZ news and content, including the copy provided by the 17 Local Democracy Reporters.' The wire service would be an extension of existing (free) agreements with individual partners (such as Newsroom) to share RNZ content. 'At this point the news wire is in its preliminary stages of development. Simply put, we are looking at developing a platform which is accessible and allows us to distribute a consolidated supply of the news and content we already have.' The Local Democracy Reporting initiative and a separate publicly funded team of journalists working from the nation's courtrooms were winners of extra funding in the Budget so could provide RNZ with a more substantial, consolidated daily news menu for partner/customers. Another of RNZ's objectives under its digital acceleration programme outlined in the report to Parliament is to increase its monthly number of users of its website to 1.6m from the current 1.5m in the Nielsen Online Ratings measure. That is on top of a 400,000 rise from 2024. It also intends to develop an AI 'query tool for surfacing content', with a prototype under way within the year. RNZ has employed a senior Stuff editor, Patrick Crewdson, as its new AI development chief, and will no doubt argue the careful adoption of AI tools will allow it to continue to operate at a high output with lower Government funding. It wants to get to a model of committing at least 90 percent of its operational spending on the production and distribution of content – and thus under 10 percent on back office or overheads. It is nearly there, sitting at 89 percent in 2024/25. TVNZ's building on Victoria St in central Auckland. Photo: Tim Murphy TVNZ will 'demonstrate' closeness to RNZ RNZ is set to move its Auckland operations into the TVNZ centre on Victoria St in Auckland within the year, and despite a failed merger proposal under the former Labour government, closer co-operation seems possible. TVNZ's similar Statement of Performance Expectations for 2025/26 pledges to report on 'initiatives that demonstrate a closer working relationship with RNZ in line with the Government's expectation'. TVNZ outlines a projected net financial loss for the coming 25/26 year of $48m, but some of that seems to include the cost of money to be invested by the company into its digital transformation. It says it will have operating revenue of $272.5m and operating expenses of $312.1m. A note in the document says there will be 'significant investment in TVNZ's digital technologies with further investment required in FY27 to complete the project utilising existing cashflows'. TVNZ wants to double its digital audiences by 2030 and triple its digital revenue by the same year, from base figures in 2023, meaning revenues would jump from $55.6m then and around $67.7m this year to $150m at the end of the decade. The broadcaster has set a target for its 1 News audience at 6pm nightly on TV which drops slightly from around 588,000 so far this year to 582,000 next financial year. Streaming of the news on TVNZ+ is predicted to go up from 191,000 to 220,000. The state broadcaster has set an aim of topping the AUT Trust in News report, with a target of 6 points (out of 10), up from third-equal the past two years with 4.8 and 5.6. It commits to commissioning an independent review of its news, looking at balance and bias and to 'constantly monitor for the separation of fact and opinion'.
Scoop
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Sovereignty ‘Red Line' In Any Future Ngāpuhi Settlement Message At Whangārei Hapū Hui
Article – RNZ Much of hap hui agenda taken up by discussions of sovereignty and bill which aims to impose a single settlement on Ngpuhi. A hapū hui in Whangārei has sent a clear message that sovereignty is a 'red line' in any future Ngāpuhi settlement. The vexed issue of sovereignty hit the headlines again recently when Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said settlement talks with Bay of Plenty iwi Te Whānau-ā-Apanui had been put on hold over a controversial 'agree to disagree' clause. The clause, added during the previous government in 2023, spells out the iwi's claim it is a sovereign nation – while at the same time allowing the Crown to maintain it has sovereignty over New Zealand. A landmark Waitangi Tribunal report in 2014 sided with iwi by ruling that Ngāpuhi chiefs did not cede sovereignty when they signed Te Tiriti in 1840. Wednesday's hui at Ngāraratunua Marae was to have been a routine gathering of Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū Ngāpuhi. Instead, much of the agenda was consumed by discussions of sovereignty and NZ First Minister Shane Jones' member's bill which aims to impose a single settlement on Ngāpuhi, instead of the multiple smaller settlements sought by some hapū. Te Kotahitanga co-chair Pita Tipene said he would not enter any discussions with the Crown if there was no acknowledgement of hapū sovereignty. 'It's a red line for me, a bottom line … it would mean everything that we've been fighting for, prosecuting through the Waitangi Tribunal that we have never ceded our sovereignty, will be signed away by a couple of signatures on a piece of paper,' he said. Anyone willing to sign such a settlement was 'giving up their soul for pieces of silver and gold'. However, Tipene said he was still willing to meet Goldsmith if he travelled to Northland in coming weeks, as indicated by the minister in an interview last week. 'We're always willing to meet with the minister. He's responsible for the government in terms of our Tiriti o Waitangi claims so it's only right that we sit down and talk with him instead of talking with him through the media.' Tipene was also dismissive of Jones' member's bill, which he described as a distraction. 'We will not be corralled into a single settlement. If hapū want to come together, they will do it because they want to, not because they have to.' Tipene said East Coast iwi Ngāti Kahungunu had proven it was possible to split the settlement for a large and complex iwi into smaller agreements based on taiwhenua, or regional hapū groupings. With Ngāpuhi, however, Tipene said successive governments seemed to consider settlement as a kind of trophy, with politicians like big game hunters hoping to be photographed with a gun in hand and a foot on the head of the biggest lion. While he didn't agree with Jones on Treaty matters, Tipene said he respected him and valued his role in stirring up debate. 'One must admire him for agitating. By agitating, it gets people thinking and moving and having conversations that they may not ordinarily have.' 'We do not want a single commercial settlement' – Tipene Tipene said the message from Wednesday's hui was clear. 'We do not want a single commercial settlement. We will be adhering strongly to our own rangatiratanga or sovereignty, and we won't be signing anything that may undermine that.' Earlier, Jones said multiple smaller settlements risked turning Ngāpuhi – which had some of the worst socio-economic statistics in the country – into 'economic confetti'. He told RNZ his bill would bring clarity as to how the claim could be settled. 'Then people can consult on the member's bill, and I accept it will take some time, but they will have a clear target, because at the moment, it's like a flock of ducks quacking loudly, flying in all different directions, and sadly, that's what the Ngāpuhi claim has turned into,' Jones said. Te Kotahitanga co-chair Lee Harris, who also co-chairs the Hokianga Taiwhenua, said a meeting in Rāwene a day earlier came to the same conclusions as the Whangārei hui. 'The position of the hapū that attended was complete opposition to Shane Jones' proposal. We do not accept one settlement for Ngāpuhi. In regard to Minister Goldsmith's kōrero about the removal of any possible clause acknowledging sovereignty, well, we don't agree with that either, especially in light of the stage one Te Paparahi o Te Raki report [that found Ngāpuhi did not cede sovereignty],' she said. Harris also rejected the argument that a single settlement was needed so work could begin quickly on turning around Northland's dire poverty statistics. 'In Hokianga, we're pretty sick and tired of people using our existing very poor standards of living against us as a weapon by trying to push a settlement over the top of us. Paparahi o Te Raki [The Waitangi Tribunal's Northland inquiry] addressed historical grievances. Therefore, any settlement is to pay for the wrongs of yesterday that happened to our tūpuna. It's not to be used to tidy up the contemporary mess of the poor living conditions in which we live in today. That is a separate issue, and that is solely on the Crown.' Not all at the hui, however, considered sovereignty a sticking point. Kaumatua Waihoroi 'Wassie' Shortland said Crown sovereignty was the only way the nation could operate collectively, even if history was littered with examples of governments exercising that sovereignty badly. However, if the Crown maintained Ngāpuhi had lost its sovereignty, that came at a cost that needed to be factored into any future settlement. Like Tipene, Shortland said he was ready to talk to Goldsmith, because he did not have to agree with people to engage with them. Shortland believed settlement would come when Ngāpuhi, which made up one in five Māori and one in 25 New Zealanders, learnt to use the strength of its numbers. About 120 people attended Wednesday's hui. Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū Ngāpuhi is an informal group initially set up by Tipene and the late Rudy Taylor to oppose Tuhoronuku, an earlier attempt to set up a mandated iwi authority to negotiate a single Ngāpuhi settlement. Tuhoronuku was recognised by the government in 2014 but abandoned in late 2018.
Scoop
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Sovereignty 'Red Line' In Any Future Ngāpuhi Settlement Message At Whangārei Hapū Hui
A hapū hui in Whangārei has sent a clear message that sovereignty is a "red line" in any future Ngāpuhi settlement. The vexed issue of sovereignty hit the headlines again recently when Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said settlement talks with Bay of Plenty iwi Te Whānau-ā-Apanui had been put on hold over a controversial "agree to disagree" clause. The clause, added during the previous government in 2023, spells out the iwi's claim it is a sovereign nation - while at the same time allowing the Crown to maintain it has sovereignty over New Zealand. A landmark Waitangi Tribunal report in 2014 sided with iwi by ruling that Ngāpuhi chiefs did not cede sovereignty when they signed Te Tiriti in 1840. Wednesday's hui at Ngāraratunua Marae was to have been a routine gathering of Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū Ngāpuhi. Instead, much of the agenda was consumed by discussions of sovereignty and NZ First Minister Shane Jones' member's bill which aims to impose a single settlement on Ngāpuhi, instead of the multiple smaller settlements sought by some hapū. Te Kotahitanga co-chair Pita Tipene said he would not enter any discussions with the Crown if there was no acknowledgement of hapū sovereignty. "It's a red line for me, a bottom line … it would mean everything that we've been fighting for, prosecuting through the Waitangi Tribunal that we have never ceded our sovereignty, will be signed away by a couple of signatures on a piece of paper," he said. Anyone willing to sign such a settlement was "giving up their soul for pieces of silver and gold". However, Tipene said he was still willing to meet Goldsmith if he travelled to Northland in coming weeks, as indicated by the minister in an interview last week. "We're always willing to meet with the minister. He's responsible for the government in terms of our Tiriti o Waitangi claims so it's only right that we sit down and talk with him instead of talking with him through the media." Tipene was also dismissive of Jones' member's bill, which he described as a distraction. "We will not be corralled into a single settlement. If hapū want to come together, they will do it because they want to, not because they have to." Tipene said East Coast iwi Ngāti Kahungunu had proven it was possible to split the settlement for a large and complex iwi into smaller agreements based on taiwhenua, or regional hapū groupings. With Ngāpuhi, however, Tipene said successive governments seemed to consider settlement as a kind of trophy, with politicians like big game hunters hoping to be photographed with a gun in hand and a foot on the head of the biggest lion. While he didn't agree with Jones on Treaty matters, Tipene said he respected him and valued his role in stirring up debate. "One must admire him for agitating. By agitating, it gets people thinking and moving and having conversations that they may not ordinarily have." 'We do not want a single commercial settlement' - Tipene Tipene said the message from Wednesday's hui was clear. "We do not want a single commercial settlement. We will be adhering strongly to our own rangatiratanga or sovereignty, and we won't be signing anything that may undermine that." Earlier, Jones said multiple smaller settlements risked turning Ngāpuhi - which had some of the worst socio-economic statistics in the country - into "economic confetti". He told RNZ his bill would bring clarity as to how the claim could be settled. "Then people can consult on the member's bill, and I accept it will take some time, but they will have a clear target, because at the moment, it's like a flock of ducks quacking loudly, flying in all different directions, and sadly, that's what the Ngāpuhi claim has turned into," Jones said. Te Kotahitanga co-chair Lee Harris, who also co-chairs the Hokianga Taiwhenua, said a meeting in Rāwene a day earlier came to the same conclusions as the Whangārei hui. "The position of the hapū that attended was complete opposition to Shane Jones' proposal. We do not accept one settlement for Ngāpuhi. In regard to Minister Goldsmith's kōrero about the removal of any possible clause acknowledging sovereignty, well, we don't agree with that either, especially in light of the stage one Te Paparahi o Te Raki report [that found Ngāpuhi did not cede sovereignty]," she said. Harris also rejected the argument that a single settlement was needed so work could begin quickly on turning around Northland's dire poverty statistics. "In Hokianga, we're pretty sick and tired of people using our existing very poor standards of living against us as a weapon by trying to push a settlement over the top of us. Paparahi o Te Raki [The Waitangi Tribunal's Northland inquiry] addressed historical grievances. Therefore, any settlement is to pay for the wrongs of yesterday that happened to our tūpuna. It's not to be used to tidy up the contemporary mess of the poor living conditions in which we live in today. That is a separate issue, and that is solely on the Crown." Not all at the hui, however, considered sovereignty a sticking point. Kaumatua Waihoroi "Wassie" Shortland said Crown sovereignty was the only way the nation could operate collectively, even if history was littered with examples of governments exercising that sovereignty badly. However, if the Crown maintained Ngāpuhi had lost its sovereignty, that came at a cost that needed to be factored into any future settlement. Like Tipene, Shortland said he was ready to talk to Goldsmith, because he did not have to agree with people to engage with them. Shortland believed settlement would come when Ngāpuhi, which made up one in five Māori and one in 25 New Zealanders, learnt to use the strength of its numbers. About 120 people attended Wednesday's hui. Te Kotahitanga o Ngā Hapū Ngāpuhi is an informal group initially set up by Tipene and the late Rudy Taylor to oppose Tuhoronuku, an earlier attempt to set up a mandated iwi authority to negotiate a single Ngāpuhi settlement. Tuhoronuku was recognised by the government in 2014 but abandoned in late 2018.
