Category: Politics

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ousted Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi is taking the party’s president John Tamihere to court.

Kapa-Kingi was expelled from the party, alongside Tākuta Ferris, in early November after a period of internal conflict.

Iwi leaders had been hopeful the party’s two factions could patch things up at a hui in Wellington last month.

The party’s co-leaders instead announced the national council had voted to expel them, with immediate effect, over “serious breaches” of the party’s consitution.

In response to news of his expulsion at the time, Ferris issued a statement, saying the decision “is plainly unconstitutional”.

“I do not acknowledge the decisions and illegal resolutions made through unilateral measures.”

In a statement posted on social media, Kapa-Kingi also called the decision unconstitutional and said she intended to appeal it “in all respects”.

“In the meantime, I remain the duly elected Member of Parliament for Te Tai Tokerau and will continue to stand for, and show up for the people of Te Tai Tokerau to do the job I was elected to do.”

Te Pāti Māori more recently declined an offer by Te Rūnanga Ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi to meet in Kaikohe to discuss the expulson of Kapa-Kingi.

The now-independent Te Tai Tokerau MP is now applying for an interim injunction (a temporary court order halting a specific action) against president Tamihere and others.

While no details have been released, the hearing will likely be a challenge to the legality of the party’s decision to expel the Northland MP.

The hearing is set down for 10am on Thursday in the High Court in Wellington.

Kapa-Kingi and Tamihere have both been approached for comment.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche says he would’ve sacked former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster “if I had to”.

He’s also revealed Coster will receive three months pay as part of his contract.

RNZ revealed on Wednesday Coster had resigned as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency after the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s damning report into police’s response to allegations of sexual offending by former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

In an interview with RNZ, Sir Brian was asked if Coster’s role was untenable.

“His role would have been very, very challenging, and that was the matter that we were working through. I never had to get to the end, because he decided, for professional and personal reasons, to offer his resignation, which I have accepted. That is in his best interest, and I believe it to be in my best interest.”

He said he would have sacked Coster “if I had to”.

“But I didn’t have to. It’s a theoretical thing, because he did the right thing. He exercised the accountability that I would expect of a public sector chief executive.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

Coster was placed on leave following the IPCA’s report last month. Sir Brian said the pair had been engaged in conversations around his employment over the last three weeks.

“I had a number of questions that I needed to be satisfied on as to his ability to continue in his current role. Those questions came up from the IPCA. I had a number of them, as do many other people, I had the opportunity to put those directly to him and listen to his response, and I’ve done that without any level of predetermination, and as best as I could an open mind.”

The two men had a number of meetings in person and online.

“I was negotiating under my employment contract with him about his ability to perform the tasks that he had been recruited for as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency, all of the matters I thought relevant to that were considered in the process, and they were considered in my satisfaction to the point that he decided to offer his resignation, which I have accepted.”

Asked if there was ever a discussion about Coster returning to work, Sir Brian said “all options remained on the table”.

He said that it became apparent in his engagement with Coster last week that he was intending to resign.

“We have been engaged for three weeks in a process around employment. It was backwards and forwards between us. I had to make a decision. He had to make a decision, and all options were on the table. He took a view late last week that it was his intention to resign. I respect that, and we finalized that over the last few days.”

Sir Brian said Coster’s apology to those affected, including police and the woman who raised allegations about McSkimming was “extremely honourable”.

“I’m not sure what more he can do.”

Asked what Coster told him, Sir Brian said he acknowledged he realised after reading the IPCA report “how extensive the failures had been”.

“And although the IPCA found no evidence of corruption or collusion, if you look at it, there were failures in the systems, the processes and the delegations. And he was accountable for that. He’s accepted that accountability.”

Sir Brian said he was “really disappointed at a personal level that we’ve had to do this”.

“It’s been a very challenging process that needed to be done, but it’s had very high consequences for a person who, in his current role, was performing well, and the fact that he’s accepted accountability and responsibility speaks volumes for his values.”

He said no concerns had been raised with him about Coster’s leadership while at SIA.

Asked if he believed Coster should have got the job in the first place, Sir Brian said he believed he was “very well qualified for that role”.

“He had done a good role, but we’ve got to the point we have, and that is the way it is. I think it’s a very sad day for him and his family.”

[ h] Coster breaks silence

In a statement to RNZ, Coster said his resignation was “a result of my acceptance of full responsibility for the shortcomings” identified in the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report.

“I regret the impact on the young woman at the centre of this matter and sincerely apologise to her for the distress caused.

“I accept that I was too ready to trust and accept at face value Deputy Commissioner McSkimming’s disclosure and explanations to me. I should have been faster and more thorough in looking into the matter.”

Coster acknowledged he should have more fully investigated the allegations when they were brought to his attention, “rather than assuming that their previous disclosure to senior Police staff a few years earlier would have resulted in an investigation if necessary”.

“It is clear that Police’s handling of the whole matter was lacking and that I was ultimately responsible for those matters. It was sobering to read of a number of missed opportunities which should have proceeded differently and more appropriately.”

Coster welcomed Sir Brian’s acknowledgement that the report made no finding of corruption or cover-up, nor did the IPCA find any evidence of any actions involving officers consciously doing the wrong thing or setting out to undermine the integrity of the organisation.

“I made decisions honestly. I acted in good faith. I sought to take all important factors into account with the information I had at the time. While it is not possible to alter past events, I am prepared to take responsibility – I got this wrong.

“I want to apologise to all members of the NZ Police. They work hard every day to keep our communities safe. I know they have been adversely affected by these events.”

Coster said it had been a “very challenging time” for his family and himself.

“The support we have received has been deeply appreciated. I have devoted my professional life to the service of others – it is my intention to do so again at some point in the future.”

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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 Greens say the number of applications for advanced support being denied has “skyrocketed” during the last year and people are being denied assistance for basic essentials.

But the Minister for Social Development Louise Upston says there’s been no policy change and she’s not concerned because “advances create greater hardship down the track”.

Data provided by the minister shows the number of declined applications for payment advances to help with clothing has doubled and declines for help with electricity costs has more than doubled compared to the quarter ending June 2023.

Advance payments of a benefit is a one-off payment to help pay for essential or emergency costs. MSD can help with costs such as electricity, dental treatment, essential home repairs, glasses, washing machines, car repairs and more.

Between June 2023 and June 2025 there has been an increase in declined applications of:

• 72% for appliances: 327 applications declined in June 2023 compared to 564 declined in June 2025
• 91% for bedding: 366 compared to 699
• 82% for beds: 375 compared to 684
• 65% for car repairs: 1551 compared to 2556
• 102% for clothing: 1515 compared to 3060
• 36% for dental treatment: 1317 compared to 1785
• 160% for electricity: 300 compared to 780
• 83% for essential home repairs: 54 compared to 99
• 52% for fridge/ freezer: 219 compared to 333
• 86% for furniture: 342 compared to 636

Some of the most common reasons these applications are denied include whether the circumstances could have reasonably been foreseen, the person had already received help for the same or similar need in the past, or that it wasn’t a qualifying need.

The reason advances were declined because circumstances could have been reasonably foreseen, and declined because it was not a qualifying need, have both doubled compared to June 2023.

Upston appeared before the Social Services Committee during Scrutiny Week, where Green MP Ricardo Menendez March asked why the decline for advances for assistance like clothing and electricity had “skyrocketed” under the past financial year.

He asked whether the minister was “comfortable” with increased unemployment and hardship in communities while decline rates had doubled.

Upston said she was aware there had been an increase in the number of declines, but confirmed there had been no policy change in regards to granting advances.

Her key concern though was the nature of advance payments themselves, because it meant people had less than their benefit in the weeks from then on.

“I’m not sure that benefit advance is necessarily a good idea when people turn up to MSD with challenges.”

Upston said she would be surprised if Menendez March was advocating for a larger number of advances because “that pushes people into more financial hardship in the weeks and months ahead”.

Menendez March said people access advances because they “just simply cannot make ends meet and cover the costs in front of them”. He said advances were one of the few tools to prevent people losing access to electricity, for example.

Upston acknowledged “we’ve got very challenging times,” and “no one around this table would be surprised” there are people who are finding the cost of living challenging at the moment, “which is why it is the primary focus of our government to get it under control.”

“We need to stick with our plan focusing on reducing inflation and reducing the cost of living, but I accept that there will be households who are finding it tough right now.”

Asked by reporters after the Scrutiny Week hearing why there had been an increase in declines, Upston said that was a question for MSD. RNZ has approached MSD for comment.

She said she wasn’t concerned about the increase, and when asked why she wasn’t concerned, repeated that “advances create greater hardship down the track in the weeks and months ahead”.

“It may well have been that they were too lenient in the past, but as I said, there have been no policy changes around any form of hardship.”

Asked whether MSD was taking cues from the government’s rhetoric of getting tougher on beneficiaries, Upston rejected that assumption.

“We are focused on reducing the number of people on job seeker benefit and supporting them into work.”

Menendez March told RNZ under Upston’s watch more people were being declined assistance for “basic essentials.”

“At a time of a cost of living crisis, it’s morally corrupt to run a regime where more people are being declined for assistance.

“Advances are often a last lifeline for people in hardship unable to cover the cost of bills, clothes and bedding which allows them to live dignified lives.”

Government target ‘at risk’

The chief executive of the Ministry of Social Development, Debbie Power, also appeared before MPs for questioning.

NZ First’s Jamie Arbuckle asked whether MSD was on track to meet the government’s goal to reduce Jobseeker numbers to 140,000 by 2030.

Power responded that it was “fair to say” the target was “probably a bit at risk”.

“That’s what you would expect given the economic conditions. But what I can say is we are absolutely committed to ensuring that New Zealanders and our clients get access to jobs as they come up.”

Power said 42 percent of people who came on a benefit last year in New Zealand were “really highly skilled”, so it was important to make sure they get access to jobs in the labour market.

“And when the economy turns making sure our clients are at the front of the queue to take advantage of their economic recovery is something that we are absolutely committed to.”

Power was also asked by Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan whether changes to jobseeker payments for 18 and 19 year olds would get the government closer to that target.

From November next year, young people wanting to get Jobseeker Support or the equivalent Emergency Benefit will have to take a parental income test, to see whether their parents can support them instead of the taxpayer.

Power said she didn’t think that was the “intent” of the policy, but acknowledged MSD was expecting 4000 18 and 19 year olds to be impacted by the change.

National’s Paulo Garcia also asked for an update on the government’s traffic-light warning system, which sets out clear consequences for beneficiaries who fail to meet certain requirements.

Jobseekers will have to reapply for the benefit every six months – instead of annually – and any transgressions will remain on their record for two years, twice as long as they do now.

The law change will also allow new sanctions, such as mandatory community work or money management payment cards.

Power said currently, 98.5 percent – 345,000 people – were in the green setting, meaning “no problems, meeting obligations, all good”.

There are 0.6 percent – 1,953 people – in orange, and 1 percent – 3,189 people – in red. She acknowledged that was a small number of people. Power said what she’d heard from the front line was that staff and clients appreciated the transparency of the colour arrangements to better understand what was expected of them.

In regards to the mandatory community work or money management payment cards – the non-financial sanctions MSD had been able to apply in the last six months since the law came into force – Menendez March asked how many had been applied.

Power said there’d been about “a dozen.”

Menendez March said the minister often spoke about these sanctions as being a “better alternative”, and questioned why only 12 had been applied while financial sanctions had remained the majority.

Power said there was particular criteria in terms of accessing non-financial sanctions, such as being in case management, having dependent children, failing an obligation then attending an appointment with the case manager.

“It significantly reduces the size of people where those sorts of sanctions will apply.

“So it’s a tool that we can use for the right circumstances.”

Menendez March pushed back, asking “if only 12 people have been given a non-financial sanction, does that say that the circumstances are almost never right?”

Power rejected that saying it was because “we’re just starting.”

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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 ACT Party’s chief of staff has announced his resignation, after more than a decade in Parliament.

In a LinkedIn post, Andrew Ketels said he felt “very fortunate” to have worked at Parliament for 12 years, for five ministers, and as ACT’s chief of staff for five years.

“There really is no place like it, but I’m looking forward to making a bit more time for my two boys,” he said.

Ketels said he was “extremely proud” of how far the party had come over the last eight years, “from a party struggling to make the 6pm news and polling below 1% to a caucus of 11 MPs and sitting at the Cabinet table”.

Ketels said he would be finishing up this month “to move on to my next challenge”.

Prior to joining David Seymour’s office in 2017, Ketels had worked for National MPs Louise Upston and Maggie Barry.

Ketels is not the only party chief of staff to step down this year, after the Greens’ Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield resigned in September.

She was replaced by former Green MP Kevin Hague, who started in the role last month.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has broken his silence after resigning as chief executive of the Social Investment Agency.

RNZ revealed on Wednesday Coster had resigned after the police watchdog’s damning report into police’s response to allegations of sexual offending by former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

In a statement to RNZ, Coster said his resignation was “a result of my acceptance of full responsibility for the shortcomings” identified in the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s report.

“I regret the impact on the young woman at the centre of this matter and sincerely apologise to her for the distress caused.

“I accept that I was too ready to trust and accept at face value Deputy Commissioner McSkimming’s disclosure and explanations to me. I should have been faster and more thorough in looking into the matter.”

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

Coster acknowledged he should have more fully investigated the allegations when they were brought to his attention, “rather than assuming that their previous disclosure to senior Police staff a few years earlier would have resulted in an investigation if necessary”.

“It is clear that Police’s handling of the whole matter was lacking and that I was ultimately responsible for those matters. It was sobering to read of a number of missed opportunities which should have proceeded differently and more appropriately.”

Coster welcomed Sir Brian’s acknowledgement that the report made no finding of corruption or cover-up, nor did the IPCA find any evidence of any actions involving officers consciously doing the wrong thing or setting out to undermine the integrity of the organisation.

“I made decisions honestly. I acted in good faith. I sought to take all important factors into account with the information I had at the time. While it is not possible to alter past events, I am prepared to take responsibility – I got this wrong.

“I want to apologise to all members of the NZ Police. They work hard every day to keep our communities safe. I know they have been adversely affected by these events.”

Coster said it had been a “very challenging time” for his family and himself.

“The support we have received has been deeply appreciated. I have devoted my professional life to the service of others – it is my intention to do so again at some point in the future.”

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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 and other liberal democracies need to band together against the rise of modern kleptocracy, a top American journalist and historian says.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum told Guyon Espiner on 30 with Guyon Espiner how today’s dictators aren’t just seizing power, they’re stealing unimaginable wealth and hiding it in Western banks.

Kelptocracy – meaning to “rule by thieves” – is a form of political corruption where leaders make themselves rich and powerful by stealing from the people they rule.

Applebaum discusses a rise in modern kleptocracy, where there is a striking degree of theft and wealth.

“You know, Hitler and Stalin were not billionaires. Most modern dictators are billionaires, and we don’t even know how or why they are billionaires,” Applebaum said.

“… All of them [Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin] have secret funds, secret palaces [and] secret sources of income that we don’t know about.”

Applebaum believes Russia paved the way for this modern dictatorship where there is a “marriage between great wealth and great power”.

She said there is a class of Russian oligarchs who learned how to use Western financial systems such as offshore tax havens, anonymous shell companies and anonymous investments to keep their money secret.

“Essentially, they learned how to steal money from Russia, to export it out of the country, to hide it in various places in Europe and America, or maybe New Zealand [and] Australia, and then to take it back into Russia and to use it as a way of both building comfort for themselves and their family, but also as a way of gaining power,” Applebaum said.

“They bought up companies, they bought people, they bought influence and that’s how they rule.”

She said US President Donald Trump has been imitating what Russians and other autocrats in converting political power to financial power. For example, his company World Liberty Financial has been accused of giving favours to people who have invested into it.

“There are some odd coincidences. People who’ve paid money to his company being pardoned or having their investigations dropped if they’re if they’re being investigated by the US Justice System, or countries who’ve paid in being granted various, you know, being granted various kinds of advantages,” Applebaum said.

She said while Trump appears to want to be an autocrat, the system doesn’t easily allow him to do so.

For example, when Disney suspended production of the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! after pressure from Trump’ administration, people boycotted Disney. It resulted in the show returning after a week.

“There are a lot of different ways that people are now working to push back. I’m hoping actually that Congress, that particularly the Senate, but also even the House of Representatives, will begin to crack particularly as people see how unpopular this is.”

Applebaum said countries like New Zealand and Australia should work together against autocracies.

“I mean, you know, the most important point is that the autocracies think globally. They think about, you know, Iran helps Venezuela. You know, China’s watching what goes on in Belarus. And I think democracies need to think like that too,” she said.

“You know, we need, we need lines of connection between liberal democracies all over the world, on on specific issues, not merely through existing institutions. You know, the European Union is not going to do it by itself, but working, working around this, just working together to solve the same problems.”

She said we owe it to our fellow citizens and children to continue to fight to fix what is wrong with out system and fight back against those who want to destroy it.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

For a full explanation of each target and how it has changed, see RNZ’s target-by-target breakdown below.

Four of the government’s nine key targets risk not being met, the latest update shows.

People receiving Jobseeker benefits have increased to 217,800 and education targets remain elusive. A target to reduce the number of households in emergency accommodation has been met, as has a goal to reduce the number of victims of assault or robbery and to reduce serious youth offending.

RNZ is tracking progress towards each of the government’s nine targets, using official data from the relevant agencies. The graphics are updated each quarter, with the most recent progress report covering up to September 2025.

Employment and education goals – in reading, writing and mathematics – are classified as “at risk” of not being met, and two health targets are considered “feasible”: still possible, but behind schedule and facing “major risks and/or issues”.

Targets considered “on track” include reducing the number of households in emergency housing, cutting crime and youth offending, and meeting near-term greenhouse gas emission targets. Officials also say lifting school attendance is “probable”.

The nine targets were selected to focus the public sector on priorities.

Progress is reported quarterly, and each responsible agency assigns a status, ranging from “on track” to “unachievable”. Progress toward reaching a target can still be classed as “feasible”, even if there are major risks or issues in meeting it, as long as the agency in charge believes these can be resolved.

The nine targets are set to be delivered by 2030, beyond the current political term.

Health

Achieving the goal for 95 percent of patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours is still some way off.

The latest period of reporting shows only 73.9 percent of patients were seen within that timeframe. This is a slight decrease from the last quarter when 74.2 percent of patients were seen within six hours.

When setting this target, officials warned there was a risk it would not be achievable in the short term.

“Most ED [emergency departments] nationwide are over capacity most of the time,” a briefing to ministers read.

It said wait times were affected by resourcing, community services, bed availability and seasonal changes, such as increased demand during flu season.

Attempting to reduce wait times would require significant system-wide change in hospitals, primary care and aged care, the briefing said.

“There would be a risk the target is achieved by focusing resources intensively in ED at the expense of other areas of the health system. This may result in improved ED wait times in the short term, but – through reduction in the quality of care elsewhere – would likely result in worse health outcomes and ultimately higher ED presentations in the medium to long term.”

This update noted there was a $20 million boost to emergency departments to increase frontline staffing over the combining nine months, as well as $164m over four years for new and improved urgent and after-hours care.

Six treatment spaces are to be added to Nelson Hospitals emergency department.

Reaching the 95 percent goal by 2030 is considered to be feasible, meaning there are major risks to achievement.

The target for 95 percent of people to receive elective treatment within four months is a long way away from being achieved, although tracking in the right direction.

At the moment 63.9 percent of people needing elective treatments, such as hip or cataract surgeries, are seen within four months. This is higher than the 57.3 percent reported in the last quarter.

The private sector was being used to tackle the waitlist, with 18 percent of treatments in the 2025/2026 year planned to be delivered by private providers.

The latest update says that at the end of June 2025 there were no patients waiting longer than two years that don’t have a plan in place.

Delivery of this target is considered feasible, indicating there are still major risks.

Crime

The number of serious and persistent youth offenders has decreased to 892, achieving the target of 900 or fewer well ahead of 2030.

For a youth offender to be classed as a serious or persistent offender they must have committed three or more offences in the past 12 months, with at least one of them having a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment or more.

Bootcamps, improving response teams and locally-led initiatives and increased school attendance are listed as areas the government is focused on to reach the target.

The goal to reduce crime is classed has been reached ahead of the 2030 deadline.

This target was kept as one of the nine government targets, despite officials suggesting it would be difficult to achieve and should be replaced with something easier to reach.

The goal to reduce the number of victims of assault, robbery, and sexual assault by 20,000 by 2030 is based on data from the New Zealand Crime and Victims’ Survey. Officials warned the survey data had a high margin of error and was more suitable for showing long-term trends.

The survey includes crimes that victims might have experienced in the past 12 months, including unreported crime.

Initiatives to reach the target include limiting sentencing discounts and improving security at targeted locations.

Employment

The number of people receiving Jobseeker support has risen by 1,800 to 217,800 since the June report. This target remains classified as “at risk” of being met.

This is 77,800 away from the overall goal of 140,000 or fewer people receiving support by 2030.

The government’s update suggested that the flow of people receiving the Jobseeker benefit will decrease as economic conditions improve.

Measures to reduce the number of people on Jobseeker benefit include stricter sanctions via a traffic light system.

A new test for Jobseeker eligibility for 18 and 19-year-olds was announced in October, which will mean applicants whose parents have a combined income above $65,529 will be ineligible for the benefit. It’s estimated 4300 young people will be affected by this.

Education

At 58.4 percent, Term 2’s attendance rate is well below the target of 80 percent of students present for more than 90 percent of the term. This means students should take no more than five days off a term.

Absence is classed as either “justified” or “unjustified”. Justified absences include illnesses, and other reasons which fall under school policy, such as suspensions. Unjustified absences include truancy, or taking holidays in term time. The government target of 80 percent makes no distinction between the two.

The update says legislation has been passed to make attendance management plans mandatory from term 1 of 2026: “Accountability for parents and guardians is also critical with several cases formally notified through the Ministry of Education led prosecutions process,” the update noted.

The Ministry of Education said its estimated attendance levels until 2029 is not a “technical forecast” but is based on historical patterns of greater attendance drops during winter months due to illness. At present attendance is tracking closely to the ministry’s estimation.

Since 2011, the highest percentage of students attending 90 percent of a school term was 72.8 percent, in Term 1 of 2019. The average over that time was 59.4 percent.

Reaching this target is deemed “probable”.

Currently 47 percent of students are at the expected level in reading, 24 percent in writing and 23 percent in mathematics.

A structured literacy programme has been rolled out, along with a refreshed curriculum.

Mathematics and writing action plans have been launched to raise achievement.

This target is considered to be “at risk” of not being met.

Housing

Driving down the number of households in emergency housing is one target where progress leapt ahead of estimations.

From a baseline of 3141 households, the goal was to reduce the number by 75 percent, to 800 or fewer.

The current number is 441, well below the 800 which was the 2030 goal.

Part of the plan to reach the target includes improving access to other forms of housing for emergency housing residents. As of September, 1,086 households (with 2,328 children) have been housed in a social housing tenancy.

Criteria to be placed in emergency housing tightened despite warnings from officials that this could lead to an increase in rough sleepers.

An action plan, which includes “move on orders” has been created for Auckland. If implemented this would enable police or council officers to order rough sleepers to leave an area for a period of time.

Climate

There are two targets New Zealand has committed to meeting as part of its net zero climate change goal.

The first target is for total greenhouse gas emissions between 2022 and 2025 to be below 290 megatonnes. The update says target is on track to being achieved with a projection of 282.2mt.

Reaching the second target – for total emissions between 2026 and 2030 to be less than 309 mt – appears to be more of a challenge, though is classed as being on track, with the current projection of 300.5mt.

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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 Public Service Commissioner says it is “likely” the commission will run social media advertisements on public sector negotiations again, as it engages an independent party to review their use.

In early November, Labour’s MP Camilla Belich wrote to the Auditor-General, requesting it investigate the commission’s decision to purchase Facebook advertisements in the build-up to October’s ‘mega-strike’.

On Monday, the Auditor-General Grant Taylor said he had been advised by the commission it had engaged an external party to carry out a review, acknowledging potential lessons.

The commission appeared before Parliament’s Governance and Administration Committee on Tuesday.

Belich, who is also the committee’s chair, asked Roche whether he had anything to explain to the committee regarding the advertisements.

In its report, the commission noted it was the first time since 1997 that the commissioner had retained the collective bargaining delegation for primary and secondary school teachers and principals.

Roche said that strengthened role in bargaining had taken “a lot of resource” and it was important “that we made sure that the facts were made available”.

He said social media was a “critical channel” for people to get information, and it was “entirely appropriate” to participate.

“But I acknowledge it was the first time that we had done it in a bargaining context, and there was a lot of public commentary, which is why I initiated a review immediately after the event itself. Because I think it’s important that we are both scrutinised and that we learn,” he said.

“It is likely that we will do this again, and I wanted to make sure that we were as best as we could be, but I acknowledge it was the first time, and I also accept the public commentary.”

He did not accept a question from Belich over whether the advertisements may have affected the public’s perception of the commission’s neutrality, but the review was to ensure the commission was holding the highest levels of integrity.

“The bargaining has been fraught this year, it’s been very challenging, it’s been done in a very, very constrained fiscal environment, and from time to time the information that was coming from the people we were negotiating with was not factual and it was not accurate, and that is actually unhelpful to a broader functioning community.”

Roche acknowledged he could have kept ministers more informed about the steps the commission was taking.

If the review found the use of the advertisements was not appropriate, then “absolutely” the commission would not run them again.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Roche said he instigated the review as a “learning exercise,” and that the Auditor-General was comfortable with the commission’s process of instigating the review itself.

He committed to making the review public when it was in a position to do so.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Vocational Education Minister Penny Simmonds has announced her appointees to the governing councils of the first 10 polytechnics to leave super-institute Te Pūkenga and return to stand-alone status.

The institutes being removed from Te Pūkenga include two that were formerly separate organisations – MIT and Unitec in Auckland.

Simmonds said there were three or four ministerial appointments for each council and they took effect immediately.

She also appeared before the Education and Workforce Select Committee on Tuesday.

Course cuts, aimed at ensuring the stand-alone polytechnics were viable, would not reduce the training opportunities available in regional centres, she said.

“The courses that have been closed by the polytechnics are not full of people. Polytechs don’t close courses that have 18 or 20 or even 16 people in them. They close courses that aren’t viable because they’ve got very small numbers in them,” she said.

Regional institutes would have a greater variety of courses available through the Open Polytechnic, she said.

Committee member Labour MP Shanan Halbert asked Simmonds what the government was doing for the 90,000 young people not in employment or training (NEET).

Apprenticeship numbers dropped by thousands after a subsidy for employers introduced by the previous government, the Apprenticeship Boost, ended, he said.

Simmonds defended the government’s decision.

Apprenticeship Boost was a post-covid policy that expired at the end of 2024 she said.

The government continued some but not all of the funding and the main reason for the drop in apprentices was the poor performance of the economy, she said.

“As the economy comes out of that recession, we will see employment pick up and we’ll see apprenticeships pick up.”

Earlier, Tertiary Education Commission chief executive Tim Fowler told the committee post-covid subsidies encouraged a massive increase in work-based training and apprenticeships which dropped sharply when those subsidies were removed.

“As soon as those came off, they dropped, and we saw some pretty poor outcomes I think for learners and apprentices as a consequence because employers dropped apprentices when the subsidy got ditched,” he said.

However, despite the slump in numbers there were now more apprentices than in 2019, he said.

Fowler said some polytechnics became less relevant to their local regions and their enrolments declined as a result.

He said the newly-established polytechnics would have a good chance of succeeding if they responded to local skill needs.

“I think there is going to be a test for all of those new institutions to ensure they are nimble,” he said.

“I think it’s less about systems and more about, frankly, attitude of the governance of those new institutions and especially the senior leadership to create the environment that says, for staff, ‘we are here for the local employers in our region and therefore we need to be really close to them’.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The top figures in the police are appearing before a Select Committee as part of Parliament’s Scrutiny Week.

Commissioner Richard Chambers, along with the deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, and figures like police’s chief people officer and chief financial officer are all appearing before the Justice Committee to answer questions about Police’s 2024/25 annual review.

Despite the recent Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report appearing outside of the 2024/25 review time period, it is likely MPs will ask about the report and the actions of the former police leadership.

Chambers told the MPs he was very proud of police, despite the challenges faced in the past year including “most recently of course the IPCA report”.

He said he was looking forward to a new leadership team in 2026, and he would welcome questioning on the audit report, which identified contract management, asset management, procurement, and change in appropriation in road policing.

“Given events of this year trust and confidence is an absolute priority, I said that on day one. Nothing has changed… we’ve taken some hits, we will make sure we move forward and do our absolute best for our country.”

Chambers said despite the damning IPCA report he did not believe the organisation had a culture problem.

Labour’s Ginny Andersen questioned that given the IPCA found there was a problem with police culture, but Chambers said it would be grossly unfair for the report to reflect on the 15,000 employees who “do a tough job and a very good job across the country day and night”.

Chambers said he was working on a performance review of police to correct behaviours that fall short of expectations.

“Those that do fall below expectations – my expectation is that we act on that and we deal with them. And I’m confident that – albeit hugely disappointing – it’s a reminder to all staff that expectations are there and we’ll act on anything that falls below.”

He said the focus for 2026 was on the four priorities he outlined a year prior: core policing, supporting the front-line, leadership and accountability, and fiscal responsibility.

Specifically, he had set specific goals around service, safety and trust, including getting trust and confidence up to 80 percent.

“We’ve been there before there’s no reason we can’t do it again… we’ve taken some hits on trust and confidence, particularly recently.”

The other benchmarks included getting satisfaction for services to 80 percent from its current 71 percent, a15 percent rise in resolutions for retail crime, and a 15 percent reduction in violence in public places.

He also pointed to a 20 percent increase in Māori at police over the past five years.

“I think that’s a success story…. it’s a value we all subscribe to that we find better ways to achieve outcomes for all communities across New Zealand.”

Andersen questioned him about the progress towards the 500 additional police officers target promised by the coalition, which missed its two-year deadline last week.

He said police was aiming to meet the target “as soon as possible in 2026”, noting that over the past 12 months they’d had close to 9000 applications, compared to over 5000 the previous year.

He said they had signed on about 900 staff this year, about 100 of whom were rejoins.

“We’ve never achieved that in a 12-month period and we’ve worked incredibly hard to promote policing in New Zealand as a career, and even some of our colleagues who’ve gone across to Australia, we’ve had some big successes with them coming home.”

Andersen also pointed to previous funding being assigned for one officer per 480 New Zealanders, which had since shifted to one officer per 510 New Zealanders.

Chambers said he was focused on achieving the 500 new officer target, but alongside that was an initiative to ensure sworn staff – even those not on the front line – were able to get out and make a difference.

Andersen pointed to a drop outlined in the annual report showing a drop in people’s perception of police effectively responding to serious crime in the past couple of years, and asked if that was related.

Chambers said they were working as hard as possible to provide the best possible service across all the demands police managed.

Earlier on Tuesday, Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche confirmed “good progress” had been made regarding the fate of former Commissioner Andrew Coster.

Coster has been on leave from his role as Secretary for Social Investment since the release of the report, and has been in an employment process with the Commissioner.

“We’ve made really good progress. I’m confident that we’ll be able to have a decision in the not too distant future,” Roche said.

“I don’t have an exact date, but I’m really confident that we’re going to get there and remove the uncertainty that everyone has. I recognise this has got a high level of public interest.”

Chambers rejects systemic bias exists within police

Independent MP Tākuta Ferris asked about the audit’s finding that police had weak outcome reporting around Māori achievement or advancement.

Chambers said police needed to celebrate successes better.

“The results are there – if I think about the high percentage of non-reoffending rates in Te Pae Oranga as one example, the fact that we’ve got 12 rangatahi TPOs opportunities across the county, we’ve got 30 for adults, it’s all there. Perhaps we just don’t celebrate it enough.”

Green MP Tamatha Paul highlighted concerns around systemic bias or racism within police, which Chambers said he did not accept was the case.

“Systemic bias and racism is not saying every police officer is racist,” Paul said. “It’s saying that the structures and the rules – for example the use of discretion, look at the way that is used between Pākehā and Māori cannabis possession charges, it is disproportionate.

“Māori in the last year are now more highly charged in the possession of cannabis than Pākehā, despite the fact we are only 15 percent of the population and Pākehā are the majority – so how does that work out?”

Chambers said he wanted to see the circumstances and situations staff were encountering, but Paul said that’s what the Understanding Police Delivery report was about. However, she was cut off by the committee chair Andrew Bayly.

“You’ve asked your question,” Bayly said, praising ACT’s Todd Stephenson for raising a new line of questioning around financial management.

Paul later came back to the topic and asked how else Chambers could explain the discrepancy in cannabis possession charging statistics.

He said it was not as simple as looking at statistics and he wanted to look into the circumstances for each event police had turned up to.

“It’s quite a complex set of considerations,” he said.

Bayly again interrupted saying Chambers had offered to come back with more information speak to the matter in a more meaningful way “rather than just on the hoof”.

“Well it’s not on the hoof, Mr Chair, we’ve been asking about this for a long time,” Paul responded.

“Commissioner’s been clear he doesn’t have access to information. Let’s get an informed decision. That’s cool.”

Police Minister Mark Mitchell has long maintained no systemic bias or racism exists within police, despite the 2024 report by an independent panel finding both bias and structural racism meant Māori men were more likely to be stopped, prosecuted and tasered.

Chambers noted spending on consulting and contracting had been reduced by about $90m, down from about $135m a few years ago.

“That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me,” National’s Rima Nahkle said, “I’ve put some chocolate there for you.”

Police tackling recent spike in youth crime in Christchurch

Chambers noted there had been a bit of a spike in youth crime recently in Christchurch, particularly in the past two weeks.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Tusha Penny said they met at 8am every morning to discuss youth crime, and it was an “inter-agency” problem with support from Oranga Tamariki and community groups, whānau and more.

“As of Monday they’ve actually established an operation to supplement the specialist youth investigators and youth officers that we have every single day.”

She said the “Fast Track” or “circuit breaker” programme had been very effective in reducing youth crime, with 81 percent of young people who went through it not reoffending.

“The beauty of that programme is it’s required agencies to come together within that first 24 hours to look at not just the youth that’s been apprehended but the wider circumstances that’s brought the responsibility and the accountability on the whanau and on the partners who are going to support it through.

“That’s been incredibly successful.”

She said the government’s military-style youth academies or “boot camps” were very similar and police would welcome any such intervention that involved proper housing, proper engagement with education and healthcare, and support to whānau because it could have an effect.

She agreed with Labour’s Duncan Webb that recent cases of young people being held in police cells for about six days was “not okay”, but said they were constantly working to avoid that where possible by working with agencies to find “more appropriate placements” for them.

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