Latest news with #UniversityofOtago
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Transtasman alliance could be global force for good
New Zealand and Australia need to give much greater attention to the combined impact they could have on the world stage, an international relations specialist says. Prof Robert Patman says the two countries' close relationship could be used to help address global issues. He urges the governments of both countries to formulate a plan to campaign for change on issues they have shared views on, such as the erosion of international law by great powers. ''I think both Canberra and Wellington need to give that issue a lot more attention,'' Prof Patman said. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Speaking on the Otago Daily Times' Global Insight, the University of Otago academic said global issues were too big for superpowers to solve unilaterally, allowing middle and small powers to work together on transnational solutions. ''[That] opens the door for New Zealand and Australia to play a constructive role and win over majority support... to bring about effective change.'' Prof Patman would like to see New Zealand and Australia collaborate to push for reform of the United Nations Security Council, where five countries - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - have veto rights on council resolutions. Watch full interview here He wants the veto constrained or even abolished, or, alternatively, for the General Assembly to be empowered, when there is a two-thirds majority, to overrule any veto. ''There's a lack of global leadership on key issues... So, I do think there's real scope for Australia and New Zealand.'' In this episode of Global Insight, Prof Patman also outlines the state of the New Zealand-Australia relationship, considers what could threaten or strengthen that partnership and details the Christchurch Call as an example of New Zealand's leading role in influencing collaborative change at an international level.
Mint
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Mint
United States' worst tsunami fears pass, evacuations underway in South America
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake, tied as the sixth-strongest ever recorded, struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on July 30, triggering Pacific-wide tsunami alerts. The quake's epicenter was just 78 miles from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where residents felt violent shaking that Governor Vladimir Solodov called the 'strongest in decades'. Within minutes, tsunami waves flooded Severo-Kurilsk port with 19-foot surges, sweeping away storage containers and boats. Dramatically, surgeons in a Kamchatka cancer center continued operating as ceilings shook, later earning state award nominations . The tremor also triggered eruptions at Klyuchevskoy volcano, sending lava down its slopes. While the U.S., Japan and Russia lifted most warnings by Wednesday evening, Chile upgraded to maximum red alert along its 2,600-mile coastline. President Gabriel Boric cautioned: 'Remember the first wave is usually not the strongest' as preventative evacuations expanded. In Ecuador, 1.3-meter waves hit the Galapagos Islands' Baltra coast, keeping emergency protocols active . Peru closed 65 ports and restricted fishing after predicting 7.5-foot waves . Meanwhile, French Polynesia braced for 4-meter surges in the Marquesas Islands, though observed heights stayed near 1.5 meters . Though catastrophic damage was avoided, 125+ aftershocks (including three above magnitude 6.0) continued rattling the Pacific. The U.S. National Weather Service warned of 'stubbornly persistent' currents and fluctuating ocean levels for 24+ hours. Scientists noted the quake occurred on a 'megathrust fault' like Japan's 2011 disaster, with Caroline Orchiston of New Zealand's University of Otago warning: 'Large aftershocks can be damaging for months'. For now, communities from Alaska to Australia remain cautious, proof that when the earth shakes in Kamchatka, the world holds its breath.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
Top power company moves to stop disconnecting customers in hardship - Power to the People, part 3
'It was horrible. That's my family. Your blood runs through each other. It is hard to describe how it felt. 'I think most grandparents would die for their children or grandchildren, and it was painful to watch them go without. 'They were always sick. They had the flu all the time. It's hard to keep them warm, and they all slept in the same bed sometimes. 'It was sad when one of them would text me and go, 'Hi, Nan, we've got no power'. It embarrassed them.' They were on a joint plan where they could share credit, and the grandmother shared what she could, but often had to go without to do so. 'Everybody complained to me because my house was always cold. But it was always cold because I was trying to save money on power. 'A lot of people do this.' Disconnection fees 'punitive' Energy campaigners have condemned disconnections like these - and the fees power companies charge for them - as 'punitive and inappropriate' for an essential service like electricity. Their message seems to be having an effect. Last year, Contact Energy dropped disconnection fees after the Herald's Power to the People campaign and a petition by energy advocates Common Grace. Now Mercury Energy is moving towards dropping fees for non-payment from people in hardship. In response to questions on energy hardship from the Herald and Common Grace, it replied that it was only charging in cases of 'clear fraud' and had not disconnected a customer in hardship for non-payment since June last year. However the survey of power companies showed a majority still charged fees and said they would not stop disconnecting their customers for not paying their bills. The reasons behind keeping disconnections and fees included that it was a 'necessary approach' for some customers and there was a cost to providers to disconnect a customer. Campaigners and experts disagreed. University of Otago professor Kimberley O'Sullivan told the Herald disconnection fees were 'really problematic' and further hurt people in hardship. 'Non-payment often happens if a household experiences some stressor - say maybe someone in the house is unwell or gets hospitalised, the car needs fixing, someone loses work hours or a job, any of those things ... 'Even a household that was once fine can suddenly have a cascade where the bills start piling up and then they might be late with paying their electricity bill - which no one wants to pay late, because everyone needs electricity. 'Hopefully they can catch up, but if they can't, then they might get a disconnection notice, and if they still can't, they might be disconnected (now, thanks to the Consumer Care Obligations, at least there is a minimum process for the retailers to follow when this happens). Kimberley O'Sullivan, University of Otago, detailed the way people can fall into difficulties paying their bills and says the consequence of being disconnected hurts them further. Photo / University of Otago 'Once a household is disconnected, not only are they still trying to deal with whatever it was that put them into that situation in the first place, but the kicker is that there can be significant fees for disconnection and reconnection that need to be paid before they can switch the lights back on.' Consumer NZ's Powerswitch manager, Paul Fuge, agreed, saying disconnecting a vulnerable household that could not pay was disproportionate and harmful. 'Life can be tough. At different points, many of us may experience circumstances that make it difficult to maintain access to essential services,' Fuge said. 'These include job loss, illness, mental health struggles, financial stress, caregiving responsibilities, exposure to domestic violence, or challenges in securing stable housing and employment. 'Some households face even deeper, long-term hardship such as persistent poverty or severely limited incomes, which further compounds their vulnerability.' Fuge said having access to safe, reliable and affordable electricity was fundamental to people's health, wellbeing and ability to function in a modern society. 'Electricity is universally accepted as an essential service. 'Losing access has serious impacts, particularly for people with disabilities or health conditions who rely on electricity to sustain daily life,' he said. 'Providers of essential services must not place commercial interests above consumer safety and wellbeing. Electricity retailers, by choosing to operate in this space, accept a duty of care. If they are unwilling or unable to meet that responsibility, they should not be permitted to serve the market.' Fuge said retailers needed ways to recover unpaid bills. 'Of course, but cutting off an essential service to force payment from people who simply cannot afford it is both punitive and inappropriate'. Vulnerable households, who are already overrepresented among those having difficulty paying their bills, bear the brunt of disconnections. 'The consequences are real,' he said. 'Cold homes are a serious health risk, particularly for children and older people. Respiratory illness is a major public health burden in New Zealand, costing more than $7 billion annually and accounting for one in 10 hospital stays. 'People in the most deprived households are hospitalised for respiratory issues at three times the rate of those in better-off areas,' Fuge said. 'Consumer NZ strongly believes that using disconnection as a method of debt recovery is unsafe and must be phased out. The energy sector must move toward fairer, less harmful ways to prevent and manage debt.' Jake Lilley, from financial mentor charity Fincap, echoed O'Sullivan and Fuge, saying disconnecting a customer was a safety issue and should be avoided. Fincap's senior policy adviser, Jake Lilley, says disconnecting someone from their electricity is a safety issue. Photo / Fincap 'No one should be disconnected because they're unable to pay - and that's not currently what the regulations say. 'And disconnection fees, particularly where someone hasn't been able to pay, make the problem worse," Lilley said. He said the fees were often unlikely to be paid, and, if they were, it was usually through a loan. 'So they're just kicking the can down the road on the affordability issues. 'I do understand there would be some sort of cost to energy providers from others in the system. 'And that would vary depending on the type of meter. But regardless, what's the point? And really, when we look at it, it's an essential service. Would we expect people to be disconnected in the first place because they're unable to pay? And then they are facing further punishment that compounds the issue. Our concern is that it just lumps more debt.' Fuge, from Consumer, said any disconnection fees should reflect actual, reasonable costs to power companies. 'Our analysis of publicly listed fees shows significant variation across retailers,' Fuge said. 'Today, most disconnections are carried out remotely by meter providers, and the technical process is the same regardless of which retailer serves the property. We see no clear justification for the wide differences in what consumers are charged. Consumer NZ's Powerswitch manager, Paul Fuge, says if some retailers are waiving disconnection fees, others should be able to as well. Photo / Supplied 'With the widespread use of smart meters, disconnections and reconnections are now almost entirely done remotely and are largely automated. In most cases, there is no need to physically send someone to the property, as was required in the past. 'This means the actual cost to retailers for carrying out a disconnection or reconnection should be very low. 'Given this, it's difficult to see how high fees can be justified.' Fuge said retailers should not profit from disconnection fees and should not include general administration or debt recovery costs in fees. 'Disconnection and reconnection fees must relate only to the actual cost of the service provided,' he said. 'If some retailers are choosing to waive or significantly reduce these charges, it shows that the costs involved are not prohibitive, and that absorbing them is commercially feasible. This raises legitimate questions about whether the fees charged by others truly reflect the cost of service.' 'Fees reflect costs' - industry The Electricity Retailers' and Generators' Association, which represents Contact Energy, Genesis Energy, Manawa Energy, Mercury, Meridian Energy, and Nova Energy, said retailers did everything they could to avoid disconnecting customers and charging them fees. Chief executive Bridget Abernethy said disconnection was a last resort, and a household was typically only cut off if a retailer found the bill payer was not engaging. Abernethy pointed to Electricity Authority data showing the highest percentage of customers disconnected for more than 24 hours in any month was 0.038 (3.8 people for every 10,000 customers). 'Electricity Authority data demonstrates the industry's disconnection rates are very low. 'Disconnection for non-payment is a last resort, and Erganz members work with their customers to find solutions, including affordable payment options. Disconnections for non-payment typically occur only when a retailer is repeatedly unable to reach a customer despite their best efforts. 'It's a process that takes time and involves cost but, in line with the Consumer Care Obligations, disconnection fees do reflect actual costs.' Abernethy said customers facing difficulty paying for power should contact their retailer as soon as possible. 'Retailers have a range of ways they can help.' Bridget Abernethy, chief executive of the Electricity Retailers and Generators Association of New Zealand, says disconnections are a last resort and typically only done when a customer is not engaging. Photo / File Retailers acknowledged they were essential service providers and recognised this gave them a responsibility to support vulnerable customers, she said. She pointed to several options Erganz member companies had for people who had been disconnected and charged fees. 'Several options [include] setting up affordable payment plans, referrals to government, community and social services, including budgeting support, working with customers to ensure their credit rating is not impacted by debt, and providing information about initiatives such as Power Credits, the Winter Energy Payment or the EnergyMate programme,' Abernethy said. Responding to calls for disconnections to be legislated or regulated away, Abernethy said it already existed in the form of the Consumer Care Obligations. 'Erganz members were key contributors to the development of the Consumer Care Guidelines in 2008, which eventually became the Consumer Care Obligations, and have made significant contributions to improvements over the past decade,' Abernethy said. 'Erganz members are committed to delivering best-practice customer service, and in many cases will go beyond these minimum standards.' Kate Day, co-director of advocacy group Common Grace, put the question to each power company to ask whether they would stop disconnecting customers for non-payment this winter. Here are their answers: Contact said it did not charge disconnection or reconnection fees in cases of non-payment. Toast also does not charge disconnection or connection fees for non-payment. Neither do Globug nor Wise. Mercury said it charged fees in cases of 'clear fraud' only and said it had not disconnected any customers in hardship for non-payment since last June. Genesis Energy and Frank Energy said disconnections were a last resort and pointed to their 'proactive process to contact disconnected households and offer support'. 'Last year, we attempted 1948 calls. Genesis does not charge a bond for onboarding or commission on debt collection,' Genesis and its subsidiary said. Ecotricity, also owned by Genesis, said its fees 'reflect the genuine operational costs associated with managing disconnections and reconnections'. Meridian did not address its fees, only saying it had among the lowest disconnection rates in the industry, but also it was a last resort for customers who are not engaging. 'Disconnection affects only a very small proportion of customers - 0.017% of our total customer base in 2024 - but there remain customers for whom this is a necessary approach. 'We only use credit disconnection as a last resort for customers who refuse to engage with us around unpaid bills and/or mounting debt. When customers do engage, we support them to get back on track. In the event a customer finds themselves disconnected and then advises us that they are in hardship, we won't charge the fees.' Pulse Energy Alliance said its fees were a way to recover the cost of disconnections: 'Our focus is to engage early with customers who are experiencing issues paying their bills to work with the customer to avoid disconnection.' Nova Energy said it had not changed its position on fees; they were still charged. The company pointed to its 'long track record of benchmark low disconnections for non-payment'. Electric Kiwi said it would remove disconnection fees from one of its plans, but disconnections themselves were still a necessary last resort. 'We are preparing to remove disconnection fees from our most accessible, no-strings plan. However, disconnection remains a necessary last resort in very rare cases where we are unable to reach any resolution with a customer and they will not communicate with us.' Switch Utilities, owned by 2degrees, was still charging, but said it would waive fees or refund them 'if a customer indicates financial difficulty'. 'People default on payments for a range of reasons, not just hardship. If their non-payment is because of hardship, then we want to talk to them, so that we can work together to ensure they can stay connected,' Switch said. The Electricity Authority's public figures on companies' disconnection rates in the year to May showed social retailer Nau Mai Rā had the highest rate per 10,000 customers, followed by Pulse Energy Alliance and Switch Utilities. Ezra Hirawani, chief executive and co-founder of Nau Mai Rā, said the high rate reflected the fact that the company focused on providing power to the more vulnerable households. 'What we're dealing with is the higher-risk customers that the other retailers don't,' Hirawani told the Herald. He also said Nau Mai Rā only disconnected a customer (without charge) when the customer was not engaging, which he said was a way to prompt them to re-engage. 'Loudest debt collector gets paid' Lilley, from Fincap, said some power companies insisted they only disconnected customers who repeatedly ignored requests for payment. However, this was a problem financial mentors saw with many struggling clients and was almost an expected response from people in hardship. 'There's this sort of push that people are refusing to engage, but, I imagine in many contexts, people have financial problems with not just their power provider. And they're probably juggling a lot, just to try to get their financial affairs in order. 'It's quite normal for someone who's in a very stressed situation to put their head in the sand as a coping mechanism. 'Your loudest debt collector is the one that gets paid, that might be the argument, but it's not helping the underlying issues here.' Monday: As Kiwis battle rising electricity bills, campaigners call for change Tuesday: Could you get a cheaper plan for electricity? Most companies won't tell Wednesday: Major company moves to stop disconnecting customers in hardship Thursday: Why our biggest power companies should be broken up (and why they shouldn't)
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Farming in Catlins calls again after stint steering Oritain
Otago businessman Grant Cochrane was always going to return to farming, he just got side-tracked a little on the way. Business and rural editor Sally Rae reports. It's family farming at its finest. After a career in currency trading and business, most recently as the globe-trotting chief executive of Dunedin success story Oritain, Grant Cochrane is looking forward to being grounded — literally. Mr Cochrane has stepped back from his role at Oritain, the global leader in using forensic science to determine product provenance of food, beverages, fibres and pharmaceuticals. After 13 years' involvement, first as an investor and then chief executive and director, it was time to focus on the next chapter. A large chunk of that included his family's farming business Tōtara Hills, a South Otago sheep, beef, deer and carbon operation, near Owaka, and to involve their children was very gratifying for Mr Cochrane and his wife Andrea. From growing up on a block of land on the Taieri, Mr Cochrane always wanted to be a farmer. Back when he left school and saw a programme which featured John Key as a currency trader, he decided to get into currency trading. Ironically, a few decades later, he managed to persuade Sir John — who by then had added Prime Minister and a knighthood to his CV — to join the board of Oritain. But throughout his career, farming was always the vision and, while Mr Cochrane might have got side-tracked with other things, it was something he was always going to return to. After completing a bachelor of commerce (finance) degree at the University of Otago, Mr Cochrane headed to London to start a career in currency trading. He spent 11 years primarily in London, with stints in Zurich, Singapore, Tokyo and New York, working for various European and American institutions including Credit Suisse, Citibank and Royal Bank of Canada. He and his wife later decided to return New Zealand to raise a family and to farm. Mr Cochrane bought the home farm in the Catlins in 1998, and spent 12 years managing the farming business. They moved to Dunedin, for their children's education, and he became managing director of A. G. Foley Ltd and got involved with Oritain, and the farm was leased out. He was the founding chairman of Oritain — created by Prof Russell Frew and Dr Helen Darling at the University of Otago in 2008 — and chief executive for more than a decade, moving his family to Switzerland. Luxury high-end fashion and retail companies, including Lacoste, Supima and Primark, and food producers such as a2 Milk and Nescafe, used Oritain to assure customers the items they bought were genuine and produced from an ethical supply chain. The company could create a unique fingerprint from products globally and prove its provenance. Its science could pinpoint the exact area a product or raw material came from, within metres. Switzerland, with its central European location, had been a great place to be based and it was also very pro-business. It was well organised, very safe and offered high quality education, healthcare and transport. "It's been very good for us but nothing beats the community of rural South Otago," Mr Cochrane said. They missed that sense of community and there was the appeal of a rural community to return to. Working overseas, both in banking and commerce, he discovered it was very much transaction first while, in New Zealand's rural communities, it was relationships and people first. Returning home had been a stark reminder of that, he said. Stepping back from Oritain had been in the back of his mind and, once the Series C capital raise was completed in mid-2023, it became more front of mind. Oritain raised $US57 million to develop technology and expand into new markets and industries. "The time seemed right, I'd done it for 12 years ... it was a big commitment," he said. Asked what he was most proud of at Oritain, Mr Cochrane quipped: "survival". With the failure rate of start-ups estimated at 92%, survival was good. But probably the biggest highlights were getting the company to a successful Series C capital raise and the team that had been built at Oritain. There was a very strong culture — "a real Kiwi culture with a can-do attitude" — and that had been taken off-shore. The company had been ambitious and it had attracted "fantastic" people. Commercialising science was challenging, but probably a bigger challenge was managing and maintaining culture while taking a business offshore. To build something special and attract people like Sir John Key to be part of it was very gratifying. Sir John initially said no — as he had previously to many other companies and organisations that had approached him when he left politics in late 2016 — but Mr Cochrane proved persuasive and Sir John really liked the story He had been exposed to the company while doing advisory work for kiwifruit marketer Zespri, which used Oritain's technology to trace kiwifruit being illegally grown in China. Last year, Oritain expanded its international reach, opening an office in Singapore to join those in London, Washington DC, Singapore, Auckland and Dunedin, which were home, in total, to more than 200 staff. Mr Cochrane made that announcement while in Singapore with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's delegation, which was representing New Zealand businesses' interests in priority South East Asian markets. Quipping that the next day he was in the Owaka pub, Mr Cochrane said he had been fortunate to have been able to have operated in two different worlds. But home was the farm. Having bought neighbouring land, the Cochranes were back farming a total land area of 2498ha, with the help of staff — "it's Totara Hills version 2.0," he said. The intention was to run the farming operation as one. They wanted to farm "simply and well and profitably" but also do things a little differently, thinking of ways to benefit the land and also use out-of-the-box thinking. They wanted to farm sustainably — both financially but also very much long-term environmentally — and were looking at things like regenerative agriculture. Mr Cochrane believed that was an opportunity for New Zealand; many farmers were already employing lot of the principles already like multi-species, rotational grazing and reducing chemical use. They wanted to eat the produce off their farm and it needed to be produced in a way they were comfortable with, he said. It was also an inter-generational farm — Mr Cochrane's father had worked on it and now daughter Sophie and son Andrew were getting involved — and the family wanted to be part of the farming community and wider Catlins community. Sophie Cochrane said they hoped that as well as having the farm as their home, it would also be a springboard for ideas and for other people in the community "to do cool things". She and her brother, who is in his second year of university in Canada, were keen on developing eco or agri-tourism on the property, and wanted to do that in partnership with the community. They were keen for a walking track on not only their property but also hopefully involving the surrounding area. Miss Cochrane, who has been away from New Zealand for nine years, spent her last secondary school year overseas, studying by correspondence. Both his children had benefited from growing up in New Zealand but also from seeing the rest of the world, Mr Cochrane believed. Knowing there was a home to return to also kept them feeling grounded in the land and the experience also made them appreciate what they had in New Zealand, Miss Cochrane said. She completed an arts degree in politics, sociology and East European studies at UCL (University College London) and a master's degree in environmental anthropology — how people related to the land and vice-versa — and did her thesis on the Otago region. While in London, she did an internship at the House of Lords. While she had not particularly used either degree in her job, they were "wonderful to do". Now working in film and television in the UK, she was fulfilling a dream she had since she was little. For both father and daughter, a simple life in South Otago was appealing, and Mr Cochrane saw a "real movement" towards that simplicity and cleaner living . "I think we have that in New Zealand and take it for granted," he said. People were also looking for real relationships and authenticity, something the country had in "bucketloads too". The Cochranes saw lots of opportunities on Tōtara Hills to diversify. Those they had taken on farm tours were "blown away" by New Zealand farming systems. Farmers did not tell their story well enough and agri or eco-tourism was a good conduit to hero those farming systems. Mr Cochrane felt very optimistic for the New Zealand agricultural sector, saying land use would change but what that land produced would be increasingly sought after. Farming was at an exciting stage and there were lots of opportunities. "Love it or hate it", the Emissions Trading Scheme also provided revenue opportunities for farmers, he said. At Oritain, the company had been very close to brands and understood what customers wanted. Getting closer to consumers probably impacted the way his family farmed; producers needed to be vigilant and aligned to what consumers wanted, he said. Asked whether the family would market their produce themselves, Mr Cochrane believed there were bigger gains for the industry by people working together. He used to sell venison at the Otago Farmers' Market and he loved the connection with consumers, understanding why they bought a particular cut and what they were going to do with it. It was a great way of connecting consumers to the land. Contrary to what people might think, start-up life was not glamorous. Mr Cochrane estimated he spent 150 to 200 days a year travelling — "if I never got on another plane, I'd be happy" — over the past decade. There was pressure to "get stuff done" and flights were often done at night to avoid hotel bills. He was extremely proud of what Oritain had achieved and he looked forward to watching what its "amazing" team continued to achieve, under his successor, new chief executive Alyn Franklin. Oritain was a company which was well ahead of its time. It now had a "fantastic springboard" to continue growing and he believed its service would only become more relevant in a heightened geo-political world. In many ways, the likes of Oritain was part of the future of New Zealand — having companies that exported a service to add value to global companies from New Zealand IP, he said. Mr Cochrane cited the examples of Rocket Lab, Halter and Animation Research, saying there were many brilliant businesses in New Zealand. Halter, the virtual fencing and animal management company founded by Craig Piggott, was a great example of leveraging New Zealand's agricultural expertise to create a product. Agri-tech in New Zealand had been in a sweet spot since Gallagher pioneered electrical fencing and, in a way, Oritain was part of that agritech sector. But now Mr Cochrane would be following Oritain's progress from the sideline as he pulled on his boots "Right now, I just want to get a dog coming back to me and learn how to ride a horse again. "My aspirations at the moment are very much to spend time with family and the farm."
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Voting Reforms, Prisoner Bans And Enrolment Changes - What You Need To Know About The Electoral Amendment Bill
Explainer - The Electoral Amendment Bill faces its first reading today in Parliament. But what does it actually say? The government has announced sweeping plans to change electoral processes before the 2026 election. In announcing the bill last week, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the government was "overhauling outdated and unsustainable electoral laws". However there's been pushback at the proposed changes, especially the elimination of Election Day enrolment. The bill is set to face its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon. Here's a breakdown of what the bill proposes and the reaction to it. What the bill is The Electoral Amendment Bill claims it "makes a range of systems improvements to support the timeliness, efficiency, integrity, and resilience of the electoral system". It makes a suite of changes including ending same-day voter enrolment, banning prisoner voting, changes to treating on Election Day and expanding anonymous political donation limits. Here's the main points. You will no longer be able to enrol to vote on Election Day Same-day enrolment will be a thing of the past if the bill passes. "Allowing late enrolments, however well intentioned, has placed too much strain on the system," Goldsmith said. "The final vote count used to take two weeks, last election it took three. "If we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections. The 20-day timeframe for a final result will likely already be challenging to achieve at the next election without changes." Voters had been able to show up during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on Election Day, with their vote being counted as a special vote. The government wants to close enrolment before advance voting begins, with people needing to enrol or update their details by midnight on the Sunday before advance voting starts on the Monday morning (in other words, 13 days before election day). The legislation sets a requirement of 12 days advance voting at each election. The changes could mean special vote processing could get underway sooner. Speaking to Morning Report this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said "we want enrolment to happen before early voting starts". "The experience last time was by virtue of having on the day enrolment we ended up in a situation where it took us three weeks to count the vote, which was the longest it had ever taken us as well. "We want everyone to participate, you've got plenty of time to do so. "They can participate in the voting, they just need to do it and get themselves organised earlier, that's all." University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said the change might affect future election results and how they lean politically. "As a whole, since 1999 special votes have favoured the parties of the left - resulting in their picking up one or two more seats in the House at the expense of parties on the right. Restricting same day enrolment and voting can thus be predicted to reduce the number of votes cast by groups that support left-of-centre parties." However, he said that impact could be offset by voters enrolling earlier. "However, the groups most affected here - younger voters, those who are transient, and minority populations - are the hardest to reach through education campaigns and the like. That means we can predict that there will still be a substantial number of people not properly enrolled when voting commences, who will as a result lose the right to have their vote counted." The changes won't actually stop people from casting a ballot on election day, he said. Special votes must still be processed. "It's just that they won't be included in the final vote count once it is determined that the person has not enrolled to vote by the required time," Geddis said. "As such, the effectiveness of this change in reducing the burden on electoral officials is open to question." The bill would also introduce automatic enrolment updates so the Electoral Commission can update people's enrolment details using data from other government agencies, and remove postal requirements for enrolment. What are those special votes again? Special votes are anyone who isn't on the electoral roll or unpublished roll, lives overseas or vote away from a polling place because they can't get to one. The number of special votes have been growing which has resulted in seats swinging in the final count compared to election night. In 2023, nearly 21 percent, or 603,257 of all votes cast, were special votes. Only 78,030 of those were from overseas voters. Processing them takes more time than regular votes. Goldsmith said late enrolments placed too much strain on the system. "If we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections. The 20-day timeframe for a final result will likely already be challenging to achieve at the next election without changes." If you're in prison serving a sentence, you'll no longer be able to vote, period The bill disqualifies all prisoners convicted and sentenced from enrolling and voting while in prison. It doesn't apply to persons who have committed a crime but are detained in a hospital or secure facility. In 2020, the Labour government amended the law so that only people serving a term of three or more years were disqualified. The National-led coalition government had earlier signalled the change back. "Everyone understands that if you violate the rights of others, you surrender certain rights of your own," ACT justice spokesperson Todd Stephenson said. "Reinstating the ban on prisoner voters makes the consequences for crime clearer." Does this all make it harder for people to vote? Some have said the new bill will disenfranchise voters, while others are applauding it. "This is a significant, but necessary change," Goldsmith said. "The Electoral Commission will have plenty of time to run an education campaign to ensure people understand the new requirements." In a Regulatory Impact Statement prepared earlier this year, the Ministry of Justice did not support closing enrolment earlier. "Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant," officials said. And the government's Attorney-General, Judith Collins, has also said the legislation could breach the Bill of Rights. In a report, Collins concluded that the bill appeared inconsistent with the right to vote, to freedom of expression and the rights of prisoners in certain circumstances regarding changing penalties. She pointed to section 12 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, which states that every New Zealand Citizen who is of or over the age of 18 has the right to vote. "The accepted starting-point is the fundamental importance of the right to vote within a liberal democracy," the report states. "A compelling justification is required to limit that right." Geddis said that Collins' report was not surprising. "We know that banning all prisoners from voting is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights as the Supreme Court has declared this to be so. And in relation to removing same-day enrolment and voting for the entire voting period, the fact that there are other ways to address the problem of a slow vote count without taking away people's right to vote means it is not a justified limit. As such, the Attorney-General's conclusions are to be expected." Green Party spokesperson for Democracy and Electoral Reform Celia Wade Brown said: "These changes represent a dark day for our democracy. "Requiring enrolments before voting starts will see even more people miss out from expressing their democratic right. In the last General Election, over 200,000 people enrolled to vote or updated their details in the last 12 days. These changes would see all of these people miss out on having their say." ACT's Stephenson disagreed, calling late enrollees "lazy". "Democracy works best when voters are informed, engaged, and take the process seriously. It's outrageous that someone completely disengaged and lazy can rock up to the voting booth, get registered there and then, and then vote to tax other people's money away." ACT leader David Seymour also weighed in for the change, saying"frankly, I'm a bit sick of dropkicks that can't get themselves organised to follow the law." Those comments were later called "unhelpful" by Justice Minister Goldsmith. "I disagree with that language ... It's not language I would use," Luxon told Morning Report. Geddis said it was worrying to see an "apparent dismissiveness" by the government of concerns. "They are being warned that their proposed legislation will remove a fundamental right from thousands of New Zealanders without good enough reason. "Their response then seems to be that this is a trifling matter which can be overlooked because it is easier and more administratively convenient to simply stop allowing same day enrolment and voting. "Or, even worse, that the people whose rights are being limited are just 'dropkicks' who do not deserve any respect." Political donation changes The government has also announced that it will slightly increase the threshold for anonymous political donations. "The donation threshold for reporting the names of party donors is also being adjusted from $5000 to $6000, to account for inflation," Goldsmith said. The Greens' Wade Brown criticised that. "While the government has taken away votes from people in prison and made it harder to vote in general, it has made it easier for wealthy people to donate to political parties from the shadows by raising the disclosure threshold to $6000," she said. What is treating, and why are they cracking down on it? Treating is the practice of influencing a voter by providing them with free food, drink, or entertainment. It's already an offence, but the bill aims to make it clearer what exactly isn't allowed. The bill creates a new offence that prohibits the provision of free food, drink or entertainment within 100 metres of a voting place while voting is taking place. It will be punishable by a fine of up to $10,000. "There has been some confusion in the past around what is and isn't treating," Goldsmith said. "This will make the rules crystal clear." Election advertising or campaigning is not permitted within 10 metres of a voting place during advanced voting, and not at all on election day itself. In a Regulatory Impact Statement, Ministry of Justice officials said controlled areas around voting places would make it more straightforward to identify and prosecute offending and was more readily enforceable than the status quo. "The offence will not require that a person intends to corruptly influence an elector. Instead it will only require that they knowingly provided food, drink and entertainment within the controlled area," they said. But it was not their preferred option. "A key drawback of this option is that it is a blunt tool which does not exclusively capture harmful or corrupt behaviour. It draws a superficial line around voting places which may be arbitrary if the influencing behaviour occurs just outside the controlled area." Complaints about possible breaching of treating by providing food at a polling booth at Manurewa Marae were investigated after the 2023 election. It found those did not meet the test for treating. What's next? The first reading today will determine the path forward for the bill. If it passes a first reading, it's referred on to a Select Committee for further development, then will be further considered by Parliament. Geddis said these reforms were left to a simple majority of votes in Parliament like any other piece of legislation. "Because the government has a majority in Parliament, if it wants to do this, it can. It's just a question of whether it's the right thing to do," he told RNZ's Checkpoint.
