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The Spinoff
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Regulatory Standards Bill hearing, day four: The grand finale
On the last day of hearings into the Regulatory Standards Bill, the finance and expenditure committee heard from the man who dreamt up the bill's blueprint. The lights are coming down on the Regulatory Standards Bill show in select committee room four: after four days, 30 hours of hearings, 208 submitters, and not a single MP actually setting foot in this room, the finance and expenditure committee's hearings into the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) have come to a close. From here, the committee will report back to the House on the evidence they've heard by mid-September – by this time next year, the RSB will be in full force. The first speaker of the day was Toitū Te Tiriti's Eru Kapa-Kingi, who opposed the bill. Kapa-Kingi told the committee that while the number of submitters on the bill (reported to be around 150,000) is 'impressive', Toitū Te Tiriti had found it difficult to 'market and promote' opposition to the RSB due to 'fatigue' from its members, the timing which had seen the bill 'creeping through the night', and the fact that the bill itself is a 'hard sell' due to confusion about its purpose – 'but this is all by design, and it's extremely concerning'. Also submitting against, Manukau Urban Māori Authority chief executive Tania Rangiheuea labelled the RSB an 'attack on Māori rights masked as regulatory reform'. She condemned the bill's omission of the Treaty, and the lack of consultation with Māori which repeated a 'colonial pattern of exclusion'. 'If [David Seymour] holds publicly stated views that funding targeted to Māori is 'racist',' Rangiheuea said, 'then it's reasonable to conclude that any future legislation seeking to honour te Tiriti will be unfairly deemed noncompliant under this bill.' Legislation Design and Advisory Committee chair Mark Steel and members Jonathan Orpin-Dowell and Simon Peart recommended the RSB be passed but not as currently drafted, and suggested amendments. These included establishing a regulatory framework without principles, ensuring that if principles are kept that they should be decided by a 'broad-based consensus driven process' and limiting the scope of the framework/principles to only apply to primary legislation. Asked by committee member and Labour MP Duncan Webb for their observations on clause 24 of the bill, which specifies it has no legal force, Steel said the clause was 'unusual but not unprecedented'. Orpin-Dowell said that if the bill remained in statute for a long period of time, the courts may look at it as a statement of principles that legislation should adhere to. Energy Resources Aotearoa's John Carnegie and Angela Parker supported the bill, as current 'poor regulation' had increased their industry's sovereign risk and left Aotearoa with a 'significant energy shortfall'. 'Flip flop' government policies, such as the 2018 ban on oil and gas exploration, had damaged investor confidence in the sector, and Carnegie argued that respect for property rights must be a 'core' regulatory principle – 'in the end, consumers lose when government actions reduce the value of private property.' The sector is 'crying out' for efficient regulation, Carnegie said. The decommissioning regime introduced under the Crown Minerals Amendment 2021, which applied to retrospective permits, had impacted investor decisions and disregarded their expectations and thus reduced the value of assets 'by force of law'. 'Hence the energy crisis we now face,' Carnegie said. The New Zealand Initiative's chief economist Dr Eric Crampton and senior fellow Dr Bryce Wilkinson – the latter of whom laid out the blueprint for the RSB in a 2001 report – submitted in favour of the bill. The RSB would bring 'greater scrutiny' and transparency to legislation introduced under urgency, Crampton said, and its principle of compensation would ensure that the cost of providing 'beneficial public purposes' doesn't just fall on 'those who are compelled to provide it'. 'It's fun to think about what would have happened, had something like the Regulatory Standards Bill been in effect when iwi lost the right to regulate their own housing on their own land,' Crampton offered. 'I don't know whether it has been fun,' Te Pāti Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi replied. Afterwards, Wilkinson gave a solo submission, which was mostly just a back and forth between himself and Labour Party committee members Duncan Webb and Deborah Russell. When Webb questioned why the bill's principles omitted values such as indigenous and environment rights – which he considered to be 'central touchstones to good legislation' – Wilkinson replied that Webb was 'totally wrong … what protection for Māori is not in the existing principles?' Russell went through a list of the bill's opponents – Sir Geoffrey Palmer, the Iwi Chairs Forum, Northland Regional Council, the NZ Council of Civil Liberties, etc etc – and asked Wilkinson, are you saying all these legal and government experts are wrong? Well, Wilkinson replied, I can name you one which doesn't attack me: the Legislation Advisory Committee. 'They attack what the law is going to be, and it's just extraordinary that you would think that these people do not have valid concerns about this bill,' Russell bit back. But committee chair Cameron Brewer called time – unless Wilkinson had a closing remark? 'No, I'm good,' Wilkinson replied. Up next was lawyer Annette Sykes, who submitted against the 'vague and open-ended' bill for its failure to consider Māori perspectives and experiences. It is a 'deep insult' to promise property rights to individuals and corporations when this has been denied to Māori, she said, and there is a risk foreign investors could seek claims in the millions and billions which would have a 'chilling effect' when implementing Treaty obligations. 'Māori are not just an individual or corporation – we have obligations as kaitiaki to this land, and to all future generations that share this land with us,' Sykes said. 'There is no definition of property.' Victoria University Student Association president Liban Ali also submitted against the bill, because students have bigger issues to worry about. The bill treats regulations as a 'burden', Ali said, but students 'rely' on good regulations to make sure their flats are liveable, their employment is protected in insecure work, and that they can get to class with the help of taxpayer subsidies. 'People are desperate for leadership, not ideological side quests,' Ali said. Tauranga Māori Business Association's Jacqui Rolleston-Steed was one of the last speakers of the day, and opposed the bill due to its risk of doing 'harm' to Māori businesses – the group would like to see improved regulatory process, but one that includes the perspectives of tangata whenua. Rolleston-Steed said the aspirations set out in the bill don't reflect the realities of Māori business – on the bill's focus on freedom of contract, Rolleston-Steed said collective agreements and tikanga obligations are more common practices among Māori, while property is usually held in collective Māori titles and trusts. 'This bill treats their way of working collectively, culturally-grounded and long term focused as non-compliant, because it doesn't fit the Western business model,' Rolleston-Steed said. And then it was all over: months of social media campaigning, an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing and in recent weeks, accusations of some kind of 'derangement syndrome' in the air, the select committee's hearings on the RSB were over. All that was left in select committee room four were the two hard working Clerks at the benches, a smiling security guard and a lowly Spinoff reporter.
NZ Herald
10-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Ngāti Tukorehe to fly more flags after ‘racist attack' on its whenua
By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ Ngāti Tukorehe members are flying their flags even higher after what they call a 'racist' and targeted act of vandalism. The Horowhenua-based iwi was angered when multiple tino rangatiratanga, He Whakaputanga and Toitū Te Tiriti flags were torn down from their
Scoop
03-07-2025
- Scoop
$22 Million To Enhance Wildlife Visitor Experiences
Minister of Conservation Toitū te marae a Tāne-Mahuta me Hineahuone, Toitū te marae a Tangaroa me Hinemoana, Toitū te tangata. Significant investment into supporting native species and tackling invasive pests in national parks has been announced by Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. Mr Potaka visited the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust facility near Christchurch today, where he announced $22 million from the International Visitor Levy will go to restoring unique wildlife in national parks, islands and other popular visitor sites over the next three years. Last year, nearly three-quarters of international visitors said they did a hike, walk or tramp while in Aotearoa New Zealand, and around half visited a national park. 'Conservation-related tourism is worth around $3.4 billion a year,' says Mr Potaka. 'By backing conservation and sustainable tourism, the government also boosts our economy. This funding is strategically split between supporting our native species and tackling invasive pests—giving birds, bush, marine life and landscapes respite to recover. 'We're putting $4.15 million into expanding predator control, plus $11.5 million on the recovery of highly threatened species, including tara iti, at national parks and popular sites so visitors can enjoy thriving natural areas where their funds have contributed. 'Almost $7 million will target feral goats which remove the forest undergrowth and prevent regeneration. 'People fly here with the dream of enjoying our world-class environment and we want to make that experience even better for them. It's about generations of whānau camping out and struggling to sleep because of noisy kiwi calling outside; later waking to find only precious footprints. 'I'm delighted $1.7 million of this will go towards protecting critically endangered Canterbury locals—kakī/black stilts and kākāriki karaka/orange-fronted parakeets. 'There are only about 400 of these parakeets in the world. They nest in trees, cared for by both parents – but parent birds are no match for rats and stoats. If these invasive predators are around, eggs and chicks are quickly wiped out. 'We want to protect and grow rare species like these so more people can enjoy them at places closer to home like at The Brook Waimārama Sanctuary near Nelson. 'Budget 2025 allocates $55 million per annum to DOC for new investments from money raised under the new $100 IVL rate. 'New Zealand attracts visitors who care about nature and every cent that goes into conservation is an investment in our environment and our economy.' Additional information on the IVL projects: Expanding landscape scale predator control ($4.15m over 26/27 and 27/28). Additional work in National Parks and priority sites, to grow populations of iconic bird species. The IVL funding will allow DOC to boost predator control operations in 2 or potentially 3 priority areas in response to the beech mast forecast for 2026. Potential locations (triggered by monitoring and need for urgent beechmast response) include: Fiordland, Mt Aspiring, Arthur's Pass, and Kahurangi National Parks in 26/27. IVL funding will also enable the government to maintain the gains of philanthropic projects, maximising predator control outcomes from the NEXT Foundation investment: e.g. in Abel Tasman, Taranaki Mounga and Predator Free South Westland. Goat management in National Parks and popular visitor areas ($6.9m over 3 years from 25/26) where damage results in visitors experiencing forests with limited understory. Priority locations for focus: Whanganui and Kahurangi National Parks Iconic landscapes of Marlborough. In some places it is viable to eradicate (totally remove) goats, creating huge cost efficiencies over the long-term, and reducing the impact of goats on forests. Priority locations include: Westland Tai Poutini National Park Kaimai Forest Park Nelson Lakes National Park Increasing populations of threatened species in national parks, islands and popular sites ($11.5m over 3 years). While increased weed and predator control will help many threatened species, there are targeted actions needed to ensure recovery of our most threatened and iconic species. Initial focus of the IVL funding will be on the recovery of priority, highly threatened species that occur in national parks and high visitation sites, so that visitors can enjoy thriving natural areas where their funds have contributed. 2025/26 IVL funded species include: Fauna: Southern NZ dotterel, kakī, Tara iti, kākāriki karaka, Paparoa giant wētā, Canterbury knobbled weevil, Awakopaka skink, Kakarakau skink, Oligosoma St Arnaud lowland skink. Threatened plants: e.g., Brachyglottis rotundifolia, Solenogyne christensenii, Cardamine mutabilis, Carmichaelia carmichaeliae, Craspedia (Fyfe River). Enhancing biodiversity on islands in popular visitor areas and ensuring appropriate protection is in place for biosecurity on high priority islands. For 2025/26, funding is allocated to the Hauraki Gulf, Marlborough Sounds, Kapiti and Fiordland islands.
