AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 29, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Explainer – We know, we know. You’re so sick of hearing about American politics.

But while the 2028 presidential election is still a while off, plenty of people are already thinking about it. There’s already a lot of positioning and quiet campaigning going on as the US looks to what might be – possibly – its first non-Trump election in more than 10 years.

It’s less than 1000 days until a new US president is inaugurated on 20 January 2029.

As has been seen throughout the Donald Trump era, whoever is elected in Washington DC can have a big impact on life in Aotearoa, whether it’s the price of petrol or lucrative trade deals.

A former leader of the National Party and a prominent New Zealand historian took a look at the big issues likely to play out as America starts to make its first tentative steps beyond the Trump era – and whether or not that era is likely to end any time soon.

“What happens in America really matters,” said Todd Muller, the former Bay of Plenty MP who led the National Party in 2020, and has a long-standing interest in American politics.

“I don’t think the 2028 election will be ‘normal’ because these are not ‘normal’ times,” said Paul Taillon, a senior lecturer in US history at the University of Auckland.

Will 2028 be a continuation of the Trump era or a rebuttal of it? Here’s what we know at the moment.

Wait, isn’t the 2028 US election more than two years away? Settle down, mate.

Yes, the election won’t be held until 7 November 2028 – but because running for president is insanely expensive and America’s population of nearly 350 million is more than 60 times larger than New Zealand, the cycle is already starting as candidates visit key states, hit party meetings and seek out donors.

Because Donald Trump is technically unable to run again (more on that in a minute), hopeful successors on the Republican side like Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are jostling for power. On the Democratic side, many hopefuls recently attended the National Action Network meeting in New York City hoping to gather buzz.

The first candidates for president are likely to announce by the end of this year or early 2027, after November’s midterm elections. Most major candidates would need to declare by midyear in 2027 to have a chance of gathering enough money and support to make a run official.

A typical presidential campaign runs as long as two years – Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 was a serious outlier as she only had 108 days to campaign against Trump after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Billions of dollars are spent by the candidates, political parties, and a vast multiverse of donors, lobbyists and action committees.

US presidential elections are every four years, but because the 435 members of the House of Representatives are up for election every two years and typically also about a third of the Senate, who serve seven-year terms, campaigning never really ends, Muller said.

“America really is the country of non-stop campaigning and is part of why intense partisanship is more hard-wired there than any other western democracy.”

The midterm elections on 3 November this year will see the House and 35 Senators up for election and determine who will control Congress for the rest of Trump’s term. Whatever happens then, we’ll see the next presidential race immediately leap into higher gear.

Trump has been hurting in the polls with the Iran war, and almost no US president has historically been able to avoid “lame duck” status – a lessening of their power and influence – in the final half of a second term.

“The midterm election this November is critical to the context of 2028,” Muller said.

“Currently the Republicans are being hammered for the cost of living and the Iran War. However if the Democrats win big in 2026 and take back control of both houses, they then are likely to be tarred with the ongoing economic challenges many Americans are feeling in their back pockets come 2028.”

Could Trump actually run for a third term?

There’s been plenty of chatter about that – former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has repeatedly claimed there is a “plan” for Trump to run for a third term.

This ignores powerful guardrails set up by the US Constitution – the 22nd Amendment was passed in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times in a row, and it decrees that nobody can be elected president more than twice. (Trump was elected to non-consecutive terms, although he has run three times.)

Nobody has ever really tested that amendment, Taillon notes.

“If Trump decides to test or defy that amendment he will likely trigger a constitutional crisis which will polarise the country even further,” Taillon said.

“This issue has been batted around the internet a fair bit and it seems that it would come down to the Supreme Court which Trump could choose to defy.”

Of course, biological facts are also a factor – Trump will be 82 in 2028, and would be nearly 87 years old by the time a hypothetical third term ended in January 2033.

So why should New Zealand be paying attention?

Tariffs, the war in Iran affecting fuel prices, inflation, defence policies and the less obvious drift of political polarisation – what happens in America affects us here whether or not we like it.

“What happens in America really matters, and Trump has forced every country to reassess its global relationships and reflect on how best to navigate heightened volatility,” Muller said.

“We do this well. I have a lot of time for our foreign affairs teams globally and our long-standing tradition of impressive foreign ministers. NZ tend to be good at relationships, adding practical thinking to gnarly issues of the day.”

Is 2028 likely to be a more ‘normal’ election?

Muller said “US politics is rarely normal as we would see it” in New Zealand. He attended both the Democrat and Republican party conventions in 2016, and has hosted a podcast on US politics since leaving Parliament.

“US elections are often highly partisan, brutally pointed and personal, underpinned by a ‘free speech anything goes’ type of campaigning.

“I expect 2028 will be a tough watch with the two parties going hammer and tong at each other,” he said, although noted that it wouldn’t be any fiercer than some other past US elections like the 1968 campaign overshadowed by Vietnam and mass protests or the controversial 2000 near-tie election which went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Taillon said “normal” left the field long ago for much of US politics.

“The Republican Party itself is not normal, nor can we even talk about it as ‘the’ Republican Party as it had been in the early 21st century, even as a conservative political party which had defined itself against New Deal modern liberalism. It has been taken over by a movement which has no regard for ‘normal’ politics.”

Taillon said Trump “has no regard for ‘normal’ political practice and has succeeded in disrupting just about every norm of political practice and good government as we had known it.”

Multiple states in the US have redrawn their congressional districts to favour one party or the other more, which could also end up in more court battles and disruption.

“There is good reason to think that Trump will not accept a vote which does not go his way, given his response to the 2020 election then and since,” Taillon said.

Throw in the potential for political violence – seen most recently again just this week with yet another apparent attempt on Trump’s life – and it’s clear 2028 is not going to be giving us chilled-out election vibes.

OK, but who’s likely to run in 2028?

Vance leads a lot of the very early polling and prediction markets, while Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom is also ranking highly. Rubio, the Secretary of State, could be the first Hispanic president, while Vance, 44 in 2028, would be one of the youngest elected.

Vice presidents often run as the anointed successors and tend to lead early polls based on their name recognition alone, although they have a mixed track record for actually winning the presidency – in recent times, George H.W. Bush and Joe Biden ascended to the top office, while Al Gore and Kamala Harris fell short.

“Gavin Newsom for the Democrats and JD Vance and Marco Rubio for the Republicans are the frontrunners, which is important in a race which will be defined by profile and money,” Muller said.

“Both the Republicans and Democrats will raise and spend more than $5 billion NZD each so early strength is important.”

There are plenty of other candidates that could emerge – popular Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria ‘AOC’ Ocasio-Cortez is rising in some polls, as are other Democrats like former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzger, and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, or Kamala Harris could decide to run again.

Vance and Rubio tend to dominate Republican polls so far, but a dark horse could always emerge – few would have predicted Barack Obama to become president at this point in 2006, for instance.

Even unlikely candidates like Donald Trump Jr. or former Fox News host Tucker Carlson come up in some polls.

“You can never discount an out-of-the-box dark horse candidate coming through from either side,” Muller said.

Taillon said it’s “too early to tell” about 2028. In the past, early prominent names like Jeb Bush or Howard Dean have often faded fast once voting started.

“The primary process sorts out the candidates and there is a lot of time between now and the 2028 primary season.”

If Vance is elected “we might expect him to carry the torch,” Taillon said.

“But given how uniquely Trump has defined this government as a cult of personality, I don’t think it will necessarily be a straightforward matter of carrying on without him.”

Will Trumpism carry on past Trump’s term?

“The MAGA movement with its coalition of America first, anti-globalisation and free trade, religious activism, anti-immigration and anti-wokeness will continue for the foreseeable future,” Muller said.

“But the ‘Trumpism’ of the man will not have the same potency without him. His unique style will not be replicable by future Republican standard bearers, but his impact on the future of American right of politics has been as transformational as Ronald Reagan.”

A wide variety of factors led to the rise of Trump and many of those haven’t gone away, Taillon noted.

“The phenomena that is Trumpism has emerged out of concrete social/political circumstances and in a specific historical context, dating to the dislocations of the 1970s in the long term, the 1990s (and Newt Gingrich’s Contract on America), and the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis and President Barack Obama’s administration.”

Love or hate the man, Trump’s impact on America can’t be denied, Taillon agreed.

“Trump must rank as one of the top four most consequential presidents in US history, but not in a good way,” he said. “His legacy will continue after he departs from the political scene.”

“It will take some sort of period of ‘re-formation’ to reset US politics to something more functional than what it has now. And the Democratic Party must reinvent itself as an engine of change for that to happen.”

Is the long, polarised cycle of American elections starting to seep into NZ politics?

New Zealand’s own 7 November election this year was announced in January, meaning that the entire year is consumed by election politics.

Politicians are ultimately always campaigning in some sense, and Muller said that there’s little chance America’s current deep polarisation will end in 2028 – and in New Zealand, we’ll continue to get echoes of those same culture wars.

“Polarisation will continue and the disintegration of formal media channels and rapid reach of social and AI into all aspects of society will only exacerbate that trend,” Muller said.

“NZ is slightly less exposed because of our small population and institutions which reflect most political views. But we are not immune and looking back over decades all societal trends both good and bad, eventually wash up on our shores.

“NZ will never be like America in its day to day politics, but the issues, the language, the campaign tactics will invariably have its own Kiwi echo.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Greens are defending their candidate for Māngere, saying now he has been selected he will be expected to meet different standards of behaviour.

Michel Mulipola was recently confirmed as the Green Party candidate for the South Auckland seat of Māngere.

Social media posts have surfaced showing him ripping up the New Zealand flag, calling police ‘pigs’, and a member of the coalition government as a “piece of s***”.

Former Labour MP Peeni Henare was also ordered by leader Chris Hipkins two years ago to remove reposting of Mulipola’s art depicting ACT leader David Seymour with faeces coming from his eyes, and depicting Simeon Brown as a baboon’s bottom.

Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said Mulipola had a history as an advocate exposing unfairness.

“He is a strong, outspoken advocate and has spent a lot of time exposing racism, injustice, unfairness for the communities he represents,” she told reporters.

“As an independent person, as a creator and an artist. He speaks and represents his communities and the South Auckland experiences for communities who have been undeserved for decades and decades.”

He would be expected to meet higher behavioural standards as a candidate, she said.

“As a Green candidate, he knows that we have a standard of approach and language … he is aware that as a Green candidate, we have a different approach. He wants to focus on highlighting how this government’s decisions have harmed Māngere and what the Green solutions are for people.”

She said she had not seen the video of Mulipola ripping up the New Zealand flag, but it was not “an approach that the Green Party would take”.

In New Zealand, destroying or damaging the New Zealand flag with the intention of dishonouring it is an offence, leading to a potential fine of up to $5000.

Davidson said she knew it was considered serious in law, but “I’m personally not attached to our flag, so I’m not passionate about the flag”.

She expressed a disinterest in changing the law to remove penalties, however, saying she had other things to focus on.

ACT Party leader David Seymour said the Green co-leaders defending Mulipola were encouraging a path towards political violence.

“How are Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson a good fit for Parliament when they defend that sort of behaviour on the basis that if you feel disadvantaged or if you feel angry, then anything is justified?

“That’s their argument… that’s the path to political violence, when you say ‘my feelings trump any kind of discipline that I might apply so our society can work together’.

“I think if somebody is going to say that someone is a POS, the least you can do as a party leader is say, yeah, actually, we don’t accept that as candidates.”

Labour’s leader Chris Hipkins said he had not looked at all the comments in detail, but it was the sort of language he would not condone or support.

“I would have an issue with that if any current politician was expressing those things.

“I accept people will have said things in their pasts, you know, in their previous lives, people are allowed to grow up, people are allowed to change their minds, they’re allowed to moderate and so on – but if they’re currently held views of people standing for Parliament I would have a problem with that.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he respected the flag, but it was a matter for the Green Party.

NZ First leader Winston Peters said it was “pretty much like the Green Party, they’re a disgrace”.

“The party of [former Green co-leader Jeanette] Fitzsimons and others in the past is totally gone,” he said. “It’s an utter disgrace and the language is shocking, just revolting in the extreme.”

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

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ultra-marathon swimmer Jono Ridler has handed his bottom trawling ban petition over to Parliament, with a National MP hinting the party will take a policy on bottom trawling to the election.

The petition was signed by 73,647 people, and called for an end to the practice, starting with seamounts.

Earlier this month, Ridler finished his almost 1400km swim to Wellington, to highlight calls for the government to ban bottom trawling.

The 1367km effort began in North Cape on 5 January, finishing at the capital’s Whairepo Lagoon on 4 April, with a crowd of supporters watching on.

It set a world record for the longest unassisted staged swim, with Ridler only wearing togs, goggles, and a swim cap.

Ridler said the swim had brought the matter into the public consciousness, which was what he wanted to achieve.

“There is real momentum and real desire for change, and that people are paying attention to what is happening in their ocean space now, and they’re caring about it, and it’s important to us, and it’s great to see that other people back that as well.”

Ridler said New Zealand was the only country that was currently bottom trawling in the high seas of the South Pacific.

“Our ask is obviously wider than just the high seas, it’s bottom trawling in its entirety. There are better ways, we think, of being able to harvest wild food while also allowing a living for commercial fishermen. So there’s got to be a happy medium that exists where there’s not ecological destruction and where we can have a sustainable industry as well.”

Three-and-a-half weeks since the swim ended, he said he had recovered quicker than expected, and was already back exercising and swimming.

Ridler partnered with marine conservation foundation Live Ocean, which was co-founded by Olympic gold medallists and America’s Cup winners Peter Burling and Blair Tuke, to gather support for the petition.

Tuke said the swim was one of the “greatest human endurance feats of all time,” and the message was clear that New Zealanders wanted to see change.

“If you look outside the petition too, just the general groundswell of people that followed Jono’s mission, and what it represented, was huge. It’s a moment in time, and one that I’m incredibly proud of, and now it’s just about using that moment to make real change.”

The petition was accepted by National’s Northland MP Grant McCallum, who said National would “certainly” take policy in the marine space to the election, and it was “very much” looking at seamounts.

“We think there’s definitely some policy work we can do there. As co-chair of the Bluegreens it’s one of the big focuses for me, the whole marine space and the abundance and health of the whole ecosystem and the fisheries,” he said.

“We all want to be able to go and enjoy it, and we want our grandkids to be able to go and enjoy it, but for that to happen, we’ve got to make some decisions now, which are going to lead to better outcomes going forward. Because at the moment, it’s not in a great shape.”

Seamounts and other underwater hills and knolls are often home to diverse coral and sponges and key breeding grounds for fish.

Other National and ACT MPs attended the handover.

ACT leader David Seymour said the party was opposed to bottom trawling, unless it was done in places where there was repetitive use, and it was not destroying any new ground.

“We don’t believe that they should be destroying new seabed, that’s destructive. I think there’s a lot of practices out there that are open to challenge, such as taking a purse seine net out off the Bay of Plenty and just sweeping up all the fish in that area.”

The next step is for Parliament’s Petitions Committee to consider the petition in detail.

The Oceans and Fisheries minister, Shane Jones, has previously voiced his opposition to a ban, telling RNZ Pacific in February that New Zealand’s fishing industry had a “proud and very long” history of catching fish sustainably in the Pacific.

It is not the only area in the fisheries space where coalition parties have had differing views.

Last month, Jones was forced into a u-turn on plans to scrap most minimum size limits for commercial fishers, with National, ACT, and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters claiming they were responsible for getting the clause removed from the Fisheries Amendment Act.

National is also campaigning on stronger protections for the Hauraki Gulf, despite helping pass legislation to allow commercial fishing in two of the 12 High Protection Areas.

McCallum said that was “the nature” of coalition politics.

“This is the opportunity, with an election coming up, we can put our cards on the table of what are the sorts of marine space that we want to work in, and the policies we want around that, and so that’s what we’ll be focused on very much.”

Ridler and Tuke would be meeting with MPs across the House, including Jones, on Wednesday.

Tuke expected a “robust” conversation.

“We’re in this for the long-term, because we want to see a great New Zealand, and we believe how we’re fishing and the method that we’re fishing isn’t right currently, and we need to set up for a longer-term sustainable future.”

Jones said he understood the “great deal of passion associated with being better stewards of the ocean,” but any changes to New Zealand First policy positions depended on the caucus, and he would report back to the caucus on options as it progressed towards the election.

“We’re a pragmatic party, and we’re not going to make final decisions which have an effect on industry in any sort of indiscriminate way,” Jones said.

He said he was looking forward to meeting with Ridler and Tuke.

“They obviously feel that the current settings don’t pass muster. Look, you have to respect anyone who’s swum the entirety of Te Ika-a-Māui.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Proposed legislation reducing decision-makers obligations to no more than “take into account” Treaty obligations won’t be introduced before August.

Closing submissions took place on Tuesday in the Waitangi Tribunal’s urgent inquiry into the removal of school boards’ legal obligation to give effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, although the tribunal expanded the scope of the inquiry to include the proposed removal of other Treaty references in the Education and Training Act.

Evidence submitted to the tribunal showed that, on current timeframes, proposed legislation that would require decision-makers to “take into account” Te Tiriti, rather than “give effect” to it would not be introduced to the House before early-August 2026.

Legislation is expected to be introduced before this year’s general election.

The Crown memorandum also identified nine provisions of the Education and Training Act 2020 that were in scope for the proposed Bill.

It follows a review of all legislation, with the exception of Treaty settlements, that includes ‘the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi’ which was part of the coalition agreement between NZ First and National.

The [urgent inquiry, which was brought by Ngāti Hine, Te Kapotai and the country’s largest education union NZEI Te Riu Roa, heard evidence over three days on the removal of school boards’ legal obligations and a planned reset of the national curriculum.

NZEI Te Riu Roa President Ripeka Lessels said the disclosure in the Crown memorandum confirms the government is attempting to erase Te Tiriti from education despite unprecedented opposition from more than 1840 school boards and education sector leaders.

“By removing Te Tiriti obligations from the Act, the government is marginalising ākonga Māori and leaving teachers without the essential framework needed to address longstanding inequities.

“This is a clear breach of Te Tiriti principle of partnership that should define our schools, undermining the hard-won progress made by educators.”

By lowering the legal threshold to ‘take into account’ Te Tiriti, the government is effectively telling ākonga Māori and their whānau that their rights are secondary considerations rather than a high priority, she said.

“To push this change through despite the Ministry of Justice’s warnings proves this is a purely ideological move. It will roll back decades of progress in dismantling the systemic disadvantage faced by ākonga Māori. We will not stand by while the rights of our ākonga are stripped away as part of a coalition agreement.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

You pay tax, the government spends it.

But what does it spend it on?

If you have ever wondered exactly where the tax money goes, here is a breakdown.

In the year to 30 June, 2025, total government spending was $183.5 billion.

Of that, social security and welfare took the largest amount, at $57.6b. This included NZ Super, which was just over $23b.

This total had increased from $53.99b the year before.

Next was health, with $29.8b.

Third was education, at $22.3b, up from $21.18b the year before.

Fourth was economic and industrial services, spending by the government to support and regulate business activities, at $16.2b.

Then was transport at communications, $15.83b.

It was followed by law and order, $7.3b, heritage, culture and recreation at $3.38b, housing and community development at $4.5b, defence at $3.23b, environmental protection at $2.3b and primary services $2.53b.

Core government services – made up of Crown departments, Offices of Parliament, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and the Reserve Bank – took up $7.77b.

Finance costs were $10.39b – that was the interest bill for government borrowing.

The Government Superannuation Fund Authority’s expenses were $83 million.

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said New Zealand offered a lot of transparency around government spending.

But he said many people thought about tax the wrong way.

“The question is actually the other way around. What public services and what quality of public services do you want, and how do you pay for it? And then you can decide how much tax to pay, because that’s the envelope, and who pays that tax.

“Because we tend to start a conversation on the wrong end, ‘I must never pay tax, but I want all the best services’, we end up in this standoff.”

He said it was a harder conversation to have because it was inconvenient.

“If you want nice things, you have to pay for it. You can’t just rely on other people to do it for you … And I think that sense of responsibility and having to do it yourself is quite problematic for people, because for a long time, I think post the Second World War, when the welfare state was built, the broad idea was trust central government, they’ll take care of all these things so you don’t have to.

“But that has broken down, and this is going to get worse, because when we made these promises, we used to have loads of young people, we could tax our workers, and we had a surplus, we had an abundance of income to buy things. But we don’t anymore.

“We kind of ran out of the runway about a decade ago, and it’s only going to get harder from here, because the demographic maths gets harder.

“Too many old people, not enough working age people. Nothing wrong with old people. And I think people think I vilify old people. It’s not that. You can’t just pay yourself lots of money without having a source of revenue.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Australasian bosses across agriculture, aviation and freight sectors are in the ear of their government officials in dealing with the chaotic global supply chain.

The government announced on Tuesday it secured an initial agreement with Z Energy to procure an additional 90 million litres of diesel for Aotearoa, as key shipping routes in the Middle East remained blockaded.

Through late March and April, the Australian federal government secured hundreds of millions of litres of diesel from markets like Singapore and Malaysia, as well as locking in fertiliser deals covering 250,000 tonnes of urea from Indonesia, and supply commitments from Brunei.

It also introduced various tax relief packages on fuel excise and heavy vehicle user charges, and underwrote imports of fuel and fertiliser.

Finance minister Nicola Willis met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers last week, followed by a large roundtable meeting with Australasian bosses of industries exposed to supply chain disruptions, like agriculture.

Featured was Australia’s peak farming industry body, the National Farmers’ Federation.

Chief executive Mike Guerin said he applauded his federal government for its response after the beginning of the war in late February, and welcomed more collaboration with New Zealand.

He said Australia went “hard and early”, such as with the underwriting of fuel imports.

“That’s an example where Australia went very early, and New Zealand’s done something similar, but perhaps not quite as well as Australia has.”

New Zealand-born Guerin said both countries shared challenges around fuel and fertiliser shocks.

“Both countries have very little fuel supply onshore, but neither country has much processing capacity left to process and refine oils, for example, into finished product. The same broadly applies to fertiliser.”

But he said there was good discussion at the meeting about possibly sharing infrastructure in the longer term, including linking up vessel schedules.

“We could see lots of things we could do for each other, and they’re very willing to do so.”

• How have fuel and fertiliser challenges affected your farm? Let us know monique.steele@rnz.co.nz

Guerin said while no actions were firmly agreed to during the initial conversation, there were options tabled for manufacturing and storage.

“Rather than each of us working away, an issue which is difficult given our lack of scale in global terms, if we work together, there could be enormous value in that,” he said.

“Save some money, save some costs and give us both more confidence in storage and processing and manufacturing, and those big inputs to agriculture, because as we know, in both countries, for generations we’ve been able to take food security for granted.”

He said it was all about protecting food security and building a supply chain for Australasia together to deal with the immediate and longer term issues ahead.

Finance Minister

New Zealand’s Finance Minister Nicola Willis said close co-operation between New Zealand and Australia made sense, particularly to share information on fuel markets, shipping movements, supply chain risks and resilience options.

She said it was a valuable opportunity to gain feedback from across agriculture, freight, aviation, retail and energy sectors about the impact of higher costs and supply uncertainty, when considering our own planning and response options.

“Industry engagement helps ensure decisions reflect operational realities and the needs of key sectors such as food production, freight and emergency services. And more detail of phases 3 and 4 will be announced next week,” she said.

She said both countries were facing similar supply challenges.

“We have also amended fuel specifications to better align with Australia, helping ensure New Zealand can access supply headed into the same regional market,” she said.

“Alongside that, the Government is progressing practical regulatory changes identified by industry to improve fuel efficiency and resilience, including freight and transport settings.”

Earlier advice on fertiliser supply from key New Zealand-based supplier Ravensdown was that the country had sufficient fertiliser supply through to mid-August.

Willis said the Government was in regular contact with the fertiliser industry and monitored international supply chains closely, while Australia’s recent arrangement focused on securing winter supply.

“As a food-producing country, we [New Zealand] remain connected to major suppliers and producers, and ready to act to any emerging pressure points,” she said.

“Farmers and growers are critical to New Zealand’s economy. We know higher fuel and input costs create pressure, which is why our focus remains on targeted, timely and practical measures that support supply continuity, strengthen resilience and keep the economy moving.”

Willis described the situation on Wednesday’s Morning Report as “the worst oil supply shock in history.”

The latest Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment fuel supply statistics lifted, showing of Sunday, the country had 52 days of petrol, 46 days of diesel and 49 days of jet fuel either in country or on its way.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Mike Hosking says TVNZ threatened legal action against NZME if it was to publish a story about its political editor allegedly using a homophobic slur.

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she shut down an event in her office last year after “offensive language” was used during a function she hosted for press gallery journalists.

Willis held pre-Budget drinks in her office in May where an incident between two journalists is alleged to have happened.

Political commentator Ani O’Brien wrote on her Substack page on Tuesday morning that TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman allegedly used a homophobic slur against Stuff journalist Lloyd Burr.

On Wednesday morning, Newstalk ZB host Hosking told listeners his producer, Sam Carran, was pulling information together on a story about the alleged incident last year and had gone to TVNZ for comment.

It was at that point, Hosking said, TVNZ “threatened to sue us”.

“We got the big broad-based fat letter from the lawyers – it was one of those very wide-ranging letters you get from corporate lawyers basically encompassing everything.

“It doesn’t matter what you say, when you say, why you say it, how you say it, they’re going to go you for something. It was one of those letters.”

Hosking said such letters don’t faze him – but corporate lawyers do worry about them.

It had a “chilling effect” on the story and interest waned, he said.

That was until O’Brien wrote about it on Tuesday and the story went public.

“Should we have gone a bit cold on it ourselves? Personally, no, but we did, and you can ask NZME about that another time if you want to.

“The good news is that in this modern day and age, it was always going to come out in some way, shape or form.”

At Parliament on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour was asked about the possibility of legal threats to stop NZME publishing the story.

In response, Seymour said TVNZ are “supposed to be defenders of press freedom, not attackers of it”.

“I think if that’s what they’ve been doing against NZME, that’s really surprising. And frankly, this is for all you guys.

“I mean, you want people to trust the press. This behavior doesn’t help. There’s a lot of people here, good reporters, who are innocent of any of this, but you’ll get dragged down with it too.”

Seymour said when it comes to defamation there were long established legal tests regarding whether a reasonable person would have their reputation diminished, and the defence is there of truth.

“I can understand there might be a ‘chilling effect’ but if you’re certain that something’s true, you should be prepared to say it.

“I think it’s pretty clear from the reporting that’s gone on, no one’s denying the truth of it.”

Seymour said he wasn’t aware of the considerations Newstalk ZB had to make in regards to defamation, “somebody else has reported and hasn’t suffered any consequence, so there you go.”

On Tuesday, TVNZ responded to RNZ’s questions on the allegations made against Sherman, saying: “We do not comment on employment matters.”

In a statement, Stuff said: “Stuff Group stands by, and has complete faith in, Lloyd Burr’s account of the events and his conduct in Minister Willis’ office last May.

“We will continue to respect his wishes not to comment further on what occurred that night.”

On Tuesday on her way to Question Time, Willis told reporters she was “absolutely not” involved in what was published by O’Brien on Substack.

“I have absolutely not been involved in talking to that blogger, in being involved in any way – in fact, I have worked to keep it as private as possible due to my concern for the individual who was the subject of the slur and their desire for it not to enter the public domain.”

When contacted for further comment, TVNZ said it does not comment on employment matters.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Large nitrous oxide canisters will automatically be classed as psychoactive substances if they do not have a lawful use, with the government introducing measures to crack down on their misuse.

The gas has common legitimate medical and commercial uses, such as for pain relief or anaesthesia, or as a propellant to make whipped cream.

But the recreational use of nitrous oxide, or nangs, is illegal under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013.

Despite that, enforcement currently required proof of intent.

The government will bring in new rules so proof of intent is no longer required, and all large canisters over 10 grams will be automatically regulated under the act.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the large canisters could contain up to 3.3 litres of gas.

“While they are often marketed as ‘cream chargers’, the Ministry of Health has not identified any legitimate use for them, and has not found evidence of caterers using canisters of this size,” he said.

Brown said misuse continued to grow, and it was becoming a serious public health concern.

“The harms can be significant and long-lasting, and it is clear we need to do more,” he said.

The government would also bring in a new import restriction under the Customs and Excise Act 2018, which would require importers of all forms of nitrous oxide to get approval from the Director-General of Health before bringing it into New Zealand.

“This will prevent imports intended for inhalation for recreational use, helping keep high-risk supply out of the market while ensuring legitimate users can continue to access it,” Brown said.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said automatically classifying large canisters as psychoactive substances would make enforcement simpler and more effective for police.

“Anyone who sells or supplies nitrous oxide for the purpose of inducing a psychoactive effect already faces penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment or fines of up to $500,000,” he said.

“These changes close loopholes and give police clearer tools to crack down on those putting New Zealanders at risk.”

In February, a Checkpoint investigation showed how easy it was to get nitrous oxide from dairies, vape stores, and convenience stores.

The investigation found of 16 stores visited across Auckland, at least half were willing to sell canisters with virtually no checks.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand First leader and Rail Minister Winston Peters has hinted he won’t support a law change letting trucks carry more weight during the fuel crisis.

He was adamant: “It’s a no brainer, rail is the answer,” to the fuel crisis.

The government is considering cutting regulations for heavy vehicles in an effort to save fuel, including easing truck weight limits.

When asked whether he would veto that, Peters said: “Stand back and watch.”

He told reporters he was not on board with the idea.

“I’m not for these changes … these weight limits are put there for good reasons, because of potholes and bridge strength and what have you,” he said.

“We’re going to make sure we use rail.”

Peters’ opposition was put to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who said his coalition partners’ comments were “a bit premature”.

The government was considering “all ideas” and associated trade-offs, and nothing had gone to Cabinet, he said.

Resources Minister and New Zealand First deputy Shane Jones agreed.

“The State at the end of the day has to deal with the impact on heavy traffic on our roads, but it’s really important that we keep the fuel flowing, and I’m imagining that a fair bit of freight may even go on to KiwiRail.”

The Prime Minister added: “I imagine a lot of freight will go on to KiwiRail.”

Shifting more freight to rail would not require any regulatory changes – companies can choose to do that if they wish.

KiwiRail publishes its available capacity online and said it anticipated that would be allocated quickly.

Trains were two-and-a-half times more fuel efficient than trucks and there were thousands of wagons available, Peters said.

Peters said the freight industry was using a crisis to get the law changed.

“This ain’t the first time the trucking industry’s tried this on.”

Earlier on Tuesday Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the industry had been advocating for weight limit changes for some time, and the crisis was an opportunity to expedite that work.

Transporting New Zealand chief executive Dom Kalasih told Morning Report loosening the weight restrictions would unlock extra productivity and save several million litres of diesel.

He urged the government to make the changes immediately.

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