Latest news with #TheBulletin
The Spinoff
20 hours ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Coalition rift opens over UN letter as Seymour defends rogue response
The Act leader's unilateral reply to the UN has exposed fresh cracks in the coalition – and created a clean-up job for Winston Peters, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Letter row underscores coalition strain David Seymour's fiery response to a United Nations letter has turned into a full-blown coalition controversy, exposing divisions over both diplomatic conduct and the ideological direction of government. In June, UN special rapporteur Albert K Barume wrote to the government expressing concern that Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill failed to uphold Treaty principles and risked breaching Māori rights. Without consulting his coalition partners, Seymour fired back, sending his own letter to Barume telling him his remarks were 'presumptive, condescending, and wholly misplaced' and branding the UN intervention 'an affront to New Zealand's sovereignty'. As RNZ's Craig McCulloch reports, prime minister Christopher Luxon yesterday described Barume's letter as 'total bunkum' but agreed Seymour had overstepped and should not have responded directly. What the UN said – and what Seymour wrote back In his letter, Barume said he was concerned about reports of 'a persistent erosion of the rights of the Māori Indigenous Peoples… through regressive legislations' that may breach New Zealand's international obligations. Seymour's response was uncompromising. 'As an Indigenous New Zealander myself,' he wrote, 'I am deeply aggrieved by your audacity in presuming to speak on my behalf and that of my fellow Māori.' He dismissed concerns about Māori exclusion from consultation as 'misleading and offensive', and accused Barume of misunderstanding both the bill and New Zealand's legislative process. While Seymour has since agreed to withdraw the letter to allow foreign minister Winston Peters to respond officially, he has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, insisting that 'we all agree the UN's criticisms are crazy' and that the official response would be essentially the same as his own. When asked if that was the case, Peters sounded aghast, reports The Post's Kelly Dennett (paywalled). 'That's not true,' Peters told reporters. 'Why would he say that?' The government's position would be made clear only after consulting all affected ministries, Peters said. 'We don't do megaphone diplomacy in this business,' he added acidly. 'Don't you understand diplomacy? You don't speak to other countries via the media.' Māori opposition to the bill runs deep Behind the diplomatic drama lies the more substantive issue: widespread Māori opposition to the Regulatory Standards Bill itself. Writing in Te Ao Māori News, former MP Louisa Wall says Seymour's claim that the bill doesn't weaken Treaty protections is 'demonstrably false'. In fact, she says, 'the Bill is silent on Te Tiriti. It elevates a monocultural legal standard based on private property and individual liberty while excluding Māori values like tikanga, mana motuhake, and kaitiakitanga. This is not neutral. It is erasure.' Wall also defends Barume's intervention, arguing that he was fulfilling his mandate to monitor Indigenous rights worldwide and that his concerns echoed those already raised by Māori leaders and legal scholars. 'Dr Barume is not imposing an external ideology,' she writes. 'His letter reflects what Māori across the motu already know: our rights are being undermined.' Coalition fault lines widen over Seymour's bill The clash over the UN letter comes at a tense time for Act's relationship with NZ First, which has made no secret of its discomfort with parts of the bill. Seymour has 'made it clear behind the scenes' that the regulatory standards legislation is 'as bottom line as it gets', writes Thomas Coughlan in a fascinating piece for the Herald (paywalled). Translation: '[Seymour] is willing to walk away from the coalition over it, bringing down the Government and triggering an election' if he doesn't get what he wants. While that's an unlikely scenario – especially since the coalition agreement commits the government to passing some version of the legislation – Seymour's passion for the bill speaks volumes about the junior coalition partners' divergent ideologies, writes Coughlan. 'Act is willing to risk short-term unpopularity, even losing an election, for long-term foundational change; NZ First is not.'
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- Business
- The Spinoff
Will 2026 be the year that Auckland gets its mojo back?
A new international report paints a bleak picture of Auckland in 2025. But with major infrastructure projects finally nearing completion, there's hope the city might yet reclaim its spark, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Have Aucklanders fallen out of love with Auckland? While Wellington often takes the heat for New Zealand's current sense of national stagnation, Auckland is in its own deep funk. As Erin Johnson reports in Stuff, the latest Ipsos Quality of Life Survey, released in April, found nearly a third of Aucklanders felt their quality of life had worsened over the past year – the highest among all eight surveyed cities. The most common reason, by far, was financial strain, with half of all respondents calling out the cost of housing as unaffordable. Traffic congestion, lack of parking and overflowing rubbish bins topped the list of frustrations in Aucklanders' own neighbourhoods. Small wonder, then, that Aucklanders are voting with their feet – not just crossing the Tasman in record numbers, but moving south in search of affordability and a better lifestyle. As The Press reports (paywalled), more than 10,000 Aucklanders relocated to Christchurch between 2018 and 2023. Top reasons for making the move included less stress and the ability to buy a home and still afford to live. A city stuck in neutral This sense of drift is captured starkly in the brand new State of the City report, which compares Auckland with cities like Brisbane, Copenhagen and Vancouver. Writing this morning in The Spinoff, Duncan Greive says the report's downbeat vibe is unmistakable. 'Across the three reports of 2023, 2024 and 2025, the city feels stagnant and decaying,' he writes. Mark Thomas, chair of the organisation that funds and commissions the report, is more specific: 'Weak economic performance, inadequate skills and innovation development, and disjointed and delayed planning are causing Auckland to lose ground, with the risk of falling further behind.' Auckland ranks well for resilience and diversity, but falls behind on experience, prosperity and 'place' – that is, the overall livability and coherence of the city and its suburbs. 'For all its history, cultural diversity and incredible twin-harbour location, Auckland is a city which feels stuck,' Duncan writes, summing up the report's overall theme. Amid this gloom, hopes are increasingly pinned on two long-awaited infrastructure projects: the City Rail Link (CRL) and the International Convention Centre, both now scheduled to open in 2026. A midtown miracle? As Garth Bray and Dileepa Fonseka recently reported in BusinessDesk (paywalled), there's growing confidence that the CRL, and particularly the new midtown Te Waihorotiu station, will be a catalyst for revitalisation. The area surrounding the station – a long-underwhelming swathe of the central city – is seeing a flurry of investment, with Auckland Council economist Gary Blick identifying 18 developments worth billions within a five-minute walk. Among them is the $450 million Symphony Centre, being built directly above the new station. Once open, Te Waihorotiu is expected to be the country's busiest train station, serving up to 50,000 passengers an hour at peak. It's not just about transport: the surrounding streetscape is being redesigned for wider footpaths, greenery and outdoor dining – a deliberate push to reshape how people experience the city centre, Bray and Fonseka write. The long construction disruption has taken a toll, but there are now tangible signs that a new phase is beginning. Pedestrian power wins on Project K In another hopeful development, Auckland Transport appears to have backtracked on controversial changes to Project K, the urban realm upgrade around the CRL's Karanga-a-Hape station. As Connor Sharp reports in Greater Auckland, after a fierce public backlash, AT has returned to a plan closer to its original, people-focused vision. The updated design – due to be voted on by the Waitematā Local Board today – restores pedestrian-friendly measures on Cross Street, retains a cycleway on East Street, and revives a plan to block rat-running traffic on Upper Mercury Lane. Councillor Richard Hills says the new plan will help reinvigorate the Karangahape Road area while making the entrance to the new station both vibrant and welcoming. 'It's not perfect, but it's a good result if everyone sees it as a compromise,' he says. In a city that too often struggles to deliver on its promises, Project K is a win for the urbanists – and a reminder that Aucklanders haven't given up on the place just yet.
The Spinoff
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Chung's non-apology deepens storm over sexist smear campaign
He promised to make a public apology to Tory Whanau. Instead, mayoral hopeful Ray Chung last night issued a video statement in which he claimed to be the victim of a dirty tricks campaign, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. No apology, no accountability Wellington mayoral candidate Ray Chung is facing a growing backlash after failing to deliver a promised apology over a degrading email he sent about current mayor Tory Whanau. Chung claimed over the weekend he had scripted an 'unequivocal apology' for the 2023 email in which he circulated a second-hand rumour describing Whanau's supposed 'night of debauchery'. Instead, last night he published a video statement alleging the email leak was part of a 'concerted campaign' to discredit him. In the video, Chung said he regretted writing the email and sharing it 'with people whom I thought trustworthy'. As reported by Tom Hunt in the Weekend Post (paywalled), Chung had at one point told the paper he didn't see why he should apologise at all, 'due to embarrassment he said Whanau caused him at a conference a couple of years back'. Whanau says she is yet to hear from Chung directly following the email revelation. It's fair to say that for many, his dithering, tin-eared response has only reinforced the original offence, and the perception that he's unfit for leadership. Whanau considers legal action over smear campaign The mayor, meanwhile, has signalled she is no longer willing to stay silent. In a detailed public statement, Whanau said she is seeking legal advice over what she called a campaign of 'malicious, sexist rumours' spread by both Chung and fellow mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham. 'Throughout this term, I've endured a constant stream of false and malicious rumours,' she wrote. 'I've chosen to stay focused on our city's progress and ignore this behaviour – until now.' Whanau's legal threats could encompass action under the Harmful Digital Communications Act and potentially a trespass order against Bloxham, who posted about her on LinkedIn and the Wellington Live platform which he is still fronting, though he now claims not to own it. 'These lies often start online, but their impact in real life can be devastating,' Whanau wrote. 'They are a tactic designed to dehumanise, wear people down, and discourage good people from standing for public office.' 'Trump without the tactics' Chung's email scandal is just the latest in a long list of controversies. In a blistering Windbag column published in The Spinoff this morning, Joel MacManus argues that the councillor had disgraced himself long before the Whanau email surfaced. Chung has been accused by colleagues of making wildly inappropriate comments in the council offices, including a grotesque remark about a deceased young man and repeated verbal abuse directed at Whanau. He has compared council sustainability efforts to the Cambodian genocide and frequently loses his temper or gets procedural basics wrong in meetings. 'He lacks the intellectual and temperamental qualities that we should expect from our elected officials,' Joel writes. 'Ray Chung is Trump without the tactics. Winston Peters without the wit. Wayne Brown without the brains. The human personification of the angriest and least-informed comment section on Facebook.' Chung, Joel notes, became the default candidate on the right thanks to an aggressive campaign and early fundraising – potentially blocking more competent right-leaning contenders from stepping forward. Controversy engulfs Independent Together and Better Wellington The furore around Chung has capped a disastrous 10 days for his campaign ticket Independent Together (IT) and its backer Better Wellington. As The Post's Andrea Vance revealed on Wednesday (paywalled), a Better Wellington–commissioned opposition research dossier labelled one candidate a 'Labour Covidian', mocked others for supporting te reo or climate action, and described a Māori hopeful as 'brazenly and belligerently pro-Māori'. The group later distanced itself from the report, claiming the researcher had gone 'mad'. Separately, Better Wellington social media accounts mocked councillor Ben McNulty – including references to his children – and boosted an attack from IT candidate Lily Brown, who misrepresented mayor frontrunner Andrew Little's remarks at a mayoral debate. Brown was later forced to issue a clarification. Chung has alternated between disavowing knowledge of these attacks and downplaying their significance. But with legal threats mounting and key financial backer Mark Dunajtschik withdrawing his support, his campaign is flailing. For a group supposedly committed to 'bringing back sanity' to Wellington politics, Independent Together's tactics are suggesting just the opposite.
The Spinoff
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
What went wrong with MethaneSat – and who should answer for it?
New Zealand's first publicly funded space mission has ended with a lost satellite and a debate about how we spend our money in space, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. A sudden silence in orbit When MethaneSat lost contact last month, it marked an abrupt end to New Zealand's first publicly funded space mission – and a major setback for local climate science. The satellite, part of an international effort led by the US Environmental Defense Fund, was designed to 'name and shame' major methane polluters. As The Guardian's Veronika Meduna explains, MethaneSat's main focus was on detecting methane leaks from oil and gas production worldwide; the New Zealand-led side project tracked methane release from agriculture, which accounts for almost half of our greenhouse gas emissions. Meduna reports that in total New Zealand contributed NZ$32 million to the mission – $3m more than the figure widely quoted in last week's headlines. Apportioning blame The questions now are less about whether MethaneSat was a good idea and more about whether its problems should have been spotted sooner. Soon after launch, the satellite faced repeated technical issues, including difficulties with its thrusters and unexpected shutdowns caused by solar activity. Nicholas Rattenbury, Auckland University associate professor of physics, points out that 'the principle of caveat emptor is true for spacecraft as much as it is for purchasing a car'. While NZ was not involved in the design and testing, 'we were certainly entitled to relevant information to make a fully informed decision on whether or not to invest'. His colleague, astrophysicist Richard Easther, suggests NZ needs to shoulder some of the blame. Speaking to the Sunday Star Times' Jonathan Killick (paywalled), Easther argues local checks on the satellite's design and readiness were too light, especially given the 'major problems' that became clear long before contact was lost. All experts seem to agree that New Zealand may have relied too much on assurances from overseas partners instead of independent reviews. It's one of the main questions that the postmortem, when it comes, will have to answer. Space agency under scrutiny The MethaneSat failure has turned the spotlight on how New Zealand runs its space activities. The New Zealand Space Agency, formed in 2016 and now with Judith Collins as its minister, acts both as regulator and supporter of the sector. Simon Hunt, writing for BERL, describes it as a 'one-stop shop' for space policy and business support, noting its advantage in being 'not burdened down with outdated policies and processes'. But some researchers argue this dual role can be a conflict. As UoA's Priyanka Dhopade and Catherine Qualtrough write in The Conversation, the set-up of the agency risks 'a conflict of interest between promoting sustainability and fostering economic growth'. Sustainability in space is a growing international concern, Dhopade and Qualtrough write. As the amount of debris in space continues to skyrocket (sorry), scientists are also turning their attention to emerging issues like 'ozone depletion from rocket launches and the accumulation of alumina and soot particles in Earth's atmosphere as re-entering objects burn up'. The rise of Rocket Lab While MethaneSat drifts in silence, New Zealand's biggest space player is enjoying a record run. Rocket Lab – officially a US company – is now valued at over NZ$30 billion, with the share price hitting a record high of around US$38 (NZ$63). The Herald's Chris Keall reports (paywalled) that two factors are fuelling Rocket Lab's rise: fallout from SpaceX founder Elon Musk's feud with Donald Trump, and the upcoming first test launch of Rocket Lab's 'much larger, crew-capable rocket, the Neutron – which will put it toe to toe with SpaceX for the first time'. But the company's success has also attracted protest, reports The Spinoff's Gabi Lardies. Critics have accused Rocket Lab of enabling military surveillance, including through launches of BlackSky satellites allegedly used by Israel's defence forces. Last Friday Rocket Lab sites were picketed, while Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has referred CEO Peter Beck, Judith Collins and others to the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Beck has dismissed the claims, insisting the company abides by New Zealand law and doesn't launch weapons. Still, the sight of picket lines outside a NZ success story is a reminder that space, like politics, is never free from earthbound controversies.
The Spinoff
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Spinoff
Why economists are betting on the OCR holding steady today
Inflation uncertainty is driving expectations that the Reserve Bank will hit pause on cash rate cuts, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. RBNZ set to keep cash rate steady The Reserve Bank is widely expected to push pause on its series of cuts when it announces its latest Official Cash Rate (OCR) decision today. After six consecutive cuts since August last year — slashing the OCR from 5.5% to its current 3.25% — economists say the mood has shifted. ANZ's Sharon Zollner describes the call as a 'very close-run thing', giving odds of around 40% that the bank will cut. But the consensus is that acting governor Christian Hawkesby and the monetary policy committee will leave rates unchanged for now, Newsroom's Andrew Patterson reports. Financial markets are putting the chance of a cut today at under 20%, with a much stronger expectation that any move will come at the next review in late August. Mixed signals cloud the outlook As Interest's David Hargreaves explains, the Reserve Bank faces a complex set of signals. On one hand, GDP for the March quarter outstripped forecasts, rising 0.8% – double what the RBNZ predicted in May. But more recent indicators look weaker: retail spending remains soft, business sentiment surveys are downbeat, and the unemployment rate appears to be nudging higher. Bernard Hickey points out in The Kākā that the Reserve Bank's new 'Kiwi-GDP nowcast' shows GDP falling back into recessionary territory over the last three months. (See the graph here). Meanwhile, inflation remains stubborn in key areas like food, where prices climbed 4.4% in the year to May. Many bank economists still see annual inflation running slightly above the RBNZ's target range of 1%–3% for the next quarter or two. 'If it's short term that's not really a problem,' Hargreaves writes. 'Where it becomes a problem is if the public starts to expect future inflation and begins to act accordingly.' For the Reserve Bank, the risk is that high prices for groceries and other essentials could reignite those dreaded 'inflation expectations' – something it worked hard to rein in after inflation spiked to over 7% in 2022. That risk alone makes another cut today unlikely. Modest gains for mortgage holders For homeowners, the likely pause means no big drop in mortgage rates in the short term, reports Taylor Rice of 1News. Average rates have already fallen significantly as the OCR has come down: the typical floating rate now sits at 6.92%, while the average one-year and two-year fixed rates are both just over 5.6%. Infometrics' Brad Olsen says he continues to believe that 'mortgage rate cuts have largely run their course' unless the economy deteriorates further. Still, plenty of homeowners who fixed at higher rates are about to refix at these lower levels, offering some relief for household budgets. Such a modest boost for borrowers doesn't look set to spark a fresh housing boom. Asking prices are trending down across the main property platforms, Interest's Greg Ninness reports. saw a 3% drop in national asking prices last month alone, while Trade Me Property shows three straight months of declines. Combine plentiful listings with rising caution about job security, and economists see little chance of prices taking off anytime soon. Household inflation data back this October Meanwhile, The Post's Kelly Dennett (paywalled) reports that Stats NZ's long-delayed Household Living-Costs Price Index (HLPI) will finally return in October, releasing figures for the March, June and September quarters all at once. Stats NZ says 'technical data-processing challenges' are to blame for the extended delay. Unlike the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – the RBNZ's main target for monetary policy – the HLPI measures cost pressures faced by different household groups such as superannuitants, beneficiaries and Māori households. Its return will help officials get a clearer picture of who is feeling the pinch and how. A RBNZ spokesperson said it would welcome the HLPI's return, but the pause had not compromised the bank's ability to do its job.
