Nick Smith is a disgrace
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1:00 pm, March 14th, 2017 - 32 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, Environment, national, Parliament, Politics, same old national, sustainability, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, you couldn't make this shit up -
Tags: nick smith
Nick Smith is one of Bill English’s best mates. If not for this I suspect he would no longer be a Minister of the Crown. Because his performance as a Minister is pretty abysmal, even by National standards.
Just consider his handling of the latest round of Resource Management Act changes.
National has a real thing about the RMA. According to National it is a communist inspired system that prevents entrepreneurs and landowners from enjoying their rights to become rich, rich, rich and causes Auckland’s housing crisis. The crisis has nothing to do with the huge number of people immigrating to the city, it is all the fault of socialist city planners and the RMA.
National has had a few goes at gutting the RMA during the current term. It has done weird things like remove protection from urban trees and talk about simplification of the system while making things more complicated.
After eight long years you would have thought that it had made all the changes that it needed to. But Smith is having another go at the legislation and this latest one is a real doozie.
The latest attempt at reform, a word used in the loosest sense of the word, has so far been a text book example of undemocratic and poorly thought through reform. Its justification was that the existing law was making it much more expensive to build houses and apartments and that all we needed was a few law changes and everything would be fine.
It has many provisions that if enacted would complicate, not simplify the system. And it represents a centralised power grab Rob Muldoon would be proud of.
But Smith has had problems with getting the proposals passed. Essentially every party in Parliament except National thought the proposed reforms were a terrible idea.
The bill was reported back recently. The opposition minority reports are as scathing as I have ever read.
Labour criticised the bill for a number of aspects including draconian ministerial regulatory powers to override plans and control consents, and to limit rights of participation. About the ministerial regulation making powers it said:
These are tantamount to a return to the National Development Act 1979, and are on the spectrum of the patently excessive regulation-making powers abused under the former Economic Stabilisation Act 1987.
Light bulbs huh. The bill contains nanny state on steroids.
The bill also overrides, and allows the Minister to further override local and district council functions in such a broad and fundamental way that it overturns the traditional division of power and roles between central and local government.
The content was not the only thing to be criticised.
The process for passage of this bill has been shambolic, and that is no fault of the committee. The bill was referred to our committee 14 months ago on 3 December 2015. We advertised for submissions and heard them in the new year.
We heard a total of 137 submissions in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch. Many were complex with enormous effort from submitters. Those submissions exposed many, and major, flaws with the bill.
We finished hearing submissions on 2 June 2016. The departmental report was delayed month upon month, with numerous provisional time periods passing. Two extensions to the report-back date were obtained from the Business Committee. Further delays followed. The committee was told this was because Cabinet had not signed off proposed changes to policy positions in the bill as introduced.
Although not confirmed by officials, it was apparent that much of the delay was because the National Government has not had the voting numbers to pass the bill in the House, even if it uses its majority at this committee to force the bill through select committee.
The many months of delay have meant that some members of the committee may have forgotten details of many of the submissions heard many months earlier.
The second-stage departmental report, which the committee only had in draft form until 2 November 2016, ran to over 400 pages.
The Executive plainly could not make up its mind on what it wanted to do, and was consumed by horse trading behind the scenes. The select committee process was being abused.
Government committee members displayed an unwillingness to make whatever changes they believed were necessary, preferring to await direction from the Executive via the long-delayed departmental report. This is a worrisome trend on some committees, where even relatively minor decisions are increasingly given across to the Executive. This delays committee processes, and underutilises the skills and ex-perience of committee members, who after all are the ones who hear the submissions on bills.
And to top things off National members tried to block the inclusion of a minority report when the bill was reported back initially because of time constraints. How undemocratic can you get?
The Labour opposition members were blocked by the National Party members from including a minority report, which had been prepared and submitted. The National Party members also blocked any report from the committee as a whole, which had been prepared by committee staff. National members took this course after the Clerk of the House of Representatives had been called to the committee, when he advised it would be highly unusual for the majority to block a minority report, and highly unusual for the committee not to report to the house about its proceedings on the bill. The motions were on notice.
As a consequence, the bill was reported back to the House without amendment and without any report from the committee on either the delayed process or the substance of the flawed bill.
The Government then did a deal with the Māori Party and had numbers to get the changes through Parliament. In an unusual move the bill was sent back to the select committee for further consideration, and major changes resulted.
The bill was not readvertised. The complexity of the changes in the 400 page departmental report were substantial and amount to an effective rewrite of substantial parts of the bill. This is shown by the myriad amendments shown in the version of the bill now being referred back, and the months of redrafting required from Parliamentary Counsel Office.
The bill still contains some of the most controversial measures such as the ability of Smith to override District Plan provisions by regulation.
And one of Nick Smith’s porkies is highlighted in the minority report.
There are clearly extensions to the Minister’s regulation-making powers under the bill. The Minister said on Radio New Zealand on 1 February 2017 that “…there is nothing in the Resource Legislation Amendment Bill before Parliament that makes any changes in respect of the way genetically modified organisms are regulated in New Zealand.” This is patently incorrect. Court decisions have found that RMA plans can legally include rules relating to the use of genetically modified organisms, and that the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 is not a code. The bill introduces a new regulation-making power for the Minister to override those plan rules. The Minister is wrong to assert the contrary. He is also incorrect to assert this as being the same as national direction under national policy statements or national environment standards. Obviously if there was no change being made, the new regulation powers would be redundant.
The Greens were also scathing about the bill in their minority report.
The RMA is a crucial foundation of New Zealand’s environmental law and planning system. Changes to it should be based on sound analysis and evidence and have broad cross-party support so that they are enduring. The bill has neither. Many of the changes appear driven by ideology and anecdote, rather than robust analysis and evidence.
The bill attracted 647 unique submissions and 94 form-style submissions, many of them critical of its fundamental aspects. Many included detailed technical analysis of the bill’s clauses and their implications, and represented a significant investment of time and expertise by submitters.
Resource users such as Fonterra, quarry operators, and infrastructure operators such as airports made similar points in opposition as environmental interests such as Fish and Game New Zealand, the Environmental Defence Society, and Forest and Bird.
Federated Farmers, for example, described the proposed Ministerial regulation-making powers as “excessive” and the provisions which allow central Government to intervene directly in local council plans as “heavy handed”.
Sir Geoffrey Palmer, presenting evidence for Fish and Game, described the regula-tion-making powers which would override the provisions of regional and district plans as a “constitutional outrage”. “Due process is replaced by Executive fiat.”
The Greens also chose to give the process a shellacking.
Through no fault of the committee or its chairperson, the process for considering the bill has been a shambles. The Executive has dominated the select committee’s consid-eration of the bill and stalled progress on it. Hearings on public submissions ended on 2 June 2016, yet officials were unable to provide the select committee with a full departmental report for some five months. The Minister’s influence on the content of the departmental report, and when the committee should receive it, has compromised an effective committee process. It has cut across the committee’s ability to consider submissions and potential amendments in a robust and thoughtful way. Officials repeatedly told committee members that provisions in the bill (such as a national planning template which determines plan content and not just structure) were “policy issues”. The strong implication was that there was no scope for them or the select committee to recommend changes.
They also chose to criticise the changes for making things more complicated, not less.
The bill’s changes to notification were seen almost universally as making the RMA more complicated. There was a consistent and widespread view among submitters that the RMA’s notification procedures, as amended in 2009, were working well with no need for further changes or more limits on public involvement. Many submitters were concerned about the bill providing for blanket non-notification of controlled activities, restricted discretionary and discretionary boundary infringement, and most subdivision and residential activities. For example, not all neighbours are likely to be consulted about developments which infringe on the boundary.
The Green conclusion is as bleak as the Labour conclusion.
The bill is not fit for purpose. It significantly increases ministerial powers while removing or restricting basic rights of public participation. It will expedite development activities with few environmental safeguards and scant consideration of sustainable management. The bill puts private rights and development ahead of the public interest and environmental and community well-being. It should not proceed.
The NZ First report did not waste words. This is it in its entirety …
New Zealand First strongly opposes every part of the bill. A detailed minority view is therefore pointless. New Zealand First also deplores the extremely poor process by which the bill has been considered by the committee.
For all of these reasons, everything reported in the committee’s report will not be supported by New Zealand First.
Smith is a disgrace. His willingness to sacrifice all pretence of acting in the public good so he can claim the Government is doing something about the housing crisis is now clearly evident. Time for him to go.
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Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...1 week ago
- An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch
As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...4 hours ago - NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...19 hours ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...19 hours ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...20 hours ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...21 hours ago
- Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...21 hours ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...23 hours ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...23 hours ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...1 day ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...1 day ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...1 day ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...2 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...2 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...2 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...2 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...2 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...4 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...5 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...1 week ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...1 week ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...1 week ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Record number of submissions received on granny flat proposal
Nearly 2,000 submissions have been received on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk say. “This is the highest number ...37 minutes ago - District Court Judge appointed
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Rebecca Guthrie as a District Court Judge. Judge Guthrie was admitted to the bar in 1997 following her graduation from the University of Canterbury in 1996 (LLB, BA). She commenced her legal career in Hastings in 1997 before moving to London in ...58 minutes ago
- Appointments strengthen Predator Free 2050
The latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments will help to strengthen biodiversity efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka today announced two appointments to the Board of Directors of Predator Free 2050 Limited, a key player in the wider Predator Free 2050 Programme. “The Predator ...2 hours ago
- New facility in Christchurch will improve the lives of young New Zealanders
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey today opened Kahurangi, an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services. “The new state of the art outpatient facility opened today will be a gamechanger for the way mental health is delivered for young people in Canterbury,” says Mr ...2 hours ago
- Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.“The Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over ...3 hours ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...20 hours ago
- Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...20 hours ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...21 hours ago
- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...21 hours ago
- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...21 hours ago
- First arrests made under gang patch ban
Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...23 hours ago
- Better support for victims of sexual violence
The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...24 hours ago
- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...24 hours ago
- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...1 day ago
- Fighting for Kiwis in Trade
Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...1 day ago
- Attendance rates increase, again
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...1 day ago
- Improving the lives of young New Zealanders
Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...1 day ago
- Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea
The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...2 days ago
- Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024
Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
- New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement
Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...2 days ago
- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...2 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...2 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...2 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...3 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...3 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...3 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...3 days ago
- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...3 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...3 days ago
- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...3 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...3 days ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...4 days ago
- Police stats show promising change
After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...4 days ago
- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...4 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...4 days ago
- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...4 days ago
- Launching the White Ribbon Ride
The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...5 days ago
- Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury
Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...6 days ago
- Gang patch ban: The first 24 hours
The first arrest was made just three minutes after midnight, with 11 more to come. ...58 minutes ago - New Zealand Government Urged To Back ICC Arrest Warrants For Israeli Leaders Without Equivocation
“We are waiting for our government to announce it will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant immediately if they set foot in Aotearoa New Zealand” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...1 hour ago - Justice Committee Makes Further Decisions About Submissions Process For The Principles Of The Treaty...
The committee plans to hold hearings in the week starting Monday, 27 January and the weeks starting 10, 17 and 24 February 2025. ...1 hour ago
- Watch live: Christopher Luxon faces questions during power station visit
It comes as Labour accuses National of not listening to evidence about boot camps. ...2 hours ago
- Survivors of abuse in care know how redress should work – will the government finally listen?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Winter, Associate Professor in Political Theory, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images When Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stood in Parliament last week to apologise to survivors of abuse in care, his words were among many fine speeches by ...2 hours ago - Review: The Day of the Jackal is a riveting and ridiculous ride
Eddie Redmayne’s globe-trotting assassin thriller on TVNZ is worth putting your phone down for. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. This is a vulnerable thing to say as someone who often writes about television for a job, but boy am I really ...2 hours ago - RNA editing is the next frontier in gene therapy – here’s what you need to know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne IoanaB/Shutterstock The United States Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first-ever clinical trial that uses CRISPR-Cas13 RNA editing. Its ...4 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Lee, PhD Candidate, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland Karolina Grabowska/Pexels Summer is nearly here. But rather than getting out the sunscreen, some TikTokers are urging followers to chuck it out and go sunscreen-free. They claim it’s healthier ...4 hours ago
- Humans are killing off the old and wise animals that hold nature together. Here’s what must change
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keller Kopf, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Charles Darwin University Laxmikant Ameenagad, Shutterstock In humans and other animals, ageing is generally associated with a decline in biological function. But scientists are now discovering older animals perform vital roles in populations and ecosystems. ...4 hours ago
- A man scouring Google Earth found a mysterious scar in the Australian outback – and now scientists...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matej Lipar, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Author provided/Google Earth Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched ...4 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney Once located 250 metres to the east of the Art Gallery of South Australia, the grand beaux-arts style Jubilee Exhibition Building was constructed to house the ...4 hours ago
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The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says a third medical school and more students in Auckland and Otago are both needed. ...4 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University Linda George/Shutterstock The ten-year anniversary of the death of much-loved Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes falls on November 27. The 25-year-old’s life was tragically cut short in 2014 when a bouncer ...4 hours ago
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Treasury likely to downgrade economic forecast while Chris Bishop says the government won’t be ‘a slave to a surplus’, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Recession will be deeper and last longer — Treasury At a recent Spinoff ...5 hours ago
- Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...6 hours ago
- Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way
The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...7 hours ago
- Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate
Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 hours ago - Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate
Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 hours ago
- Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation
The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 hours ago
- Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws
A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...7 hours ago
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There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...7 hours ago
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From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ...7 hours ago
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As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Marketing exec at ...7 hours ago
- Nuclear winters know no borders
Opinion: The immediate horror of nuclear weapon explosions – the blinding flash, crushing blast wave, and radioactive inferno – is well documented.But what nuclear-armed nations either don’t grasp or won’t admit, is far more chilling: how their weapons could devastate even countries thousands of kilometres from any mushroom clouds.The collapse ...7 hours ago
- This week’s bestselling books – November 22
FICTION1 Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Sample dialogue, all from one chapter:“That can’t be,” replied Taona doubtfully.“You were right. The pā is unnervingly quiet,” Taona murmured.“The Hākuwai,” Motukia breathed. “Our grandfathers told us they rarely saw the Hākuwai in daylight,” Motukia muttered.“Their fight would have been futile ...7 hours ago
- Burma the flying elephant
After about two and a half years of planning and waiting, New Zealand’s last elephant has moved to her new home at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.Burma and her “human herd”, that is, her keepers, arrived last week, and she’s settling in well, according to Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers.“Something ...7 hours ago
- NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy
Senior ministers in the coalition suggested NZ’s membership will be re-evaluated if it restarts offshore oil and gas drilling The post NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 hours ago
- Raw Politics: Six months in a leaky Bill
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not meet the Treaty Principles Bill hikoi crowd, sees “nothing” of merit in the Act-proposed law but the Parliament his Government dominates will spend six months debating a “divisive” measure.That’s because he has accepted there needs to be “aeration” of people’s views on the Treaty, ...7 hours ago
- Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field
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The RMA was first passed into law back in 1992, under National. Yes it had been grinding through the processes of parliament for some years before that.
Back in the 1980s National recognised that the people actually did want sustainable environmental practices.
Now it ignores the people in favour of what rich psychopaths want.
He is really just doing his masters bidding. Party above country.
” He is really just doing his masters bidding ” party above country.
And free water for the Chinese and Crushers Oravida company too boot and wont move against this squandering of our countries resource because it only accounts for a minimal amount of all the water captured so any ” action ” would be a waste of time.
Spoken like a true National government minister for the environment.
I think you mean rich party doners above country.
Mickey have the Ministerial powers survived the version that is being tabled in Parliament this afternoon?
If not, the Maori Party have done a good job.
If not, while local government in total may as well pack up and go home, in the next government it will be great fun being the Minister of Command and Control.
“have the Ministerial powers survived the version that is being tabled in Parliament this afternoon?”
Based on the quotes above from the other parties on the select committee, it sounds like the answer is Yes.
You would have been smarter to follow the debates and negotiations since that publication. So hold your breath until it’s tabled.
The Maori Party have been working really hard behind the scenes to kill it.
Hence the question. The clause may even be defeated on the floor.
Didn’t it only get reported back because that party had agreed to enough support for the Nats not to end up with egg on their face again? I’d love to believe Te Ururoa and corporate iwi have enough leverage to beat Nuck Smith and a whole lot of property developers, but I’m not holding my breath.
You will see in about an hour.
Looking forward to being wrong. 🙂
Which sections of the Bill are most worth watching for, do you reckon? http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/government/2015/0101/latest/DLM6669131.html
I think Nick Smith has managed to come up with something in that Bill which allows govt to over-ride the powers of councils and continues to allow fresh waterways to be used for dairying and beef cattle, but in such a way that its more than a bit obscure.
eg Clause 7 replaces “individual” with “person” in the current s14(3)(b) of the RMA. There is no RMA definition of “individual”). This would allow as of right use of water by, for instance, corporates with highly intensive dairying operations.
In clause 11 there is a deletion of the current regional council function in s30(1)(c) which is “the control of the use of land for the purpose of …. the prevention or mitigation of any adverse effects of the storage, use, disposal, or transportation of hazardous substances”. The proposed amendment to s30 would exclude local bodies from any regulatory response to any hazardous substances, including precautionary measures for GMOs.
The latter is what the Maori Party was opposed to. I don’t think they’ve achieved what they wanted.
More detail in this post: https://thestandard.org.nz/nationals-flawed-rma-ripoff-still-failing/
Mickey have the Ministerial powers survived the version that is being tabled in Parliament this afternoon?
I honestly do not know. The reforms veer between being absolutely frozen and then there is intense activity. The activity seems to be designed to throw up that much smoke and dust that ordinary humans and the remnants of the MSM are unable to comprehend the details.
Then the general public do not get to understand what is happening.
And the system gets worse.
https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/g/o/7/b/l/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620×349.1hezd8.png/1487882423563.jpg
Hegelian Dialectics – National party style . ( by small increments )
” National has had a few goes at gutting the RMA during the current term. It has done weird things like remove protection from urban trees and talk about simplification of the system while making things more complicated.”
Find a problem , balls it up and rark a few people off, then offer a solution. Tiresome in its bland monotony. But deadly effective against the Plebs.
They never learn…..
Yep and they do make such a meal of the reforms that ordinary people have no idea of what is going on. Until it is too late …
he counters Phily Twyfords numbers on housing by using other numbers, and accuses Labour being tricky or even lying. Is this the norm for a politician?
nick smith statement
https://beehive.govt.nz/release/labour-being-tricky-housing-numbers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beehive-govt-nz%2FMinister%2FNickSmith+%28Nick+Smith+-+beehive.govt.nz%29
“January dwelling consents were up both nationally (to 1752 January 2017 from 1695 January 2016) and in Auckland (to 512 from 506).
“The year to January 2017 also confirms ongoing growth nationally from the previous year (to 30,123 from 27,124) and in Auckland (to 10,032 from 9275).
Phil Twyford statement –
http://www.labour.org.nz/those_in_glasshouses_dr_smith
Statistics New Zealand data shows that the trend-adjusted number of dwelling consents in January 2017 was 2,260, down five per cent from 2,368 in January 2016. Trend-adjusted data is used to identify underlying trends in ‘lumpy’ data.
— My Observation
is it just me or is this debate rediculous, they are not comparing apples with apples?
They are both right in their statements,
nick smith is using 1 whole year figures to January 2017(30,123) which is more than year to january 2016
and phil twyford is using 1 whole month for january 2017 figures(2,260) and yes this is less than January 2016 figures(2,368)
Having said that, Phil could argue that conscents are slowing to January at least.
Also not sure what the January dwelling consents (to 1752 January 2017 from 1695 January 2016) Nick Smith is on about here?
Phil Twyford is talking weather, Nick Smith is talking climate, big difference.
I think you mean the other way around? Twyford is referring to trend adjusted figures.
my point was, why did he make it out like Phil was lying, “is just plain wrong”. why did he not just what it was.
weather/climate analogy if i understand u correctly is short term/long term view respectively.
I still think they are both right in what they say, phil moreso where nick you would have to have a closer look at more datapoints.
How many consents actually become houses for people to live in ?
Really it’s yet another example of how corrupted National are.
Democratic process, who cares, accurate meaningful statistics, only if they suit, the truth told to New Zealand’s citizens, whatever, millions channeled off to wealthy foreigners, damn how’d they find out, taxhavens for the shadowy elite, our specialty, dirty politics, you bet!
With leadership like that who needs organised crime!
Bit like this then …
I’m pretty sure this is “planned failure,” ie. that the National Party is quite aggressively behind this RMA reform and likes the idea of shutting out the opposition parties on it.
Nick Smith is a competent minister that is frequently given tasks where the National Party goal is to fail deliberately. The real issue is that the National Party isn’t honest in its rhetoric to the public, not that Smith is failing, as ironically he’s one of the few ministers who actually has a grasp on what he’s doing: it’s simply that his goals aren’t always as stated to the public.
The real issue is that the National Party isn’t honest in its rhetoric to the public
You are right there …
https://thestandard.org.nz/armstrong-and-small-on-nick-smiths-rma-reforms/
A competent minister would not support these changes to the RMA.
No, an honest and competent minister wouldn’t support those changes to the RMA. A competent dishonest minister like Smith would absolutely support these changes knowing them to be better for the National Party’s constituencies even if they screw over the public at large.
A successful minister in a National Government is one that can prioritise the party’s real goals while managing not to draw too loud an opposition to them from the public. In that regard, he’s been about as successful as it is possible to be in most of his portfolios, and he’s been given ones that are really hard for National to be their definition of successful in, such as Environment and Housing.
MS. Thanks so much for your post!
I think it’s a give in that Nick’s a Disgrace! Don’t mention wadeable! or most other things like housing etc…
Sadly it seems that for some weird reason he has the Maori Party vote to implement this Crox!!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/325986/govt-secures-maori-party's-support-for-rma-changes
Just caught Ad’s comments but don’t see how “they’ll” “Kill it”
Dispite this http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/314483/rma-has-failed-environment-report
Loved his comment on the anti-bottled water boring bungs today.” like banning tricycles to stop congestion on a motorway”
Why the media havn’t exposed this group for their obvious lunacy is an indictment on the lack of decent ,truthful jounalism in NZ.
Nick once told a public meeting that cyclists should not expect decent roading for their use because they don’t pay a road users tax! This says a lot about how he doesn’t think.
Meanwhile we have leftist mates all over Auckland councils. No one who does not speak the group think need apply. Hmm..talk about shades of Orwell..and mates in high places. Go Nick, he is trying to untie red tape and tangles. Building costs now crazy, need a consent to frigging jib your own house…common sense, not.
Also councils in part are responsible for the housing crisis, too much red tape, no one wants to build any more. Red tape, land banking, young kiwis locked out forever. Fair much?