AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for May 14, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is pushing on with conservation reforms it says cut red tape and enable fees for foreign tourists visiting New Zealand’s premium natural areas.

The opposition warns it opens up 60 percent of the conservation estate to sale, and changes how current treaty settlements are interpreted.

The Conservation Amendment Bill passed its first reading supported by the coalition parties, and opposed by the opposition – 68 votes to 54.

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka – who called it the most significant reform to conservation law in 40 years – said it was about modernising the management of conservation land and supporting economic growth.

The bill enables international visitors to be charged a levy for access to some areas of conservation land, with the minister saying those details would be worked out at a later date.

“Yes, we are going to charge foreigners to go on some tracks around the country,” Potaka told Parliament.

“Conservation and economic development do not sit in opposition to one another all the time. Done properly they can support one another – that’s what we believe in.”

The bill also makes changes to how concessions – permissions for tourism and other operations on conservation land – are managed; enables “amenity areas” where buildings like toilets or potentially eateries could be established; simplifies planning in line with the Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms; and amends or clarifies how Treaty Settlement and Takutai Moana rights are upheld.

Labour’s conservation spokesperson Priyanca Radhakrishnan warned it would also open up 60 percent of conservation land to being sold, including areas home to species considered ‘at risk’ rather than endangered – like the Lewis Pass beech forests.

She said it went far further than modernisation.

“It’s a sneaky, egregious bill that goes so much further, it is the most significant rollback of conservation protections in a generation and it puts commercialisation over conservation. And that minister should be ashamed.”

The Greens co-leader Marama Davidson was similarly outraged, saying the coalition had chosen to put profit over the environment – particularly given the $135 million in cuts to the Department of Conservation during this term.

She said it would also put more power in the hands of ministers, while reducing independent and public oversight.

The ACT Party’s Cameron Luxton argued the changes would prioritise people.

“For too long, New Zealand has had a conservation system that often treats people as the problem. It has treated a new track, a new hut, a new wharf, a better facility … or a business who’s looking to provide an experience, as something suspicious before it’s even been considered.”

NZ First’s Andy Foster welcomed the faster processing of concessions and the new Treaty clause, saying rather than removing the existing clause “which would have been quite good in our view, I think, is to interpret what this means”.

“As I read it, it says ‘you are going to engage’.”

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi warned however it would have a chilling effect on those yet to reach a Treaty settlement, describing the bill as another part of the coalition’s “ram raid” on conservation.

“This demonstrates a blanket lack of good faith, and only adds to the iwi Māori suspicion of the Crown’s ability to act with honour,” he said.

“Amending settlement legislation cannot be taken lightly – how can this government believe it can amend any legislation regarding Te Tiriti o Waitangi when it continues to fail to uphold it?”

Potaka, however, was adamant the government remained committed to honouring settlements and good-faith negotiations.

“We want to be clear, the wording of section 4 is not being changed,” he said.

“This bill provides greater certainty about what it means, and of course members of the opposition know there is no veto – that’s what the Supreme Court said and that’s what this government says.”

The bill’s first reading came the same day the coalition announced it would override the Supreme Court, which had agreed a lawsuit challenging companies’ climate records under tort law could go ahead.

In a move the activist taking the case – iwi leader Mike Smith – called “an affront to democracy”, the government now planned to ban such cases.

After the bill’s passage, the next piece of legislation up for debate was the second reading of legislation that would abolish the Ministry for the Environment, so the government could merge the department into the new MCERT (Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport) mega-ministry.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Winston Peters has taken a fresh crack at Christopher Luxon over immigration, asking how the prime minister can talk about the need for a “careful” approach while also signing up to the India free trade agreement (FTA).

It’s the latest example of internal coalition friction as New Zealand First continues to rail against the FTA’s “ludicrous immigration implications”.

In a speech to Auckland business leaders on Wednesday afternoon, Luxon signalled a tightening of immigration policy, warning that the wrong settings would only stoke the “politics of division” seen abroad.

“You should expect to see careful policy on immigration from National as we get closer to the election,” Luxon said. “When faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.”

Asked about Luxon’s remarks on his way into Parliament, Peters responded with disbelief.

“How do you reconcile that with the Indian free trade agreement? Go and reconcile that quote with the Indian free trade agreement,” Peters said.

“The prime minister needs to reconcile that to you now … I’m asking you to go and ask him, ‘How can you say that … and yet write the free trade agreement in the way they have?’”

Luxon directly referenced the India FTA in his speech, arguing the temporary work visas it granted were evidence of a robust approach targeted at workforce shortages.

Speaking to reporters after his speech, Luxon said the debate over the trade deal had become “perverted” into a “fear of mass migration”.

“That is just factually incorrect,” he said.

“These are Kiwis who have left everything they know, chosen to come to this country, they work incredibly hard, they send their kids to school, they don’t go on welfare. And they are fantastic Kiwis.”

Luxon said New Zealand did not have the same problems as other countries because of its “very smart, targeted, fair immigration system”.

“It’s not like [Nigel] Farage and railing against it in the UK, or Pauline Hanson in Australia, or other countries that we’re dealing with. We have legal migration, but … it requires a dynamic approach where you are constantly making sure those settings are optimised and are linked to our economic strategy and our infrastructure.”

Back at Parliament, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told media immigration should not be a major election issue because the government had done “such a good job” getting the settings right.

“In an election year, there’ll be people who say things that might whip up some sentiment, that’s unfortunate,” she said.

“But in my world … I’ve made sure that our immigration system is fit for purpose and working for New Zealanders.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said all three coalition parties were lining up some “very ugly anti-migrant rhetoric” for the election campaign.

“From Shane Jones talking about a butter chicken tsunami, to David Seymour talking about the character of New Zealand being changed forever, it’s clear this government want to blame migrants for the economic position the country is in.”

Responding, ACT leader David Seymour said Labour was partially to blame for the wider frustration growing in the wider community.

“They had hundreds of thousands of people through the border before Covid. They shut the border, and then they gave nearly a quarter of a million people residence with no questions asked,” he said.

“It’s creating a lot of problems, and the Labour Party have that firmly at their door.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has promised “careful” immigration policy and signalled more capital spending than expected in an annual pre-Budget speech,

Speaking about the need for social cohesion, Luxon highlighted his own electorate of Botany as “more diverse than most”, saying many of Chinese, Korean, Malaysian and Indian New Zealanders were being “unfairly and unreasonably vilified”.

He said during the Covid-19 pandemic, ministers had “too often prioritised their own political interests over the interest of the public”, and the media “determined to flatter New Zealand’s relative performance, also failed”.

“Since then, failed immigration policies in Europe and North America have also stoked a politics of division online. Despite prudent policies and the natural advantages of geography, immigration now seems to be an emerging political issue in New Zealand, too,” he said, in what could be seen as a swipe at New Zealand First’s criticisms of the India free trade deal.

He pointed to the government’s moves to tighten immigration law and said National would be watching closely.

“And you should expect to see careful policy on immigration from National as we get closer to the election … when it comes to immigration, when faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.”

Pointing to the United States “now focusing more exclusively on its own view of its own interests – America first”, and Russia having made “its brutal intentions clear in Europe” and China “expanding its influence”, Luxon painted a now-familiar picture of an erosion of the international rule of law.

“When you turn on the news at night and see alliances straining, trade wars flaring and the rules being rewritten by the powerful, it is only natural to feel as though the ground is shifting beneath you,” he said, before offering an optimistic observation.

“We have faced similar challenges before, and we have overcome them.”

He hearkened back to world wars, giving a message of hope in an increasingly volatile world.

“The outcome was not inevitable. It was not guaranteed. People were frightened, and they were right to be frightened,” he said. “They didn’t just win a war. They built the peace that followed.”

Also addressing a need for cooperation with like-minded partners on defence and trade, he also drew attention to the need for energy independence.

“On too many occasions, private capital, eager to bolster domestic energy production, has been pushed to the sidelines by overzealous planners and politicians in recent years,” he said.

“The reality is that when faced with energy shock after energy shock, it’s very hard to justify backing the skink over the solar farm.”

He pointed to the government’s responses to the fuel crisis, while noting “more action is required”.

That could be delivered through changes to Budget allowances – with less operational spending at $2.1b, down from $2.4b; but more capital spending at $5.7b.

“The recent crisis has acted as a timely reminder that significant levels of capital investment will be required in the coming years,” Luxon said.

“That doesn’t reflect a permanently higher rate of borrowing – we’ll need to get the balance right in the years ahead, as we rebuild our fiscal buffers … The truth is that as a country we don’t save nearly enough, and rely too much on money borrowed from overseas to support our lifestyles. That must change.”

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver her third Budget on 28 May in what are constrained fiscal times.

The conflict in Iran and the global fuel crisis it has triggered required a certain level of re-forecasting and reprioritising of the Budget in recent months.

There were no pre-Budget announcements expected in Christopher Luxon’s speech to a Business NZ audience on Wednesday, though some are due to trickle out from other ministers in the coming days.

The only policy announced to date is the scrapping of the third year of fees-free tertiary study.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

After 15 years of negotiations three Hauraki iwi Claims Settlement Bills – Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui, and Ngāti Hei have passed final reading in Parliament today, Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.

“All three Hauraki iwi entered formal negotiations with the Crown in 2011 and have worked persistently and in good faith over many years to reach this point.

“The passage of this settlement legislation reflects the commitment, resilience, and determination of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui, and Ngāti Hei, and I acknowledge the significant efforts of their negotiating teams over more than a decade.

“I also want to acknowledge the people of Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui, Ngāti Hei, and others from the wider Pare Hauraki Collective who travelled to Parliament today to witness this auspicious occasion, and those who watched the passing of these Bills online from Hauraki. Their presence underscores the deep intergenerational significance of this moment.

“Through these settlements, the Crown has formally acknowledged the cumulative impacts of its historical breaches of te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi. These breaches contributed to loss of whenua, environmental harm and constrained the ability of these iwi to provide for their present and future generations.

“While no settlement can fully compensate for the Crown’s injustices towards Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu, Ngāti Tara Tokanui and Ngāti Hei, I sincerely hope this redress will support these Hauraki iwi to strengthen their economic, cultural and environmental aspirations, and provides a platform for enduring relationships between the Crown and iwi for generations to come.”

The settlements provide a foundation for renewed relationships, and include agreed historical accounts, Crown acknowledgements of its historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi and a formal Crown apology to each iwi. 

Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu will receive total financial and commercial redress of $5.5 million; the right to purchase two commercial redress properties; and the vesting of 17 individual and two joint cultural redress properties. 

Ngāti Tara Tokanui will receive total financial and commercial redress of $6 million; the right to purchase for two years after the settlement date, the Paeroa College school site (land only) subject to its lease-back to the Crown; and the vesting of seven individual and two joint cultural redress properties. 

Ngāti Hei will receive total financial and commercial redress of $8.5 million; the ability to purchase three commercial properties; and the vesting of 15 individual and two joint cultural redress properties. 

All three iwi have protocols with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Ministry for Primary Industries as well as a relationship agreement with the Department of Conservation.

Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu is located around Te Aroha and their area of interest includes Te Aroha, the Kaimai range to Katikati and Te Puna, the Hauraki Plains, and Coromandel Peninsula.

Ngāti Tara Tokanui is located around Paeroa in the Hauraki region.

Ngāti Hei is located on the eastern seaboard of the Coromandel Peninsula from Onemana to Whangapoua. Their area of interest is centred around Tairua and Ahuahu and includes offshore islands extending north to Cuvier Island.

The Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Deed of Settlement is available at: Te Tari Whakatau – Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu. Its Claims Settlement Bill is at Ngāti Rāhiri Tumutumu Claims Settlement Bill | New Zealand Legislation.

The Ngāti Tara Tokanui Deed of Settlement is available at: Te Tari Whakatau – Ngāti Tara Tokanui. Its Claims Settlement Bill is at Ngāti Tara Tokanui Claims Settlement Bill | New Zealand Legislation.

The Ngāti Hei Deed of Settlement is available at: Te Tari Whakatau – Ngāti Hei. Its Claims Settlement Bill is at Ngāti Hei Claims Settlement Bill | New Zealand Legislation.

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kiwibank has been instructed by the government to once again look at its options for long-term growth, including revisiting the possibility of partial privatisation.

The taxpayer-owned bank had previously looked at raising $500 million in capital from local investors, but ditched that plan last year.

The new request is included in a letter of intent to Kiwibank’s parent company Kiwi Group Capital (KGC) from State-Owned Enterprises Minister Simeon Brown.

“We expect KGC to undertake work on alternative growth scenarios, along with the capital required for these.” Brown said.

He went on to note in the letter that KGC should now engage with Treasury about how much capital might be required for different growth scenarios.

In accompanying Cabinet paper, Brown and Finance Minister Nicola Willis signalled that while the government wanted Kiwibank to grow into a market disrupter that can boost competition, the government’s coffers were constrained and it was unlikely to be in a position to provide extra capital.

“The Crown could continue to be the sole provider, or be one of the contributors, of additional capital,” the paper said. “However, this would see Crown funding directed to Kiwibank and away from other priorities. Given the significant constraints we are facing, the Crown is not in a position to support this course of action.”

The paper also noted that if Kiwibank was to grow and increase competitive pressure, it would need to know in advance that it had access to capital markets.

Last year KGC said that the easing of the Reserve Bank’s capital settings, combined with Kiwibank’s recent $400m Tier 2 capital raise via bonds, meant it could grow without the need for additional equity.

The government had approved the possible partial public listing for Kiwibank to acquire new capital, but had stressed it could only proceed with an electoral mandate.

National promised no asset sales this term.

The Commerce Commission’s banking study in 2024 said Kiwibank should be given a financial boost to become a maverick challenger to the big four.

Kiwibank’s response

In a statement to RNZ, Kiwibank’s parent company KGC stressed it had sufficient capital to fund its lending growth in the medium-term and noted that the Crown had asked it to work with Treasury on new options for raising capital in future that could boost Kiwibank’s ongoing competitive potential.

“This process will consider a range of factors including investor feedback, market conditions and growth scenarios, as well as the potential amount, sources and timing of any future capital requirements” the statement said.

It went on to stress that it was early-stage work, and no decisions had been made on timeframes.

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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

New Zealand consular staff in the US are talking to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials about the case of the New Zealander who has been held in ICE custody for over a month.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ office said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) consular team have been in contact with ICE officials to clarify what Everlee Wihongi has been charged with.

This is the first time the government has confirmed any direct contact with US officials since Wihongi’s detention on 10 April.

Wihongi is a New Zealand citizen, but has lived in the US for decades and holds a green card. She was detained upon re-entering the US following a three-week visit to New Zealand.

The update comes after RNZ’s questions to Peters’ office after Everlee Wihongi’s lawyer pointed out the minister was incorrect to say that she was being detained for not declaring a previous conviction, and the fact Wihongi and her family were still in the dark about what she had been charged with.

Wihongi’s lawyer Marc Christopher told RNZ she had been detained due to a decade-old conviction for a felony offence of marijuana possession, but he said it remained unclear what deportable offence she had now been charged with, despite that she appeared before a judge on 28 April.

Christopher said Peters was wrong to say Wihongi was detained due to hiding her previous conviction.

When RNZ put the comments to Peters’ office, a spokesperson said in a statement: “We have no further comment as a legal process is in play.

“MFAT’s consular team is in contact with Everlee Wihongi’s legal team, along with ICE officials seeking clarification on the exact nature of the charges.

“I am copying in MFAT who will be best placed to provide you with any further updates”.

MFAT has been approached for comment on what they found out from any communication with ICE officials and Wihongi’s legal team.

Wihongi’s family has repeatedly called for MFAT and the minister to do more to help.

MFAT and Peters had previously said the government could not interfere in immigration decisions of another country.

Asked for his thoughts on Wihongi’s recent transfer from California to Arizona – which her relative said was a gruelling journey where she was denied food and not allowed to shower – a spokesperson from Peters’ office said in a statement: “I am forwarding these queries to MFAT as they very much pertain on the consular efforts by their team in the States”.

The statement also said there had been no ministerial contact with US authorities.

“In the first instance consular support is the appropriate course of action,” the statement said.

Christopher told Midday Report he had spoken to New Zealand consular staff and they had been concerned with Wihongi’s healthcare and her treatment. However, he said he was not sure what they had been able to do for Wihongi.

Ministers not communicating with US officials

Meanwhile, official responses to written Parliamentary questions lodged by Green MP Teanau Tuiono revealed multiple ministers and their offices had neither sought nor received communications with US authorities about Wihongi’s case.

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford’s office said it had seen no advice, reports, briefings, emails or documents relating to Wihongi’s detention. Her office also confirmed there had been “none” in terms of correspondence with the US embassy or US officials.

The same response came from Māori Development and Te Arawhiti Minister Tama Potaka’s offices, which said neither the minister nor staff had seen documents on the case or communicated with US officials.

Peters’ claim a ‘falsehood’ – aunt

The disclosures come as Wihongi’s family said her situation has become increasingly alarming after she was abruptly transferred from an ICE detention facility in Adelanto, California.

In a letter sent directly to Peters, Wihongi’s aunt Jenny Hewett-Sauauga accused the minister of publicly misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding her niece’s detention.

“I was highly disappointed to hear you say that Everlee had not declared her previous records, and that is why she was detained,” Hewett-Sauauga wrote.

“As the Minister of Foreign Affairs, I would have expected you to have looked into this matter with due diligence before putting this falsehood out into a public forum.”

Christopher: ICE ‘flushed with money’ and going after minor cases

Christopher told Midday Report that while in the past ICE enforcement was limited by its budget, they’re now “flushed with money” and pursuing people with minor previous convictions.

He said as of July 2025, ICE has increased its detention facility budget by over 400 percent.

Christopher said in the past ICE focused on people who had committed more serious crimes, and it was rare that they would detain someone for months over a possession of marijuana conviction, but that had now changed under the Trump administration.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The government considered phasing out the fees-free tertiary education scheme but decided it was too complicated, opting instead to axe it in one go.

The policy which covers the cost of students’ third year of tertiary study will be gone in the upcoming Budget.

Tertiary Education Minister Penny Simmonds on Tuesday said the government did consider staggering the change so students who began studying under the impression their third year would be free, would still still eligible.

“It made it more complicated because obviously people start at different times through the year, so it was easier to have a hard end to it, and then it’s really clear for everyone,” she said.

The funding was never a promise, Simmonds said.

“Things change from year to year, from budget to budget, and it hasn’t been something that has necessarily incentivised people to study.”

The scheme was first introduced by the former Labour government in 2017 as a first-year fees-free scheme, beginning from 2018, before the current coalition shifted it to the final year from 2025.

That meant current second-year students missed out on getting their first year free, and would now also miss out on the final year.

The Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the scheme was “quite a failure” and did not achieve any of its goals.

Some students have told RNZ they relied on it, and they’re questioning whether they can still afford their study.

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Source: New Zealand Government

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today outlined the need to secure New Zealand’s future in an increasingly volatile world, focusing on economic resilience, energy security, defence, international relationships and disciplined economic management.  

“We can’t control the storm, but we can secure New Zealand’s future within it,” Mr Luxon says. 

Speaking to BusinessNZ ahead of Budget 2026, Mr Luxon said New Zealand had for decades relied on a world order that had become unstable and unpredictable.  

“For too long we’ve assumed our location protects us, that an ocean and a quiet reputation are enough. They aren’t. Geography gives us time, but it doesn’t give us immunity.

“This is the world New Zealand must now navigate – not with fear, but with clear eyes and a willingness to make the tough choices that will allow our country to achieve its massive potential.”

The Prime Minister set out the Government’s focus on strengthening energy security, securing trade relationships across the Indo-Pacific, lifting defence capability and maintaining social cohesion in a more uncertain world.  

“We can’t have prosperity – more jobs, more opportunity, and higher wages for hard working Kiwis – without security.”  

Mr Luxon also said global turmoil reinforced the importance of responsible economic management and fiscal discipline ahead of Budget 2026.  

“We are getting the books in order while continuing to invest in the essentials – health, education, defence, law and order, and infrastructure. That requires ongoing reprioritisation, because the alternative is more borrowing or higher taxes – and ultimately a weaker economy.”

The Prime Minister confirmed the Government remains committed to returning the books to surplus by 2028/29 and putting debt on a downward trajectory towards 40 per cent of GDP.

He also confirmed that net operating spending on new initiatives in the Budget will total $2.1 billion – about $300 million less than the $2.4 billion allowance set in December. 

“Small countries can only live on credit for so long. Between 2017 and 2023 Government debt blew out by $120 billion, but eventually the bill must be paid to ensure we aren’t heaping higher taxes or larger debt on future generations. 

“Being able to withstand international shocks depends on the size of the buffers you have. Budget 2026 will help rebuild those buffers to restore New Zealand’s financial security.”

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