Category: Politics

Source: Radio New Zealand

Housing Minister Chris Bishop is encouraging tenants to negotiate a cheaper deal as rent prices drop.

Rental prices fell their lowest level in two years in September, prompting some landlords to offer incentives to entice people to viewings.

Speaking after a Select Committee on housing on Wednesday afternoon, Bishop said renters should be taking advantage of the market.

“I’d encourage people to go and negotiate with their landlord and if they think they can get lower rent, they should, because that’ll be good for them and it will be good for their own back pocket.

“I had a guy say to me yesterday that he was paying $650 a week and in his apartment building he found two apartments for rent in the same building at $600, exactly the same apartment.

“[He] rang his landlord up and said, ‘oi, I’m on $650 these are going for $600, I could move’. Rent got lowered to $600 straight away.”

Bishop said the ever-escalating rents had been a cultural problem that had plagued the country for two decades.

“So the idea that it goes the other way, that the power is actually in the hands of tenants to go and negotiate with landlords, rather than what was been the status quo for too long, which is basically people lining up and fighting like a herd of cats to get into a rental property… those days, at the moment, anyway, are over, and actually the power is in the hands of tenants.

“That’s quite unusual. My message to tenants is, use it.”

Quizzed on 1500 more houses

Earlier in the Select Committee, Bishop was asked a question from Labour’s Kieran McAnulty about whether the government was on track to meet its promise of building 1500 new houses by June 2027, and 550 in 2026.

“Yes, that’s the advice I’ve had. Subject to the fact that things move around a bit, there’ll be some stuff that will inevitably slip. That’s the nature of construction,” the Minister replied.

“Some of the feedback that I’m sure Kāinga Ora may mention to you is that they are struggling with consenting, for example, with councils, and there have been delays in some projects because they are having difficulties with council consents.”

McAnulty pushed Bishop on this answer by presenting an aide memoire that showed officials warned the Minister about risks to his delivery timeframe in August this year.

McAnulty: “It quite clearly shows that only 337 are set to be delivered in the 2025/26 financial year, 609 in 2026/27 but 462 of those are after the deadline of 30 June 2027. It still doesn’t add up to the amount that you’ve funded.”

Bishop: “As I say, there’s always the risk of slippage. We’ll be working hard to make sure those houses are delivered but I don’t control consenting and I also don’t control the construction sector… all I can do is approve the funding and hold people’s feet to the flame and make sure they get on with it.”

Prisoners should get housing support after release – Bishop

The Green Party’s Tamatha asked Bishop what the government’s position on the role of public housing was, and if it intended on continuing to fund state houses.

Bishop said while one of his “driving ambitions” in government was to fix the housing crisis, it didn’t mean pulling back public safety nets.

“There will always be people with addiction challenges, people with mental health, people leaving prison, people exiting youth justice facilities and or just on the simple grounds of unaffordability, there will always be people who the government should step in to support.

“That’s not up for debate, that is government policy and always will be. The question is, what is the most effective form of that support and I reject the view that the government has to do everything.

“We can work with the Salvation Army, we can work with our fantastic community housing providers up and down the country, we can work with iwi, we can work with Māori land trusts, some of whom do a fantastic job.

“There’s a whole range of different people we can and should work with government money. It doesn’t have to be all delivered by the state.”

Bishop said he was particularly interested in how to better support newly-released prisoners, though he did not commit any policies or money to the idea.

“One of the areas I’m particularly passionate about is prisoners who leave prison and bounce out of the corrections facilities and often have nowhere to go and inevitably end up committing crime and end up back in the prison system.

“I would like to see us as a country do far more for those people, because the most expensive form of social housing the government provides is prison. It’s the most expensive roof over someone’s head.”

Ministers pushed on youth homelessness

Paul also asked Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka about youth homelessness, off the back of a State of the Street report that found rough sleeping was getting worse.

She pointed out there was no youth transitional housing in Rotorua, Napier, Taupō, Gisborne, Kaikohe, Whangārei or the North Shore, asking the Minister what his message to people in those areas was.

“There’s severe housing deprivation and quite a degree of homelessness in different places throughout the country and youth homelessness is not adjacent to that. It’s actually part of some of the severe housing deprivation that people are facing,” Potaka said.

The Minister said providers were doing great work and the government was funding placements for homeless young people, but challenges remained.

“Part of that is whānau disconnect and some other challenges, whether they’re mental health or otherwise. In the most recent announcements in December, some of that money got allocated out to Mā Te Huruhuru to help support with some transitional housing in Tāmaki Makaurau. Is it enough?

“Well, we’ll see how that goes but certainly, we’ve been really encouraged that they’ve got that putea allocated out to different entities and organisations who are there to support not just youths, but actually all whānau and others that are facing the severe housing deprivation.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has been back in the firing line on Wednesday over big tobacco’s influence, with a health select committee erupting into heated debate on government plans to roll out oral tobacco and nicotine products.

Last year, Cabinet agreed in principal to allow the sale of smokeless products (such as Swedish snus and nicotine pouches) – subject to the products meeting “safety requirements” and regulatory controls to stop youth access.

Costello – who has repeatedly denied allegations of an overly-cosy relationship with the tobacco industry – assured MPs she remained focused on achieving the Smokefree 2025 goals.

The question was how to get there.

“I think we can all agree we’ve got a real anomaly around the fact that we have greater levels of regulation around vapes than we do around tobacco, so I think there’s a lot of work around how we do that.

“I’m working through the advice from the [expert advisory] group to understand what is the next step, what are things we need to do to ensure there’s the appropriate level of regulatory control, and how do we move forward to ensure we don’t end up with a system where people go back to smoking.”

The Minister favours harm reduction: encouraging smokers to switch to e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products.

However, Labour’s health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall noted Parliament had already struggled to get the vaping genie back into its bottle.

“Why would you consider introducing a new form of nicotine to New Zealand that will only create another pool of addiction in young people?” she asked.

Costello accused her of “conflating” different issues.

“We didn’t have any [vaping] regulation to start with… we went from no regulation to reactive regulation.”

Youth vaping rates were now decreasing – but other options were needed for that hardcore group of older smokers who were struggling to kick the habit, Costello said.

“There are two countries that have lower smoking rates than us, and they have other nicotine products.”

Verrall grilled the Minister repeatedly whether she would accept her expert advisory group’s recommendation to only introduce oral nicotine products if there was evidence they were safer than tobacco and reduced smoking.

“Why won’t you accept an evidence-based recommendation?”

Costello retorted she was not saying she would not accept it.

“But there are a number of recommendations in that report and we will work through as to how we can operationalise those recommendations and how it ultimately contributes to our….”

“We expect people to say ‘no’ to drugs every day – just say no to this!” Verrall interjected.

Lessons from Australia on what not to do

National’s Cameron Luxton had a less combative question for the Minister, asking whether she had been observing developments in Australia following what he called its “poorly designed and burdensome” regulatory approach.

Over audible mutterings from Verrall about that question coming out of the Taxpayers’ Union playbook, Costello said indeed there had been an increase in smoking rates in Australia.

“And the influence of organised crime into that space has been significantly damaging to communities.

“So well-intentioned, burdensome regulations have actually had an perverse outcome, is what you’ve told us?” Luxton pressed.

“Yes, that was the indication from the increasing levels of smoking that we’ve seen in Australia,” she replied.

“And decreased excise,” Luxton finished for her.

Big Tobacco targeting younger generation – public health expert

Otago University tobacco control researcher Dr Jude Ball told RNZ the risks from black market tobacco were well known and there were ways to mitigate them.

However, unleashing another whole class of addictive products would not further the ultimate goal of a smoke-free New Zealand.

“There’s no evidence that oral nicotine products can help people quit smoking. But there is quite strong evidence that these products are being marketed to and used by young people.”

Tobacco companies had “a foothold” in the vaping market – but it was dominated by Chinese manufacturers and local producers, she said.

“So they’ve all got these oral nicotine products and they’re lobbying and pushing really hard to get access to market so they can claw back their share of the nicotine market and expand it, by addicting young people.”

The reason smokers struggled to quit was because cigarettes were “incredibly addictive and available everywhere”.

Unfortunately legislation to cut the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other measures were repealed by this government before they could be put into action, she said.

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

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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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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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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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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