Category: Politics

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’.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

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.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

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.

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.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There is no way New Zealand can honour the Paris Agreement without buying offshore credits and the government needs to be upfront about that, the opposition says.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis cast fresh doubt on whether New Zealand will pay for the offshore carbon credits it currently needs to meet its 2030 promise to halve greenhouse gas emissions.

She also backed away from a full commitment to meeting that goal, known as a ‘nationally determined contribution’, saying the government was making “best endeavours”.

The most recent analysis from the Ministry for the Environment shows that, even with domestic climate change policies, New Zealand will still miss the 2030 target by 84 million tonnes (Mt) of emissions – a whole year’s worth.

The analysis does not include the effect of more recent changes to climate policies, including weakening New Zealand’s methane target, ditching plans to price agricultural emissions, and easing clean car standards.

Speaking to reporters after a finance select committee hearing, Willis said former climate minister James Shaw had signed New Zealand up to an “extravagant” nationally determined contribution and had not put money aside to pay for it.

Asked if the government would pay for offshore credits if its domestic efforts were not enough to meet that contribution, Willis said it was not in New Zealand’s best interests “to send cheques for billions of dollars offshore”.

“New Zealanders who are struggling to put food on the table are not going to thank us for having a performative awards ceremony after we write billion dollar cheques to other countries to meet a Paris target that James Shaw set. No, that’s not our priority.”

However, she acknowledged that the country had a commitment “and we are making our best efforts to realise that commitment”.

Willis’s comments follow similar dismissals from Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay earlier this year.

They are out of step with unequivocal commitments to the Paris Agreement target from both the Prime Minister and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.

Ahead of the COP climate summit last month, Watts told RNZ that the priority was reducing domestic emissions, “but we are also exploring all available options to meet our [2030] commitment”.

“We are making progress on making sure we have the structures and relationships in place to access offshore mitigation, if needed in the future,” he said.

“New Zealand is exploring collaboration options with several countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore and others.”

However, he confirmed there was no “current” plan to buy offshore credits.

Green Party climate change spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick, who was in the select committee hearing, told RNZ afterwards it was “wishful thinking” that New Zealand could remain committed to Paris without buying carbon credits.

“We are potentially on the hook for tens of billions of dollars, and all [Willis] can say is we’re not going to to send those tens of billions of dollars offshore, which then begs the question of how we’re going to meet our [commitment] as the government is domestically shredding climate action here at home,” Swarbrick said.

“The maths do not maths.”

Senior ministers, including the Prime Minister, had publicly committed to New Zealand’s targets, she said.

“You cannot have it both ways.”

Despite Willis and McClay’s comments that New Zealand would not be buying offshore credits, the government’s actions suggested differently.

“You simultaneously have a situation where the minister of climate change is then signing MOUs with other jurisdictions to enable … that offshore mitigation to occur,” she said.

“All signs point to the government knowing and actually actively taking steps to implement and to pay other countries for offshore mitigation, yet [they’re] not being upfront and transparent with New Zealanders about what that liability will look like.”

Asked why the previous government had not financially committed to paying for overseas credits, Swarbrick said she had pushed former finance minister Grant Roberston and Treasury on that “all of last term”.

“James Shaw also pushed on that during his tenure.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has labelled the conduct of Labour MPs “unbecoming” after a fiery Scrutiny Week appearance which saw accusations of name-calling and conspiracy-thinking.

Under questioning in the meeting, Willis also confirmed the government had no intention of buying offshore carbon credits to meet the 2030 Paris agreement as part of a “performative awards ceremony” even if that meant it would breach its commitment.

Christmas cheer?

From the meeting’s outset, the exchanges were heated. Labour’s finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds asked Willis to explain why she claimed infrastructure spending was increasing despite that not being the case in the most recent financial statements.

In response, Willis said the coalition had budgeted a record amount for public infrastructure over the next four years and finished with a dig at Labour.

“The last government was good at doing press releases, but not so good at getting shovels in the ground.”

Both Labour’s Deborah Russell and Megan Woods immediately objected: “Oh, that’s fine? It’s fine to take shots at the opposition? Anything’s on is it?”

The two sides also had a back-and-forth over a table in the Crown accounts which Willis claimed the Labour MPs had misinterpreted.

Again, it prompted a chorus of overlapping questions from the opposition: “Which table? Which table? What’s the table number? Which table, please? Which table?”

Labour MPs also openly laughed as Willis took credit for the more-than-7000 new built social homes since the election. Russell pushed Willis to confirm that those houses were funded under Labour’s previous Budgets.

“This is outrageous,” Woods said. “They cut the funding for housing and she’s claiming credit.”

Willis: “Everyone’s very excited today, Mr Chair. It’s the Christmas cheer, I suppose.”

The government and opposition side sparred over their respective fiscal strategies and records. Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick accused the coalition of “reckless cuts” and “a doom loop”.

Willis, meanwhile, took aim at Labour’s “disgraceful” increase in debt while in power.

“It was wrong for your government to increase spending dramatically right when the Reserve Bank was begging you to put on the brakes.”

Russell fired back: “That increased spending was, of course, backed by the National Party … [which] called for even more spending.”

Russell also asked Willis whether the government had changed the way the Emissions Trading Scheme operated in order to make its books look better.

“When you’re a conspiracy theorist, you see conspiracy everywhere,” Willis responded.

“Oh, for goodness sake. That’s a ridiculous thing to say,” Russell said. “When you can’t answer the question, you resort to insults.”

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Willis said she accepted the committees could be robust, but thought some of allegations levelled at her were “unbecoming”.

“They’re all a bit tired, a bit ratty,” Willis said. “In general, they behave better than that, but everyone has an off day.”

Climate change commitments

Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick also pressed Willis over whether the government remained committed to its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris agreement.

Willis said that remained a priority but the government was not prepared to “spend billions of dollars sending money offshore to meet that NDC”.

Swarbrick requested that Willis take into account the potential fiscal impact of that NDC in its books for the “sake of financial responsibility” and “transparency” to which Willis simply responded: “No.”

Afterwards, Willis described the call as “a lot of fluff and noise” and noted that the previous government never recognised those obligations as liabilities either.

She said the government would make “best efforts” to uphold its 2030 Paris commitments, but would not buy offshore carbon credits even if that was required to achieve it.

“We do not think it’s in New Zealand’s best interest to send cheques for billions of dollars offshore,” she said.

“New Zealanders who are struggling to put food on the table are not going to thank us for having a performative awards ceremony.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Explainer – ‘Tis the season for political speculation, as pundits attempt to predict the future of National and Labour party leaders.

What happens when political parties decide it’s time to launch a challenge against their leadership? As one expert describes, it can trigger a “Shakespearean” battle for power.

To be clear, there’s been absolutely no sign there will be a leadership change for National or Labour at this moment in time.

But persistent murmurs about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s leadership have increased in recent weeks, with senior MP Chris Bishop having to deny he was plotting to roll Luxon, while the Sunday Star-Times on the weekend featured a story by national affairs editor Andrea Vance calling recent actions by Bishop a “failed coup”.

Luxon’s poll rating as preferred prime minister was under 20 percent in September’s RNZ/Reid poll and the government’s performance rating hit a new low in the recent IPSOS Issues Survey.

But does that all actually add up to a possible leadership challenge before next year’s election?

New Zealand history is filled with dramatic moments when confidence in a party leader has dropped and a leadership challenge is held. They’ve even happened to sitting prime ministers.

Here’s how leadership challenges tend to work.

How does a leadership change happen?

It’s as simple as a member of the party caucus calling for a no-confidence vote in its leader. If the party heads up the government, that could mean a change in prime minister if the vote succeeds.

For the National Party, it’s a straightforward majority rule vote by the party’s MPs.

“Formally, in the case of the National Party the decision rests with the caucus (which the party’s constitution refers to as the ‘Parliamentary Section’), which can move at any time to replace the leader (who must then be approved by the board),” Massey University professor of politics Richard Shaw said.

The Labour Party caucus also can directly vote for its new leaders, but if it doesn’t make a decision within seven days, it gets turned over to their electoral college – a combination of the caucus, party members and unions – to decide.

Prospective leaders must also get a two-thirds majority in the Labour caucus vote, or it’s also off to the electoral college.

The caucus room vote totals in leadership elections are generally not made public.

“Any member of caucus could go to a caucus meeting and in theory give notice that they’d like to move that the caucus has no confidence in a leader,” said Chris Eichbaum, adjunct professor at the School of Government at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.

“If you were in a splendid isolation of one that wouldn’t last long,” however, he noted.

A successful leadership challenge is all about building up the votes.

This process can play out in the media – witness how many columns and hot takes have been published in the past few months speculating about the prospects of Chris Bishop, Education Minister Erica Stanford or Finance Minister Nicola Willis – but it also plays out behind the scenes at Parliament, said Eichbaum.

“It is incredibly Shakespearean – it is covert, it’s behind the scenes, there’s speculation, and then something will happen to turn speculation into substance. And if it’s a serious challenge, that’s where people start doing the numbers.

“It tends to be part of the choreography of it that once it becomes known that there is a move afoot to unseat then essentially it’s a matter of the candidates, the incumbent and the challenger sort of doing the votes.

“… One of his allies or it could even be one of the party whips, they may present the prime minister with a list saying: ‘Prime minister, you simply don’t have the votes.'”

Has a sitting prime minister ever been rolled?

Several New Zealand prime ministers have resigned after facing leadership challenges, although the last time it happened was nearly 30 years ago when Jenny Shipley mounted a challenge against the late Prime Minister Jim Bolger in 1997. Bolger resigned before a vote was taken, a tactic which has generally proven to be the case instead of prime ministers being forced out by a vote.

Other prime ministers in relatively recent times who stepped down include Sir Geoffrey Palmer, who resigned and was replaced by Mike Moore prior to the 1990 election, or David Lange who resigned in 1988 after unsuccessful challenges to his leadership.

Eichbaum worked in the Beehive as an executive assistant at the time that Sir Geoffrey faced a challenge by his Cabinet, and then went on to work as a senior advisor for Helen Clark.

“Palmer went about six weeks out from the 1990 election,” he said. “But the issue was never taken to the caucus – where he may well have enjoyed majority support – because essentially, reflecting polling that indicated some Cabinet members were at risk of losing their seats, he was told that he didn’t enjoy the confidence of his cabinet or sufficient of them. His erstwhile senior colleague Mike Moore made no secret of his willingness to assume the role.”

And then there’s leaders who stood down after losing an election like Helen Clark, or resigned for other reasons like Sir John Key and Dame Jacinda Ardern.

“Clark stepped aside because she had lost an election, and Key and Ardern left because they had calculated that their parties stood a better chance of the next election without them,” Shaw said.

“A leadership change can occur for all sorts of reasons, some of which are internal to a political party and its sense of momentum and/or the need for a new sense of energy and direction.”

Luxon isn’t the only party leader who has been subject to leadership speculation.

Former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has remained Labour’s leader after losing the 2023 election and made no indication he plans to leave before next year’s election, although there has still been media speculation about what a change at the top might mean for Labour’s chances.

Of course, there have been heaps of leadership changes to parties outside government – the National Party went through a run of four leaders after Key resigned in 2016 until Luxon became leader in 2021, including Todd Muller’s mere 53 days at the helm, while Labour also went through four leaders between Clark and Ardern.

Do different parties have different rules?

There’s no overall guideline for leadership challenges in New Zealand politics, which are left to parties to set the rules.

For instance, the Green Party allows leadership challenges to be put forward by party delegates, such as a series of unsuccessful challenges in 2021 and 2022 to former co-leader James Shaw’s co-leadership.

The Labour Party has changed how it allows votes a few times, and from 2012 to 2021 it allowed party members, the caucus and unions to decide every leadership vote. That could result in clashing priorities, as with 2014’s leadership election, Eichbaum said.

“The most recent case involved Andrew Little and Grant Robertson, where the MPs’ preferred candidate was not the person that became the party leader.

“That was the case with Grant Robertson who was preferred by his caucus but because the broader party had basically a vote in the proceedings by dint of the arrangements they have, Andrew Little was able to come in over the top.”

Of course, facing grim polling, Little himself stepped down in 2017 just seven weeks before an election, and Deputy Leader Ardern went on to become New Zealand’s 40th prime minister.

What can trigger a leadership change? Is it just about the polls?

Parties can roll their leaders in disagreements over policy, and it’s been known to happen.

“Polling/public sentiment can, of course, be major drivers, but there have also been instances – and I think the 1996-1998 National/NZ First government was a case in point – in a party where a caucus and a cabinet will feel that a change is due regardless of the public’s views,” Shaw said.

But these days, a lot is still driven by how they’re doing in the polls. Blame the influence of American presidential-style politics and the increasing spotlight shown on leadership – polls now typically include preferred party vote side-by-side with preferred prime minister picks.

“It’s polling twinned with a presidentialisation of politics,” Eichbaum said. “Leadership has always been important, but it’s been elevated now.

“Because of the frequency of polling around leadership, the nature of the polling going into the attributes of the leader just becomes much, much more salient. There’s a machine out there and the raw material is what we think about a leader.”

But polls still aren’t the only factor, Shaw said.

“While polling and public sentiment are clearly important, there are institutional filters – including the party organisation, caucus and cabinet – which mean that the line from opinion polls to a leadership change is neither straight nor straightforward.”

While being removed as leader could be seen as humiliating, Eichbaum said leaders often have a fair bit of leverage in the process.

“There’s an element of decorum and dignity quite often which is unusual in politics. At times, they say: ‘Okay, what’s in the best interest in the party in this situation?’

“He or she may well say ‘All right, I will resign, but I want these things to occur,'” he said.

Leaders could also be heavily involved in tapping their preferred successor, such as when Sir Bill English replaced Key.

How a prime minister manages their caucus – particularly if it’s large – also matters. Every vote counts in a leadership race, whether it’s a senior MP or an obscure back-bencher.

One of the roles of a prime minister is “basic HR,” Eichbaum said.

“A very, very good prime minister will make a point of staying very close to his or her caucus and also meeting with backbenchers on a regular basis.”

Luxon told reporters recently he had “no concerns” for those National MPs who could lose their jobs on current polling, explaining he was confident all its MPs would return after the election.

Still, fears for marginal seats or list MPs can also play a role in being rolled. “If you’re one of those (at-risk) MPs, how do you feel?” Eichbaum asked, describing the “creeping incremental insecurity” that has emerged to fuel previous challenges.

What happens if the government is a coalition and the leader is rolled?

The nature of a coalition requires cooperation. In the 1996-1998 National/NZ First government, the coalition crumbled in 1998 when Prime Minister Jenny Shipley sacked Winston Peters from cabinet. Peters and NZ First had gone into government with Bolger, who was rolled by Shipley. Only a small group of independent MPs held the government together until the 1999 election.

“The interesting thing about what happened with Bolger, and I think this raises issues in the current context, is how its coalition partner reacted to Bolger being rolled,” Shaw said. “I don’t recall there being a significant public outcry, but there certainly was a significant response from NZF.”

The current three-headed Coalition of NZ First, ACT and the National Party could also create issues if Luxon were replaced.

“Hypothetically, therefore, were the National Party to seriously entertain removing Luxon as party leader, the fact that he is also the prime minister gives the ACT and NZF parties some stake in the issue as well,” Shaw said.

“In other words, in cases of coalition government the issue of the party leader is necessarily an issue for the government’s constituent partners.

“Any destabilisation of a coalition government’s major player, it’s going to be of deep interest to the coalition’s minor players.”

Don’t the public get any say in these things?

We elect our local electorate MPs and choose our preferred party when we vote, but the public doesn’t get to choose what might happen inside the Beehive after Election Day.

Still, how the public may react to leadership changes is key.

“The optics of these things are also important and that’s a consideration,” Eichbaum said.

For instance, Australia went through five prime ministers in 10 years in a series of leadership spills creating what was called “a decade of disposable prime ministers.”

“Is the party going to get a bump in the polls as a result of a person going? What’s it doing to the perception or the perception of the party as the kind of viable governing force if we are seen as a house divided against itself and we can’t hold on to a prime minister?”

And of course, there’s also this factoid – any time in the past 50 years or so that a prime minister has resigned mid-term, their party has gone on to lose the next general election.

Eichbaum said current talk about leadership challenges is largely fuelled by the media, but in the end, it really all comes down to what happens inside party caucuses.

“A very well-executed leadership spill of course – this is where Shakespeare comes back in – you know, you’re not going to see it coming.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says the budget and overdue City Rail Link (CRL) is the prime factor behind a proposed 7.9 percent residential rates increase.

He said his proposal for the 2026/2027 Annual Plan would “stay the course” of settings outlined in the 2024-2034 Long-term Plan with a focus on savings and financial efficiency.

“We are going to stick to the plan that’s working, this is our contract with the community, and it is important that we keep our side of the agreement.

“The rates increase primarily pays for the additional costs of CRL. While that cost has been enormous, once it’s open we will see huge economic benefits – it will transform Auckland.”

Work began on the $5.5 billion CRL in 2017 and was expected to nearly double the city’s rail transportation capacity when it opened in the latter half of 2026.

Deputy Mayor and Value for Money Committee Chair Desley Simpson said an “unwavering focus on savings and financial efficiency” would continue as the city braced for the costs of operating the massive transport infrastructure upgrade.

“Having worked to achieve over $1b in financial benefits in the last six years, my commitment to Aucklanders is to continue strongly with that focus on financial efficiencies. Given the costs of operating CRL that we are expecting, it is vitally important we keep our focus on opportunities for revenue growth and continued savings,” Simpson said.

The plan upped the city’s savings target by an additional $20 million on 2025/2026 bringing the total goal to $106 million.

Brown said his proposal was focused on delivering smarter services and faster progress to strengthen communities and businesses – promising better use of public spaces, particularly the waterfront.

“We must also make sure Auckland is a vibrant, clean, safe and welcoming city centre that is open for business.

“The government has started working more closely with me on this, but we must remember where responsibility lies here: we do places, they do people,” Brown said.

He said he would prioritise transport reform with a focus on the new Public Transport council controlled organisation (CCO).

“The intention of CCO reform was to bring decision-makers closer to these decisions so they make sense alongside each other.

“We’re looking at transport investment that is cheaper and less annoying than currently under Auckland Transport. Land-use planning must sit alongside transport planning if we’re going to transform Auckland.

“We are now setting out the nuts and bolts of how Auckland Transport will become the public transport service provider alone, which they’re actually pretty good at, and all the other parts must be done better and will be within the council. I’m asking councillors to think regionally here, not just about their own patch,” Brown said.

A workshop to discuss the draft Mayoral Proposal for the Annual Plan 2026/2027 will be held this week and, if approved, public consultation is scheduled to take place early next year.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government’s long-awaited rates cap will be a variable target band, and would be enforced by a new regulator.

Likely starting with minimum increases of two percent and a maximum of four percent, the cap would take effect from 1 January 2027.

It was not clear from the initial written statement how often the target might change, or exactly how it would be calculated, only that this could include “indicators like inflation at the lower end and GDP growth at the higher end”.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said councils will need to seek permission from a new regulator to go above the maximum, and that permission would only be granted in “extreme” circumstances.

Water charges and other non-rates revenue will be exempt from the target range, but all general rates, targeted rates and uniform annual charges would be subject to the limits.

Watts indicated the ranges would likely start at between 2 percent and 4 percent per capita, per year, based on analysis.

“This means rates increases would be limited to a maximum of 4 percent,” he said.

Consultation on the changes announced at the post-Cabinet briefing on Monday opened immediately, and set to close in February 2026 with the legislation expecting to be passed by the end of that year.

The target would begin from 2027, with the “full regulatory model” in place by 1 July 2029.

The announcement follows last week’s unveiling of the government’s plan to abolish regional councillors, replacing them with panels of mayors from city and district councils.

In a statement, Watts said rates increases that recently had been in double digits was “unsustainable and is only adding to the cost of living for many Kiwis”.

“Ratepayers deserve councils that live within their means, focus on the basics and are accountable to their community. The Government’s decision to introduce a cap on rates will support that ambition and protect local government’s social license for the long term,” he said.

“A minimum increase is necessary so councils can continue to provide essential services like rubbish collection, council roads maintenance and the management of parks and libraries.

“From 2027, councils will be required to consider the impact of rates caps on their long-term plans and report on areas of financial performance, like the cost of wages and salaries, council rates as a percentage of local house prices and estimates of local infrastructure deficits.

“The full regulatory model will take effect by 2029. However, officials will be monitoring rates rises nationwide as soon as the legislation is enacted. Where councils propose increases beyond the proposed cap, this may present grounds for intervention under the Local Government Act.”

He said councils should not wait for the full enactment of the rates capping model before controlling rates increases for their constituents.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The acting head of the Social Investment Agency says its work has not been destabilised by the high-profile absence of its chief executive.

Former police commissioner Andrew Coster has been on leave from his role as social investment secretary since the release of an Independent Police Conduct Authority report, which found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police.

The report investigated how police responded to accusations of sexual offending by former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming.

The allegations arose from an affair between McSkimming and a woman who was a non-sworn police employee at the time.

Alistair Mason fronted Parliament’s Social Services and Community Committee this morning for Scrutiny Week, in Coster’s absence.

Speaking to media afterwards, he said the situation was an employment matter between Coster and the Public Service Commission, which he was not privy to.

Mason praised the work of the agency.

“Staff have actually been incredibly good. They’ve put their heads down,” he said.

“The work of the Social Investment [Agency] is incredibly positive and really important to New Zealand. They’ve put their heads down and got on with it.”

Mason said he had had a few “minor” conversations with Coster about delegations.

Asked whether he expected to remain in the acting role for a longer period of time, Mason said he would do whatever he is asked to do.

While he had read parts of the IPCA report, Mason said he would keep his “personal feelings” to himself.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says Labour’s new GP loan proposal is “a bit confused” and does not address the real workforce shortage in the sector.

The Labour Party on Sunday announced it would offer doctors and nurse practitioners low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones, if elected next year.

Responding on Morning Report, Luxon said the real problem facing the sector was not the number of clinics.

“It’s actually about getting more doctors,” he said.

“That’s what we’ve been focused on.”

Luxon pointed to the government’s plan to support a new medical school at the University of Waikato, adding 120 training places each year from 2028.

That’s on top of 100 extra spots at the Universities of Auckland and Otago over this term.

“It’s about expanding the GP workforce, but it’s also about opening up this pathway for nurse practitioners and nurse prescribers, [who] can do a lot of the work of GPs, freeing them up for other appointments.”

Luxon also pointed out that those GPs who took out loans to buy clinics would be hit by Labour’s proposed capital gains tax when they evenutally sold them.

“Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me,” he said.

Rates cap announcement coming “very shortly”

Luxon said the government would have more to say about a promised rates cap “very shortly”.

“We are going to introduce rates caps,” he said. “It’s important that we do so, so that we can actually help people with their cost-of-living.”

Local government minister Simon Watts had been tasked with bringing policy options for rates caps to Cabinet by the end of the year.

Luxon said upcoming changes to the Resource Management Act planning system would also result in fewer consents.

“The bottom line is that councils need to be focused on the must-do, not the nice-to-do stuff. You can’t have inflation at 3 percent and rates going up over 12 percent. That’s just not acceptable.”

Leadership and coalition management

Luxon rejected commentary over the weekend that he announced National’s KiwiSaver policy a week ago in a bid to quell persistent rumours about a leadership challenge.

“That’s a complete unfair characterisation of it. We made that speech because, as I said, we’re fixing the basics, and we’ve got to also build the future,” he said.

“I’m not taking it too seriously… I’ve read it all before.”

He said he would “absolutely” be National’s leader and prime minister heading into the election.

Luxon was also asked whether National could campaign on repealing the Regulatory Standards Act – like New Zealand First – despite the coalition voting it into law last month.

“Look, it’s only just passed. Let’s see how it works first, and then we can form a position on it later.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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