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The audio for this episode has been amended from the version which played on air, in which it was stated the Social Development Minister told Morning Report a long-term funding boost would be of little help. The minister was in fact talking about a short-term funding boost.

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"It was never ceded, legally or legitimately" - Indigenous rights and constitutional law expert Claire Charters

He tai e! He tai e! He tai e tangi ana i waho o Rehua. He tai mate! Aue! E te Kingi! Te aroha nui o ō iwi, o tō waka, o te iwi Māori e māpuna ake nei i taku ngākau pōuri! Aue te mamae i te iwi e!

Tributes are flowing from across Aotearoa and around the world after Kiingi Tuuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII died early on Friday morning.

It ends a fortnight in which the question of whether Māori ceded sovereignty - a question as old as the Treaty itself - saw the major parties in Parliament taking stronger positions in the debate than ever before.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon last week stated in the Debating Chamber that Māori had ceded sovereignty, and "the Crown is sovereign". ACT and NZ First see the debate as a distraction, arguing what's important is moving forward. NZ First's Winston Peters constantly refers to the views of Sir Apirana Ngata as laid out in a 1922 thesis.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins takes the opposing view, saying while Parliament is sovereign, that's because it was taken. It's a position the Greens and Te Pāti Māori have long held but neither he nor his predecessor Jacinda Ardern ever put on the record while in power. …

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"You may have coalition mates but that only lasts three years, te ao Māori are forever" - Rahui Papa

In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch examines the wero presented to the coalition at a tempestuous Koroneihana.

In the pouring rain and whipping winds, politicians arrived at Ngāruawāhia's Tūrangawaewae marae for te Koroneihana, the 18th anniversary of the Māori King's coronation.

The typically apolitical event was instead this year full of challenges to the government and the Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon.

The speeches carried a consistent message - and nearly all of them wound back to the contentious Treaty Principles Bill.

The tone was set by Kiingi Tuuheitia's advisor Tukoroirangi Morgan, who said the government and its policies were throwing Māori under the bus and driving over them.

Ngāi Tahu chief executive Justin Tipa - yelling to be heard over the stormy weather - addressed Luxon directly, demanding clarity and accountability.

Waikato-Tainui's Rahui Papa continued the rebuke but offered an olive branch, saying coalition partners last three years, but Māori are forever. …

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"We will do everything - everything that we can - to support people off welfare and into work and ultimately a better life for themselves and for their families." - Christopher Luxon

In this week's Focus on Politics, Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch looks at the coalition's plans.

With Parliament in recess this week, the coalition used the clear air to clear the decks, rattling through a laundry list of announcements - congestion charging, genetic engineering, and two separate ministry overhauls.

But the announcement the government tried hardest to highlight was its new hardline approach to welfare.

Read more:

• How will the benefit changes be applied?
• Govt increases sanctions for beneficiaries
• 'We're not asking much: Luxon defends benefit sanctions
• National unveils traffic light system for beneficiaries

National campaigned on introducing a traffic light warning system, and on Monday, the government pressed go.

Jobseeker Support recipients will be required to re-apply every six months, as opposed to every year, and any blips will stay on their record for two years, instead of one.

First-time failures to meet obligations, such as someone not demonstrating they are actively looking for work or attending seminars, could result in a new sanction like enforced community work, or a money management card.

The traffic light system was canvassed during the election campaign, and came into play on Monday.

It applies to recipients of Jobseeker Support, Jobseeker Support Student Hardship, Sole Parent Support, and the Supported Living Payment.

At green, a client is complying with all of their benefit obligations.

At orange, the client has failed an obligation and has five days to make contact with the Ministry of Social Development to dispute the failure, or arrange how they will meet their obligation again…

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"I don't know why we ended up going to select committee if there was no intention to listen to the experts" - Tracey Martin

The repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act was front and centre at Parliament this week, with former Minister in charge of the legislation Tracey Martin telling the government to rethink its approach.

After the mammoth Abuse in Care report, she and many other voices are calling for 7AA to remain.

Reports and studies over the years have outlined how the state child protection service had been failing Māori especially. Section 7AA was added to the Oranga Tamariki Act in 2019 to directly address this harm.

It imposes an obligation on the ministry's chief executive to recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and to develop strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations. This means aiming to prevent Māori children coming into care, or ensuring those who do retain connection to their whakapapa - and reporting publicly on that each year.

The move to repeal 7AA is ACT party policy, its website calling for "colourblind, child-centric state care". It claims children have been removed from safe homes because their foster parents were "the 'wrong' race" due to 7AA. But analysis by Oranga Tamariki says that is not the case.

Submitters to the select committee argue the problems ACT points to are caused by a lack of funding, not legislation or policy. Children's Minister Karen Chhour (ACT) says the ministry is going through a restructure to help with that, and "what they also need to be very clear is that safety and wellbeing comes first". …

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"We are going through growing pains, I think that we are needing to constantly look at ourselves" - Chlöe Swarbrick

The Green Party is trying to find ways to grow for the future, while doing its best to leave this year's problems in the past.

That laundry list of challenges has been thoroughly aired - but the membership still faces a crucial question that goes to the heart of its values, and could yet prove a barrier to its ambitions.

Political parties' annual meetings are meant to be straightforward. The leader does a speech, members agree on remits, tidy up constitutional niggles, and discuss strategy for the year ahead before spilling out of the venue inspired and ready to spread the word.

Unlike the Green Party's AGM in Christchurch last weekend, they don't typically include member resignations.

Three Pasifika members walked out on the party on the Sunday, saying they felt culturally unsafe, and the rush to kick Tana out was over concerns about the party's budget, not her alleged behaviour.

Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick speaks to RNZ about what went down, and what she has planned to turn the party into the world's largest Green movement - if they can just get rid of the Darleen Tana-shaped thorn in their side…

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"Maybe the government just needs to listen" - Aaron Smale

The Royal Commission of Inquiry's report into abuse in state and faith-based care unveiled this week lays bare an ugly history, offering damning evidence and denouncing leaders for silencing or ignoring survivors for decades.

The government has promised to listen, but how it responds and whether justice is served remains to be seen.

Survivors gathered on Wednesday to march to Parliament, carrying a long banner of colourful ribbons bearing the names of the children abused.

"You are heard and you are believed," was the key message from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who spoke directly to survivors sitting in the public gallery that evening. He acknowledged that what happened at Lake Alice amounted to torture, and promised redress would come - though it would take time.

The speeches that followed from all parties promised unity in responding to the Inquiry's findings and 138 recommendations, though some used their time to question some of the coalition's policies.

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins admitted Labour had not done enough when in power. Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick's speech criticised the coalition policy of boot camps, and drew the loudest applause from survivors watching from above. Children's Minister Karen Chhour (ACT) - who is responsible for those military academies - told those gathered the report only made her more determined to keep children safe. …

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"The projections for 2050 show, at this point, we won't be net zero by then" - RNZ climate change correspondent, Eloise Gibson

The government's draft emissions reduction plan - out this week - puts New Zealand's ability to meet its climate targets in jeopardy.

That was the key takeaway for RNZ's climate change correspondent Eloise Gibson, who pored over the document and gave it a two out of 10.

"The government has delivered on its commitment to give us really clear numbers about the plan and say what it's going to do.

"The issue is that when you add it all up, it's pretty clearly not enough."

The coalition's plan includes more EV chargers, making emissions-cutting tools available to frames and investigating carbon capture and storage.

It also wants to slash red tape for renewable energy consents, invest in public transport and improve organise waste and landfill gas capture.

Read more:

• Opposition parties slam government's plan to reduce emissions
• Critics fear carbon capture will be used as a smokescreen, but government says no
• Climate strategy 'as useful as teats on a bull', Greenpeace says
• Climate Minister Simon Watts outlines 3-page climate strategy

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is unapologetic about doing things differently and says National is still committed to the country's emissions budgets.

"We've been very clear around what we're starting, what we're stopping and the impact of that. A lot of the stuff we're stopping did not have a significant emissions reduction profile.

"We're on track in terms of our first two stepping stones...and we're absolutely focused around making sure that we're set up for success in the future."

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"It's been pure politics. And it's been an unedifying spectacle" - Greg Barns, Australian Lawyers Alliance

New Zealand has been hit by a 501 boomerang, with Australia backtracking this month on its commitment around deportations.

As successive Prime Ministers swapped sports jerseys and talked up the special relationship, the issue of people in Australia who have practically little to no connection to New Zealand being deported here has nagged away.

Four and a half years ago, Jacinda Ardern memorably took Scott Morrison to task.

"Do not deport your people and your problems," she said.

While the issue of 501 deportations - named after the section of the Australian Migration Act - applies to any non-citizen, New Zealand had lobbied for change due to our proximity, our close relationship with Australia, and the disparities in pathways to citizenship.

A move to a 'common sense' approach to deportations from the Anthony Albanese government meant those fractures were starting to heal.

Primary consideration was given to the person's ties to Australia, in weighing up whether to deport them.

Australia also providing a pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders was seen as a further step to play fair.

Read more:

• Andrew Giles issues replacement to 'direction 99' which he says prioritises community safety
• Luxon calls Albanese to express ire over 'direction 99' criminal deportation change
• Mess engulfing Australia's immigration minister harks back to goodwill gesture towards New Zealand
• 'A blimmin' good day for Kiwis living in Australia' - Hipkins on citizenship changes

But this year, across the ditch, it has blown up into a political headache.

Several non-citizens with criminal records were escaping deportation, including people with child sex abuse and murder convictions…

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"Every minute counts in the battle against cancer" - Christopher Luxon (21 August 2023)

Government ministers hoping to bask in a post-Budget glow this week have instead been trying to tamp down the backlash to a big broken promise.

The clock is now ticking for the coalition to correct its failure to fund 13 potentially life-extending cancer treatments.

This fiasco can be traced back to National's initial campaign promise last August - $70m a year, starting this year, for 13 specific cancer treatments. The funding was accounted for in the party's fiscal plan which both coalition partners signed. NZ First's agreement even specifies "giving Kiwis access to 13 more cancer treatments" as part of the policy programme.

On Budget Day, however, there was no sign of the promised funding.

"We regret that it hasn't been possible in this Budget," Finance Minister Nicola Willis said.

Willis cited "significant challenges with the policy" given it overrode Pharmac's independence.

"Regardless, our government is committed to delivering on this policy through future Budgets."

The backlash came swiftly, as cancer patients appeared on TV and radio saying they felt "let down", their "hope wiped away" by a clear broken promise in circumstances that are "literally life and death".

Willis that evening told RNZ's Checkpoint: "I don't think anyone expects that we would tick off every single campaign commitment in our first Budget. We've got two more Budgets to go."

By the next morning, she was speaking with more urgency, promising an announcement "very soon".

On Morning Report on Tuesday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said work was underway on a solution which would be made public "as quickly as we can"…

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"This year's Budget is the clean-up job New Zealand needs" - Nicola Willis

At last, the tax cut tease is over, the full details on full display. The Budget's headline was only ever going to be tax cuts - and they arrived almost exactly as promised.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis kept her promise, but will voters thank her?

The tax package was almost identical to what National campaigned on, excepting a slightly delayed start date, and no change to Working for Families abatement thresholds, a promise abandoned in coalition negotiations.

What people receive varies widely depending on their circumstances. Treasury suggests about 730,000 households will get at least $75 a fortnight and about 190,000 will get at least $100. Fewer than 3000 will receive the much-publicised $252 maximum.

Pensioners are in line for just $4.30 every two weeks.

Willis is adamant she did not borrow for the $14.7b tax package - but keen observers will note $12b in new borrowing for the total Budget.

She insists the tax cuts were "fully funded" through cuts across the public sector and some revenue measures.

Read more:

• National unveils Budget 2024, keeps tax cut promises
• 'Fired up' protesters oppose government's Budget
• Budget 2024 at a glance: What you need to know
• Budget 2024: Try RNZ's tax calculator

About two-thirds of new spending went towards health, education, and law and order, but those core areas also show signs of strain.

The biggest broken promise was the lack of Pharmac funding ring-fenced for 13 specific cancer treatments. Willis promised that was yet to come - but the next two Budgets are looking very tight with allowances of just $2.4b in new spending. Treasury officials estimate that won't even cover regular inflation and wage pressures.

The opposition labelled it a Budget with misplaced priorities: tax cuts over public services, landlords over first home buyers, promises ahead of prudence. …

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"Inclusion of ministerial override is an overreach and dangerous" - Helmut Modlik

A law giving ministers sweeping powers to greenlight infrastructure projects has attracted a wave of criticism and responses at select committee.

With ministers beginning to soften their language, the bill could yet see changes before progressing through Parliament.

The government's Fast Track Approvals legislation is a big part of the coalition's "get things done" agenda, aiming to short-cut the consenting process for big projects like mines, roads and wind farms.

It is based on similar legislation introduced in 2020 to stimulate the economy at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of giving an independent panel the final signoff however, it gives the Infrastructure, Transport and Resources ministers - in this case National's Chris Bishop and Simeon Brown, and NZ First's Shane Jones - sweeping powers to select and greenlight those big projects.

It could certainly speed up needed infrastructure consenting, but critics have raised concerns about how the environment might fare. The topic has even caught the attention of the UK government due to concerns it could violate free trade agreements.

The Environment Committee has received about 27,000 submissions on the bill. With so many wanting to be heard in person, the committee had to set up a ballot system.

RNZ data and long-form journalist Farah Hancock has extensively covered political donations, and says her interest in the bill was piqued by the potential for corruption. She says environmental NGOs are aghast the law could allow projects otherwise prohibited under the Resource Management Act or rejected in the courts, and gives limited opportunity for public input into individual projects. The projects to be included in the legislation also remain secret.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton - a former National Party Cabinet minister - has voiced concerns about the concentration of powers with those three ministers, and Auditor-General John Ryan has sounded the alarm over how potential conflicts of interest are managed. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has warned unchecked executive powers could put New Zealand on a "slippery slope". …

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Associate Health Minister Casey Costello accepts compliance figures are not good for underage sales or illegal products, and says says she's "driving really hard" to "push enforcement" but this will take time.

"You cannot look at the regulations that are coming out and see that they favour anyone other than the tobacco industry" - Charyl Robinson

Successive governments have claimed crack downs on youth vaping but retailers are flouting the law, with just one prosecution on the books.

Retailers have until the end of the year to phase out single-use products, but academics say MPs' fears vape manufacturers will just adapt are justified.

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Vapes, or e-cigarettes, were introduced as a smoking cessation tool - and while New Zealand's smoking rate has now fallen to historic lows, 16 percent of children aged 14 to 15 were regularly vaping last year.

While that's down 2 percent from 2022, it's a worry for many parents including Wellington mum Charyl Robinson, who says her eldest son is "hopelessly addicted" and went through withdrawals during pandemic lockdowns. She says it fractured relationships in the household, with outbursts, rage, violent behaviour: withdrawal symptoms amplified because young people are not equipped to deal with it.

Robinson teamed up with other mums throughout the country to set up Vape Free Kids NZ - an advocacy group fighting for tougher regulations - and while regulations have been tightened up, she says the fight has become "immeasurably harder" since the coalition came to government.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello says it's "ridiculous and wrong" to say the tobacco industry has anything to do with her government's policies.

"Increased penalties need legislative change .... what I'm trying to do is as much as I can under this period, but right now we can do a lot around education and enforcement.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello

"We've been really happy with the fact that our young people aren't smoking ... we've achieved the victory on one side, we're now trying to get some balance around this."

Read more:

Loopholes will be exploited in new vape rules - expert…

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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon

"Together we are committed to stepping up our defence relationship" - Christopher Luxon

As global tensions escalated this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was touring South East Asia, strengthening defence and security ties.

Back home, his government was accused of drifting away from New Zealand's independent foreign policy.

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Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones in a direct attack on Israel on Sunday (New Zealand Time), an attack in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Leaders around the world called for calm, and Luxon - en route to Singapore for his first major foreign mission - updated media during a brief refuelling stop in Cairns, condemning the attack and warning against wider escalation.

Luxon with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Tensions in the Middle East were raised in all Luxon's sitdowns with Southeast Asian leaders, and the first - Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong gave a stark assessment of the situation. He warned that while small nations could not solve the crisis, they had to speak out, otherwise "you are saying the only way is the way of the sword and I think that's going to lead to calamity for everybody".

The global environment is fraught. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its third year, and the continued power struggle between China and the US continues - with Donald Trump's possible return to the White House also in the mix.

Luxon takes a Tuk Tuk tour of Bangkok

Deepening economic and security ties with South East Asia was the focus of Luxon's week-long mission abroad. He talked up the prospect of stronger defence ties with Singapore, potentially even allowing its drones into New Zealand airspace.

He also secured agreement from Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin to increase communication and interoperability between the countries' defence forces, and there was similar talk on the final leg of the trip in the Philippines.

It comes at a pivotal time for regional security - with the Philippines and China clashing over the South China Sea. Just this week, the Philippines and the US announced plans for an expansive military drill starting Monday - a warfare simulation in nearby waters. Beijing was not happy, saying it would only lead to greater insecurity. …

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"This is a government that's going to try and remove that regulatory burden. But it's not an excuse for everyone to think they can just button off and do nothing" - Andrew Hoggard

Andrew Hoggard might be new to Parliament, but he's certainly not new to New Zealand's screens and airwaves.

The Manawatū dairy farmer was president of Federated Farmers from 2020 to 2023, and one of the more prominent critics of the previous government's agricultural policies.

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The summary of a recent Federated Farmers confidence survey concluded confidence was no longer going backwards, but is still in the gutter.

Now, Hoggard is one of a group of ministers tasked with getting farmers back onside.

The ACT MP has been assigned the Biosecurity, Food Safety, and Associate Environment portfolios, and is one of three Associate Agriculture ministers.

It's a lot of hats for a brand new MP, which can perhaps excuse why one of the first significant announcements he made as a minister went wrong.

Last month, with his Associate Environment hat on, Hoggard announced the government was suspending requirements for councils to comply with Significant Natural Areas rules, telling councils it would be "unwise to bother."

Except the law hadn't changed, causing outcry from environmental groups, and a legal headache.

He walked it back, and learned his lesson. He says he was intending to give helpful advice, but pushed it close to the line.

Read more:

Federated Farmers president contests election

The new ministers for the primary industry sectors

Fresh water farm plans to be reviewed

Panel to review 2050 methane targets

"We're going to be rebuilding the foundation. We don't want all of this work happening on the roof and the first storey and the second storey that may not fit on that foundation. It's like, everyone just calm down for a minute, let's get the foundation right, and let's build up the common sense, practical thing on top of that."

So far, much of Hoggard's work is reviews and windbacks…

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"Sometimes you might fall a bit short, but along the way you probably have brought some improvement" - Jonathan Coleman

Public Service Targets are set for a comeback but with job cuts looming over ministries and agencies, unions fear public servants are only being asked to do more with less.

Originally introduced by John Key's National government, the targets have led to improvements in the past - but that experience shows there are also risks.

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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon unveiled his latest bullet-point list of deliverables on Monday, a 36-step action plan with a 30 June deadline.

Some can be ticked off with ease - like the 12 commitments to "take decisions", or complete business-as-usual requirements like delivering a Budget. Luxon faced criticism from the opposition of running the country like a company, but he says he's turned around large organisations before - skills he says are transferable to his new role.

Point 26 - the resurrection of public service targets - is certainly in keeping with his chief executive style. It was a cornerstone National Party policy in 2012 launched by then-PM John Key, who touted the need for quantifiable results New Zealanders could understand. The rhetoric and rationale from Luxon 12 years later is much the same.

The 10 original targets aimed for percentage reductions in rheumatic fever, crime rates, assaults on children, and the number of people on a benefit; percentage increases to infant immunisation rates, early childhood education participation, and NCEA and tertiary qualifications; and more online interaction with government services. Each was overseen by a relevant minister and public service chief executive but required cross-agency collaboration.

Dr Jonathan Coleman at a select committee.

Dr Jonathan Coleman was state services minister from 2011 to 2014 and says they wanted cohesion, focus, and accountability: that is, getting departments working together, setting outcomes they can be measured against, and making the work of the sector more visible to the public.

Coleman says the targets were always meant to be ambitious, and while not all hit their mark they largely achieved their purpose. …

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"There is surely no one with their eyes open now who believes we live in a benign strategic environment" - Winston Peters

New Zealand must pull its weight on defence and security, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says in a sit-down interview with RNZ, after talks with both India and China.

While trade was a driving force behind those engagements, it is clear tension points - like the South China Sea, and potential involvement in AUKUS - are becoming more central to foreign policy discussions in the Indo-Pacific.

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With Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's commitment to secure a trade deal with India hanging over the coalition government, Peters this month travelled to the country which last year became the world's most populated. New Zealand has traditionally struggled to dismantle trade barriers with the growing economic powerhouse, in part because both countries have strong dairy industries neither wants to disadvantage.

Discussions included the potential for New Zealand to provide expertise in animal husbandry and breeding - but Peters' mission from the outset was focused on building the relationship and achieving some smaller economic wins. He came away with a list of 10 to 15 items New Zealand and India could work together on including on kiwifruit, Antarctica, and coastal shipping. International education is something of a jewel in New Zealand's crown in that relationship - and Peters says the government is determined to see it return to pre-Covid levels.

But security and defence were also a key topic - raised, Peters says, both by India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and its National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Peters says Doval had "matters to share of concern" including around New Zealand's defence force and contribution to defence in the Asia Pacific.

"I'm not going to presage the Budget on the 30th of May other than to say we will not be gaining the influence and progress that we want if we don't have certain parts of our Budgetary assignment clearly of a respectable level."…

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"We're looking forwards rather than backwards" - Chris Hipkins

Humiliated and humbled in last year's election, Labour has spent its first months back in opposition licking its wounds.

At the party's caucus retreat this week - a gathering of its MPs at a remote location to strategise for the year ahead - it promised a comeback.

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Labour's shift in status is underscored by the retreat's change in venue, back at the Brackenridge Country Retreat in Martinborough they had used until the 2020 election swelled their ranks beyond its capacity.

It was also delayed from its usual slot in January or early February, in part due to a shorter summer break and to allow more time for reflection.

Leader Chris Hipkins' speech welcoming his MPs signalled optimism the coalition government would be its own undoing, and set out his three priorities for the rest of the term: being a good opposition; fully preparing policies with costings, timings and implementation plans; and rebuilding the movement with fundraising, recruiting, and connecting with communities.

As a mainstream party, Labour must also present as economically credible - and internal disagreements over tax policy will need to be ironed out ahead of the next election.

Read more:

Tax question hangs over Labour as Hipkins looks to rebuild

'Unambitious' Luxon vs 'irrelevant' Hipkins: Leaders trade barbs from the regions

Labour caucus retreat very different from a year ago

Labour gains, Hipkins plummets in latest poll

The refocus also comes at a dynamic time in the political landscape: the three-headed coalition facing three parties in opposition, each competing for a slice of the electoral pie.

Te Pāti Māori has increasingly stolen the headlines with its often extreme rhetoric, while the Greens have made no bones about their aspiration to become the dominant opposition voice - underlined by Chlöe Swarbrick as she ascended to the co-leadership last weekend. It is a lofty and perhaps unlikely ambition, but one Labour should be aware of as it repositions…

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"We told you what we're gonna do, we've done it, and now we're telling you what we've done" - Christopher Luxon

The House has been in full swing for four weeks, with MPs sitting long hours as the government pushes through legislation under urgency to complete its 100-day plan.

What's in it? Did the government achieve it all? And how will the plan hold in six, 12 or even 18 months?

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Christopher Luxon is clearly confident all 49 points have been ticked off, but some of the achievements - 15 of the 49 items on the list - are tenuous at best.

Questions have also been raised over the use of urgency to pass 61 stages of 21 bills.

Using data from the Parliamentary Library, Newsroom found the government passed more bills under urgency in its first 100 days in power than any of the past five terms of Parliament.

Some 13 of the bills were passed through all stages - meaning the public had no opportunity to provide feedback at select committees.

Read more:

100-day plan report card: 15 items' completion up for debate

Coalition government's 100-day plan

Health targets announced to cap off 100-day plan

Government ministers have been backing their progress, unapologetic about the pace and scope of lawmaking.

After a four-week sitting block full of late nights and early mornings, some ministers will be looking for a reprieve - a week long recess could not have come at a better time.

In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith examines the 100-day plan and the fanfare for it by the coalition government.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"To axe the whole news division, that's huge and I'm really deeply shocked by it" - Mark Jennings

In a devastating blow to New Zealand's media landscape, Newshub appears set to shut down by the end of June.

The response from politicians has been varied, and while some are looking for solutions in the industry it seems too late to rescue the company from financial ruin.

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Hundreds of staff - journalists, camera operators, editors, producers - learned of the proposal to axe the entire news division and other local productions not supported by co-funding at an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

Warner Brothers Discovery is blaming a collapse in advertising revenue and changes in viewing habits, having made a loss of just under $35m in New Zealand in the 2022 financial year.

The announcement caused a tidal wave of shock and devastation across the wider media sector. Newshub's newsroom is known for an energetic, agenda-setting and often provocative approach that will leave a massive hole in New Zealand's media landscape.

The closure also means a lack of direct competition for the state-owned but commercially run television news broadcaster TVNZ, which is facing problems of its own.

Read more:

Warner Bros 'baffled' after TVNZ rejected Newshub proposal of shared news operation

TVNZ's total revenue falls 13.5 percent as ad revenue shrinks

Can Newshub really be saved?

Newshub journalist Michael Morrah says proposal will be made to save axed news operation

Newshub's pain not necessarily TVNZ's gain - advertising expert

Seymour plays down TVNZ dividend comments

Government intervention to save Newshub 'highly unlikely'

Focus has quickly shifted to whether Newshub can be saved. Its investigations correspondent Michael Morrah says staff plan to make a proposal to keep the newsroom operating.

As for government intervention, however, Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee is adamant there was nothing she could do. She told reporters a lack of competition was not a concern because the media had shifted away from specific platforms like television, and that the company never reached out for assistance.

"It is actually a structural issue, it's a company that actually felt that their business model isn't actually working," she said. …

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"E le tu fa'amauga se tagata: no one stands alone, no one succeeds alone, and - for me - no one suffers alone" - Fa'anānā

Parliament was brought to a standstill on Wednesday, with politics set aside after the sudden and shocking death of first-term Green MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins.

A champion for his people, a tireless advocate, a good man - such were the tributes as Parliament mourned the loss of one its own.

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In keeping with Samoan custom, he is referred to here as Fa'anānā the matai or chiefly title conferred on him.

Fa'anānā collapsed about 9am on Wednesday. Emergency services rushed to revive him, but just over an hour later his death at just 49 years old was confirmed. He had been taking part in a charity event in Auckland's Britomart, this last act - as with so much of his life - focused on helping his community.

After news of his death, Green co-leader Marama Davidson and others in the team flew north to support his wife and two daughters. Remaining behind at Parliament to front the media and steady the shocked caucus, a tearful co-leader James Shaw soon appeared before the cameras.

"Aotearoa and the Green party have lost one of the kindest, and most dedicated champions of fairness," he said.

Born and raised in Ōtara, Fa'anānā was a devout Christian who led a local church youth group and ran mentoring programmes. He studied at Auckland University where he became active in student politics, the first Polynesian to be elected president of the students' association in 1999.

Read more:

Parliament brought to standstill by a tsunami of collective grief

Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' family 'devastated' at his loss

Praise for Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' efforts to inspire young people

Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' death brings another new Green MP to Parliament

Why Fa'anānā Efeso Collins was so respected

'The giants whose shoulders I stand on': who is Fa'anānā Efeso Collins…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"This is what councils across the country said they wanted" - Simeon Brown

The coalition has ticked off another objective - repealing the troubled Three Waters programme - but in doing so may have just delayed the bigger problem for another day.

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Three Waters has a turbulent history, going back to mid-2017 when the then-National government launched a review of the Havelock North water crisis.

After the election, the new Labour-led coalition began circulating its proposed response: taking control of water away from councils and giving it instead to four separate mega-entities. The idea was the new entities would be large enough and far enough removed from the councils' debts that they could borrow more and at a cheaper rate than the councils could do alone.

But by the time the details were fully unveiled in late-2021, a rump of opposition had built - with accusations of asset theft and concerns about the co-governance model requiring iwi involvement. It set the stage for a prolonged messy debate driven by furious councils.

The depth of feeling was such that Labour pivoted in March last year: rebranding to "Affordable Water Reform". The Minister in charge - Nanaia Mahuta - was replaced by Kieran McAnulty, the timeline was pushed back, and the four entities became 10, but the changes failed to end the furore.

Labour's opponents doubled down: pledging to repeal and replace, and - now in government - those parties achieved step one of that promise, using urgency to push through legislation consigning the Three Waters programme to the scrap heap.

Read more:

Minister points to 'backstops' if councils refuse Three Waters amalgamations

Councils 'don't have the capacity' to pay for water upgrades - Hipkins

Parliament repeals Three Waters programme under urgency

Three Waters repeal: 'It's going to be councils and mayors that cop it'

Government sets up advisory group ahead of Three Waters repeal

The coalition's new plan - championed by new Local Government Minister Simeon Brown - still has a lot of detail to be worked out, prompting the government to gather a technical advisory group…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"They can feel a movement happening and they want to be part of it" - Shannon Haunui-Thompson

This year's record-breaking Waitangi celebrations drew 80,000 people to the Treaty grounds over four days, half that on Waitangi Day alone.

With the dust settling on the event's biggest turnout in decades, the sense of unity and anger among many Māori will linger long after the Treaty Principles legislation is gone.

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The message of kotahitanga, unity, was sounded with the Kiingitanga's call for a national hui to take place at Turangawaewae, with discussions continuing into the annual Rātana celebrations and on to Waitangi.

RNZ's Tumu Māori Shannon Haunui-Thompson (Ngāpuhi) grew up coming to Waitangi every year and remembers the free train rides, swimming at the beach and the many hikoi across the bridge - people carrying flags and placards.

A hikoi arrives at the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi for the 2024 celebrations.

She says while that hasn't changed, she has never seen the like of what was on show at this year's Waitangi as a response to the coalition government, which is perceived as being anti-Māori.

"When someone kind of threatens to change something that is fundamentally a founding document not just of our country but of our people, there was a true movement - I can feel and see it, physically see it, when our leaders are leading us - and you can see people want to be part of that," she says.

"When leaders like Kiingi Tuuheitia, the Rātana tumuaki, iwi leaders, are all physically standing in line together like a strong, united front, why wouldn't you follow that?

"Accommodation's full. All the camping grounds are full. So people have literally come because they want to be here, be part of this movement, be part of this kotahitanga and support that movement - so they're sleeping in their cars on the side of the road."

Waitangi Day traffic at this year's commemorations…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

James Shaw this week announced he was stepping down after nine years as Green Party co-leader.

"Know why you are here... be really clear about what the difference is that you want to make with your time and the role" - James Shaw

It was one of Parliament's worst kept secrets, and on Tuesday morning it was made official.

After nine years co-captaining the Green ship, James Shaw is stepping down.

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His time as co-leader was, at times, tumultuous. Having to lead the party into the 2017 election alone, and then spending some time on the sidelines himself in 2022 when members opted to vacate his position.

But he says now, back in opposition, and with a fresh caucus, is the time for new leadership.

The day after his announcement, he told RNZ he had an enormous sense of relief, as well as excitement for what comes next for himself and for the Greens.

"I've been reading a lot of political obituaries about myself in the last 24 hours. By definition it's a reflective moment. The Greens don't change leaders very often," he said.

Shaw will not be leaving Parliament just yet. Becoming co-leader just a few months after entering Parliament means he has spent very little time on the back-benches, which he is looking forward to.

He intends to stay on to work on a members' bill, which would add the right to a sustainable environment into the Bill of Rights Act.

Opposition member's bills do not have a great history of success, but Shaw argued as a Bill of Rights amendment, it should come down to a conscience vote.

"I think I've built enough of a reputation with people across the house to at least have a conversation about what's possible here. And I think that I understand, from my experience here, enough about what other people need in order for them to be able to support something like the bill, that I've got to at least give it a fighting chance."

Chlöe Swarbrick today announced she will run to be the next co-leader of the Green Party.

Shaw's oft-repeated commitment was to get the Greens into government, and safely out the other side.

He says the caucus, with three electorate seats and a record number of MPs, and the party, are in good shape to carry on without him…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A collage showing Kiingi Tuuheitia, with Winston Peters, Christopher Luxon and Shane Jones, superimposed in front of the church at Rātana.

"We will have differences of opinion and that's okay" - Christopher Luxon

Coming hot on the heels of last weekend's Hui-aa-Motu and the Rātana celebrations, Waitangi Day this year promises to be highly emotive and political.

The government's policies have prompted calls for resilience and resistance, and a dramatic show of unity from much of Māoridom.

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On Saturday, some 10,000 people turned up to the hui at Tuurangawaewae Marae at the invitation of the Kiingitanga under a banner of unity and accountability.

The leaders of the three governing parties were notably absent, sending National's Tama Potaka as a government representative to listen and report back on key themes.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon - at his first post-Cabinet media briefing of the year on Tuesday - stated a desire to work with Māori to deliver improved outcomes.

"We are a country that has a diverse set of views," Luxon said. "The day we all think exactly the same, we've got a big big problem in this country."

Read more:

Rātana: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon warned over te Tiriti o Waitangi

In pictures: 2024 Rātana celebrations

Political editors panel: Māori challenge government's approach

The signs of a growing sense of unity across Māoridom

Historic hui at Ngaaruawaahia: 'The wairua brought them'

The next day he - alongside NZ First's Winston Peters and Shane Jones - came face to face with that difference of opinion, forcefully expressed by the speakers at Rātana Pā, the annual celebration of the faith's founder's birthday taking on greater significance this year.

Warned by the hosts that Māori would "not sit idly by" if there was any measure of meddling with Te Tiriti, Luxon offered this assurance: the government had no plans to amend or revise the Treaty or Treaty settlements and would honour the Treaty.

His commitment was somewhat undermined, however, by his equivocation over ACT's Treaty Principles Bill. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"What we have achieved together, I think, is historic" - Christopher Luxon

Three prime ministers, four ministerial scandals, one general election and a three-way coalition: New Zealand's political landscape has been well and truly shaken up in 2023.

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Jacinda Ardern was thinking about work at the beginning of the year as most New Zealanders were taking the time to relax over their summer break. Her resignation announcement in January shocked New Zealanders out of their summer slumber and sent Labour on the hunt for a new leader.

With the most obvious successor Grant Robertson taking himself out of the race, Chris Hipkins was tipped as next most likely. The self-described "boy from the Hutt" soon became New Zealand's 41st prime minister.

His honeymoon period was short-lived, however, with the arrival of a series of summer storms including flooding in Auckland and Northland, and Cyclone Gabrielle, leaving a path of destruction across the upper North Island: towns cut off and uncontactable, critical infrastructure and thousands of homes damaged, hundreds of people displaced.

Fifteen people dead, including a two-year-old. Many communities are still recovering.

It was Hipkins' first challenge as prime minister, leading the country through disaster - but the general election set for 14 October was also looming.

Then-prime minister Chris Hipkins takes a helicopter to cyclone-hit Wairoa.

No government has replaced a prime minister in an election year and gone on to win, so in hopes of defying history he rolled out the policy incinerator, exhausting the phrase "bread and butter" as he sought to eliminate what he saw as Labour's political liabilities and focus on the cost of living crisis.

There were other liabilities lying in wait however, as a series of scandals went on to rock the left in just a few short months.

Stuart Nash, in an extraordinary own goal, lost his beloved Police portfolio after stating on air he had once encouraged the police commissioner to appeal a court decision. He assured Hipkins he had made no other mistakes, so was promptly sacked from Cabinet after it was revealed two weeks later he'd once emailed confidential information to donors. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The adults are back in charge and New Zealanders say to the last lot good riddance" - Nicola Willis

A host of Labour's policies have been tipped on the scrap heap this week as the new coalition starts passing laws at pace.

The financial fisticuffs have begun opening bouts too ahead of next week's mini-Budget, with the Interislander ferry upgrade in dire straits and new figures pointing to a gloomy economy.

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The week began with a bang: Winston Peters in the hot seat as Acting Prime Minister, with Christopher Luxon in Australia for his daughter's graduation.

Opposition MPs tried to trip up the wily Deputy PM, using his previous policies and utterances against him after his switch from supporting Labour in 2017 to National six years later. He once defended the oil and gas ban and the Reserve Bank's dual mandate - now both on the chopping block.

They also tested his knowledge on things like the current minimum wage, and challenged his new political partnership with ACT's David Seymour - who had said Peters was "just a muppet" and yesterday's man, who could not be trusted.

Some of the attacks were more effective than others, but none of it seemed to rattle Peters, who eagerly returned fire, proving he will continue to be a provocation to the opposition and his coalition partners alike.

Stuff's political editor Luke Malpass told RNZ's Morning Report it was a good reminder that Peters is one of the great parliamentary debaters in New Zealand's history, and showed his party's determination to berate the left.

Read more:

Interislander ferry project to end after government funding denied

Health Minister Shane Reti offers cursory response over smokefree protest

'Bigoted lefty shill': Winston Peters fires up as Acting PM

National, Labour firing broadsides after Cook Strait ferry project founders

It set the stage for a colourful week in the House, sitting under urgency with a major repeal job: dismantling the former government's legacy piece by piece. The dual mandate was first to go, followed by Fair Pay Agreements and the Clean Car Discount as the next items crossed off National's to-don't list.

The coalition has made no apology for sweeping aside Labour's laws - as promised ahead of the election - but it has faced criticism for its processes after a leaked document showed this would not be subject to the usual scrutiny of Regulatory Impact Statements. It turned out a draft RIS had already been prepared on the scrapping of the so-called ute tax, but the minister has refused to release that for now. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Protesters from the "National Māori Action Day" marched in all corners of the country on Tuesday, the same day MPs were sworn in at the Commission Opening of Parliament.

"This government has opened the floodgates of hatred toward Māori" - Rawiri Waititi

The resumption of Parliament this week has been underlined by outcry from Māori, soon matched by fury within the debating chamber.

With just two weeks before the Christmas break and Waitangi Day fast approaching on the other side, the government will have plenty to work through.

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Politicians arriving to be sworn in as MPs on Tuesday were greeted by hundreds of protesters on Parliament's forecourt objecting to the new government's policies and plans affecting Māori. The march was led by Te Pāti Māori, whose co-leaders were unapologetic, promising this was just the start.

As National's caucus prepared to meet ahead of the Commission Opening, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the protests were unfair, and the government should be given more time to deliver better outcomes for Māori. That held little weight with the protesters, however, railing against his coalition's policies and plans laid out clearly and in detail, rather than the government's record.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

His coalition partners ACT and New Zealand First went further in their dismissal, calling the protests anti-democratic.

Having tripled in size this election, Te Pāti Māori is determined to make its presence known in the halls of power. They continued to test boundaries at the swearing-in, which requires all MPs to pledge allegiance to the King, a practice the party argues is a colonial constraint that contradicts the equal partnership promised by Te Tiriti.

One by one, all six preceded their vow with an oath of their own: to mokopuna, in accordance with tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The new MP for Te Tai Tonga, Tākuta Ferris, was the first to perform Te Pāti Māori's unconventional oath.

This was followed by the usual oath or affirmation but again with a twist - with some swearing to "Kīngi Harehare", an alternative translation of Charles, which can also be used to mean "scab", or "something objectionable"…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The new coalition government unveiled its 100-day plan this week.

"I don't think there's been any previous government that's been as aggressive about getting out of the blocks hard, fast and early" - Christopher Luxon

The new government's first week in office saw it get straight to work, setting high expectations and unveiling its 100-day plan - but it's not exactly been smooth sailing.

Fixing the economy and making a material difference for New Zealanders is a hefty workload for a Cabinet which has so far been dogged by distractions - driven partly by new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

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It began with the swearing-in ceremony at Government House on Monday, a moment of pageantry marking the official handover of power.

Most of the MPs were beaming, none more so than Christopher Luxon, relishing his new title of Prime Minister.

Christopher Luxon grins at his swearing-in as prime minister.

It's remarkable given just two years earlier he was a mere backbencher in his first term at Parliament: New Zealand's least politically experienced Prime Minister - both an incredible feat - and a potential liability.

Unveiling the plan for the first 100 days of the government at his first post-Cabinet briefing, Luxon on Wednesday set the bar high.

"I'll just say, I think we're going to do more than 100 days than this government did in the last six years. So we're looking forward to getting into work."

The agenda is a mix: Cellphones in schools are out, pseudoephedrine in pharmacies are back in. The clean car discount will be scrapped along with Labour's Three Waters and RMA changes.

Luxon insists the plan will help ease the cost of living, pointing to a return to a single mandate for the Reserve Bank and cutting compliance costs for businesses.

"We are absolutely determined to rebuild the economy, to lower the cost of living, we are determined to actually deal with law and order and we're determined to deliver public services."

Read more:

Luxon in Auckland touts plans for education, local government

Government confirms its 100-day plan…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"What we have achieved together, I think, is historic" - Christopher Luxon

It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like.

New Zealand's first-ever three-way coalition: National, ACT and New Zealand First finally signing on the dotted line in the ultimate Black Friday deal.

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The three leaders' style - each at their own podium in the Beehive's banquet hall - augurs an unpredictable term ahead. National's Christopher Luxon was corporate and aspirational, ACT's David Seymour earnest and exacting, with Peters fractious and mercurial.

Indeed, asked whether they trusted one another, each had a different response.

Luxon: "Absolutely".

Seymour: "I trust all ministers in our Cabinet, that's how Cabinet collective responsibility works and that's how I'll operate".

Peters: "We don't answer stupid questions. We've shaken hands here to be capable of earning trust. Please understand what real life looks like for adults. We've shaken hands on a commitment to make this government work because this country desperately needs it, make no bones about it."

Read more:

Chris Hipkins: 'This is going to be a government that drives people apart'

Analysis: Winston Peters now second most important person in the government

Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?

Timeline: Three-way coalition government comes together

Coalition details at a glance: What you need to know

The unique dynamic is acknowledged in the documents - with a detailed prescription for the working relationship.

Much interest also centred on the deputy-prime ministership, symbolic of the power tussle between ACT and New Zealand First through the election campaign - the impasse finally resolved with an unorthodox time-share arrangement: Peters for half the term, then Seymour for the rest.

It's either a creative solution or a childish sop - an easy target for mockery by the new government's opponents. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says the party this term will be pushing to make Parliament more welcoming to Māori from day one.

"It's an evolving movement, we should never stay the same" - Debbie Ngarewa-Packer

After its most successful election - taking all but one of the Māori seats - Te Pāti Māori is amping up for the next three years as "the only true opposition".

It's a dramatic turnaround for a party dumped out of Parliament entirely in 2017, but co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says that was a critical part of the party's growth.

They are also looking ahead to their next generation of leaders, she says, and plans are afoot to shake Parliament up and normalise it for Māori.

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After the final vote count on 3 November - and the subsequent judicial recounts - Te Pāti Māori is confirmed to have won all but one of the Māori electorates.

It's not just the wins that are impressive but from whom those seats were won, with senior Labour figures like Kelvin Davis, Nanaia Mahuta and Peeni Henare ousted.

Tākuta Ferris took Te Tai Tonga from Labour's Rino Tirikatene; along with its previous iteration the Southern Māori seat, the electorate has been held by a Tirikatene for all but 15 of 91 years.

At 21, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke wasn't even born when Hauraki-Waikato incumbent Nanaia Mahuta first entered Parliament in 1996. She told RNZ on election night the biggest achievement was getting a foot in the door - not just for herself, but for the kohanga reo generation.

Nanaia Mahuta, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, and Meka Whaitiri

Ngarewa-Packer says they could see a growing frustration with the status quo, and people were able to identify with the party better than some of the more traditional positions. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We're working to do it as fast as we possibly can" - Christopher Luxon

With National's potential partners ACT and NZ First finally getting together in Wellington this week, a sense of momentum is building for the trio to form a government.

Labour's Chris Hipkins meanwhile has survived a vote on his MPs' endorsement of him as leader with Carmel Sepuloni taking the deputy leadership as the party prepares for opposition.

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A key player in the negotiations, Winston Peters arrived in the capital this week doggedly determined to say not one word to reporters.

ACT leader David Seymour took a distinctly different approach, happy to do a number of interviews over the weekend without divulging confidential details.

The man working to entice both of them to make him prime minister, National's Christopher Luxon, has made himself available for select media interviews, while offering very little detail.

Christopher Luxon speaks to media after the final election result was announced.

There's plenty all three parties seem to agree on: the repeal of Three Waters, the Māori Health Authority and the Resource Management Act; restoring 90-day workplace trials; a smaller public service; and changes in portfolios like justice and education.

More tricky could be convincing NZ First about the merits of National's tax on foreign buyers; using funds from the Emissions Trading Scheme for tax cuts; and ACT's proposal for a referendum on the Treaty of Waitangi.

As the week drew to a close and with the three leaders all on Parliament's grounds, negotiations have clearly progressed. On Thursday, Peters visited ACT's headquarters on the precinct - breaking the ice on a previously frosty relationship between the pair.

Friday saw more of the same, with Seymour returning the favour. Both meetings lasted only about 10 minutes, and there appears to have been no gathering of all three as yet - despite all saying this was likely to happen at some point.

Read more:

Parliament: Current caretaker role to continue until new government formed

Seymour 'achieved what I wanted' in 10-minute meeting…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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"We will now crack on with the clarity that we have" - Christopher Luxon

The final act of the 2023 election has reset the calculus, blowing apart National's dream scenario and driving up the price for forming government.

With NZ First's support now a requirement, Winston Peters is sure to demand more in negotiations.

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It took 20 days to recount all the ballots - to add in those so-called special votes, to check for mistakes or fraud - finally delivering a bombshell.

When Christopher Luxon spoke to his jubilant supporters on election night, he knew all too well the National-ACT majority on "current numbers" could disappear on the final count, and followed his remarks by acknowledging Peters' offer to help.

That exchange takes on much greater significance now the 600,000 special votes have dissolved that majority, with National losing two seats - giving them just 59 seats with ACT, and in need of NZ First's eight MPs for a majority.

Read more:

Special Votes: National and ACT lose majority in largest ever Parliament

Seymour reverses rule-out of working with Peters in Cabinet

Luxon on final election results: 'The most likely and expected outcome'

Recount on the cards in Nelson

Te Pāti Māori claims victory in 6 of the 7 Māori electorates

It's a scenario Luxon called a "last resort" during the campaign, an outcome he was prepared to make work - but did not want. He may be putting on a brave face, but it is evident the numbers have made his job harder.

During the election campaign, ACT's David Seymour ruled out the prospect of sitting round the Cabinet table with one Winston Peters, but the cold hard reality of the numbers prompted a post-election rethink.

"I think it's possible," he told reporters, now saying the deal could take less than a week to negotiate.

Speaking on The Platform, Peters also expressed optimism a deal could be struck "much more quickly than people think".

The clock is ticking.

In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Editor Jane Patterson speaks to Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch, analysing the state of play after the final election result.

Listen to the full podcast…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Chris Hipkins on election night, superimposed over the crowd at the Labour headquarters in Lower Hutt.

"People who were used to being Cabinet ministers and making high-level decisions struggle quite a bit with that transition to being a garden-variety MP again," - Sue Moroney

After a devastating collapse in their vote on election night, the Labour Party is examining what went so wrong and who is best to lead them from the opposition benches.

Current and former MPs alike are calling for a wider refocusing on the party's values and relationships to avoid the kind of fracturing that often so plagues parties banished from government.

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Almost two weeks after their drubbing at the polls - which cut their caucus from more than 60 MPs to just 34 and lost them stronghold electorates like Mt Roskill, New Lynn and West Coast-Tasman - emotions in the party are still raw.

Reflection inevitably turns to questions of leadership, and while MPs publicly backed Chris Hipkins to remain in the job for now, Willie Jackson spoke of support from "most" and leadership ambitions from one or two.

Under party rules, the caucus must vote on the leadership within three months of the election.

Political commentator and former Labour candidate Josie Pagani says if Hipkins can return to the instinct he had when he first took over - the bread and butter basics - he'll deserve to take the party to the 2026 election.

"If Chris Hipkins can prove that, he starts from an honest, difficult analysis of what went wrong and why the Labour party lost - which frankly is not the gods, cyclones, external factors, inflation, cost of living and so on, it was the inability of Labour to respond to those things in a way that voters wanted them to."

Read more:

The 'multiple reasons' why Labour lost so badly

Port Waikato by-election: Labour won't stand a candidate in 'unwinnable' by-election

Greens could surpass Labour at next election unless it gets act together - former MP

The Detail: The West Coast's surprising shade of blue

Auckland's Mt Roskill votes for change, now the hard part begins…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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"Making sure there's good glue, actually making sure we've got strong stable relationships" - Christopher Luxon

The battle for the hearts, minds and votes of New Zealanders is over - nearly - with the preliminary results on Saturday putting National in a position to form the next government and Labour consigned to the opposition benches.

National's exact path to government is not fully clear, and depends on the final vote count. Even so, it's far preferable to the position Labour's in, having to put on a brave face despite anger and recriminations at the result.

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Based on preliminary count, National could go ahead with their preferred option - a two-party coalition with ACT - but with a razor-thin majority the option of including New Zealand First and leader Winston Peters is very much in play.

National's leader Christopher Luxon spoke the day after the election about being aligned with ACT, and having good chemistry with its leader David Seymour, using language like "mergers and acquisitions", and later talking about taking on a more managerial chief executive role than focusing on a particular portfolio.

Seymour told RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith on election night that New Zealand faced many problems, but political stability was needed. He said ACT and National had similar beliefs around reducing government expenditure - so there's certainly some common ground.

"The recent forecasts for economic growth placed New Zealand as one of the slowest-growing economies in the world. That's an immediate problem but it's also a long-term trend that needs to be addressed."

Read more:

Political panel: 'Mergers and acquisitions' in limboland

Comment: Labour out, National in - either way, neoliberalism wins again

New Green MPs, co-leaders speak at Parliament

Election campaign fight for your eyeballs: Parties' social media use

Analysis: Luxon gets the job as PM - and deal-making headache

Labour's caucus meeting 'pretty rough'- Hipkins…

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"I would say the Labour campaign has been a game of two halves" - Katie Scotcher

It's the eve of the official day of polling in New Zealand - and where are the votes going to fall?

It has been a rollercoaster campaign, full of fiscal fights and feisty debates - all with the aim of taking the government benches.

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RNZ's political reporters have been out with the various political parties and leaders for the last six weeks, covering all of the twists and turns.

RNZ political editor Jane Patterson, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch and reporters Katie Scotcher, Anneke Smith and Giles Dexter all joined Corin and Ingrid on Morning Report Friday.

In Focus on Politics this week, we look back at the rollercoaster ride and forecast what might be ahead once the ballots are all counted.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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"Imagine if we woke up on the 15th of October in limboland" - former prime minister John Key

TVNZ's multi-party debate this week illustrated key features of this election campaign: the minor parties' rising popularity, and the complicated role of NZ First.

With polls they would need Winston Peters, National and ACT have been continuing to talk down his appeal - but it remains preferable to defeat.

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National has only hardened its language over needing Peters to form a government, saying it's a "last resort" or "worst case scenario", and former PM John Key even weighed in with a plea to voters to avoid it.

Putting aside the personality problems, there are major policy differences too - including on superannuation and tax.

But the position of the right bloc trio is certainly preferable to the one Labour's in: lagging in the polls, with no road to power, and leader Chris Hipkins laid low by Covid-19 during the first week of voting.

Labour's candidates struggled to stick to the party line on a wealth tax - while National was caught out overegging its tax cut promise. Just a week to go until the big day - and plenty to watch out for.

In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch dissects the past week, speaking to Guyon Espiner alongside RNZ and NBR political editors Jane Patterson and Brent Edwards, and RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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"In the end, the voters of this country will decide this issue. Not politicians and certainly not the media" - Winston Peters

What a week for Winston.

In not one, but two TV polls, New Zealand First featured above that critical 5 percent threshold - and furthermore in that most pivotal of spots - necessary for National to form a government.

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On Monday, Christopher Luxon acknowledged the state of play - explicitly ruling in New Zealand First as a potential partner - after weeks of implicitly doing so. A double-edged message from the National leader - a reluctant yes to New Zealand First - but an effective plea to voters - I'll make that call if I have to, but please don't make me.

But this sort of profile and attention is exactly what Peters wants - a platform with which to break back into Parliament. Yet another resurrection.

It's also what Labour wants - and needs right now - as it continues to slide in popularity - wallowing in the mid-20s on current polling - with no road to power.

Chris Hipkins knows he needs a circuit-breaker - and he seized on National's announcement as a potential one - throwing that Coalition of Chaos line back at his opponents. He brought a new fervour to Newshub's head-to-head leaders' debate on Wednesday - their second match-up - and a far more fiery one than the first.

As for Peters, he says desperation is driving Labour to dirty tactics.

And don't forget - next week marks the start of early voting in New Zealand - the runway fast running out for all political parties.

In Focus on Politics this week, RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch breaks down the latest week of the election campaign, a week where Winston Peters came to the fore.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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"You've had a chance, that's enough, there are adults in the room" - Winston Peters

The minor parties gave glimpses of their own cooperation styles at the Newshub Nation Powerbrokers' debate, while polls continued to signal Labour on the downturn.

GDP numbers also showed no recession for New Zealand, although inflation remains high.

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While NZ First's Winston Peters and ACT's David Seymour grudgingly hinted they could work together in Thursday's debate, Greens' Marama Davidson and Te Pāti Māori's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer agreed so much it was easy to forget they were from different parties. It was a much more lively affair than the Chris-vs-Christopher clash earlier in the week.

Along with the better-than-expected-but-still-troublesome GDP figures, the PREFU prompted calls for parties to change their promises from both Seymour and Peters - making National's tax plans a possible point of contention.

Meanwhile, Labour's Chris Hipkins and National's Christopher Luxon have been on a roll on the campaign trail: the seemingly endless sausage rolls in the case of the former, Southland cheese rolls for the latter.

National's morning-event routine does appear to be an effective approach for his campaigning, but neither he nor Hipkins' travels seem to be focusing on swaying the unconvinced voter.

Next week's appointments will include a second head-to-head debate between the two, which may give them another chance - but as Labour's Greg O'Connor warned, the polls suggest the party's chances of clawing back support are growing slim.

This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. RNZ political editor Jane Patterson, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, and Newsroom and Stuff political editors Jo Moir and Luke Malpass spoke to Morning Report hosts Corin Dann and Ingrid Hipkiss.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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"We know what we're doing" - Christopher Luxon

There has been a huge focus on the economy during the second week of the official election campaign.

It has not just been about day-to-day living costs, but the big picture issues with the pre-election unveiling of the books.

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If you listened to Labour it was good news, with Chris Hipkins saying overall he was "pretty pleased with the picture" shown by the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update.

But the opposition hit out at government spending and borrowing and National leader Christopher Luxon said the update showed that there was more pain to come.

Luxon this week continued to face questions about, and defend, his party's tax plan with economists' analysis finding a massive hole in the numbers.

Meanwhile, ACT leader David Seymour floated the idea of a confidence-only agreement with any future National-led government.

This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. Political editor Jane Patterson, political reporter Katie Scotcher, and NZ Herald's political editor and deputy political editor Claire Trevett and Thomas Coughlan spoke to Morning Report host Corin Dann.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"That's absolute nonsense" - Labour leader Chris Hipkins

One week into the official election campaign and the hyperbole is flying thick and fast.

Distractions persisted throughout the week, with protesters at the major parties' campaign launches, outrage over advertising, and MPs spreading blatant misinformation.

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Labour's campaign launch debuted its free dental policy for under-30s and National put on a slick made-for-TV affair, with both facing disruption attempts from supporters of fringe political parties.

National cried foul over a union advert calling Christopher Luxon risky and out-of-touch - then had to defend its own attack ads.

Labour meanwhile came under criticism for spreading misinformation after its MPs were caught over-egging their scare campaign as their polling continues to slide.

This week's Focus on Politics is RNZ's first roundtable discussion covering the major happenings of the 2023 election campaign. Political editor Jane Patterson, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch, and political reporter Anneke Smith spoke to Morning Report host Corin Dann about the first official week on the road.

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Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Main image

'This is a classic MMP drag race we're entering into, where every vote will count' - Megan Woods

The Parliamentary term came to an end this week after a tumultuous term, and Labour and National's election campaigns are launching this weekend - with just six weeks remaining before the big day.

Knowing voters will ultimately decide their future, the parties spoke about their position and plans for the coming campaign - and considerations for any negotiations afterwards.

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Labour

Labour's campaign chair Megan Woods with leader Chris Hipkins at the launch of a new housing development. (file photo)

The incumbent Labour Party is campaigning for a third term but it will be an uphill battle, with the latest 1News-Verian poll predicting National and ACT could comfortably form the next government. Labour gave voters a taste of its campaign strategy this week, warning of cuts and changes under a potential National-ACT government.

Labour campaign chair Megan Woods tells RNZ's Katie Scotcher campaigns are a contest of ideas and "we will run a positive and a clean campaign - but that does not mean that we will not engage in a robust contest of ideas".

"The guarantee we make to every New Zealander is that we will play the ball - not the person - but we should be holding National and ACT to account for the ideas that they're putting out there," Woods says.

"I actually think the campaign is in really good shape, and I think that, you know, we've been in this situation before. It feels a bit like 2005 - there's everything to fight for. We need to be re-elected so we can ensure the gains we've made are bedded in and we can continue to make those positive changes for New Zealand."

She says the polls are not surprising, major rival National's party vote has barely shifted in the past year, and there is plenty of time left in the campaign. …

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"This was a sluggish government response," - Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Boyd Swinburn

The government's pointed to vapes as a key weapon in the war against cigarettes.

In the rush to reach its smokefree targets, however, there are fears the horse has bolted - with children exposed to a whole new addiction.

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Vapes were in an unregulated wild-west market until 2020, when the government set a minimum age of 18, banned advertising, and restricted flavours to tobacco, menthol and mint - unless sold by specialist retailers. Those retailers have since continued to spread, many within reach of their most vulnerable customers: children.

Vaping in under-18s tripled between 2019 and 2021.

Education Minister Jan Tinetti told RNZ's education correspondent John Gerritsen vaping was being raised with her constantly: "I have principals that tell me this is just about their number one issue - particularly in secondary," she says. "I think out of the four schools that I went into last week, every single one of them brought vaping up to me."

Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Boyd Swinburn says the government's been slow to respond.

"There's a few years that we didn't have any regulations on the books and the vape shops have sprouted up like mushrooms - and dairies cut themselves in half to be able to sell vapes because they've got such a high profit margin that it makes them a bit irresistible really. So now we're having to deal with reversing that trend, which is much harder than having to prevent it in the first place."

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has long talked about striking a balance between discouraging children from taking up the habit while encouraging it as a tool to help smokers quit.

The smokefree goal has been championed by Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, whose world-first legislation prohibiting anyone born after 2008 from ever being able to buy tobacco came into force in January.

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall

Combined with ever-increasing excise taxes and reductions in nicotine levels and retailer numbers, smokers have never had more reasons to quit…

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Labour leader Chris Hipkins at the GST announcement on Sunday.

"Some of the tax purists will say that we should not do this... they are not the ones who are struggling" - Chris Hipkins

Set the table for bread and butter - or in this case, fruit and veg: Labour fired its opening election campaign salvo on Sunday with a starkly populist pitch for tax-free produce.

The party is pushing ahead with the long-rumoured policy despite hiccups in the announcement and near-universal opposition from experts - including in its own ranks: a clear sign the party is putting polling ahead of principle.

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It was the week Labour woke up to the election. From his home turf in Lower Hutt, Labour leader Chris Hipkins announced the plan to cut GST from unprocessed fruit and vegetables - a cost-of-living balm in tough times.

Eating your greens went down a treat with supporters, and a poll last month from Talbot Mills - Labour's pollster - found two-thirds in support. Critically, 80 percent of swing voters supported it, and nearly 70 percent said they'd be more likely to vote Labour as a result. A balm, then, to Labour's sliding poll numbers too.

The policy runs counter, however, to expert consensus - including members of Labour's caucus - who have long rubbished the policy, tax theory and international evidence showing it would be little help to those struggling and impose new, expensive burdens on the tax system.

RNZ spoke to 12 tax policy experts and economists: the closest to a supporter that could be found was a former advisor to Finance Minister Grant Robertson saying it should be considered - but it wouldn't be his first choice.

Hipkins says the policy's not intended to help tax experts - but the government's own tax working group had highlighted that only a small portion of savings from removing the tax would flow through to lower prices at the checkout, the majority ending up instead in the pockets of supermarkets and producers. As an untargeted measure, the small savings that do get passed on would be of more overall benefit to the well-off: an inefficient way to help the needy, considering the cost to the taxpayer. …

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ACT's leader David Seymour (centre-right) is known to many New Zealanders; his MPs like Karen Chhour, Brooke van Velden and Nicole McKee (left-to-right) less so.

ACT has not only held onto the 10-fold increase in voter support it enjoyed last election, it's maintained a stable caucus and gained further traction.

With polls anticipating an even bigger stable of MPs after October, the minor party is lining up for a potentially major say in the shape of the next government.

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The results have also trended towards the National Party being able to form a government solely with libertarian ACT's support, meaning not just more MPs, but seats in Cabinet, i.e. coveted ministerial positions.

The mid-July 1News-Verian poll projected 46 seats for National and 15 for ACT, just reaching the 61-seat threshold for being able to form a majority government. Newshub-Reid at the end of last month had National and ACT with one further seat each. Most recently though, the Taxpayers Union-Curia poll had National with 44 seats and ACT on 17 - an even bigger proportion for the smaller party.

Read more:

TPU-Curia poll suggests seven seats for NZ First, in opposition

ACT justice policy targets judges' sentencing principles

Game on: Political parties solidify allegiances as election beckons

ACT promises to make it easier for migrants to join health system

The Detail: Taking the public pulse with political polls

However, that last poll also had New Zealand First returning to Parliament, and while National and ACT could form a government on those numbers, the margin is incredibly slim. ACT has also ruled out working with NZ First, which has been appealing to a similar voting base.

National has been careful to avoid alienating either party, and exactly how that shakes out will be a question that remains unanswered until after the election.

What seems clear is ACT is on track for expansion and a bigger role in decision-making than ever before.

Leader David Seymour has become a familiar face in New Zealand politics, but the other candidates aren't so well known.

Who are they? And what do they want to achieve in Parliament? …

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"There is no clear winner coming out of any of the opinion polls at the moment and that means that it's game on," - Chris Hipkins

With recent polling giving both major parties cause for concern and the election less than three months away, the countdown is on - and the policies are starting to roll out.

Labour has launched accusations of fiscal mismanagement over one of National's this week, but had to defend against the same after worsening economic forecasts.

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National's leader Christopher Luxon started the week with a 10-year, nearly $25b plan promising a suite of new roads and rapid transit in Auckland.

Labour's Transport Minister David Parker was soon crying foul on National's costings, saying they did not take inflation costs into account and were in some cases years out of date; he estimated just four of the 13 new roads were between $2.4b and $4.8b short based on the latest costings.

National said it used officially provided costings, and lambasted Labour's own financial nous - but the question of how that shortfall would be filled remained unanswered.

That was the first "fiscal hole" of the week, a callback to Steven Joyce's dubious 2017 accusation that Labour was $11.7b short in funding its promises, and Labour's 2020 better-received accusation in return.

National says its 2023 transport policy would be funded from three sources: taxes, reallocations, and $9.5b in private equity. Hipkins targeted the latter on Tuesday to reveal the week's second "fiscal hole" - a rather ambitious use of the phrase.

"The National Party now appear to have a $10b hole in their transport plans, where they think the Infrastructure Commission can just magic up $10b out of nowhere," he said. "Even if it was coming through things like private equity, through public private partnerships, end of the day someone's still got to pay for that."…

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East Coast MP Kiri Allan resigned her ministerial portfolios this week after being charged over her involvement in a car crash in Wellington.

"I cannot express the remorse I feel," - Kiri Allan

Tragic circumstances putting a halt to the political career of one of Labour's rising stars, East Coast MP Kiri Allan, was just the start of the party's headaches this week.

Along with speculation over its tax plans and signs of caucus disunity, leader Chris Hipkins is left with an incredible challenge to refocus Labour on the fast-approaching election.

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Details were murky when the news broke on Morning Report: one person in custody after a two-car crash on Evans Bay Parade in Wellington about 9pm Sunday. Extraordinarily, that person was believed to be Justice Minister Kiri Allan, a detail confirmed by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins shortly after.

Hipkins said Allan was in extreme emotional distress at the time of the crash.

She was released about 1am, having been charged with careless use of a vehicle and refusing to accompany a police officer; and fined for returning an infringement-level alcohol breath test. Hipkins said her position in Cabinet was no longer tenable - something Allan agreed with, resigning all her portfolios. That afternoon, she confirmed on social media she would not contest the upcoming election including her East Coast electorate seat.

"For now, it is time to step out of the arena ... to heal myself and chart a new course," she wrote. "To the Prime Minister, I have undermined you and the trust you placed in me to do an important job for New Zealand. I cannot express the remorse I feel. I am so, so sorry."

She had recently been open about her struggles with mental health, posting on social media about taking time off after a relationship break-up. She took further leave during Parliament's two-week recess, pending a discussion with Hipkins about a series of claims - strenuously denied - of poor working relationships with staff.

Read more:

Justice Minister Kiri Allan resigns after being charged over car crash…

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Marama Davidson

"We've got to be more bold. We've got to keep being bold," - Marama Davidson

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says this election is the final chance to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, curb environmental degradation, and reduce inequality.

Following bruising internal ructions over the past year, they will need to use this weekend's AGM to redirect supporters' frustration over lack of climate action into an increased vote.

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The party has spent this Parliamentary term in an unusual position, with two ministers outside Cabinet under MMP's first majority government. On one hand it has meant freedom to criticise the direction Labour was taking - Shaw saying he was "frustrated" eight times in two minutes during the party's State of the Planet event this year being one example.

That frustration with Labour is something the party is hoping to leverage in its election campaign. "We are already having people coming to us and being quite explicit, they've come from Labour, they're really interested to hear more," Davidson says. "So that's already happening. So we've got to be more bold. We've got to keep being bold."

But despite Labour's ministerial woes and the absence of Jacinda Ardern's so-called star power in this election, polls are showing little sign of cut-through with fence-sitters on the left. It's a contrast with ACT and National on the right, which Davidson puts down the Greens' "solution-focused" approach rather than criticism.

"Because we're not a lazy political party - and that strategy is appealing to the worst of us rather than the best of us, it gets particular cut-through that is quite click-bait driven," she says.

You can expect to hear more of their policies over the next three months, including the release of their manifesto on Sunday. They do also have a third player in the left-leaning bloc to contend with. Te Pāti Māori recently called for Shaw to step down as Climate Minister. …

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Prime Minister Chris Hipkins meets with President Xi Jinping.

"I was able to re-register New Zealand's concerns and restate our position," - Chris Hipkins

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' week-long trip to China centred on a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, one of the world's most powerful men.

Amid tense geostrategic conditions and with a trip to NATO in Europe looming, the stakes were sky high - but his diplomatic dance with the dragon was largely a success.

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The meeting with Xi took place late on Tuesday (NZ time), featuring the usual pleasantries and ceremonial handshaking. In opening statements ahead of their 40-minute behind-closed-doors chat, they spoke about the strength of the China-New Zealand relationship.

"Our bilateral ties have continued to grow in a sound and steady manner. Amid the changing international landscape, our relationship has remained robust and strong," Xi said, his words translated.

He said he always attached great importance to the relationship, described Hipkins' visit as "very meaningful", and said the international community was watching closely.

Hipkins himself noted the milestone of 50 years of diplomatic relations, and said the meeting "builds on the foundations laid before me".

Read more:

Déjà vu for PM abroad as ministerial trouble brews back home

PM on China visit: 'There is a huge market here for NZ products

Hipkins meets Xi: behind the handshakes NZ walks increasingly fine line

Nanaia Mahuta: China meeting was 'robust'

PM having to find his diplomatic feet fast ahead of high-stakes China visit

RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson - on the ground in Beijing - described it as a warm reception but noted the layout of the meeting: seated some distance from one another at a large table in the enormous Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square.

Hipkins and Xi meet in China, surrounded by officials and delegates.

Afterwards, Hipkins described the meeting as "warm and constructive" and "at no point adversarial", but relatively high level…

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Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, and opposition leader Christopher Luxon.

"I think the main issue there is it's an election year and they want to get votes. I mean, the data is clear," - Dr John Mutu-Grigg

Politicians went head to head on health equity this week, with opposition parties making a concerted effort to paint a waitlist prioritisation tool as discriminatory.

With accusations flying from both sides of the House, an expert says the clinician-designed tool is in fact a way of correcting bias in the health system, and politicians are just looking for votes.

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The National and ACT parties seized on a Newstalk ZB article published on Monday with the headline "Auckland surgeons must now consider ethnicity in prioritising patients for operations - some are not happy".

It centred on an algorithm introduced in Auckland in February which helps decide the order in which people receive non-urgent surgery, using five factors: clinical priority, time on the waitlist, geographic location, deprivation level, and ethnicity. "Several surgeons" were upset by it, the article said, quoting one unnamed male who was "disgusted" ethnicity was being considered.

Accounting for ethnicity as a risk factor in healthcare is not new. In fact, the now-contentious algorithm introduced in February was an update to one put in place in Auckland during the lockdowns. The earlier version only had two measures - one of which was ethnicity - so in reality the new one is de-emphasising ethnicity by including other factors.

National Party health spokesperson Shane Reti the next day told reporters he knew a number of clinicians were deeply unhappy with the system, and he shared their concerns.

"For surgical waiting lists, clinical decision-making should only be based on health need. That is the issue I've got, that is the issue clinicians have raised, and I agree with them."

Dr Shane Reti, who was a Northland GP before he got into politics.

He acknowledged, however, that factors like deprivation and time waited seemed reasonable. …

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In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson takes a look at the fight for the rural vote, and the politics around the Emissions Trading Scheme.

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

'If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong ... we want to work with the government to prevent that,' - Sam Altman

Warnings from those behind artificial intelligence (AI) technology have made lawmakers around the world take notice.

The tech sector itself is engaged with the government and is considering six cornerstone principles as the basis of a digital strategy, but there appears to be little urgency from ministers - and no sign of concrete action before October's general election.

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As AI technology starts seeping into politics in New Zealand, its rapid rise is prompting calls around the world for greater regulation - notably, even from its creators.

OpenAI is the company behind text generator ChatGPT, and chief executive Sam Altman's submission to the US Senate in May calling for government intervention caught global attention.

"The US government might consider a combination of licencing and testing requirements for development and release of AI models above a threshold of capabilities," he said. "It's one of my areas of greatest concern, the more general ability of these models to manipulate, the persuade, to provide sort of one on one interactions with this information."

Australian IT expert Toby Walsh, a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and author of Machines Behaving Badly, says the benefit of AI is it can think faster than we can - but it lacks key human characteristics.

"Whether it be hiring people or making decisions in the judiciary - they don't have our empathy, they don't have our social intelligence, they don't have our adaptability, they don't have our common sense, our creativity."

US Correspondent Toni Waterman says lawmakers there are drawing comparisons with the atomic bomb as a technology with the potential to upend economies, democracies, value systems and security.

"They are calling for regulation, they want to put regulation in place, I think one of the challenges is that this is an emerging technology: the lawmakers aren't experts in a very technical field."…

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New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

'PNG is a really really important relationship, but also development needs are really very substantial' - Robert Ayson

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' whistlestop trip to Papua New Guinea sends a clear message: superpowers may come and go, but New Zealand is here to stay.

The US and PNG signing a security deal is the latest iteration of increasing competition in the region, but strategic studies expert Robert Ayson says New Zealand has ways of staying close to its Pacific neighbours - despite the US-China struggle for influence.

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Hipkins touches down in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby on a muggy Sunday evening, welcomed by a sprawling red carpet, dozens of armed troops and the New Zealand national anthem.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is greeted on arrival in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

He is there in part to meet for the first time with Pacific and international counterparts - including Cook Islands PM Mark Brown, PNG's James Marape, and India's Narendra Modi - but the centrepiece of the summit was the signing of a defence pact between PNG and the United States.

His meeting with Marape over breakfast just a few hours before the signing left Hipkins with "greater clarity" about what PNG wants out of the deal.

Chris Hipkins shakes hands with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape.

He told reporters it was not just about security but included things like electrification: "I would see this more of an extension of an existing relationship," Hipkins said.

But it goes well beyond a deeper bilateral relationship, giving American forces uninhibited access to PNG's territorial land, waters and airspace in exchange for roughly $45 million dollars' worth of development programmes.

University of Technology students in Lae, Papua New Guinea's second-largest city, protest the signing of the defence cooperation deal with the US.

Ayson says it's a significant step for US access in the region. …

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Grant Robertson with the 2023 Budget

'It is a Budget that does exactly what it says on the tin' - Grant Robertson

The 2023 Budget has proven difficult to define: neither the belt-tightening exercise that was promised, nor the blatant bribery sometimes seen in election years.

Certainly, it is no election clincher, but it has not lost Labour the election either, and backs National into an uncomfortable corner where the opposition must now explain what policies or services it would do without.

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Finance Minister Grant Robertson hailed it as a Budget for the times we're living in, and its title highlighted the two main focuses: Support for Today, Building For Tomorrow.

The first part signalled cost-of-living relief, like extending the free 20-hours a week childcare subsidy to two-year-olds, saving parents about $133 a week. The policy, however, doesn't begin until March - not exactly Support for Today.

Then there's the decision to scrap the $5 fee for prescriptions and make public transport free for under-13s and half price for those aged 13-24. On the other hand, the half-price fares currently offered to everyone else and the fuel excise discount are set to expire from the end of June.

Read more:

RNZ's full Budget 2023 coverage

Budget 2023 at a glance: What you need to know

Cost-of-living Budget centres on cheaper childcare

'Blowout', 'broke', 'Budget for the rich': Opponents take aim at Budget

Economy: Treasury optimistic over recession risk

Climate: Public transport and warmer homes

Health: Prescription fee removed, focus on wait lists

Education: Focus on early childhood, school and tertiary costs

Max Rashbrooke: Smart moves but no transformation for poor

The offerings largely target young families - a demographic courted by both National and Labour - but many "middle" New Zealanders will be asking what's in it for them. Charities and anti-poverty groups, along with the left-leaning Green and Māori parties, were demanding more for the most vulnerable.

At the same time, the right-leaning National and ACT were complaining the Budget contained too much spending. This year's deficit is set to hit $7 billion - much more than expected - and the books stay in the red for a year longer…

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Meka Whaitiri, who quit Labour to join Te Pāti Māori. She technically remains an independent MP in Parliament.

"Maybe we just didn't know her like we thought we knew her" - Willie Jackson

Meka Whaiti's defection brings Labour's solid 65-strong majority down to 62, opening it up to accusations of disunity and instability. Lumping in Elizabeth Kerekere's resignation from the Greens, National's Christopher Luxon has been criticising the left as a 'coalition of chaos' - but the story on the right is not straightforward either.

The shifting of the political sands - in the wake of two MPs quitting their parties - has drawn more definitive battle lines regardless, and Luxon's decision to rule out Te Pāti Māori has given prospective partner ACT more leverage for negotiations.

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Labour Ministers and MPs were caught off guard last week when long-time colleague Meka Whaitiri, the MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, defected to Te Pāti Māori. It means one fewer vote in Parliament and less funding for Labour, and prompted debate over whether she could even remain an MP under the party-hopping law.

In the end, the Speaker Adrian Rurawhe ruled she would stay, technically as an independent. He says he's unable to release his communications with her; she could, but has not.

So Whaitiri turned up to Parliament on Tuesday, flanked by the Pāti Māori co-leaders, and speaking in vague terms about her reasons.

"Freedom. Liberation, as to talk on those issues that matter to our people and unashamedly without any censoring, and I'm going to do that for the people I represent going forward," she told reporters.

Labour's MPs disputed her claims of being "shackled", and as the political week drew to a close were none the wiser about exactly why she had left their ranks. Many expressed disappointment at Whaitiri's no-contact approach, even after she'd gone public. …

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"I'm determined we'll have the best plan New Zealand's ever had" - Ayesha Verrall

Covid-19, flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses are on the rise as we inch towards winter, so Te Whatu Ora launched its winter preparedness plan this week with the aim of easing the pain for already overstretched hospitals.

The government argues its reforms unifying the 20 DHBs have allowed it to better prepare. The plan promises to bring the health system closer to people - into the home, pharmacies and rest homes - but the opposition and health workers alike worry there's too few frontline workers to staff it.

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A woman died of a brain bleed in Middlemore Hospital's ICU last year, after leaving the emergency department the previous day due to long wait times.

Doctors at the time told RNZ was it symptomatic of the entire health system; last winter was the worst on record for wait times in accident and emergency. That continued, with no city ED meeting treatment targets.

That is the bleak backdrop to the coming winter season and there are early indications the conditions this winter will be tougher. This year's flu season arrived early, and Northland and north Auckland GP Tim Malloy says it will be worse than Covid-19 because less exposure in recent years means lower immunity.

"We are expecting it to be significant, severe, and cause people probably greater harm than the current serotypes of Covid," he says.

Read more:

Doctors, nurses still expect 'slog' for winter despite government plan

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora unveils winter preparedness plan

Flu vaccination: Nearly 600,000 had jab in first four weeks

Nurses sceptical National's bonding scheme will fix shortage

Rest home bed shortage puts pressure on health system, providers say

Staff shortages hit Auckland urgent care: 'Cavalry has not yet arrived'

Taskforce to address health staff gaps failing to deliver, doctors say…

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Chris Hipkins, David Parker and Christopher Luxon have been grappling with the findings of the IRD's tax report.

"When you're looking at potential changes to the tax system ... you have to have a mandate" - Chris Hipkins

Expectations are being kept very low for the 18 May Budget, so any surprises can have maximum political impact.

With a tight election looming, Labour will want to offer a proverbial carrot to voters - and could yet campaign on changes to the tax system after that milestone.

But staring down the unavoidable cost of recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle and tackling rising living costs, leader Chris Hipkins is touting this year's spend as "no frills" with a sharp focus on infrastructure.

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Tax is fundamental to New Zealanders' lives - affecting people's and businesses earnings, and how much the government can spend on their behalf - and can dramatically impact equality across social strata.

Most New Zealanders' tax burden is relatively easy to define through income taxes - Pay As You Earn (PAYE) - but wages make up a relatively small portion of earnings for the richest New Zealanders, who also earn through property, business, and investments.

In 2020, Revenue Minister David Parker changed the law in 2020 to allow the department to track down earnings information from New Zealand's 311 richest families. Between them they have a collective wealth of $85 billion, and much of that - 67 percent - is tied up in trusts.

Revenue Minister David Parker made a speech highlighting inequity at the release of the IRD report and an accompanying one by Treasury on Wednesday.

The resulting report from Inland Revenue on Wednesday has one major message: the wealthiest New Zealanders pay effective tax of 9.4 percent on earnings, compared to the 20.2 percent of middle New Zealand…

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Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announce the "Affordable Water" plan.

"I think we've nailed it. Honestly, there's a balance to strike here" - Kieran McAnulty

Labour's new PM and new minister this week dumped the contentious Three Waters policy in favour of a rebranded "Affordable Water".

A not-so-subtle attempt to take the heat off and reclaim the narrative, they drove home the message of cheaper rates - but critics have continued to attack the plan as a new veneer of paint over the same unpopular plan.

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It's nearly three years since Labour first unveiled its Three Waters Reforms. Subsequently bogged down in fierce debate over co-governance and asset theft and hampered by a failure to clearly communicate why the reforms were needed, the government this week set out to sell their renewed vision.

Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty - appointed less than three months earlier by incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins - was tasked with reviewing the plan to take water services management away from councils, and hand it to four mega-entities.

His solution was a more fragmented and regional approach with 10 entities, and a start date pushed back by two years to mid-2026. With it came the long-awaited explanation of why change was needed.

"Here's the guts of it," McAnulty began, in his trademark blokey style, "up to $180 billion local councils need to find and they can't do it by themselves because councils individually are at their debt cap - or if they're not, their communities can't afford to pay any higher rates.

"If they try to work together through a CCO (council controlled organisation) like Wellington Water, there's a limit to that because the debt that councils hold on their balance sheet still stays there, and if they try and do shared services it doesn't allow councils to be able to borrow the money they need to be able to fund this."

Read more:

Govt's Three Waters revamp: 10 entities, two year delay

Political editors panel: Three Waters gets a revamp

Labour and National continue to debate the numbers…

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"I am absolutely committed to improving community safety" - Ginny Andersen

Police Minister is a tough gig: focusing on social issues leads to 'soft-on-crime' criticism while going too hard can look like populism.

With four ministers in eight months it's ended up a hot-potato portfolio for Labour, and the latest appointee Ginny Andersen has only been in Cabinet since February - raising a few eyebrows.

She evidently wanted the role and says she's more than capable of steadying the ship, but the law-and-order focused opposition will be eager to test her mettle in an election year: she will have her work cut out for her.

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Stuart Nash was Labour's police minister from 2017 to 2020, overseeing police during the firearms reforms, the Whakaari White Island response, and first few months of the Covid pandemic.

Jacinda Ardern changed tack in her second term - bringing Poto Williams into the role - but by mid-2022 the opposition was landing too many "soft on crime" blows. Williams - soon to announce her retirement from politics anyway - was shuffled out in favour of Ardern's Mr Fix-it Chris Hipkins to take a much harder line.

But Hipkins was a natural successor as prime minister when Ardern resigned in January, and chose to take police full circle - back to Nash, who had coveted the role.

Nash's second stint lasted less than two months however, after his cavalier approach to Cabinet rules was exposed. The fallout from his indiscretions eventually led to his dismissal from Cabinet entirely and continues to bedevil Labour.

Few from Hipkins' front bench seemed keen to step up after Nash's resignation, but Ginny Andersen - the MP for his neighbouring electorate of Hutt South - who he'd only just elevated to Cabinet with the Seniors, Small Business, and Digital Economy and Communications portfolios - put her hand up.

Read more:

Police 'Tactical Response Model' being rolled out nationwide…

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"We're going to do maths, reading, writing and science and prioritise those things over everything else" - Christopher Luxon

National's leader Christopher Luxon ditched Parliament for the playground this week, touring schools to sell his party's solution to declining student performance with a back-to-basics focus on literacy and numeracy.

Teacher unions have criticised the plan, but the party was unlikely to ever get their backing - instead targeting concerned parents and his political opponent, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

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With Parliament in recess, National and Labour's leaders took this week to brush up on their campaigning skills with a jaunt back to the classroom.

Labour's Chris Hipkins took a trip down memory lane with a visit to his old primary school on Wednesday, where he was grilled by kids eager to find out what naughtiness got him sent to the principal's office all those years ago.

National's Christopher Luxon managed to stop in at four schools throughout the week, but it was him asking the questions - quizzing children on their future aspirations.

He talked a lot about the decline in New Zealand students' academic achievement - a trend which has frustrated teachers, parents, children and decision-makers alike - and which could put those aspirations at risk.

Read more:

Luxon details National's primary school curriculum policy

Union and Labour criticise National's new curriculum policy

Secondary and area school teachers to strike next week

Hipkins and Luxon hit the road: A taste of campaign 2023

Fully prescribed curriculum not the answer to problems in education - expert

National Party plans to rewrite school curriculum if elected

'Over-worked, over-stressed, under-paid': Striking teachers make voices heard

RNZ's education correspondent John Gerritsen says there are three main measures of the school system's level of achievement - and for all three, the trends are indeed bad.

As an example, the OECD-based PISA tests 15-year-olds on maths, science, and reading every three years and measures their results against about 79 other countries…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"I completely stuffed up" - Stuart Nash

Stuart Nash's rapid resignation from his treasured police portfolio - just two months after getting it back - is one of the clearest examples of a political own-goal.

It's highlighted poor ministerial judgement - as well as wider problems Labour has in the law-and-order space.

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It was a dream start to the week for Labour on Monday, with a positive poll and a policy purge which seized the political agenda. By midweek, however, attention had firmly shifted to the sudden removal of Stuart Nash as police minister - with no one to blame but himself.

Nash had messaged Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking on Tuesday night with a request to talk gangs. He began their on-air chat the next day touting police statistics, but soon shifted to his general frustration with the judiciary over what he perceived as light sentences.

"There's been a couple of times when police have put these guys in front of judges," he said. "And actually, one I phoned up the police commissioner and said 'surely you're going to appeal this'.

"This bloke didn't have a licence, had illegal firearms, illegal ammunition and had guns without a licence - and got home detention. I think that was a terrible decision by the judge. Judges need to read the room on this."

Neither Nash nor Hosking seemed to think much of it and soon moved on to other things, but it was a spit-take moment for ACT leader David Seymour who was starting the day with a bowl of cornflakes.

The Cabinet Manual is clear: ministers must not criticise decisions of the court - not publicly, and especially not to the Police Commissioner who by law must remain independent when it comes to prosecutions.

Seymour was soon striding the press gallery corridors, and by the time Nash's event on Parliament's precinct - awarding space scholarships to five Kiwi students - finished, he was met by a pack of reporters.

Read more:

Stuart Nash demoted, now on 'final warning' - Hipkins

Political editors panel: Nash, policy purge, and polling

Nash faces more calls to step down over previous case of interference

Nash admits he 'stuffed up', wants to retain other portfolios…

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"Under National, this gravy train's gonna stop at the station" - Christopher Luxon

Consultants and contractors are a favourite punching bag for opposition parties - of all colours - and National is just the latest to land a solid blow, leaving Labour off-balance.

The numbers show public service spending on consultants and contractors has recently surged, and the prime minister has largely left it to the sector's watchdog to mount a defence..

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When Labour took office in 2017, the annual spend on consultants across the core public service - 35 ministries and departments - was about $900 million.

At the time, Chris Hipkins as State Services Minister was describing the situation as unsustainable: a contracting blow-out he blamed on National.

He pledged to cut back that spending - and it did level off for a time - but in the last year the figure has surged, topping $1.2 billion in the latest update.

National's leader Christopher Luxon, in his state of the nation address last Sunday, paired an early childhood education rebate policy with a $400m cost-saving plan to cut spending on consultants and contractors.

Luxon and his party have been critical of the public sector's spending on consultants and contractors.

Crunching the numbers, the party added in spending by Crown entities like Waka Kotahi and Kāinga Ora not included in core public service numbers, calculating a total bill of about $1.7 billion.

Either way it's up by about a third on like-for-like numbers - a sizeable increase. National reckons it can wind back the clock, returning the spend much closer to those 2017 levels.

National has been relentless in its attack, pursuing the subject every day in Parliament's debating chamber, select committee meetings, and in media interviews. The focus is strategic: National sees the public service as a vulnerability for Labour and for Hipkins especially.

Read more:

National MPs follow Luxon's line of attack on public service contractors

RNZ/TVNZ merger: Minister defends ongoing payments on scrapped project

Luxon says health comms staff 'a good place to start' in public service cuts…

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"Let's be honest here: the magical thinking doesn't work. Someone has to pay in the long run" - Bernard Hickey

The National Party has long promised to "repeal and replace" the government's Three Waters policy, and until last Saturday it was vague on the specifics.

While their new solution may please the councils steadfastly opposed to Labour's plan, it remains plagued by a financial fishhook.

But - as journalist Bernard Hickey warns - Labour's plan, under review again by Chris Hipkins' new administration, is no done deal and still faces some complex political and monetary hurdles.

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With the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle still fresh, leader Christopher Luxon has unveiled their alternate plan to bring New Zealand's so-called Three Waters - drinking, storm and wastewater - infrastructure up to scratch.

Labour's plan would see councils' assets combined under four regional mega-entities, far enough removed from council control that they could borrow more, and more cheaply, than councils could alone.

These new organisations would be governed by boards, appointed by groups with a 50-50 split of Māori and council representatives: "co-governance".

National's proposal does away with that split, and leaves the assets under council control. Instead, councils would be required to ring-fence revenue for water services, meeting New Zealand's recently improved water quality standards while remaining financially sustainable.

National leader Christopher Luxon at Parliament. (file photo)

Luxon says the government would step in where councils fail to achieve this, although exactly what this looks like is unclear - including any bail-out solution which would only see taxpayers forking out, and at the proverbial bottom of the cliff.

And while councils are in control, their options are limited: higher rates would mean eye-watering costs for ratepayers, and many councils are already near their borrowing limits. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We can build back better, we can build back safer, and we can build back smarter, and we will do that by working together" - Chris Hipkins

To tax, to borrow, or to cut spending: those are the broad options facing Finance Minister Grant Robertson.

While somewhat bound politically by Labour's promise of no new taxes this term, Robertson's keeping all options open in his search for a way to fund the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland Anniversary floods.

It's the first big test for the pairing of Robertson with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins - and they will need to carefully balance the practicalities of on-the-ground response with longer-term preparation for future challenges - all while keeping faith with voters, many of them still traumatised by the crises.

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More than a week on from the declaration of a national emergency, New Zealanders are coming to grips with the devastation wrought on homes and infrastructure, including key roading links that support economic supply chains.

Slash is blamed for much of the damage from Gabrielle, and it's just the latest of several events where that's been the case. Forestry Minister Stuart Nash has announced yet another inquiry into the matter, giving former National MP Hekia Parata a two-month timeframe to get it done. At least one industry boss is expecting major changes.

Communities in Hawke's Bay made vulnerable by the storm have also been raising concerns about rampant crime.

Hipkins tried to give reassurances of extra police in the area, and apparently low levels of reported crime - but that went down poorly with isolated residents left alone to patrol communities - some still without power and reliable communications.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins in Napier inspects a warehouse full of goods for donation.

Opposition parties have been critical, calling for more to be done like doubled sentences for offenders during a state of emergency, or bringing in the defence force to help police. …

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Co-governance, co-management, devolution: how political parties approach power-sharing with Māori has already become a central topic this year.

It's an important conversation - with a fundamental question at its core: is the current way of doing things delivering the best possible outcomes for all New Zealanders? You don't have to look far to see proof to the contrary.

As 2023 gears up towards the election, the debate seems destined to intensify - and it could again be Māori caught in the rhetorical crossfire.

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The year began in dramatic fashion with the resignation of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the rapid installation of her replacement Chris Hipkins.

Rātana in late January is typically considered the start of the political calendar, but with the transition from Ardern already under way it marked her last official outing as prime minister, and Hipkins' first real test as successor - a symbolic handover of power.

Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins at Rātana.

Waitangi events about a week later are always a time for scrutiny of politicians. Those welcomed to Te Whare Rūnanga had been encouraged to keep the kōrero constructive and avoid politicising things.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said there was a lesson in that for the other parties present.

"I think those that chose not to respect that have to go back home and talk to themselves ... I think it was a good reminder for the Crown to honour Te Tiriti and where else best to do it than here?"

But politics always seem to come into consideration at Waitangi somehow.

Hipkins had already been challenged at the Iwi Chairs Forum over how his government would handle issues like co-governance. Opposition leader Christopher Luxon had been grilling Labour over the issue for months, saying they had failed to explain co-governance measures to the public.

Chris Luxon and Shane Reti at Waitangi.

Hipkins admitted the government could have done better, and would be working to in future. He said the word could mean different things in different contexts: there were examples of co-management in various Treaty settlements, for example, many of them negotiated under National.

Luxon says National does not support co-governance in public services specifically, and would instead pursue a kind of devolution.

"The point for me is the means by which we deliver those outcomes is a coherent public service system with massive innovation within it, delivering through community organisations," he told RNZ. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

National Party leader Christopher Luxon

As the political year comes to an end, party leaders are looking forward to the summer break and pondering their approach to next year's election.

Last week, we heard from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about a year that's seen anti-government sentiment and economic turmoil on the rise.

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This week the man who wants her job, National's Christopher Luxon, expounds on the need in this political environment for bolder action than was seen under his National predecessors John Key and Bill English.

He fended off criticism of a dearth of policy, saying more will come in election year - and dismissed the gaffes made in his first year as leader, saying they are immaterial to the broader community.

Read more:

Jacinda Ardern: 'A challenging year'

Christopher Luxon: 'Rest assured, we will have policy'

James Shaw and Marama Davidson: 2022 went 'phenomenally well'

Keep an eye out this coming week for full write-ups of interviews with ACT's David Seymour, and Te Pāti Māori's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi.

Luxon would - based on current polling - need ACT's David Seymour in a coalition to get into government.

Seymour stops short of directly criticising Luxon - saying he had been impressed with his performance - but ACT would be needed to hold National to the right wing of politics.

"There's so far nothing to indicate that Chris Luxon will be anything different from the last five incoming National Prime Ministers who've said a lot of very aggressive things about Labour's policies but also kept Labour's politics. The reason you vote ACT is that you don't think that's going to be good enough this time."

On the other side of the political spectrum are the Greens - regularly polling around or better than its result in 2020. The party has been in a strange position this term of being in partnership with a majority government - the first under MMP.

Co-leader James Shaw says the party wants more MPs at the Cabinet table "because that is where you get the most influence". However, he and co-leader Marama Davidson say they value being members of a party that's not comfortable with power. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

A newly prioritised spending plan and fresh ministerial line-up are part of Labour's plan to reset the political landscape for the start of 2023 - election year.

The political headwinds are significant: a cost-of-living crisis only set to worsen; waning support for the governing party and its high profile leader; the murky dynamics of disinformation and social disunity swirling below.

"You're right to characterise it as a challenging year," says Jacinda Ardern, settling into a chair looking out over the sunny backyard at Premier House in a suitably festive red Juliette Hogan trouser suit.

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It's a sharp contrast to the year the prime minister is here to reflect on, and the troubling times New Zealanders are warned to expect over the next few years.

"I'm also reminded that politics has always been about solving problems ... either anticipated or unanticipated," she says, acknowledging the "difficult issues" 2022 has thrown up.

"Our focus, though, has been ... finding the solutions - as complex as they may be - and making sure we demonstrate to New Zealand that that's where our focus is."

Spending priority list - what to keep, what to scrap - to be sharpened over summer break

With the Covid pandemic dragging into a third year, there has also been the global sucker punch of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

As the world tentatively was trying to find a way past Covid, it was hit with further political and economic shocks, more severe supply chain disruptions, and compounded cost of living pressures.

Labour has been trying to drive home the message those global events are the force behind much of the domestic challenges but they know as well as anyone it's the government voters look to for relief - or to blame.

The opposition has been gaining ground with relentless attacks about the cost of living, questioning the spending on projects like the health and polytechnic reforms, the proposed merger of RNZ and TVNZ, and - perhaps most controversial of all - the Three Waters infrastructure plan…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"By-elections, they're a phenomenon in themselves," - Former Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark

Hamilton West polling for a new MP closes on 10 December - a litmus test for next year's general election.

Crime and the cost of living are top of mind for most voters, but so far they're not rushing to the ballot box.

Listen to the full podcast here

The by-election was prompted by the former Labour MP Gaurav Sharma's spectacular exit from Parliament, in the wake of his removal from the party's caucus.

The electorate has historically sided with whichever party holds the majority and Sharma was swept into the role in Labour's red wave in 2020.

But Labour is down in the polls, and a spate of ram raids which have dominated headlines have been a big focus for those on the Waikato River's western banks.

Te Rapa Mini Mart owner Anil Mushke is one of those who have been hit, and says he doesn't feel safe at work. The young offenders he's observed don't seem to care about the law, he says, but still thinks tougher penalties is the way to go.

"I was here doing the work and six teens tried to rob the shop, luckily nothing happened, I was successful chasing them out, but still ... if they get caught by the police nothing happens to them. The kids know, the teens know it, that's the thing that encourages them."

The rising cost of living also looms large: just down the road, charity store volunteer Gwen says everyone is feeling the pinch - from young families to pensioners - and it's lucky the op shops are able to provide cheap shoes for the kids.

Read more:

National, Labour leaders in Hamilton to endorse by-election candidates

Hamilton West by-election: Crime and cost of living top of mind for voters

By-election candidates begin campaigning

Race heats up as 12 people contest in the Hamilton West by-election

There's 12 candidates but four real frontrunners, with polls giving National the edge. The party's candidate Tama Potaka is a lawyer and the former chief executive of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki.

He was talking tough love during a visit to a retirement village this week. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"Inflation is no one's friend and in order to rid the country of inflation, we need to reduce spending levels," - Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr

Dire economic predictions and high interest rates from the Reserve Bank this week have increased the pressure on Labour, and given National a chance to pitch itself as the solution.

The opposition party also ditched its politically problematic plan to cut the top tax rate, after weeks of laying the groundwork.

Listen to the full podcast here

Against a backdrop of global uncertainty and conflict, the cost of living continues to worsen for New Zealanders.

Rebounding tourism is creating more demand and record-low unemployment is boosting wages - a recipe that promises to keep inflation higher for longer.

The Reserve Bank is predicting a year-long recession starting mid-2023 will curb spiralling prices, and this week lifted the official cash rate a record 75 basis points to help push things along.

It aims to slow the rate of borrowing, but this inevitably means more pressure on households. Mortgagees on floating rates or with fixed terms ending soon will be feeling increasingly stressed - particularly those first-home buyers who may have borrowed large sums.

Read more:

Labour's nightmare reality - an election year recession

Recession: What you need to know

OCR hike not fair, necessary or likely to stop rising prices - economist

Orr apologises for 'significant economic shocks', says RBNZ engineering recession

OCR hike: What we know so far and what is being said

National's tax policy under review post-OCR hike, Luxon says

The OCR: What you need to know

As well as higher mortgage rates, a higher OCR will also impact on the job market - unemployment is sitting at 3.3 percent, but is forecast to rise to over 5 percent through 2024 and 2025.

Governor Adrian Orr assured MPs at Parliament's finance committee the bank had run scenarios with the cash rate over 7 percent, unemployment at 9 percent, and house prices falling at 45 percent, the financial system would remain stable. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"Worst-case scenario, the conflict spreads over the borders - then it becomes uncontrollable" - Al Gillespie

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returned to the international stage this week, even as the war in Ukraine threatened to spill beyond its borders.

The ASEAN, G20 and APEC summits offered chances for conversations with several world leaders, driving home the value of diplomacy.

Listen to the full podcast here

News of a rocket blast in Poland that killed two people broke early on Wednesday morning New Zealand time. Its origins unknown, the possibility of a Russian attack sent authorities scrambling.

Poland called an urgent meeting of its national security council and NATO allies began immediate investigations, while world leaders at the G20 talks in Bali convened an emergency meeting led by Biden.

The stakes were immense: Poland is a member of NATO and could invoke Article 5 of the military alliance's charter which states an armed attack against one "shall be considered an attack against them all" and could prompt use of force. However, as Waikato University law professor Al Gillespie told Checkpoint, all 30 members would need to reach consensus for that to happen.

Read more:

NATO, Poland say missile was Ukrainian

Ardern hopes to drive regional consensus at Asian summits

PM Jacinda Ardern in Vietnam: Top-level meetings and ceremony

Miller: Ardern's Asia trip rekindles independent foreign policy

PM in Vietnam focuses on trade, food production

Myanmar govt's executions 'a stain on region' - Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand had just days before confirmed it was continuing deployments in support of Ukraine through to mid-2023.

Ardern - in Vietnam to rejuvenate New Zealand's trade with the $2 billion export market including limes and pomelos - had been anticipating heightened geopolitical tensions during her trip - but not to this extent.

She urged caution, "but also to continue to call for all leaders to do what we can to ensure that ultimately the war ends". …

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" can disagree with something happening, but unless they're willing to change it themselves - and let's be clear, they do have the power to do that - then what are we all here for?" - Brad Olsen

Labour faithful were in fine form at the party's annual conference last weekend, but an unflattering political poll on Sunday soon soured the mood.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern - roused by conference, poll, or both - was quick to question the numbers, and turn attention to banks' high profits.

Listen to the full podcast here

The Newshub-Reid Research poll on Sunday was teased as one that would send a shiver up the spine of one party. The numbers showed fewer than one in three voters planning to back Labour - 32.3 percent - with National and ACT easily able to form a government.

It was Labour's lowest level of support since Ardern became leader in 2017. Fresh from announcing a childcare support package at the conference, she instead had to answer questions about her own falling popularity in her Monday interviews. She played down the poll's accuracy in comparison to Labour's own polling - brazenly suggesting its infrequency made it less credible - but other polls tell a similar story: the right outpacing the left.

With about a year before the election, no party is popping the bubbly just yet.

National's deputy leader Nicola Willis pointed to the fickle nature of polling and suggested the only certainty was the election would be close.

The smaller parties had a similar perspective. ACT's David Seymour was encouraged and said it showed there was a mood for a change of government. The Green Party was proud of consistently polling above its 2020 election result, but wanted Labour to spend more of its "enormous" political capital.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said her party's work did not change from poll to poll; and Winston Peters - whose New Zealand First at 3.3 percent was inching closer to the 5 percent threshold - was confident.

Read more:

Ardern asks banks to reassess record profit-making in light of cost-of-living crisis

Political Editors panel: Poll, Reserve Bank, tax

Ardern taking Labour's drop in polls 'with a grain of salt'…

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"The global environment is enormously challenging at the moment ... they are choppy waters," - Finance Minister Grant Robertson

Labour claims New Zealand's economy is holding up well compared to many others, but global pressures and new policies may threaten its re-election chances.

National has been on the attack, with the cost of living crisis cutting deep, over what it says is wasteful spending and unnecessary taxation - but its own tax plans have left it open to criticism too.

Listen to the full podcast here

Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson cites positive economic indicators - record-low unemployment, low public debt and, though constrained, economic growth - as evidence New Zealand is in a relatively strong financial position.

He acknowledges worker shortages as a main weakness right now, constraining productivity and - as highlighted by the Reserve Bank - driving inflation. The hard-but-necessary border closure decision when Covid-19 hit contributed to this, but Robertson says trades training and loosened immigration will help ease the pressure.

National won't be easing the political pressure over Robertson's spending, however, honing its latest attacks on the proposed social insurance scheme.

The details aren't final, but the plan would see a 2.77 percent levy on pay packets - split between employees and employers - set aside to support worker who lose their job through redundancy, sickness or disability. They would receive 80 percent of their income for up to seven months, capped at $130,000 a year.

It was in part developed at the urging of the Council of Trade Unions, and Business New Zealand.

The latter's chief executive Kirk Hope says they back the principle, but members have had concerns from the start and have been active in responding to the government's discussion document.

Business NZ chief executive Kirk Hope

"We would have a preference for a tax-neutral scheme and secondly that health and disability wouldn't be included in the scheme, as that effectively doubles the cost ... business wants the government to start listening - here's an important opportunity for them," Hope says. …

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"I still sadly am of the view that a number of ratepayers do not really know what they're paying for their poor water service delivery," - Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta

Water management is shaping up as a major political battleground ahead of local elections next month - and the general election next year.

Opponents and councils decry the government's unpopular proposal or urge caution and delays until the details are settled - but there's little agreement on alternatives, and experts are warning time is running short.

Listen to the full podcast here

Auckland mayor Phil Goff, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta, and National's Local Government spokesperson Simon Watts.

Havelock North's 2016 campylobacter outbreak made more than 8000 people sick and killed at least three, prompting a review of drinking water guidelines from the then-National government.

It was a classic case of crisis prompting a response, but the review only highlighted what we already knew.

Industry body Water NZ says just 64 percent of New Zealanders receive drinking water that consistently meets standards; only about a quarter of wastewater treatment plants are fully compliant; and there's no consistency or national standards for stormwater management.

Any solution would, however, face major funding challenges. While we constantly rely on water for everyday life the infrastructure is, ironically, a dry topic we often think little of.

The Labour government brought in Scotland's Water Industry Commission (WICS) to perform what's believed to be New Zealand's biggest ever assessment of water infrastructure so it could come up with a plan. WICS chief executive Alan Sutherland says there are about 3600 water pollution incidents across the 48 councils - plus Auckland - and the average New Zealand household pays about $1100 a year for three waters services. It's about 20 times the rate of pollution incidents at a cost of 40 percent more than Scotland.

The government's solution, billed as the biggest shake-up in the sector since 1989, was announced by Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta last June: a massive reform programme to amalgamate 67 councils' water services into four large regional, standalone entities with strategic oversight and local voice provided by representative groups of council and iwi members. …

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"If we made an impulsive decision to become a republic tomorrow, then who is the Treaty relationship with?" - Te Matahiapo Safari Hynes

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has prompted an outpouring of grief, but has also revived discussion about New Zealand's ties to the monarchy.

That in turn has raised deeper ongoing questions over the nation's identity, its ties to Britain, and the key role of Māori and the Treaty in such discussions in future.

Listen to the full podcast here

Pomp and ceremony accompanied the formal change in monarch this week, the Queen's eldest son Charles immediately and automatically becoming King after her death. In New Zealand, Cabinet and the Executive Council met 48 hours later to formally acknowledge his accession, with the proclamation then read on the steps of Parliament to a crowd of hundreds with MPs and dignitaries dressed in black.

Such an historic event has not occurred for 70 years. The general consensus is it's too soon after the Queen's death to be talking about changes to New Zealand's constitution, but the event naturally provokes questions over the future.

Other Commonwealth countries have been grappling it with too: Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne confirmed the Caribbean nation will decide within three years whether to become a republic. It's had the opposite effect in Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - despite earlier promises and having already created a Minister for the Republic - declared there would be no referendum on the matter in his first term.

On this side of the Tasman, former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer, a constitutional expert, says if Australia becomes a republic, New Zealand will likely follow suit. While Aotearoa is a constitutional monarchy, he says it is already a "disguised republic": decision-makers are elected by voters, and the monarch rules from 18,000km away, at more than arm's length through the Governor-General.

"It seems to me very difficult if Australia becomes a Republic - as I think is very likely - for New Zealand not to become one, and the thing that people need to understand about that is that the Commonwealth connection is not affected. The majority of the Commonwealth nations are not ones who recognize the Queen or the King as Head of State."

Sir Geoffrey Palmer…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We are dealing with that crisis of 'hey a kid's just driven into a dairy' - we can do a lot more to prevent it" - youth worker Aaron Hendry

The government this week launched a week-long media blitz touting its responses to rising youth crime; shifting the rhetoric on a topic the opposition has been targeting for months.

Those on the ground however fear that in rising to their opponents' bait, the government could be ignoring the more difficult early interventions that could make a real difference.

Listen to the full podcast here

Law and order - always easily politicised - is again shaping up as a big election topic, an easy stick for the opposition to hit the government with. The latest cudgel: youth crime and ram raids.

Nationwide youth crime is down, but it's up 24 percent in Auckland in the past year. Ram raids in the city have become near-daily news items, notorious in part because they are highly visible - driven by social media.

Police Minister Chris Hipkins is yet to visit a raided dairy but opposition MPs make a point of calling in on them. National and ACT's leaders, Christopher Luxon and David Seymour both referred on Tuesday to recent visits to shop owners.

"I spent time with a shop owner who's been ram raided and broken into three times in four months and they've worked incredibly hard, they've saved a lot of money to be able to get into that business and lo and behold they are attacked by ram raiders and burglars," Luxon said.

The day before, at the post-Cabinet media conference, Justice Minister Kiri Allan had kicked off a series of government announcements aiming to counter such easy hits, announcing new police powers to seize assets from gangs.

"I think it's fair to say that this is one of the areas which we as a government have committed to in terms of getting tough on crimes and indeed the ill-gotten gains that they have received through criminal activities," Allan said.

Justice Minister Kiritapu Allan

The amendment would allow police to restrain property linked to criminal groups if there's suspicion they didn't fund it legitimately.

It would also bolster the Proceeds of Crime Fund, which bankrolls - among projects for more than 40 other ministries and agencies - fog cannons and bollards as ram-raid countermeasures through the Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund announced in May. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"What's good about this country politically is on pretty shaky foundations. It wouldn't be hard to wreck it," - legal expert Tim Kuhner

New Zealand has a "historic opportunity" to reform laws that expose its electoral system to corruption, a legal expert says.

Politics has been dogged by donations scandals, with the Serious Fraud Office currently prosecuting both Labour and National in the High Court.

While some changes are being made ahead of next year's election, they're contested, specific and will come ahead of a sweeping review of the electoral system Timothy Kuhner argues is a rare chance to make more meaningful fixes.

Listen to the full podcast here

A fullbright senior scholar in Spain where he studied United States democracy, Kuhner's now an associate professor at the University of Auckland. His report card for Aotearoa's protections against corruption is not positive.

"I assumed, coming here and seeing its reputation for such low levels of corruption, that it was a pretty regulated set of electoral laws ... when I learned that there's no rules in terms of limiting donations or the source of donations besides foreign individuals and entities - and that's been pretty recent that was drastically limited - and seeing that there's really essentially no regulation of the lobbying industry, I was pretty taken aback by that.

"It made me think that what's good about this country politically is on pretty shaky foundations. It wouldn't be hard to wreck it."

He says the ideological battle over the influence of big corporations has played itself out across the world, and has already arrived in New Zealand.

"The results of it are that we lose our ability to conceive of politics as a place where everyone matters and where non-economic values should be aired and respected; where politics becomes a marketplace, and so everything that isn't really profitable to the people who have the most power economically in society goes into disrepair. That danger has played itself out really well across the world."

Read more:

Electoral changes in the hands of the elected?

Electoral law review sparks demands for faster changes, referendums

Donations trial businessman offered record $33m bail security

Trial: Simon Bridges denies knowing details of donations' source

Andrew Little tells court he was distanced from donations in 'sham donors' trial

Cabinet confirms 'shadow entity' loophole will be closed…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It is by no means a done deal ... there's going to be a huge diplomatic effort to push this across the line," - NZ's chief EU trade negotiator Vangelis Vitalis

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in July announced a finalised European Union (EU) trade deal but, after 14 years of lobbying and negotiations, insiders warn more effort will be needed to get it across the line.

Listen to the full podcast here

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Once signed, the agreement would remove tariffs on 91 percent of goods sent to the EU - New Zealand's fourth-largest export market - including kiwifruit, wine, onions, mānuka honey and seafood - increasing to 97 percent within seven years.

The government touted the agreement as a big political win, but while it meant big wins for argiculture and horticulture groups, other primary producers were not happy.

It would deliver up to $120 million worth of new annual export revenue for New Zealand's red meat and dairy sectors from day one, rising to $600m within seven years, but the Meat Industry Association said that amounted to just 0.1 percent of EU consumption in a potential market of nearly 500 million people.

New Zealand dairy farmers and cheese producers were also frustrated: The deal would see New Zealand producers of feta-style cheese forced to change the name within nine years. The rule will also apply to new producers of parmesan and gruyere cheeses, though producers already using those names could continue doing so.

Such "Geographical Indicators" are product names denoting a particular geographical location's quality, reputation or special characteristics, and something the EU was never likely to back down on.

But European farmers were not happy either - Copa Cogeca represents European farmers and its secretary general Pekka Pesonen said New Zealand had very little to offer the bloc which New Zealand already counts as its biggest import partner.

He said they could consider opposing the deal, but would want to see how import quotas would be managed and how they would work.

"We have, undoubtedly, some sectors where we have a major problem with the proposal or the outcome of the negotiations ... very much focused on dairy, sheep and beef."

Read more:

Visual artists to get resale royalties by 2025 - Ministers

The Detail: Getting EU trade deal across the line

It was now or never for NZ-EU trade deal, negotiator says…

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"There's no magic bullet to crime prevention or crime reduction ... political parties can use and abuse crime statistics," - Criminologist Trevor Bradley

Law and order is shaping up as a hot topic for next year's election, but experts say crime is not as bad as it's been portrayed and many proposed policies would be ineffective.

Listen to the full podcast here

The government has been under pressure over recent ram raids, daylight burglaries, and an outbreak of gang violence fuelled by tensions between the Tribesmen and Killer Beez in Auckland.

Former Police Minister Poto Williams brought in a $6 million crime prevention fund to help local retailers, and said Aucklanders should "absolutely" expect a decrease in gun crime.

But she struggled to fend off the constant attacks from the opposition benches and, in June, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought in one of her most loyal and capable ministers - Chris Hipkins - to replace Williams.

Hipkins promised quick progress and soon announced expanded police search and seize powers along with a broadened definition of intimidation with a firearm offences.

Notably however, he didn't do what opposition party National is calling for - their own election policy - of cracking down on gang insignia and gatherings. Party leader Christopher Luxon has consistently criticised the government as soft on crime, soft on the gangs, and ineffective.

His prospective coalition partner, the ACT Party, announced its own suite of law and order polices in Auckland this week to the support of local businesses. On top of gang-focused policies, the party would increase police powers to seize assets, repeal firearms laws, and reinstate the recently repealed three strikes law with additional inclusion of burglary to the list of 'strike' offences.

Read more:

Business backs ACT's plan for instant penalties for young offenders

Firearms Prohibition Order Bill passes third reading

Government preparing apology, new redress system for abuse survivors

Gang crackdown: National, Greens unimpressed, expert approves 'measured' approach

Police Minister announces new measures to help tackle gangs

Justice Minister says 'prevention and intervention' crucial to dealing with violent crime

Both parties have continued to characterise crime as rising uncontrollably, but Victoria University of Wellington criminology senior lecturer Trevor Bradley says politicians need a reality check. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It's been immensely frustrating as a distraction, but it's important that it's fronted and it's important that we confront it," - National Party leader Christopher Luxon

National's brand-new Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell has his political career hanging in the balance - but the rapid fall from grace has led to further accusations of bullying across the aisle.

Listen to the full podcast here

Sworn in at Parliament just the previous week, Uffindell's chances of remaining in the longer term are growing slim.

On Monday, Stuff revealed his fifth-form expulsion from King's College in Auckland for viciously beating a younger student late at night. Uffindell admitted the incident, describing it as the "stupidest thing he'd ever done" and while "by far the worst" incident he had been involved in, he had been a thug and a bully who had hurt other students too.

He told reporters he'd matured in the years since and had worked hard to be a better person, and contacted the victim - in July last year, more than two decades later - to apologise.

Nine months after that apology he was seeking a seat at Parliament, chosen from among four candidates to contest the electorate. He is adamant the two things are not related.

Read more:

Power Play: Houses in disorder after turbulent week

'We dispute the allegations' - PM on bullying culture claims

Uffindell stood down from caucus over further bullying allegations

Week in Politics: Keep him on or cut him loose? Luxon's big decision

'Yuck', 'Not great': National's leaders react to Uffindell flat

Uffindell and the era of boarding school bullies

Timeline: Sam Uffindell, from boarding school to political scandal

Considered a National Party stronghold, Uffindell comfortably won in Tauranga - securing more than 11,000 votes. Upwards of 20 National MPs visited the city during his campaign - among them, Mark Mitchell was keen to highlight Uffindell as proof the party's candidate selection processes had improved.

"I think that when you see the quality of Sam, it's a clear indication of the quality of candidates that we're going to have next year for the general election."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Investigative journalist Guyon Espiner sits down for an extended interview with National leader Christopher Luxon.

Can a man some thought might join the Labour Party lead National to victory at the next election?

Listen to the interview

https://youtu.be/_g6gcsqz3gA

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It's incredibly important... in this fraught time of global politics... for us to be engaging with like-minded partners" - Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's second overseas trip this year - this time, to the United States - comes in the midst of numerous geopolitical uncertainties.

With Russia waging war on Ukraine and China flexing its power in the Pacific, the US has been repositioning - and New Zealand spies opportunity.

But while Ardern's visit had intended to focus primarily on trade and tourism, a tragic school shooting in Texas has diverted attention and reignited the domestic debate over gun control.

Listen to the full podcast here

The prime minister's American engagements began before she had even boarded the plane, joining remotely the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with US president Joe Biden and Japan's prime minister Fumio Kishida.

IPEF is not the free trade deal New Zealand would like, but it holds potential, with an intention from its 13 member countries to set shared standards in areas such as the digital economy and supply chains.

The US has been accused of neglecting the Indo-Pacific in recent years, and China's aggressive relationship building in the Pacific looms large as motivation.

Beijing's recent security deal with the Solomons and the Chinese foreign minister's tour to sell a region-wide agreement have rattled the Pacific islands' traditional allies New Zealand and Australia.

A US return to the trans-Pacific trade pact Donald Trump abandoned in 2017 - now known as the CPTPP - would be the ideal for New Zealand, but domestic American politics make that currenly implausible.

Ardern is not giving up on the idea however, and she has some stateside supporters. At one of her first events in New York, US Chamber of Commerce vice president Myron Brilliant implored Ardern to encourage further US involvement in our part of the world.

Read more:

Ardern calls out tech giants in prestigious Harvard University speech

PM confirms meeting with US President Joe Biden next week

Firearms debate weighs on Jacinda Ardern's Capitol meetings

Ardern can push US to 'show up' in Asia-Pacific - Myron Brilliant

Ardern talks gun control on Late Show with Stephen Colbert

NZ joins world powers in Indo-Pacific economic alliance

Jacinda Ardern's US trip: Biden's Asia visit sets the scene

The trip took on a more sombre tone after 19 students and two teachers were shot dead at Robb Elementary School in Texas, and another 17 people wounded…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The here and now matters, but so too does tomorrow" - Finance Minister Grant Robertson

The government has become used to crisis Budgets after two years of grappling with Covid-19, but 2022 has seen a new crisis rear its head - the cost of living - and it may yet prove a tougher beast to tame.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson had billed Thursday's Budget as one focused on long-term security - chiefly health and climate change - but the recent months of red-hot inflation meant he knew he had to look to the short-term too.

The trick was how to deliver some immediate relief to New Zealanders while not inadvertently making the crisis worse. This, then, was a Budget in search of balance.

Listen to the full podcast here

At the core is the $1 billion cost-of-living package, a naked appeal to middle New Zealanders not already receiving support from the government but still feeling the pinch, expected to number more than two million people.

The lion's share goes to a one-off $350 sweetener for those who earned under $70,000 last year - but not for beneficiaries of the Winter Energy Payment.

Road user charges, fuel excise cuts and half-price public transport were also extended another two months, the latter made permanent for those with a Community Services Card.

Treasury was critical of a lack of attention to New Zealand's poorest, suggesting a more targeted form of support and warning the payment could add to inflation.

National leader Christopher Luxon was quick to dismiss the payment as a token gesture and bandaid solution, labelling it the government's "backwards Budget".

ACT's David Seymour was even more scathing, saying those on middle incomes had been shafted, while the Greens and Māori Party feared it was those most in need being left behind.

Read more:

Budget 2022 hands $350 to lower-income workers

Budget at a glance: What you need to know

'Backwards' Budget a missed opportunity - Luxon

Cost-of-living payment planned well ahead - Robertson

Political parties respond to Budget

Budget 2022 expectations vs reality

Financial focus: Deficits for two more years

Health may have grabbed fewer headlines, but the whopping $11.1b boost to the sector is the long-lasting medicine to go with Robertson's spoonful of sugar.

Some $1.8b to wipe away 13 years of deficits here, another $1.8b for the new Health NZ there, $1.3b for hospital revamps, and a sprinkling of $168m for hauora commissioning from the new Māori Health Authority. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The capacity really isn't there, and it means they opened up a visa category in full knowledge that it was going to suck the living daylights out of the resources," - Immigration advisor Katy Armstrong

Call it a reset, a rebalance or re-jig - the government has finally unveiled its new vision for immigration in a post-pandemic world.

Many industries are welcoming the news borders will open for non-visa waiver countries from August, but with it comes changes.

This shift in focus aims to leave behind the reliance on cheap migrant workers in favour of filling high-skill, high-income roles - but the plan has copped criticisms of unfairness and poor implementation before it's even begun.

Listen to the full podcast here

As part of the reset, employers wanting to bring workers in on temporary visas must apply for accreditation, pass a good character test and pay at least the median hourly wage.

Some sectors will get a temporary exemption with a lowered wage threshold; and there will also be a 'Green list' of 85 in-demand roles with a fast-track to residency.

National's Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford questions how the system will cope, and says the government has resorted to a panicked shifting of resources.

"When we left office it took 21 days to get a visitor visa," she says. "They've had far fewer visas to process over the last two years ... they still take five months and they've got all those people doing the resident 2021 visa.

" took every available resource and put in on the resident 2021 visa, which as you know is 110,000 applications, then the Prime minister said 'hey, we're going to open the borders' and he went 'uh oh, we don't have enough staff to do that'."

Minister Kris Faafoi insists migrants will always play an important role in New Zealand, and is confident Immigration NZ is ready for the influx of migrants - but advisors say they've been burned before.

Read more:

New Zealand border reopening fully from end of July

Government's immigration decisions under fire

Rest homes say nurses should be on fast-tracked residency list

Hipkins wants to diversify countries international students come from

Border reopening causes 'massive upsurge' in new passport applications

Nurses' union 'flabbergasted' sector left off fast tracked residence list

Two-tier visa system a 'kick in the guts' - migrant workers' rights group …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We've got to get through this 2022 that's difficult, but we also know that we want a health system that's operating really well in '23 and '24 too," - Grant Robertson

It's Budget time again, but 2022 brings a number of major economic challenges.

These include massive costs pressures affecting households, business and government; ongoing supply chain shocks and disruption made worse by the ongoing war in Ukraine; housing unaffordability through the roof; expectations around climate change, poverty and inequality and funding large reforms like health.

National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says the biggest challenge for Finance Minister Grant Robertson is the cost of living crisis.

RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson sat down for a chat with Willis and Robertson, ahead of this Labour government's fifth Budget.

Listen to the full podcast here

Willis says the cost of living is affecting every New Zealander, and inflation is a robber at our doors.

She says she would expect direct income support for households, but with more tax being collected by the government than before, and argues the government has a track record of wasteful spending.

"The presumption there would have to be that he thinks he can spend New Zealanders money better than they can, and I just disagree with that premise.

"Examples like $51 million being spent on consultants for an $800 million cycling bridge that hasn't gone ahead talk to a culture and government that's not great, but it's also about spending that hasn't been well enough planned and targeted on results."

She says National's proposal for cutting taxes - including the 39 percent top tax bracket for earnings above $180,000 - strikes a fair balance.

"Grant Robertson this year is collecting around $14 billion more in income tax than when he came to office, our package would cost $1.7 billion ... that would mean the average household would benefit to the tune of $1600 a year. We think that's meaningful."

Read more:

Despite re-set, Labour still struggling to overcome its tax critics

Watch: Finance Minister Grant Robertson give pre-budget speech

Opinion: Why the young need an even higher debt ceiling

$86m Budget boost to help people get a driver's licence

Auckland residents support proposed $1b climate rate, council says

School truancy: 'No magic wand' when tens of thousands miss classes…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"This is a preparedness exercise, it's going to be a high-level plan ... it's not going to be as prescriptive as the other plans we have rolled out in response to Covid because we can't crystal ball gaze about precisely what will turn up." - Ayesha Verrall

When the government relaxed Covid-19 public health measures, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was clear some may not be gone for good, kept "in the back pocket" in case of new and dangerous variants.

With the threat of those variants looming, Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall has asked Ministry of Health officials to draft up a plan outlining the response.

As well as being ready to roll some restrictions out again, it also means monitoring for new variants through genomic sequencing.

Listen to the full podcast here

With Covid-19 continuing to spread, new variants are an inevitability, and Verrall says we need a systematic way of assessing the threat they pose and what the response should be.

The World Health Organisation and other countries like Singapore and the UK are among those working on similar plans, she says, but New Zealand needs to be prepared to be part of the response, and match it to the severity of any new variant.

"We've taken steps to ... reduce down measures as we've had more protection due to vaccination and then with Omicron - because the clinical severity was less - we were able to go to the traffic lights framework, which is less restrictive."

Ministry of Health chief science advisor has been part of the team involved in the planning, and says new dominant variants are generally likely to be more infectious, but a very high severity could reduce infectiousness. Omicron's low severity means worse outcomes cannot be ruled out, however.

Read more:

Health authorities preparing plan for Covid-19 resurgence

Comment: The government has given up on Covid

Mask exemption rules too lax, doctor says

Wider testing to watch for XE variant, winter illnesses - Bloomfield

Covid-19 modeller Dion O'Neale hopes improvements can be made to ventilation systems and practices, as well as a greater emphasis on masks.

ACT Leader David Seymour wants improved testing, tracing, PPE provision, vaccine rollout and ICU capacity.

Previous interventions like QR contact tracing and vaccine passes also cannot be ruled out. National Party Covid-19 Response Spokesperson Chris Bishop supports planning for new variants, but describes those as a "severe" response he hopes we've seen the end of. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It is about demonstrating through global action that there will be swift response should that occur in any other region or country." - Jacinda Ardern

Pomp and ceremony, against a backdrop of torrid global events and shifting political allegiances.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken her first official trip since the pandemic to New Zealand's fourth- and fifth- biggest trading partners Singapore and Japan.

The trip has featured lavish dinners, dancing kiwifruit, announcements on working holiday visas and climate change, all under the constant threat of Covid-19 - but regional security and its implications have also been high on the agenda.

Listen to the full podcast here

The security pact between China and Solomon Islands - leaked last month and formalised this week - has been met with consternation and alarm by countries like New Zealand, Australia and the US.

A leaked draft suggested it would allow China to deploy military and police forces to the Solomons, and make ship visits, but the final version has not been released and China and Solomon Islands both deny it would open the door to a Chinese military presence in Honiara.

Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta have said New Zealand sees no need for such a deal, referring back to the regional relationship and agreements among the neighbouring Pacific nations.

These include the long running RAMSI mission of Australian and New Zealand troops sent to Solomon Islands to curb civil unrest, common membership of the Pacific Islands Forum, and the regional Biketawa Declaration which allows members to respond to breaches of governance, democratic freedoms and indigenous rights.

"In our view the need simply isn't there. If there is an issue which is not being addressed all we'd ask is a dialogue within the Pacific to address that," Ardern said in Singapore after news of the deal broke.

Read more:

Watch: Ardern on NZ's strategic partnership with Japan

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Working with assertive China a must, PM tells BBC

PM celebrates green energy and kiwifruit in Tokyo

China on agenda for Ardern's first meeting with Japan PM

NZ and Singapore to work on safeguarding supply chains

Climate added to NZ-Singapore partnership priorities

Elected in October, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has taken a hardline stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He and Ardern met for the first time on Thursday, emerging later to announce an agreement to share more classified information. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"If Putin remains in power and he physically remains in Russia, there's not really anything that can be done. The only possibility would be a coup that overthrows him ... or if Putin travels outside of Russia" - Stephen Smith

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is bringing new images every day of destruction, and allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It brings calls for justice, for the prosecution of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and for reform at the United Nations.

New Zealand experts say it's possible, but prosecution and reform alike could take years.

Listen to the full podcast here

US President Joe Biden has outright called Putin a war criminal, and National's Christopher Luxon has said he'd be comfortable doing the same.

Most leaders are more circumspect however, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who argues it's up to the International Criminal Court to make that determination.

It's a position that has the rare agreement of ACT leader David Seymour: "It's not up to a politician to decide if someone's guilty, it's up to a court, and I think Jacinda Ardern has got that one right. You won't hear me say that often."

Ardern, Luxon and Seymour alike - along with all other MPs, the intelligence agency chiefs and top defence officials - have been placed on Russia's travel blacklist, and it seems likely the tit-for-tat will only escalate.

Read more:

Russia's travel blacklist on 130 New Zealanders

Analysis: Justice may wait as evidence of Russia's crimes is gathered

'What did they liberate us from?': Russian troops' brutality detailed

Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council

Mahuta tight-lipped on sending weapons to Ukraine

Putin's Ukraine war creating 'significant war crimes' - Mahuta

Luxon labels Putin a war criminal, again urges ambassador's removal

Internationally, Russia has already been suspended from the UN Human Rights Council over alleged atrocities, and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has been urging its expulsion from the Security Council. As one of the five permanent members of the council Russia's veto guarantees it a diplomatic trump card.

New Zealand's former Security Council ambassador Colin Keating told Midday Report reform of the UN is possible, but it will take political will - and may take some time. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We have police officers telling us things they don't tell police in the criminal investigations against them ... what they do tell us cannot ever be used against them," - IPCA Chair Judge Colin Doherty

The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) holds an important constitutional role in New Zealand as the only body to monitor the actions of the police.

The IPCA has completed investigations into 36 of the 39 fatal police shootings since 1990 and in every case has ruled the killings were justified.

But RNZ investigative series Licence to Kill found the IPCA has limited powers to hold the police to account and relies heavily on the resources of the police themselves.

Listen to the full podcast here

IPCA chair Judge Colin Doherty and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster

The IPCA was established in 1988 and only got its own independent investigators in 2003.

Now it has about 40 staff and a budget of $5 million a year, but its resources are tiny compared to the police's 14,000 staff and budget of $2.2 billion a year.

IPCA chair Judge Colin Doherty says the authority does not have the resources it needs to do the job the way he thinks he should be done.

He steps down from his five-year term in August, and says the IPCA of the future should be totally independent by answering to Parliament like the Ombudsman and the Auditor General, rather than to the government.

He says that would increase its independence from government, but a leading defence lawyer also questions whether the IPCA is independent from the police.

Read more:

Licence to Kill: The startling truth about New Zealand's fatal police shootings

How the police watchdog is more secretive than the spy agency

Shooting to wound 'something from the movies' - Coster

Police who killed were given evidence in advance

The Detail: Behind the story about secrecy in how we police the police

The IPCA only independently investigates 2-3 percent of the complaints it receives. Many of the others are simply passed back to police to investigate themselves.

Defence Lawyers Association co-founder Christopher Stevenson says that fuels a perception the IPCA is not genuinely independent - and a lack of transparency doesn't help.

Despite being a Crown Entity, the IPCA is not subject to the Official Information Act (OIA), which closes down a vital accountability mechanism for proper scrutiny.

Stevenson says open justice is essential to a free and democratic society…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The platform at RNZ and TVNZ is strong enough to support change, it's whether or not the willingness sits within the newly-formed company," - Media academic Richard Pamatatau

The RNZ and TVNZ mega-media-merger has been years in the making. While it has finally been confirmed, much of the detail - including funding - remains unclear.

National opposes the merger, saying it's a solution looking for a problem.

But a media academic says the new organisation's biggest challenge - and biggest opportunity - will be creating a public service media which can truly cater to all New Zealanders.

Listen to the full podcast here

The idea of a public media shake-up first emerged ahead of the election in 2017, with Labour campaigning on a new public digital media service called RNZ+ which would have expanded into television with significant extra funding.

Those plans were shelved after Clare Curran resigned as Broadcasting Minister in 2018. Her successor Kris Faafoi - a former journalist - floated the idea of a new state-owned public media entity in 2019.

A group - with representatives from RNZ, TVNZ and various public service agencies - advised the status quo was "unsustainable" and the two broadcasters be disestablished with a new organisation in its place. Ministers approved, but demanded a business case to assess how it would work.

After Covid-related delays, eight experts led by former NZ First Minister Tracey Martin reported back to the Minister late last year with their proposal. Cabinet confirmed, and Faafoi announced it just over a fortnight ago.

Read more:

RNZ-TVNZ public media shake-up: What you need to know

RNZ boss Paul Thompson: merger a 'watershed' moment for NZ media

Minister confirms RNZ, TVNZ to be folded into mega public media entity

Mediawatch: RNZ + TVNZ = new PME in 2023

The government intends to bring the two broadcasters under the umbrella of a new not-for-profit organisation, with a stronger focus on the digital world. It will operate under a charter and be funded by a mix of commercial and government funding.

There are few details, however, with many unanswered questions: will newsrooms combine? Will programmes be simulcast? Will there be staff cuts? Faafoi prefers to leave those decisions to the establishment board, expected to be set up soon.

Funding also won't be announced until Budget Day, but the government's still keen to have it up and running by next July - an election year.

Melissa Lee…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The countries which are close neighbours with a shared history and culture appear to be a ruthless enemy, and the nations which are so far away with different historical backgrounds appear to be a real friend," - Ukraine Ambassador designate Kateryna Zelenko

Whether the global ripples from Russia's invasion of Ukraine crash onto New Zealand's shores may depend largely on the actions of China - and what is done in response.

New Zealand has followed other countries in imposing sanctions against Russian individuals, institutions, and assets, and states linked to it could soon follow.

China is close to Russia both geographically and diplomatically. Its position on the war is not yet clear, but as New Zealand's largest trading partner any sanctions against it could mean serious economic repercussions.

Experts doubt China will take sides, but multilateralism and being heard on the global stage are important to New Zealand - and if China does step in, choices will have to be made.

Listen to the full podcast here

New Zealand's actions against Russia include a travel ban for hundreds of individuals, sanctions on President Vladimir Putin and his security council of 12, one bank, and 18 other entities.

It means assets cannot be moved here, and prevents New Zealand's financial system being used to circumvent the sanctions of other countries, but the move marks a significant departure from the tradition of applying UN sanctions only.

The legislation, passed under urgency last week, marks a significant departure from a tradition of only applying sanctions in line with the UN.

The list of sanctions was published on Friday, with Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta promising more to come.

The National Party supported the legislation, with MP Gerry Brownlee saying it was a difficult situation for the entire world. Indeed, the threat is nuclear - with Putin saying Russia's weapons were on "special alert".

Read more:

Foreign Minister promises more sanctions on Russia

Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Experts doubt China will take sides

Russia's war puts NZ's refugee policy and China strategy in sharper focus

The Detail: How New Zealand's sanctions against Russia work

Visas for Ukrainian NZers' families, as govt increases aid

Russia Sanctions Bill spurs debate on wider legislation…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"At least $200 out of our single income for him just to get to work and home each day ... that was taking away from our food" - Jeanette, whose family has been hit hard by inflation

If the latest political poll is anything to go by, National is hitting the right note by focusing on the financial hardship faced by many - it's real and just another burden heading into the third year of the pandemic.

The government argues much of the pressure's coming from overseas events out of its control, but National digs into its playbook for accusations of profligate spending and clutching onto hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

Listen to the full podcast here

New Zealand's experiencing the highest levels of inflation for 30 years, with ANZ warning it expects inflation will hit 7.4 percent in the second quarter, with big impacts on household and business budgets.

Some of the causes are clear: supply chain disruption from Covid-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the related rising price of fuel which also pushes up prices in other sectors through transport costs. Fruit and vegetables are 17 percent dearer this year, the biggest annual increase in a decade.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern argues much of the pressure's coming from overseas events out of its control.

But National leader Christopher Luxon's proposed solution is to raise thresholds on income tax to account for wage growth, remove the $180,000 top tax threshold of 39 percent, and abolish taxes imposed under Labour.

These include Auckland's regional fuel tax, interest deductibility and bright-line test changes for landlords, the income insurance scheme, and the value capture scheme for Auckland light rail.

Read more:

Inflation forecast to go even higher: What you need to know

Biggest annual increase in food prices in a decade

Week in Politics: Luxon's tax tactics pay off

Luxon doubles down on tax cuts

Business leader backs Luxon's tax-scrapping proposals

Ardern says the government's family tax credit changes outstrip the benefits of the cuts proposed by National for low- and middle-income earners, without the "great cost" cuts for those at the top and potential cuts that go with it.

Her Finance Minister, Grant Robertson, goes to his own playbook, with criticism that tax cuts and debt reduction cannot be done while also maintaining or increasing spending. Voters deserve more detail on National's promises, he says.

National's Finance Spokesperson Simon Bridges brushes that off…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It's time to move forward together, safely" - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Fortress New Zealand - the 'hermit kingdom' - is soon to be no more.

For almost two years, Aotearoa has been cut off - foreigners for the most part have been barred entry, with returning New Zealanders having to complete a stay in government-run managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ).

Limited capacity has at times made it near impossible for some New Zealanders to come home, eventually leading to the online lottery system.

That situation was brought into stark relief this week by Charlotte Bellis, a pregnant Kiwi journalist stuck in Afghanistan, who published an open letter in the Weekend Herald detailing her struggle to return home.

Listen to the full interview

The extreme border measures have undoubtedly saved lives and secured New Zealand's relative freedom from the virus.

But they have also curtailed the freedoms of those wanting to come here and caused tremendous heartbreak for families cut off and citizens stranded.

As epidemiologist Michael Baker acknowledged, with Omicron expected to spread widely within the country, the hard border would become harder to justify.

"Once we get to the point of having thousands of Omicron cases a day in New Zealand, MIQ's role is very different," Prof Baker says.

Read more:

Opposition parties take contrasting views on border re-opening plan

Power Play: MIQ soon to be a thing of the past but Covid wounds run deep

Dates for NZ's border reopening confirmed

Vaccine booster interval shortened to three months

Pregnant journalist Charlotte Bellis offered a place in MIQ

Afghan women say they wouldn't be afforded the same rights as pregnant NZ journalist under Taliban

Ministers swiftly moved into clean-up mode. On Tuesday, Cabinet met to discuss its timeline for phasing out MIQ.

On Wednesday, booster dose eligibility was expanded to an extra million New Zealanders by shortening the interval after the second dose.

And on Thursday, Ardern delivered a speech in Auckland detailing the five-stage reopening plan:

11.59pm 27 February: Self-isolation opens for New Zealanders and eligible travellers coming from Australia

11.59pm 13 March: Open to New Zealanders and eligible travellers from the rest of the world; skilled workers earning at least 1.5x median wage; working holiday visas…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We know that the boosters are only just rolling out now, and we've only just started to immunise our children ... we just want people to be safe." - Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere

After two years of dealing with Covid-19 in its various forms, the government and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern are heading into another gauntlet, likely compounded by supply chain disruption and sky-rocketing inflation.

Controversial measures like vaccine mandates have introduced a toxicity and feeling of alienation in parts of the community, reflected back onto the community and the prime minister.

The opposition has an important role to play but will have to step carefully in its criticisms and approach.

Both sides know Covid can prove deadly in more ways than one.

Listen to the full interview

New Zealanders' relatively Covid-free summer break came to an abrupt halt on 21 January - with a new variant circulating in Aotearoa the traffic light had turned red, prompting the cancellation of large events across the country.

Red is not the lockdowns of the past - its aim is to keep things as normal as possible - but Omicron is a different beast: usually a milder infection for the vaccinated, but incredibly infectious. The government is preparing for case volumes of 50,000 a day.

This week, the government announced its plans to deal with such a flood of illness: Stricter rules for mask use, a focus on increased testing capacity, and a three-phase approach to tackling rising case numbers.

On Wednesday, Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall explained the current Phase One focuses on intensive testing and contact tracing - the familiar stamping out of the virus.

Phase Two kicks in with about 1000 cases a day, focusing on protecting the vulnerable and slowing the spread. It would see cases notified via text and email, case isolation dropping from 14 to 10 days, and contacts' isolation from 10 days to seven.

In Phase Three, with thousands of cases a day, contact tracing will be targeted to those most vulnerable, with cases relied on to self-notify their close contacts. The majority of cases would be managing their own care at home.

Read more:

Health experts warn of risks in phased approach to tackle Omicron outbreak

Labour confident, National concerned in face of Omicron

Covid-19 face masks: What you need to know

Māori health leader calls for targeted strategy for Omicron

Modelling suggests NZ could face peak of 80,000 daily infections…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

RNZ's political team catch up with the minor party leaders to discuss 2021, potential allies, and Covid-19.

With much of the political year focused on the Covid-19 response, Labour and National have soaked up much of the attention, but the minor parties have still played a role.

ACT has been soaking up some of National's lost support, the Greens have had to forge their own path despite having two ministers in government, and Te Pāti Māori has been rebuilding its identity in its first year back in Parliament after a term out in the cold.

Listen to the full interview

This week, ACT's David Seymour, the Green Party's Marama Davidson and James Shaw, and the Māori Party's Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi spoke to RNZ, reflecting on 2021.

Read more:

A sit-down with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

A sit-down with National leader Christopher Luxon

"We live to ensure New Zealand has the best policy" - David Seymour

Seymour came under fire this year for sharing a priority vaccine code, which allowed Māori and Pacific people to get vaccinated at Whānau Ora locations without booking ahead.

It was a move widely criticised by medical professionals and politicians but Seymour says his position has been "completely vindicated" and he still stands by sharing the priority code.

"We shouldn't be racially profiling people. Most people want a more inclusive New Zealand and if we're going to do intervention on social services - and we do need to give people more equal opportunity - then we're going to have to target a lot better, using better data rather than somewhat lazily targeting people based on ethnic groupings."

David Seymour

ACT has been on a steady rise in political polls this year, the latest Newshub Reid-Research result giving them 16 percent, which Seymour attributes to his party listening to people and coming up with solutions.

"We don't just sort of sit there and throw rocks. We say 'well, actually, if you want a better tomorrow and you vote for ACT here are the kinds of things that we would bring to the table'. I think based on the feedback I get, people appreciate listening, and solutions."

"We wanted to make sure we had an equity lens" - Marama Davidson and James Shaw

While ACT has capitalised on the National Party's soul-searching, the Green Party has struggled to cut through under the shadow of Labour. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It was the year of the vaccine and to finish with rates in the mid-90 percent mark for first dose, 85 percent for Māori, over 90 percent for Pacific, I'm really proud of what New Zealand's done," - Jacinda Ardern

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern accepts the government could have done more to assist community-led vaccination efforts, but she defends the decision not to prioritise all younger Māori in the rollout.

Ardern has just completed the first year of her second term, marking a shift to a Labour-majority government, but like 2020 it has been dominated by one overriding challenge: Covid-19.

Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch sat down with Ardern to assess the year that's been and the one to come.

Listen to the full interview

https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6286092946001

In January, Ardern described 2021 as the year of the vaccine. She says she's proud of the rates New Zealanders have achieved, but with hindsight, she would have put more focus on community health providers earlier.

"Some of the most successful parts of the campaign have been where providers have had the freedom to just go out and do things in a way that worked for them.

"They had barriers and I'll think: 'how could we have taken those down more quickly, sooner for them?' That's something that I would do differently."

Ardern says the government was constrained by a lack of supply early on despite doing everything it could to get access to the vaccine as early as possible.

As such, she stands by the decisions around targeting the vaccine to priority groups - including rejecting a Health Ministry recommendation to set lower age brackets for Māori.

Read more:

A sit-down with National leader Christopher Luxon

Covid-19 Māori response: 'It is not partnership when Crown ignores advice'

Auckland housing crisis: 'Monumental task' for first home buyers

Government rejects criticism over Auckland boundary decisions

'Caution has paid off' with positive start under traffic light system - PM

There were not enough vaccines for everybody early on in the rollout, and evidence showed age and comorbidity were the main vulnerabilities, she says.

"We know we have more comorbidities in our Pacific and our Māori populations, so we knew that would ... allow us to go in and target those communities."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It's easy to say the words 'unify, unify, unify' ... but, you know, that's an intellectual rational thing - you've got to make it emotional and actually get people to reset and leave some of the baggage behind," - Chris Luxon

It was only just over a week ago Chris Luxon took the National Party leadership after only 409 days as an MP, following Judith Collins losing a caucus vote of no confidence.

The former head of Air New Zealand negotiated a managed handover, seeing off rival Simon Bridges, and now faces the challenge of putting together a caucus lineup that refocuses MPs' attention from themselves to the Labour government while not inflaming old resentments.

Political editor Jane Patterson sat down with Luxon to talk about his views, ideas and plans for his caucus, Covid-19, Māori and the Treaty of Waitangi.

It's his first interview in the third floor parliamentary office that has seen a revolving door of opposition leaders. He is operating on just a few hours sleep, figuring out what to do with the space and his 33-strong caucus - among them, the three former leaders Simon Bridges, Todd Muller, and of course Collins.

Listen to the full interview

https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6284924813001

Luxon made it clear in his first statements each would have roles in his caucus - in part no doubt as a display of the newfound unity the party will need to show to regain lost ground - and he remains firm on that.

"I want roles for Simon, Todd and Judith. You know, I want them all in the team because we've actually turned the page, we've said 'righto we've got 100 percent trust with each other, we go forward from this basis', and we want to use their skills and talents bigtime."

Bridges has already been given the finance portfolio and the number three ranking, providing Luxon a number of benefits: keeping a very recent rival close, making use of Bridges' political skills and experience, bringing more diversity to the front bench with a Māori MP, and sending a message to the caucus he can be magnanimous.

Muller, left out in the wilderness under Collins, will be brought back into the fold. Collins brought her own leadership to an end in spectacular fashion but her proven tenacity will be an asset to this very new opposition leader so long as she can remain contrite and loyal.

Read more:

Who is the new National Party leader Christopher Luxon?

Can Christopher Luxon survive long enough for his party to unite?…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"This is not our best day," - Shane Reti

In July 2020, at what seemed like National's nadir, Judith Collins took the helm and promised to rebuild the party. She was - somewhat presciently - described as the nuclear option.

This week, she leaves the job with the party in ruins, turfed out by a shell-shocked caucus after her ham-fisted attempt to take out a rival.

Listen to the full podcast

The unravelling began Wednesday - about 9.30pm - when an email dropped in reporters' inboxes.

The press release titled "Simon Bridges demoted following complaint" referenced "serious misconduct" and said Collins had been left with no option.

It caught the media and MPs off guard, and the timing and process led them to believe more was at play.

Bridges later explained he had been at a caucus function at Wellington's Premier House in early 2016 with MPs including Jacqui Dean, and made an off-colour comment about the best way to conceive a daughter.

Dean took offence and complained; Bridges was spoken to and apologised; all of it dealt with five years ago.

Collins' actions then seem a rash overreaction, an attempt to take out a former leader widely known to be plotting a comeback; a bombshell demotion that began to look to the caucus less like appropriate discipline and more like a hit job.

Read more:

How Collins crushed her own leadership

Simon Bridges: 'It was a very poor process from Judith Collins'

Collins and Bridges should consider leaving Parliament - Finlayson

Analysis: MP disputes should allow some natural justice

Voter reaction to leadership fiasco: 'The National Party are a lost soul'

Collins may be gone but New Zealand's search for a credible, viable opposition far from over

The following morning, as MPs returned to Parliament, Bridges called it desperate. Fellow National MP and brother-in-law Simon O'Connor also did not mince his words.

"I cannot work with Judith Collins as leader and I'm handing over all my portfolios this morning. I cannot and will not work with her ... there are times when the party and its values need to come to the fore and one of the reasons this party is struggling is leadership has stepped away from those values."

Just over three hours later, Judith Collins had been voted out of the leadership, …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We want to be able to provide the standard of care that we're used to providing ... the other thing that I'm concerned for is even for business as usual we're shortstaffed from a nursing point of view" - ICU nurse Tania Mitchell

Doctors and nurses are at the pointiest end of Covid, caring for the sickest of the sick, people struggling to breathe, their organs maybe starting to fail.

In the height of the pandemic, it would seem logical that those working in intensive care units (ICU) would be first in line to get what they need to keep New Zealanders alive, but staffing those beds around the clock requires about five staff per bed, and New Zealand is 90 short right now.

Listen to the full podcast

As we head into the traffic light system, it's difficult to predict exactly how many cases there will be, how many hospitalisations and how many deaths.

The most recent modelling lays out the worst case scenario of 16,000 weekly cases, but senior health officials are playing down the likelihood of a sudden surge.

Vice president of the Australasian College of Intensive Care Rob Bevan says the group is meeting twice weekly with the Ministry of Health to try to lift ICU capacity.

"Intensive care bed numbers can be counted and reported in different ways ... the most meaningful would be the actual numbers of patients we can provide best ICU-level care to today with staff who are currently in post, and trained, and working."

He says a New Zealand Medical Journal (NZMJ) article concludes that number is 176 beds - 15 of them specialised paediatric beds.

"That number rises from 176 to 280 if we incorporate the 104 physical beds that are not staffed at this point. And there are many concerted efforts by DHBs supported by the ministry to close that gap, primarily with nursing staffing."

Read more:

Warnings mount over health system's ability to cope with more Covid-19 cases

Vaccine mandate: 'Incredible pressure' on remaining hospital staff

'Disaster waiting': Four ICU beds to 116,000 people

Healthcare, inflation concerns rise - survey

Minister of Health Andrew Little says 1400 nurses have been trained up to provide enough support to bring New Zealand's 289 ICU and high-dependency units up to 550.

However, College of Critical Care Nurses chair Tania Mitchell says the training is just a four-hour online module, with some DHBs also providing a few days practical training…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"It's something that just hangs over someone's head constantly ... to be under that constant stress is just not good for families and it's not justice, really," - Family Court lawyer Marieke van den Bergh

Trish - not her real name - has been waiting 16 months for an urgent protection order application hearing. In that time, her ex-partner has showed up unannounced to her house, which scared their autistic son so much he climbed out his bedroom window.

"Coming up to a year and a half waiting, I'm having my hearing for my protection order application ... I found it really hard to get mentally prepared for it, I think because I've had to push it to the back of my mind for so long," Trish says.

As the 40-year anniversary of New Zealand's Family Court nears, some lawyers believe it's falling short of its own standards while Māori leaders say their efforts to engage with the court's leadership have been ignored.

Listen to the full podcast

Born out of a Royal Commission on the Courts report, the Family Court was set up as New Zealand's first specialist court in 1981.

The Commission reviewed the entire court system and, among other things, concluded the Family Court should be its own division with a two-fold purpose - both judicial and therapeutic.

It was considered innovative at the time, but lawyer Tania Williams Blythe says it has not changed much since, and traditional formality and delays in the system are entrenched.

"There's always been a distance between the community - those that come into the court - and those professionals including the judiciary that participate in that process."

"Part of the problem I guess, in terms of significant delay and the damage that that causes, is by the time you get into the court, the damage is already done."

Read more:

Dames say their concerns ignored by top Family Court judge

Te Ao Mārama - new approach to district courts announced

Extensive reforms introduced in March 2014 were intended to encourage people to resolve parenting disputes out of court, but the changes had unintended consequences.

The legal profession saw the changes as majorly disruptive; removing parties' rights to legal representation in parenting and guardianship disputes and wiping legal aid, with the exception of urgent protection order applications. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"If we do follow the rules, if a lot of people continue to work from home, if we don't all rush back out to try and get back to that level 1 life then the system will work better" - Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy

On 23 March last year life changed forever with the pandemic wreaking global devastation but after nearly two years of alert levels and lockdowns, New Zealanders will have to get used to a new kind of response that includes Covid-19 actively circulating in the community.

Replacing the alert levels will be a traffic light system - green, orange and red.

Listen to the full podcast

Auckland may move to the new system - into red - ahead of the rest of the country once its three DHBs hit 90 percent of the population double vaccinated. Everywhere else is expected to move together when all DHBs reach that target.

Covid-19 modeller Shaun Hendy says the system means tolerating some Covid-19 in the community, and he expects we'll remain in the red for much of next year.

"We might find ourselves spending, you know, three quarters of next year in the Red, and maybe a quarter in Green or Orange. That's given our current vaccine targets which is 90 percent of the over-12s. If we move on and do go on to vaccinate the 5-11 year olds ... then that might shift us for example to spending 50 percent of our time in the red traffic light zone, with less impact on schooling."

He says the kind of outbreak seen in Victoria or New South Wales with thousands of new cases a day is unlikely, but 400 to 500 new daily cases would put real strain on the healthcare system.

"I think even the coming peak between 200 to 300 cases per day that we think is most likely will put strain on the system. It'll certainly fill up the capacity we have within Auckland to deal with Covid."

He says retailers will play a big role with just a few rule-breakers being enough to lead to a bigger outbreak, and the public will also need to toe the line.

Read more:

'We're not going back to that kind of level 1 life' - Covid-19 modeller

New 'traffic light' Covid-19 framework and vaccine certificates announced

Churches ponder on Covid-19 vaccine certificates and balancing safety with values

How are DHBs across Aotearoa faring in vaccination rates?

Covid-19 'just got real' in Te Tai Tokerau…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"We've scrummed down, with packed tight and together we've got the ball over the line, and we have a deal - and I think it's a great deal." - Boris Johnson

New Zealand is on the hunt for new trading opportunities across the globe, both to help the economic recovery, and diversify away from China.

The in-principle free trade agreement secured with the UK last week - worth an estimated $1 billion over 15 years to the New Zealand economy - was good news for local exporters.

But a global pandemic has forced much of the negotiation online, and attention turns next to the EU.

Listen to the full podcast

Trade Minister Damien O'Connor has twice travelled to Europe to discuss trade - both with the UK and the European Union.

EU negotiations were formally launched in 2018 but progress has been slow and there have been a few very large bumps in the road along the way.

Work is continuing, however with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern describing the talks as having reached "a critical juncture".

Read more:

Hello to global Britain - our new best free trade friend

Dropping tarrifs won't necessarily make British gin cheaper here

Exporters celebrate UK-NZ trade deal

Geoffrey Miller: Geopolitics behind NZ-UK free trade deal

UK-New Zealand free trade agreement 'substantial and comprehensive'

Investor state dispute rules - which allows allows foreign firms to sue governments - caused major controversy in previous trade negotiations and was a particular bone of contention in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations as well as its descendent, the CPTPP.

Trade Minister Damien O'Connor says they were ruled out of the UK FTA from the start.

NZ International Business Forum executive director Stephen Jacobi would've preferred they were included - on the basis they give added protection for foreign investors and for New Zealand investments in offshore markets.

"Between the UK and New Zealand would be most unlikely that we would have to have recourse to ISDS because both of us have systems on the rule of law, very similar legal systems and there are plenty of remedies that can be taken through the domestic legal system to address problems between investors and and governments," he says.

"But I think the broader point is that why do we put in place these protections if they can't be adequately backed up?"…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

"The whole of the system is already under pressure ... they're anticipating what the next shift is gonna be like, are the gonna have enough nurses to be able to cope with the demand?" - Nurses organisation kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku

Once New Zealand moves to the traffic light system, that's an acceptance that Covid will be circulating within the community - which will lead to more cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

The great fear, as seen elsewhere, is that the hospital system is over-run and unable to cope. At the end of the week there were 51 Covid-19 cases in hospital in Auckland and Waikato, and five in ICU or high dependency.

Listen to the full podcast

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday laid out the government's new traffic light system, which would replace the alert levels. It would do away with nationwide lockdowns, taking into account vaccines and the spread of Delta.

She said the major differences from the alert levels of the past 18 months included the use of vaccine certificates at businesses which could continue operating no matter the alert level if they used them, and a shift to more localised lockdowns based on vaccination rates and vulnerabilities.

The question being begged - will New Zealand be ready?

Read more:

'Our patients trust us': GPs prepare to treat Covid-19 patients at home

New 'traffic light' Covid-19 framework and vaccine certificates announced

Auckland hospitals getting Covid-19 ready at slow pace

DHBs ramp up ICU, Covid-19 wards, oxygen supply capacity

Covid-19 modeller Michael Plank says case numbers could double in coming weeks and while it's hoped vaccination rates could temper them from rising further, there is a risk they could get much worse.

"One of the dangers is that if the contact tracing system really struggles to keep up with the number of cases ... the cases could really accelerate and if that happens we could see a much higher number of cases."

College of Emergency Medicine president John Bonning says for every Covid-19 patient needing intensive care, he expects up to eight times more will be treated in emergency departments.

Nurses organisation kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku told RNZ that DHBs were not well enough prepared, and nurses are already under incredible pressure.

Otago University Professor Phillip Hill last June recommended the system be stress tested in anticipation of higher numbers of community cases, he's seen no evidence that was done…

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The government is at a transport crunch point - Labour's first year as a majority has seen it scrap or reshape major projects and programmes, while decisions about the future of others loom.

The usual challenges of the inherently political sector are being compounded by the financial pressures from the pandemic and the urgent need to respond to climate change.

National's Transport spokesperson David Bennett is critical of Labour's approach so far.

"Transport is vital for a growing country like New Zealand going forward and we need to make sure that we build the infrastructure that will deliver a strong economy, the ability for commuters to get where they want to go and in a safe and efficient manner. What we're seeing at the moment is this structure that has been set in place for many years, has now become politicized.

"We're seeing personal projects being put forward that have no rationale behind them and are just nice to haves that political leaders want to make sure happen."

Listen to the full Focus On Politics episode here

The transport sector faces serious challenges because of Covid-19. There's a critical shortage of materials because of world-wide supply chain issues and border closures mean there aren't enough construction workers in the country.

Infometric's Brad Olsen said major demand for materials is also pushing prices up "because you either can't get a good, or if you do want to get a certain type of good you have to fight with everyone else to get it".

Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter was Associate Transport Minister in the last government and said "in the political debate, it has been too easy "mock spending money on active transport as not important."

"It's a minority of cars and trucks on the road that actually have to be in cars and trucks and if we've got plenty of roads, if we use them better, the best way to use them better is to invest in the alternatives that make it viable for the ordinary short trips people are making to school, to work, to the shops to either be by active or public transport."

Changes in transport will be key as the government works to make New Zealand carbon neutral by 2050.

Transport is the second-largest source of emissions, after agriculture. The Climate Change Commission has said the scale of the changes needed in the sector cannot be overstated.

Michael Wood said those changes are his number one priority…

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"We have a program around reducing inequality that's been running throughout our time in government but when we're in a crisis we work with those local communities ... we've worked closely, for example, with gang leadership..." - Finance Minister Grant Robertson

The government's response may have been staving off some of the worst economic impacts of lockdowns, but Covid-19 has only exacerbated inequalities across New Zealand that were already posing a big challenge.

With an extended period of restrictions in response to the Delta outbreak, how long can heavy borrowing keep things afloat, and how can those entrenched inequities be tackled?

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The economy rebounded faster and stronger than expected after the 2020 lockdown, but Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer says this time is different.

"From the absolute grassroots level, there is not the same quick recovery or bounce up - and I don't know that that existed in 2020 for a lot of Māori whānau anyway."

"It's absolutely worse, and I think what you've got to remember is we're also in a political battlefield where if you belong to a gang family, if you come from this particular area ... there's already separatisation but it's actually heightened. And I think this creates real issues where people are too ashamed and they just they don't want attention drawn on them to ask for help, so by the time they do, things are extremely acute."

Read more:

Government's Covid-19 roadmap slammed by other parties

Reserve Bank announces first cash rate rise in seven years

Inaccessibility of rural healthcare reflected in low vaccination rates - expert

Waikato Mongrel Mob says Covid-19 cluster resolved

Effective vaccination campaigns must include Pacific and Māori leaders - immunologist

Government defends gang leader border exemptions

Finance Minister Grant Robertson says the government is acutely aware of the problem, and the government cooperating with gang leaders to encourage vaccination and public health order compliance is part of what's needed to stay connected with harder-hit communities.

"We can all make judgments about their behaviors and so on but it's not helpful when we're dealing with Covid. We need to make sure that we've got cooperation, that we've got support, and that's what we've done is make sure that we've been as close as possible to the communities affected."…

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"There is near universal agreement that the status quo is not sustainable. Our three waters assets are now liabilities" - Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta

Water is one of Aotearoa's most precious resources and the government's embarked on an ambitious plan to better manage drinking, storm and wastewater around the country.

It says major reform is needed to avoid a significant crisis, but many mayors say they would lose control of assets their communities have built up and paid for over many years, and are questioning - or outright opposing - the proposed solution.

Listen to the full podcast

Under the reforms, ownership of storm, drinking and waste water - the three waters - would be transferred from councils to four regional entities the councils would own.

The entities would be managed by a board appointed by a selection committee, who would be appointed by representative groups, in turn appointed by councils and mana whenua.

Read more:

Independent analysis raises concerns on proposed reforms

Mahuta won't rule out forcing councils into Three Waters reforms

'Asset grab' - entrenched local opposition to Three Waters plan

The Detail: The government's water infrastructure plan

Three Waters too big to fail? National, Greens predict councils will be forced to join

Some mayors fear the effect of having little input from their elected representatives over some of the services that have been central to local government in New Zealand.

Others are concerned their hefty investments in water infrastructure are not matched by other councils who would be serviced by the same water entity, despite the government splashing $2.5bn on keeping things equitable.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta is set to respond to councils' concerns after a consultation period ended on Friday. She says she's always been open to looking at aspects of Three Waters after feedback from local government, including the governance arrangements, and would consider "refinements" but there are some bottom-line principles.

She has refused to rule out making the reforms mandatory, and her National Party counterpart Chris Luxon says the government is heading for some "ugly" politics.

"It's very obvious that the New Zealand people think these assets ... are being stolen from them, having paid for them."…

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"Just as we successfully stayed home and saved lives last year, I'm asking the team of five million to unite once more to defeat what is likely to be this more dangerous variant of the virus." - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Having gone 170 days without community transmission and 477 since the last alert level four lockdown, New Zealand reset the clock on Tuesday after a new case of Covid-19 was found in Auckland and Coromandel.

In response, the government expounded its now well-worn mantras: go hard, go early; stay home, save lives. With the threat of the Delta variant, it meant a return to the strictest lockdown, nationwide.

Listen to the full podcast

Overseas media focused on the rapid escalation of restrictions over a single case, but the public were quick to support the moves.

National leader Judith Collins also threw a full-throated endorsement behind the measures.

"There's so much uncertainty and we know that this spreads extremely quickly, so obviously it's the only thing to do."

Rapidly rising case numbers in the following days bore out the government's caution, and the virus - carried by young people living busy lives - leading to more than 150 locations of interest and over 1000 close contacts. It came from the New South Wales outbreak in Australia.

Read more:

NZ to remain at alert level 4 until Tuesday night

Covid-19 update: 11 new cases in the community, including three in Wellington

Covid-19 outbreak linked to case which came from Australia

By Friday, the outbreak was found to have spread to Wellington, inevitably leading to an extension of level 4 lockdown for the entire country until at least Tuesday night.

The outbreak - and Delta - has raised the stakes. Police have been taking a less permissive approach, arresting protesters and rule-breakers alike, and the government has expanded mandatory mask use to more locations. But the government is still facing criticism over vaccines, and testing.

National's Covid-19 response spokesperson Chris Bishop thinks more could be done to smooth out testing for those who most need it.

"I'd an email last night from somebody who got a ping ... the testing centre closed and they hadn't been tested. So they were there all day - and these are people who are required by law to get a test…

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"For Māori people to see words like Aotearoa or te reo Māori and its use in general to be thrown around so lightly and so harmfully, I think it's dispiriting for a lot of people in that they start to disengage from the debate as well." - Morgan Godfery

Political commentator Morgan Godfery says that to be told your name for your country is wrong can be harmful, as it shows deeply cultural and deeply personal issues that go to the heart of their identity can be up for debate.

With National Party leader Judith Collins demanding the debate on whether the name Aotearoa should be put to a referendum, Māori are again experiencing a heightened level of racist attacks - and the harms are not trivial.

National MP Stuart Smith's suggestion there be a referendum on the use of the name Aotearoa caused division between politicians and New Zealanders alike, and party leader Collins was quick to lend her support to the idea.

Collins has been accused of dog-whistle politics and race-baiting, she's also been praised for standing up to wokeness and voicing New Zealanders' fears. She told RNZ the call for a referendum was not coming from her but - no matter her motivation - she set a wave of harm in motion.

Read more:

National's call for Aotearoa referendum 'absurd' and 'ridiculous'

National Party leader Judith Collins 'very happy' to call the country Aotearoa

National Māori Authority chair Matthew Tukaki received a racist letter at his home, from an unknown sender. He believes it's no coincidence that the letter arrived in the thick of the debate around the name Aotearoa.

"This is politicians who are creating an operating environment that emboldens these racists and this nonsense sort of conversation."

He's not the only one. Law student Phoebe Sullivan was sitting in a study room on her phone, when the racism rolled in and says the debate felt like an attack on her cultural identity, her language, and her people.

RNZ broadcaster Māni Dunlop is used to waves of racist texts whenever a Māori issue hits the headlines. Sometimes she laughs them off, other times it feels personal.

Research suggests that when comments move from debate to racism, the impact is much greater than just hurt feelings, it has a consistent link with health - particularly mental health. …

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"I was sent to a counsellor who told me that I could change my sexuality ... if you have people who are telling you that you need to change something which is actually fundamental to who you are, it does do lasting damage."

Paul Stevens has first-hand experience of so-called conversion "therapy" - the harmful practice of trying to change someone's sexuality - first hand, but moves to ban it so far have seen confusion and division envelop both Labour and National.

Justice Minister Kris Faafoi introduced the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill last Friday.

Justice Minister Kris Faafoi

The bill creates a pathway for civil redress, as well as two new criminal offences:

Up to three years in prison for performing conversion practices on people under 18 years old or with impaired decision-making capacity

Up to five years for conducting conversion practices that cause serious harm

In an interview just hours later however Faafoi struggled to explain it, and did not rule out parents being criminalised for preventing their children from taking hormone blockers.

It was a communications blunder that recalled his disastrous approach to hate speech legislation, and has commentators questioning whether he's just had enough.

Faafoi himself believes he has been clear enough in selling the bill's intention.

"I think we've made it clear what the intent of the bill , it's to make sure we're preventing harm."

The bill is no godsend for National either.

Read more:

Former victim of gay conversion therapy lauds government's move to ban it

Conversion therapy ban legislation passes first reading at Parliament

Young Nats break with party over conversion therapy vote

The trip wires in legislation banning conversion therapy

ACT, National warn of conversion therapy bill 'risk'

Leader Judith Collins signalled in April the party supported a ban, but ahead of its first reading on Thursday justice spokesperson Simon Bridges said the party would not back it without changes, a move that prompted outcry from the party's youth wing.

Political commentator and National Party member Liam Hehir says social issues will always be a sore spot for the party because of its very nature.

"The National Party ... it's a conservative party and a liberal party so there's not going to be a high degree of consensus ... that's just an outcome of being a big-tent party of a broad-church party." …

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"We're making sure that every Māori child can see themselves and their language and their culture valued in the education system ... it's basically what non-Māori children see in the education system already."

Associate Education Minister (Māori education) Kelvin Davis says the suite of initiatives to meaningfully embed te reo Māori and tikanga into the education system should have been done decades ago.

As part of a series this week, RNZ has been looking at efforts to ensure schools and teachers value and use te reo and tikanga Māori every day.

The government is spending millions on courses for te reo, tikanga, Māori culture, and systemic racism. The Teaching Council has also made te reo and tikanga a condition for certification, with 34,800 teachers confirming their compliance and just 300 falling short.

Teachers widely back the moves, saying te reo Māori is making them better educators, and awareness of unconscious bias is improving achievement. More than 300 schools or groups of schools have applied for cultural capability training this year alone.

Davis - who is also Māori-Crown Relations Minister and the Minister for Children - says the government is enabling the aspirations of what Te Tiriti o Waitangi promises.

Read more:

The schools walking the Treaty talk

Racism in schools: Calls for cultural competency in the classroom

Māori teachers optimistic about scale of change

Teachers say learning te reo is making them better at their jobs

Racism in schools: Principals and teachers back Māori cultural training

Burden of history: Iwi, hapū struggle with demand for school support

Decades of achievement data shows that - except in immersion schools, where students achieve extremely well - Māori and Pasifika are behind other populations on nearly every measure, including NCEA pass rates and school retention.

Hastings Girls High School principal Catherine Bentley says school systems have been built so a portion of the population - predominantly New Zealand Europeans - can thrive.

"If you change that, of course that's not gonna sit well with everyone. But it's not about pleasing everyone - it's about doing what's right - that's where the courage comes in."

In New Plymouth, Spotswood College principal Nicola Ngarewa says even basics like pronouncing Māori names correctly helps students feel like they belong at school…

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"We want to avoid the whole politicisation of hate speech ... because at the end of the day our communities suffered greatly and politicising it is actually demeaning. So what we're really wanting is effective change."

Federation of Islamic Associations chair Abdur Razzaq says people have forgotten what the hate speech proposals are about.

Confusion over the government's proposed hate speech law changes have been fuelled by the absence of the minister, and left minority communities worried it leaves space for misinformation to fester.

Listen here

Razzaq says it's not a simple legislative change and people want to know how it relates to other law.

"We're not having any chance to discuss that, face to face ... understand and ask questions about the proposed changes and have a robust discussion but not get into a politicisation."

New Zealand Jewish Council spokesperson Juliet Moses can't understand why the government is missing in action.

"If you want to get these proposals through ... you need to bring people along with you," she says.

"They're saying the purpose of those laws is to enhance social cohesion. I think what we're seeing right now is actually the opposite, if anything - I think we're seeing a lot of division."

Read more:

Silence over hate speech laws has allowed misinformation in, minorities say

Hate speech laws translated from legalese: What you need to know

Human rights lawyer and disabled person Dr Huhana Hickey (Ngāti Tāhinga, Whakatōhea) worries it risks ruining a necessary conversation about hate speech in New Zealand.

"Make your statements, keep them professional and do the job ... they're not doing that, they're 'just start the conversation, get into a bit of a bug hole' and then they end up in this big problem where they don't know how to explain it and so they disappear. And that's not a good sign for any politician of any party.

"People get that as meaning to say he's afraid, he's running away, or 'they don't want to engage, they just want to stop free speech' and that's when all the rumours start, all the toxic conversations start."

Meanwhile, Razzaq wants the government to give communities more time by extending consultation on the proposed reforms. …

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