Category: Politics

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Foreign Minister is warning New Zealanders to get out of Iran, adding that the advice to not travel there has been long-standing.

Tensions have been increasing between Iran and the US, and the New Zealand government applied further sanctions on the nation this week.

“It has been horrifying to witness the brutal killing of thousands of protesters in Iran,” Winston Peters said.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information. Those rights have been ruthlessly violated.”

New Zealand joined Australia, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and the United States in implementing travel bans targeting 40 individuals, including Minister of the Interior Eskandar Momeni, Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib, and Prosecutor-General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad. It will also include members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Peters said if war broke out in Iran, which he said was possibly likely, there was a risk innocent New Zealand citizens could be retaliated against by the local regime.

He told RNZ he suspects there could be hundreds of Kiwis in Iran – currently 26 are registered as being there.

“The last time we had this exercise when we were getting people out rapidly when we thought there was an emergency it proved to be well over 130 and very dramatically in the last few days, so we just don’t know.

“Get out, I suppose, is the safest answer for us to give them, and it’s been the advice we’ve given them for some considerable time now,” he said.

In this circumstance Peters says there could be retaliation and that’s why he is encouraging New Zealanders to get out.

“If war was to break out the retaliation against innocent citizens who are there with no essence of guilt whatsoever could be nevertheless very huge, and that’s what we’re warning people against – not just getting caught up in the war but being caught up in retaliatory measures by the local regime.”

Peters told RNZ the motivation for New Zealanders staying in Iran is most likely being near family and making sure they’re safe.

“New Zealanders need to know we go to extraordinary efforts to try and keep our people safe but they have to do their bit to.”

On whether war is likely to break out in Iran, he said, “it’s possibly likely and you have to deal with the worst case circumstances if they arise and that’s what we’re trying to do”.

Peters said there were many countries who shared New Zealand’s view that “Iran is being supported by countless examples of terrorist proxies worldwide – and there are many Middle Eastern and Islamic countries who hold that view as well”.

On global tensions Peters told RNZ it’s the worst he’s seen it since World War II.

“It’s made things all that much more difficult for countries like New Zealand that’s got a tremendous record of supporting peaceful measures and engaging in freedom and democracy and the rule of law.

“It’s made it difficult for all of us but we’ve got to press on and make sure we don’t lose this battle,” he said.

In January, the New Zealand embassy in Iran was temporarily closed due to the “deteriorating” security situation.

At the time a ministry spokesperson said all diplomatic staff had left Iran on commercial flights, shifting operations to Ankara in Turkey.

The government’s long-standing advice over a number of years has been not to travel to Iran and in January, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) urged any New Zealanders still in the country to leave now.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

One in seven children are living in hardship in the latest recorded year, according to new data from Stats New Zealand.

The national statistics agency released the data for the year between July 2024 and June 2025 on Wednesday morning.

Around 17,900 households were interviewed for the research.

The number of children that were recorded as living in material hardship was 14.3 percent – one in seven.

There was no significant change in that from the year recorded prior or since 2018.

In the latest statistics, a child recorded as facing material hardship was recorded as being in a household going without seven or more of 18 necessities.

Those included being unable to pay for utilities on time, having to put up with feeling cold and putting off doctors visits.

That was a change to the year prior where the threshold for material hardship was six or more.

14.9 percent of Māori children were recorded in material hardship which was not statistically different to the year prior.

For Pacific children, that figure was 18.7 percent five points higher than in 2024.

17.8 percent of children lived in households with less than half of the 2018 year’s median equivalised disposable household income after housing costs were deducted.

That was not different to the year prior.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A clamping initiative targeting people who have not paid their court fines has returned more than $700,000.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said the trial had been such a success the government was expanding it.

Last July, the coaliton pledged to address “long-standing slackness” in outstanding court fines by seizing vehicles.

Between 9 July 2025 and 21 February 2026, bailiffs scanned 147,740 number plates and identified 2866 people with overdue court fines or reparations.

Of those identified, 600 people paid on the spot, 295 established some form of payment arrangement, 236 cars were seized and 120 cars were clamped.

The rest were either issued with a warning or no action was taken due to their situation, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said.

“Eighty of the cars have already been sold at auction, with another 20 soon to go under the hammer. Ninety-eight people paid to avoid their car being sold.

“Overall, more than $708,621 has been recovered, and due to its success, the trial was expanded.”

Goldsmith said 40 number plate scanners had been in operation on streets and at some police breath testing stations since December 2025.

“This increase means all bailiffs across New Zealand have access to a device ahead of a possible permanent rollout.

“The message is simple: pay your court fines, or you will be walking home.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand First has hit out at National after its coalition partner promised to campaign on stronger fishing protections in the Hauraki Gulf.

National’s conservation spokesperson Tama Potaka laid out the position his party would take to the election campaign over the weekend.

He said the coalition’s decision to allow commercial fishing in two of the 12 High Protection Areas (HPAs) in the gulf had caused “widespread concern” from the public.

Last year, the government passed legislation establishing 12 HPAs, where most commercial and recreational fishing were prohibited, and five sea floor protection areas.

At the time, the opposition criticised the government for a late-stage amendment allowing commercial ring-net fishing operators exclusive access to two of the HPAs.

“National will look to reinstate the ban on all fishing in the High Protection Areas,” Potaka said over the weekend.

“A further decision, to allow bottom trawling in some designated trawl corridors in the Gulf has also been controversial so we will review that also.”

‘Who will pay for it?’ – Shane Jones

New Zealand First’s deputy leader Shane Jones said National’s decision risked $250 million worth of property rights secured in a major treaty settlement more than 30 years ago.

“Any suggestion that commercial fishing has to be terminated and trawling has to be outlawed in the Hauraki Gulf almost certainly lead to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property rights being cancelled.”

Jones said National’s policy would “lead to the unravelling” of the 1992 Sealord Deal – a significant fisheries settlement that gave iwi 50 percent of the Sealord company and a substantial quota of fish caught through the Quota Management System.

He said everyone weighing into the debate needed to bring a “level of even handedness” to discussions to avoid a massive taxpayer bill.

“We can float what we like as politicians in the election campaign but at some point in time, manifesto ideas will meet the sheer cold reality of who will pay for it.

“People who want to terminate commercial fishing in the Hauraki Gulf need to take account of who will bear the costs because we’re not a communist country that goes around summarily cancelling property rights.

“The advocates for terminating commercial fishing in the Hauraki Gulf are essentially saying they want to terminate property rights. Well, we’re not Venezuela.

“If you want to terminate property rights then you have to deal with compensation and no one who proposes the termination of fisheries is willing to explain or justify why a quarter of a billion dollars should be spent on turning the hierarchy golf into a mill pond.”

Potaka said National could protect the Gulf while also respecting fishery settlements.

“High Protection Areas were always intended to provide genuine protection, and if elected we will restore that integrity in a way that upholds our obligations and respects existing fisheries settlements.

“New Zealanders expect clarity and consistency in how marine protections are applied, and we are being clear that safeguarding the long-term health of the Hauraki Gulf is the responsible course for its future and for the country.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government appears to have scrapped its quarterly action plans, after not releasing one so far this quarter.

At the start of the term, the Prime Minister released the things the government planned to do in its first 100 days.

Once that was completed, the government moved to quarterly plans, starting in April 2024.

“Having a clear plan with specific actions and timeframes for delivery creates momentum and drives focus,” Christopher Luxon said at the time.

Each plan would contain about 30 to 40 actions within the government’s three pillars of ‘rebuild the economy and ease the cost of living,’ ‘restore law and order,’ and ‘deliver better public services.’

Its most recent one [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/575209/the-33-things-the-government-plans-to-do-before-the-end-of-year

from October 2025], for example, contained actions to introduce the planning legislation that will replace the Resource Management Act, pass the legislation to enable time of use charging, and release the English and Maths curriculum for Years 0-10.

Some commitments in the plans were more vague, such as “take policy decisions” around legislation that would appear in a future plan, or “raise the energy” of international relationships to signal Luxon would be taking an overseas trip.

Others were simply a product of timing, such as “deliver a Budget,” which happens the same time every year.

With the release of each subsequent plan, the government would also say which of the actions on its previous plan it had not achieved or which were still in progress.

On Monday, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the plans were “slightly absurd” and had become “an exercise in managerialism” rather than setting the direction for the country.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is proposing to make it legal to ride e-scooters in cycle lanes.

It is part of its work to “fix the basics” in the New Zealand transport system, with consultation opening today on two packages for rule changes.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said transport rules are not something many people think of until they run into a problem.

“It might be a parent unsure whether their 10-year-old is allowed to ride their bike on the footpath, a driver not clear how much space to give a cyclist, an e-scooter rider not sure if they can use the cycle lane, a bus stuck waiting to pull back into traffic, or a truck operator tied up in paperwork just to move an empty trailer between depots.

“We are fixing the basics by making sure the rules are clear, practical, and reflect how people actually use our roads every day.”

The first package focuses on lane use and everyday road rules, while the second focuses on heavy vehicles.

In the first package, the government is proposing to:

• Allow children up to age 12 (inclusive) to ride their bikes on footpaths, helping keep younger riders safer and reflecting common practice;
• Introduce a mandatory passing gap of between one and 1.5 metres, depending on the speed limit, to give motorists clearer guidance when passing cyclists and horse riders;
• Allow e-scooters to use cycle lanes;
• Require drivers travelling under 60 kilometres per hour to give way to buses pulling out from bus stops;
• Clarify signage rules so councils can better manage berm parking.

Bishop said many children already ride on footpaths even though the current rule doesn’t let them.

“Bringing the law into line with reality, with appropriate guidance and expectations around responsible riding, will help families make safer choices.

“I acknowledge some pedestrians, including older people and members of the disability community, may have concerns. Education and clear guidance will be important, and parents and caregivers will need to ensure children ride at safe speeds and give way to pedestrians.”

The second package relating to heavy vehicles proposes:

• Some permit requirements would be removed so rental operators can move empty high productivity motor vehicle truck and trailer combinations between depots and customers without unnecessary delays;
• Driver licence settings would be updated so Class 1 licence holders can drive zero-emissions vehicles with a gross laden weight up to 7500 kilograms, and Class 2 licence holders can drive electric buses with more than two axles with a gross laden weight up to 22,000kg;
• Signage requirements for load pilot vehicles would be made more practical;

[LI Overseas heavy vehicle licence holders would be able to convert their licences either by sitting tests or completing approved courses.

Bishop said these were “practical, common sense changes”.

“They give operators more certainty to get on with their work, reduce compliance headaches, and support the transition to low-emissions vehicles, all while keeping safety front and centre.”

Bishop said he encouraged everyone to have their say on the proposals, including parents, disability advocates, truck drivers and bus users.

“Good rules are built on common sense feedback from people who live by them.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has dismissed claims the coalition’s pay equity changes amount to an abuse of power as “hyperbole”.

An unofficial select committee run by 10 former MPs from across the political spectrum has condemned the changes, arguing the government had violated the rule of law in retrospectively cancelling existing rights and remedies.

The law cancelled 33 claims from female-dominated workforces which sought to prove they were underpaid in comparison to similar male-dominated industries, and raised the threshold for future claims.

Willis went head to head with Labour’s Tangi Utikere on Morning Report’s weekly political panel this morning.

Asked how the criticism “flagrant and significant abuse of power” sat with her, Willis said it was “hyperbole”.

“The legislation passed with a majority of support from Parliament and the reason it did is that there was agreement across the three parties of government that pay equity [is] important, we need to continue it in New Zealand, but the scheme that had been designed by Labour had gotten out of control, had become far too expensive, so we tightened up the scheme.

“That has resulted in $10.8 billion which was made available in last year’s budget, being invested in additional help for children with education needs and the health system and the police system and critical frontline services.”

Utikere pushed back.

“This is not hyperbole and I’ll tell you what, Nicola is right about one thing when she says this is how the parliament works; it works this way under the current government in not having a select committee process and ramming things through all stages under urgency in an attempt to avoid clear scrutiny at all costs.

“To hear that the minister responsible is simply not going to bother reading the report is hugely disrespectful to the many, many, many women who are directly impacted by this terrible decision that this government has taken.”

Pushed on how Labour would pay for the pay equity scheme, foregoing the roughly $10b in savings, Utikere did not address the question.

“We need to understand which claims have been paid out already, which new claims have started, but let’s have no doubt about this, Labour is absolutely committed to paying women what they deserve, unlike the current government.”

Willis said it was “typical” from Labour.

“Make the promise with no idea how to pay for it and actually, we know from history how Labour would pay for it. They would borrow more and they would tax more.

“The challenge that we have with that is that that is exactly the wrong recipe for our economy right now, simply borrowing and adding to the national debt, which they more than doubled last time they were in office, simply taxing New Zealanders more, destroying their disposable income, is not a way to solve problems.”

On the coalition’s introduction of ‘move-on’ orders for homeless people, Utikere said it was a “short term band aid” solution.

“[This] government has gutted public housing. Our focus is simple, on building more homes and making housing more affordable. And if you sort out those issues, then move on orders effectively become redundant.”

He did not say Labour would commit to scrapping the move-on orders.

Willis said the coalition had built more new state homes this term than the last government had in a “previously comparable period”.

“I don’t accept the case that this government isn’t working really hard on social housing for vulnerable communities. We are, this is an ‘and’ issue.

“It’s saying, do that support but also, if there are people who continue to disrupt the peace of others, who terrorise retail shops to the extent that some have closed down here in Auckland because it’s not safe for their staff, then actually there needs to be a social response to that.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Immigration officers will soon have the power to ask suspected overstayers for identification in homes and workplaces.

The government said it was closing a compliance gap in the deportation system, while critics argued it was a step towards the immigration conditions that had allowed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] raids seen in the United States.

In September last year, the New Zealand government announced a suite of immigration settings changes aimed at strengthening deportation levers.

Among them was giving immigration officers the power to ask for identity-based information from individuals they suspected were in breach of their visa conditions.

“Often they’re in a situation where they are looking for a particular person, they find that particular person, and then at that residence or workplace, there are other people who are either fleeing or acting suspiciously,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told RNZ.

“At this point in time they cannot act on that. We want to give them the ability to be able to act on that.”

Stanford said the law change was “narrow and designed to close a specific compliance gap” – giving immigration officers the tools they needed to do their job.

“We have a big overstayer problem, tens of thousands more than we suspected, and we have to arm [immigration officers] with the tools to be able to request information from people when they have a reasonable suspicion that they are in breach of their visa conditions.”

‘This is a solution looking for a problem’ – lawyer

Immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont said undocumented migrants or those in breach of their visa conditions was a very small problem in the immigration system.

He argued legislation had previously given “almost unfettered discrection” to immigration officers and the devil would be in how this law change was drafted.

“There is the risk, not necessarily that this current government is going to do something immediately, but in the future, what if we have a government that decides that enforcement on immigration is something which is really good for their particular politicking, I’m referring to dog whistle xenophobic politics.

“Then they decide that they want to start making an example of particular migrant groups by using the legislation to be enforced in a very harsh way, which is basically what has happened now in the United States, where they’ve used the framework of immigration law to target particular ethnic communities.”

McClymont said overstayers were actually a pretty small problem in New Zealand and if the government did not clearly define the “reasonable basis” on which an immigration officer could ask someone for ID, it could lead a situation where New Zealand citizens going about their business at home or work could be asked to prove who they were.

US President Donald Trump has overseen aggressive and sometimes deadly immigration operations in his second term in office – conducting weeks of sweeping raids and arrests in what the administration claims are targeted missions against criminals.

The Green Party’s immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said these ICE raids did not happen overnight.

“They were enabled by American politicians slowly allowing their immigration officials to have more powers to search, to detain and to target migrant communities.

“Every time that we allow this to happen without adequate justification we create the conditions to have in New Zealand what we’ve seen overseas.”

Stanford said the proposed change was narrow in scope and “very different” from powers available to US immigration officers.

She was clear it would not give New Zealand officers general stopping powers – or allow them to stop people at random in the street.

“Of course we never want to get to a situation where they’re … patrolling the streets, that’s not a situation we’re going to be able to get into.

“But a reasonable person would expect, where there is [reasonable] suspicion when they’re executing their normal duties, that they’d be able to [do so in] people’s houses.”

The legislation would be introduced to Parliament next month, with the aim of passing it into law before the end of this term.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s privacy commissioner’s office has signed on to a global joint statement voicing concerns about AI-generated images and calling on organisations to follow the law.

The statement – by multiple countries expresses – “concern about the potential harms from the misuse of AI content generation systems,” and says robust safeguards and regulations are needed.

“The creation of non-consensual intimate imagery can constitute a criminal offence in many jurisdictions,” the statement notes.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is an independent Crown entity that regulates the Privacy Act 2020 and ensures agencies know privacy rules. It also helps individuals whose privacy has been breached.

Concerns about the use of images of real people manipulated by artificial intelligence have been growing, with AI “slop” purveyors on social media pushing out multiple fake images about New Zealand news stories, for example, and ACT MP Laura McClure introducing a bill to criminalise non-consensual sexually explicit deepfakes.

“The concerns about these technologies include the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery and potential harms to children and other vulnerable groups,” the privacy commissioner’s office said.

Generative AI “systems must be developed and used in accordance with applicable legal frameworks, including data protection and privacy rules,” the commissioner’s office said.

The joint statement was signed by more than 50 different agencies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and elsewhere.

“While AI can bring meaningful benefits for individuals and society, recent developments – particularly AI image and video generation integrated into widely accessible social media platforms – have enabled the creation of non-consensual intimate imagery, defamatory depictions, and other harmful content featuring real individuals,” the joint statement said.

“We are especially concerned about potential harms to children and other vulnerable groups, such as cyber-bullying and/or exploitation.”

“We call on organisations to engage proactively with regulators, implement robust safeguards from the outset, and ensure that technological advancement does not come at the expense of privacy, dignity, safety,” the statement said.

The statement does not act to change any of New Zealand’s current laws, but may provide more pressure to bring them up to date as AI usage continues to rise.

University of Canterbury lecturer in law Dr Cassandra Mudgway has previously written on the need for more regulation over sexualised deepfakes.

“I think it goes along with what the office of the Privacy Commissioner has been trying to get out in relation to AI tools very generally,” she said. “In 2023 they released some guidance around AI tools and the use of AI tools by agencies.”

Privacy commissioner Michael Webster has also [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579020/privacy-commissioner-insists-new-zealand-s-laws-need-modernising recently said the country’s laws must be modernised to better protect New Zealanders.

“The Privacy Commissioner is really only concerned with how AI tools relate … to the Privacy Act,” Mudgway said.

The Human Rights Tribunal can award compensatory damages for breaches of the Privacy Act, but the fines typically wouldn’t make a difference to huge social media and AI companies, Mudgway said.

“If New Zealand wants to engage in these kind of conversations then we really do need to think about wider regulation.”

A ban on “nudify” type apps such as was recently introduced by Australia could be an easy first step, she said.

There have been concerns raised about use of AI during this year’s election campaigns. Elsewhere, US President Donald Trump has taken to frequently posting AI-generated content on his social media feeds.

“I think that it’s a really positive move that there’s an international conversation about (AI) through different regulators … but in terms of making a positive change or a proactive change then that’s going to have to come from Parliament,” Mudgway said.

“It’s going to have to come from the government of the day and it’s going to be political will whether they listen to that movement.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Free Trade Agreement with India is better than almost every other trade agreement with India, says the trade minister, who is optimistic it will get the political support needed to ratify it.

Todd McClay held the first of a series of roadshows on the NZ-India Free Trade agreement in Christchurch today at Business Canterbury.

New Zealand First has said it will not support the deal, but McClay said he had a constructive meeting on the FTA with Labour leader Chris Hipkins last week to work through some of the issues they had.

“The Labour party has the text already, and has had full access to officials since the end of last year, and we are working through a process.”

McClay said they had made some progress on the issues, but he expected further meetings will be needed.

He said every previous significant trade agreement had support from both major parties, because they knew how important trade was to New Zealand.

“This is a high quality agreement that is good for New Zealand. It is better than almost every other agreement India has negotiated and I want to be very clear – if it wasn’t a good agreement, we wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

Labour said last week that National must ensure stronger protections for migrant workers in the Free Trade Agreement with India, before it agreed to it.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand