AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for May 2, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

Solomon Islands could have a new prime minister next week.

The court of appeal has ordered the current prime minister Jeremiah Manele to call Parliament by the 7th of May to face a motion-of-no-confidence in his leadership.

The court dismissed Mr Manele’s appeal against Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer’s earlier ruling to that effect.

Appeal court Judges Sir Gibbs Salika, Howard Lawry, Gina Nott delivered their ruling this afternoon in the High Court precinct in Honiara amid a heightened police presence.

The ruling is the latest in a series of court cases following Manele’s refusal to call parliament after mass defections from his coalition government in March.

Speaking to local media outside the court the lawyer representing the opposition group Gabriel Suri welcomed the ruling.

“The court of appeal ruled that the prime minister must take all necessary steps before the 7th of May to call parliament,” Suri said.

The attorney general John Muria Jr expressed disappointment in the ruling, but told Solomon Business Magazine the court had spoken.

“I still yet have to go through the whole judgement and then advise the prime minister on what (are) the appropriate steps to take,” John Muria Jr said.

Potential end to political impasse in sight

The ruling brings the country one step closer to a potential resolution of a drawn out political impasse which began in March after a mass resignation of government ministers and MPs.

Now in a new coalition of parties withing the opposition the group claims to have the support of 27MPs in the 50 seat parliament.

However its attempts to convert that numerical superiority into a transition to power have been thwarted so far with prime minister Jeremiah Manele refusing to call parliament and face a leadership vote on the floor.

In ruling on a judicial review brought earlier this month by the new coalition against Manele’s refusal to call a sitting, the Chief Justice Sir Albert Palmer stated that the Prime Minister was under a “constitutional duty” to ensure a motion of no confidence was brought before Parliament at the earliest opportunity and that not doing so is “unlawful”.

Sir Albert also said if the prime minister failed to call parliament the Governor-General can call Parliament, and the Speaker is ordered to ensure the motion of no confidence is prioritised.

Who could become the next PM?

The new coalition whose leaders have referred to themselves as the government in waiting have yet to publicly nominate someone from their ranks as the next prime minister.

This decision could make or break the alliance on internal loyalties alone.

So far only the former foreign minister Peter Shanel Agovaka has publicly stated his desire for the top job telling RNZ Pacific in March that it had been offered to him in exchange for his resignation from government.

However, the leader of the largest party within the new coalition is Frederick Koloqeto and it was his 12-member party’s departure from government that meant Jeremiah Manele lost his majority in parliament.

There are also at least two former prime ministers within the new coalition namely Gordon Darcy Lilo and Rick Hounipwela and of course the Leader of the Opposition Matthew Wale.

The choice of prime ministerial candidates has been the bane of political parties seeking to form government in the Solomon Islands because no MP is legally tied to a political party and can jump ship at a moment’s notice.

It is also worth mentioning that the new coalition group which had maintained the support of 28 MPs for several weeks saw a crack in its solidarity on Sunday when the MP for South New Georgia Rendova and Tetepare, David Gina, joined government and was sworn in as the minister for rural development.

Anything can happen

Even if the new coalition puts forward a prime ministerial candidate and parliament is finally called there are still several potential outcomes for the current political impasse.

The motion-of-no-confidence is conducted by secret ballot and the nomination of prime ministerial candidates can be made on the floor so with a 27-23 split it would take just a few absetentions and judas votes to sway the outcome either way.

And of course between now and Tuesday, Manele might still regain his majority if he can woo enough MPs unhappy with the prime ministerial candidate that emerges or how potential future ministerial portfolios are being divvied up within the new coalition.

For now the only certainty is that Manele has been ordered to call parliament on Tuesday, and the country’s leadership is on the line.

Meanwhile, police have called for public calm while the democratic process runs its course.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Oz/NZ great divide when it comes to treating blood cancer

This week, actor Sam Neill announced he was cancer free, after groundbreaking treatment for lymphoma blood cancer in Australia.

Now he’s fighting for the lifesaving CAR T-cell therapy to be available for blood cancer patients across Australia, fronting a media campaign there calling for public funding of the treatment.

“Treatments like this – CAR-T therapies and others coming through in a rapidly changing medical world – I hope to be available to everyone who needs them in Australia and NZ [and worldwide],” he said.

CAR T-cell therapy genetically modifies the patient’s immune cells to target and kill the cancer cells.

When chemotherapy he was undergoing in New Zealand stopped working to treat his blood cancer, Neill was accepted into an Australian clinical trial for the T-cell therapy. It was his last option and it worked.

“It’s science at its best,” said Neill, who is patron of Snowdome medical foundation, which has been pushing for the therapy to be accessible to everyone.

The same battle for access to the best blood cancer treatment is going on in New Zealand, but there are stark differences between the two countries in what’s offered to patients and their survival rates.

In Australia, CAR T-cell therapy is already available in the public health system for certain blood cancers at certain hospitals, and the government is set to announce a rollout of the specific therapy used in Neill’s treatment in the next two months.

Here, there is no funded CAR-T therapy. Blood Cancer NZ head of advocacy Rosie Shaw says New Zealanders have to go offshore for the treatment that costs more than NZ$700,000 per patient.

Shaw says a privately funded CAR-T clinical trial is underway in New Zealand and, if it is successful, it could lead to funded treatment, but nothing is promised and the New Zealand health system is grappling with introducing expensive, but revolutionary new blood cancer therapies and medicines.

She says Neill’s news brings a lot of optimism to an issue that is little understood.

Last week, the Blood Cancer NZ charity presented its State of Blood Cancer report at parliament, which detailed the burden of blood cancer for the first time.

There are 100 different types of the disease, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. It is estimated 27,000 Kiwis live with blood cancer, one in 18 will develop it in their lifetimes.

It is the third-leading cause of cancer death, but in most cases, it cannot be prevented or screened for, and it cannot be removed by surgery.

It can be cured or treated with medicines and, in some cases, a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant.

Like Neill, Auckland man Andrew Mackintosh initially had chemotherapy for his aggressive form of lymphoma and it also stopped working.

Unlike Neill, who had access to revolutionary therapy, Mackintosh’s only lifesaving, cancer-curing option was a stem cell transplant, but he was told he would have to wait in the queue, because there was not enough hospital space or medical staff to treat him immediately.

Eight months later, he got the transplant. In Australia. He says he would have waited 1-2 months, but he was too sick to travel.

By then, he was so ill, he was not sure he would survive. He’s grateful the transplant cured him, but he is angry that the delay cost him, his family and taxpayers.

“The gaps that I had in the system, they cost me more. They cost me in terms of the outcomes that I’ve got, they’ve cost me in terms of not being able to get back to the workforce.

“They’ve also cost the health system, because that entire eight months that I was waiting, I was on very expensive drugs, I was seeing the haematologist every week, I was getting blood tests done, I needed monitoring, I needed tests. It’s not saving the health system money by not providing these services.

“They gave me the treatment that I waited for eventually and then I needed more help out the back side of it, so I’m angry that there’s no point – not even a cost-saving benefit – to not providing these outcomes. It’s just hurting everyone, including the taxpayer.”

Macintosh decided to speak about his experience at Blood Cancer NZ’s presentation to parliament last week, because he says other patients who have fallen through the gaps are “too sick, too busy fighting their disease or the system to speak up”.

“Others are no longer here.”

Just last month, he watched his father die, after he was diagnosed with leukeamia.

“It was brutal watching what could have happened to me, happen to him,” he told the group, but he worried about the next generation of his family.

“I am here today to speak as a patient, as someone who has lost his father to blood cancer and as the parent of a potential future patient.

“I need to know that, if a blood cancer or blood disorder diagnosis is in my son’s future, that this preventable harm will be prevented and that his standard of care will not be riddled with gaps that he has no choice but to accept.

“As a parent, I want him to live. I want him to have the best possible outcome.”

In response to the Blood Cancer report, the government said it would set up a taskforce.

Mackintosh says it is the first step in stopping the so-called medical migration of New Zealanders seeking faster, better, but more expensive treatment overseas and stopping the persistently high death rate.

“Especially on the medicines front, we need the funding opened up to Pharmac to fund the blood cancer medicines appropriately. I’ve heard haematologists say we’re 20 years behind in New Zealand on that stuff.

“We also need to close some of the gaps in terms of treatment differences across the country, so removing what gets called the ‘post-code lottery’ for cancer patients, and the other big one from my perspective is the infrastructure including the number of people in the workforce.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

It has been five weeks since Finance Minister Nicola Willis said she was consulting with industries on who would be included in a list for priority fuel, and an energy security expert says the list needs to be released now.

Earlier this week, Shane Jones told Checkpoint officials were finalising the list but didn’t want to rush it and would confirm a timeline at another time.

The government’s National Fuel Plan, outlined rationing measures that would be taken if supplies started running dry.

Resembling the Covid alert levels, the plan had four ‘phases’. New Zealand was at phase one.

Phase 2 would see homes, businesses and the public sector encouraged to conserve fuel. Phase 3 would see fuel prioritised for life-preserving services and phase 4 would see stricter intervention in fuel distribution.

Nathan Surendren, chairperson of Wise Response Society, told Checkpoint, he wanted to see the list of priority users for fuel in phase 3 released now.

“We need certainty around this… people need to plan.”

So far, fuel supply in New Zealand had been pretty stable, he said, but he believed that could be coming to an end.

He thought the government was being “far too relaxed” about the situation.

“Nicola Willis in that meeting five weeks ago said we’d have a plan within two weeks… it’s three weeks past that deadline which was self-imposed…seems to be an ideological reluctance to signal this is a crisis.”

Surendren said the government was “foot-dragging” and he didn’t understand why.

A statement sent to Checkpoint, from the office of Willis, said there had been more than 1900 submissions by businesses and industry bodies on the plan and the feedback was being incorporated into the plan.

The statement did not say when a list of businesses would be released, but said the government was ready to move into the next phase of the plan if needed.

It said the fuel supply in New Zealand was sufficient and orders were confirmed until the middle of June.

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

Source: Green Party

The Green Party says new Stats NZ data shows a 2.1% increase in household living costs is driven by out of control fossil fuel and power prices, and is hitting lower income people the hardest.  

“The Green Party will continue working for practical, common-sense solutions to bring down the cost of living for ordinary people,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.  

“The Greens have called on the Government to lower power bills by up to $1000 a year by making it easier to put solar panels on homes. We have proposed free, expanded public transport to help people get around without blowing their budget at the petrol pump.” 

“Spending on food for the average household has gone up by around $22 a week, and spending on electricity has risen by $8 a week since the December 2023 quarter, based on CPI data. This is why we must electrify our economy with urgency, to reduce energy bills and protect our food supply.” 

“Luxon’s Government is all too keen to ignore New Zealanders struggling to get by, preferring to waste Parliament’s time defining women, undermining our constitutional foundations by ripping out te Tiriti obligations, and tearing the Ministry for the Environment apart.” 

“When somebody shows you who they are and what they care about, believe them. New Zealanders deserve so much better than what they’re getting from this Government.” 

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Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is making a contribution of $150k to Mayoral Relief Funds to help communities in the lower North Island impacted by last week’s flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Mark Mitchell announced today.

“The Government will provide $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund for those impacted by the flooding in Wellington City, and $50,000 for Ruapehu District Council’s Mayoral Relief Fund for those impacted by the flooding in Ohura.

“Last week’s flooding was hugely disruptive and damaging, and my thoughts are with everyone who has had has been impacted.  My deepest condolences are with the loved ones of Philip Sutton, who tragically passed away during the Wellington flooding event,” says Mr Mitchell.

“I have been on the ground in the flood-hit regions to speak with emergency responders and locals to discuss their needs and see the extent of the damage first-hand. I have also been in contact with Mayors in the affected regions to offer the Government’s support.

“This contribution will help communities in Wellington and Ohura to get on with the clean-up, and support those who need it.

“I’d like to acknowledge everyone who stepped up to respond to this event – Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups, councils, first responders, iwi and volunteers, utility and lifeline workers, and members of the community who came to each other’s aid.” 

Mayoral Relief Funds help communities bounce back after an emergency. Local communities and councils understand where the immediate needs are and how to help individuals, whānau and community organisations, marae.

The funds are in addition to other support that may be available from other agencies such as the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry for Primary Industries.

Mayoral Relief Funds are intended to help fill gaps quickly where an immediate need exists. It’s not a replacement for insurance and costs covered by other funding sources.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Businesses say the government’s deal with Z Energy for an emergency diesel reserve is reassuring in case of supply disruption, but will not help with high prices.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday announced the deal which will see Z Energy procure, own and manage 90 million litres of diesel at Marsden Point refinery’s refurbished fuel tanks.

The government would then be able to release the fuel to service stations if normal supply shipments were disrupted.

Business New Zealand’s head of advocacy Catherine Beard told RNZ it was reassuring to businesses.

“All of the goods that move around New Zealand … for anything industrial and commercial it’s diesel is really the critical fuel, so I think this will be quite, quite encouraging for businesses to know that there’ll be extra stock on hand.

“It may not need to be used, but it will shore things up. I understand that supply chains are actually working quite normally, which is really good.”

However, it would do little to help with high diesel costs – which she said was the main problem faced by businesses.

“The issue really has been the price problem. This won’t resolve the price problem but it will give companies and business, I guess, more confidence that we’ve got enough.”

Price monitor app Gaspy showed a diesel price of about $3.32 a litre – down about 20 cents over the past month, but still nearly $1.50 higher than before the Iran conflict.

“It absolutely is a problem, obviously, and businesses would have been trying to where they can absorb it, but it will have to be passed on eventually,” Beard said.

“It’ll start to flow through supply chains and ultimately hit consumers in the pocket as it affects everything that’s moved around.”

She said the government’s moves towards cutting regulations on truck weights – announced by ACT leader David Seymour over the weekend – could take pressure off businesses struggling with those costs.

NZ First leader and Minister for Rail Winston Peters has taken a different tack, calling for a focus on rail instead – a stance Labour and the Greens have also been pushing.

Beard, however, pointed out trains had their limitations.

“Rail is there, but it doesn’t get the goods to the door of the customer. It can work well on main trunk line and taking things maybe from Auckland to Wellington for example, but you still need to distribute your goods to the end user so you can’t really get away from trucks.

“Maybe more could go on the train, but it also depends on timeliness – of how urgent it is to get things delivered and what customers expectations are – but I suppose when we’re in this situation of going into the slightly unknown that all of those things could change.”

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

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Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s national icon has set foot in Parliament for the first time as Wellington’s burgeoning kiwi population was celebrated in the wake of the final birds being translocated for the project this week.

After years of predator control on over more than 23,000 hectares, Capital Kiwi returned kiwi to Wellington for the first time in at least a century back in 2022.

The project had a permit for the translocation of 250 birds, the last few which were welcomed at the Beehive with a pōwhiri on Monday night before being released into Wellington’s hills.

Capital Kiwi founder Paul Ward says to reach this milestone is extraordinary.

“It’s kind of beyond our wildest expectations in terms of A. the support of our iwi, our communities, our landowners to do it, but B. just how well those birds are going out on those hills.”

Rahul Papa who chairs Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and represents Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in the Waikato says he can’t remember another time where actual live kiwi have been inside the Parliament building.

“Notwithstanding the two-legged sort of kiwis,” he said. “The actual taonga, I can’t think of another time where that has happened. So this is a huge first for these wonderful taonga, it’s a huge first for the Parliament, and it’s a huge first for the nation.”

Each kiwi that is translocated is gifted by an iwi and received by another.

Rāwiri Walsh Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o te Ika, Ngā Rauru Kītahi, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Rangi, Te Āti Haunui a Pāpārangi Kaimanāki Kiwi Capital Kiwi Project liaises with those iwi and is also represents the receiving iwi.

He says to have been able to move 250 birds is a huge endeavour.

“Not just in terms of number, but in terms of other projects moving forward, that they can see that this is done and we’ve taken the success of other projects and we’ve shaped it for the mainland and proven that it can be done.”

He expects they’ll continue to have strong relationships with the iwi involved.

“It’s onward and upward and we’ll continue to leverage off these relationships now as they’re strong.”

While Ward says their work isn’t done, Capital Kiwi is also looking at what else they could achieve.

“What has enabled this is a network of guardianship across that landscape, and that network, both of pest removal and of relationships, also has enormous potential for many other taonga species,” he said.

He said they were well advanced in terms of discussions with iwi and with DOC around further taonga species that could come home to Wellington.

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