AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for May 19, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

America’s Cup winner and Olympic gold medallist Blair Tuke says the government should scrap its Fisheries legislation.

Tuke was speaking to the Primary Production select committee on behalf of the Live Ocean Foundation alongside ultramarathon swimmer Jono Ridler in response to the Fisheries Amendment Bill.

The bill makes changes to catch limits and the handling of on-boat monitoring footage with the aim of growing exports.

Several environmental groups have called for the bill to be stopped, while fishing companies say it helps modernise a system that has worked well for New Zealand for decades.

Tuke said New Zealand was responsible for the fourth-largest ocean space in the world, but the legislation would further entrench bottom trawling and fail to protect habitats – many of which could take centuries to recover.

“For a country surrounded by the moana, when it comes to ocean stewardship we are not leading – in fact, if it was sport, I would say we don’t even rank.”

Ridler said that while the bill did not specifically promote bottom trawling, the amendments “in aggregate prioritise short-term, bulk harvesting over broader ecosystem impacts”.

“It prioritises economic gain and bulk harvesting, including bottom trawling, while reducing safeguards to protect the environment. This increases the pressure on at-risk species and vulnerable habitats.”

He said their second concern was a weakening of environmental safeguards.

Fishing company opposes public access to boat footage

Moana New Zealand general manager Mark Ngata said New Zealand’s largest Māori-owned seafood company would be open to having an independent officer of Parliament review boat footage, but it should not be made public.

He said the company had begun using on-boat cameras eight years before it became mandatory, and having the ministry check footage was “more than sufficient”.

“We have always had the view of transparency, but also collecting information, otherwise you can’t make good decisions on what’s happening out there … it’s very important to maintain the privacy of our fishermen.

“We believe that having an organisation like the ministry out there that’s that watchdog, if you like, we think that’s more than sufficient.”

When questioned by New Zealand First’s Mark Patterson about whether an independent officer of Parliament could do that job instead, he said “trust comes from working together and solving problems … something like that could be considered”.

Overall, he said the bill was an important step for modernising fisheries management, improving responsiveness, efficiency, and certainty.

“We consider the bill to be a natural evolution of the quota management system reflecting advances in monitoring, reporting, and data availability.”

Canterbury council fears for biodiversity

Speaking for Canterbury Regional Council, councillor Genevieve Robinson said it had “serious concerns” that the proposed law risked undermining the council’s ability to meet its obligations to protect biodiversity and threatened species.

“Canterbury has the largest coastal marine area jurisdiction of any regional council in this country. More than 40 percent of our jurisdiction is coastal marine area, and that includes nationally significant ecosystems.”

“Several aspects of this bill move fisheries management away from ecosystem-based management. In particular, the council is concerned about the narrowing of the total allowable catch considerations, the reduced transparency around the onboard cameras, and the increased flexibility around annual catch entitlement carrying forward.”

She said catch limits should be set on an ecosystem-wide basis, and footage from fishing boats should be publicly accessible.

“This bill should not weaken its ecosystem safeguards, reduce transparency, or undermine our own regional councils’ ability to protect under the New Zealand coastal policy statement.”

A flotilla of crafts, from fishing boats and yachts to kayaks and stand up paddle boards, surrounding a floating ‘ban bottom trawling’ banner at Mission Bay in Auckland, New Zealand in a show of opposition to bottom trawling in the Hauraki Gulf marine park (file image).

Greenpeace

Speaking for Greenpeace, Ellie Hooper said the current balance of protection versus profit for New Zealand’s waters was “drastically off kilter” and extractive industry had been prioritised.

“It’s extremely clear that this bill, if it was passed, would take ocean policy in this country further in that wrong direction, prioritising extraction and removing the very few environmental checks and balances that exist in the Fisheries Act to stop further decline.”

She said the bill was “rotten and must be rejected in its entirety”.

“The idea that the minister would be able to disregard the environmental principles currently in the act as if fishing happens in a vacuum and doesn’t have an impact on other species or habitats is kind of non-sensical to us.”

She said they opposed the introduction of five-year catch limits, shortened judicial review timeframes, and exemptions for fishing camera footage from the Official Information Act.

“We note the issues with privacy from the industry, but there is surely a way that we can rectify this with blurring all the releases of segments of footage. This industry does have a large impact on the ocean environment, and locking up that footage from public view is not going to rebuild trust in the commercial sector’s activities.”

“Having a fine that could potentially be five times higher for somebody releasing evidence of environmental damage versus someone who actually did that damage in the first place, we think is pretty egregious.”

Young Ocean Explorers

Steve Hathaway from marine educational charity Young Ocean Explorers said the waters around New Zealand once had abundant crayfish, snapper and other stocks – but things have changed.

“Our goal is to ensure we have a thriving ocean for future generations, and we’re on the coalface with Kiwi kids. We’ve personally given presentations to over 150,000 kids around Aotearoa and we’re hearing regularly that this generation of kids are really concerned about the planet and the ocean they’re inheriting.

“Most of New Zealand is actually ocean, about 93 percent of it, and it’s thought over 80 percent of our natives live there … a very old friend of mine told me that he wouldn’t stop to have a fish at 90-Mile Beach until he saw the ocean was pink, where he knew there’s enough snapper that he would get a good feed. These days are long gone.

“I’ve seen crayfish and scallops in abundance, and something we thought would never run out. They should be our God-given right as Kiwis to harvest, but now our Northlands were not allowed to take either of them, as numbers are so diminished. How has it been so poorly managed that it’s got to this place?”

He said New Zealand needed an ambitious goal for the future of its oceans.

‘Minor updates and modernisations’ – Fishing company

Fishing company Solander Group’s managing director Paul Hufflett said many of the other submitters were making “a lot of noise” and talking “off subject”.

“What we’re dealing with is effectively an update to a piece of legislation that has served New Zealand incredibly well for the better part of 30 years,” he said.

“Really we’re just talking about some relatively minor updates and modernisations of a robust piece of legislation that’s put New Zealand in an excellent position to go forward for another 30 years.”

He said they supported the minister having the power to make five-year Total Allowable Catch decisions, supported excluding boat footage from the OIA, opposed the 20-day time limit on judicial review, opposed the introduction of alternative deem values for inshore and deep water bycatch, and strongly supported allowing fish to be returned to sea.

Ngāti Porou settlement body was not consulted

Whangaokena ki Onepoto Takutai Kaitiaki Trust spokesperson Keryn Goldsmith said the trust was not consulted over the bill.

She said the Crown was obliged to engage with them on any Fisheries legislation that affects regulations in the area under their settlement.

“We’re not opposed to the fisheries reform, rather our submission supports improvements to the fisheries system, provided those changes operate consistently with the statutory and deed-based recognition arrangements already provided and agreed between Ngāti Porou and the Crown.”

She said the Ngā Rohe Moana o Ngā Hapū o Ngāti Porou Act and the deed to amend the deed of agreement 2017 were binding on the Crown.

“They establish a bespoke framework that must be taken into account whenever fisheries decisions or decision making affects our Rohe Moana. Those obligations apply throughout the legislative development, not just at implementation, and they are not displaced by generic public consultation processes.

“As drafted, the bill would reduce scrutiny. It would compress participation time frames, concentrates discretion with decision makers, and limits accountability. Considered together, these changes risk narrowing the practical space in which hapū are able to exercise their authority and responsibilities that parliament has already recognised from a kaitiaki perspective.”

She said the Crown’s obligation was to engage with Ngāti Porou hapū on any amendment to fisheries legislation that affected the recognition and fisheries mechanisms.

“That consultation did not occur prior to the introduction of this bill. This is not merely a procedural irregularity, it is a breach of statutory and deed-based obligations owed to Ngāti Porou hapū. The Crown cannot meet those obligations by treating Hapu as one voice among many in a generic public submission process.”

Goldsmith said they did not oppose the reforms, but they must proceed in a way that honours existing commitments.

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has introduced legislation that would clarify the purpose of Disability Support Services (DSS), including making it clear the Crown is not the employer of family carers.

The legislation would reduce the Crown’s exposure to fiscal and litigation risks, following a Supreme Court decision which ruled in favour of family carers last year.

In December, the Supreme Court ruled two parents who cared full-time for their disabled children were employees of the government, and should receive the same benefits and protections.

Disability issues minister Louise Upston said while the new legislation would not affect those two successful claims, she believed there were “better ways to recognise and support carers than treating family members as state employees”.

Upston said she had commissioned further work in that space, and would be consulting on a package for carers.

“This Bill clarifies that DSS funding is a contribution toward disabled people being able to live an everyday life. It makes clear that families and whānau have responsibility for the wellbeing of their members in the first instance and where appropriate,” she said.

“This reflects the way that DSS already works. It doesn’t mean that DSS won’t help where disabled people’s families support them.”

The Disability Support Services Bill, introduced on Monday evening, said it was never the policy intent for the Crown to be the employer of carers, and it would reaffirm that it was the Crown that made funding decisions.

“This provides certainty regarding the relationship between disabled people and paid family carers following the Supreme Court case. If a disabled person uses DSS-funded disability support services to employ another person, the employment relationship is solely between the disabled person and the carer,” it said.

Upston said Disability Support Services had been operating without a clear legislative function, which had made it harder for people to understand what support was available, who qualified, and how decisions were made.

“This Bill establishes foundations and sets a clear framework for how DSS operates. It sets out what the disability support system does, its purpose and how public funding can be used,” she said.

There would be no changes to current supports for disable people, whānau, and carers.

There would also be no changes to current funding allocations, or who could get disability support services.

The legislation stated it was intended to “strengthen and stabilise” the provision of DSS, by improving the consistency, transparency, and sustainability of the system, and it would clarify that “responsibility for care of disabled people rests in the first instance with their family and whānau, where appropriate.”

A Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) from the Ministry of Social Development said in the absence of a legislative framework, policy settings were increasingly being made through court judgments.

“If the DSS Bill is not introduced, then MSD will have to manage fiscal costs through operational policy changes, for example, restricting eligibility, access to Flexible Funding, and/or level of DSS provided for disabled people and family carers,” officials said.

“The Government has a priority of fiscal responsibility, and any increases in appropriated funding would ordinarily be prioritised to address cost pressures. Increasing payment to family carers to meet historic claims and/or ongoing wage costs will not result in an increased level of care and support for disabled people compared with the status quo.”

The RIS noted there had been no community of prior agency consultation on the specific legislative proposals, given the urgency and confidential nature of the options.

The bill is set to have its first reading on Thursday, and will go to a Select Committee for public feedback.

Writing on her Substack, lawyer and disability advocate Dr Huhana Hickey said the minister’s statement “that families and whānau have responsibility for the wellbeing of their members in the first instance” was concerning.

“It reinforces a long-standing assumption that families will step in where government support falls short. Officials often soften this language by referring to ‘natural supports,’ as though unpaid care simply happens without cost,” she said.

“But there is nothing natural about a parent leaving paid employment to provide full-time care. There is nothing natural about elderly spouses physically lifting partners without proper support. There is nothing natural about siblings restructuring their own futures because the State has stepped back. That is not natural support, that is policy design and increasingly, it feels like policy design built around withdrawal.”

Hickey said rather than the government using the Supreme Court’s decision as an opportunity to better recognise carers, it was moving quickly “to ensure broader obligations do not flow from that ruling”.

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Māori politics has erupted as Mariameno Kapa-Kingi launched a rival party, Te Pāti Māori fractures deepen, and the battle for the Māori vote heats up.

The fight for the Māori vote has intensified, with one of the most dramatic political showdowns in recent memory on the cards.

Bitter infighting, whispers of more defections, coalition questions, and the possible return of political heavyweight Hone Harawira are adding fuel to the fire, which blazed last week after Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi announced she was breaking away from Te Pāti Māori to launch a new political movement after months of escalating conflict behind the scenes.

“The focus on the Māori seats this election is absolutely warranted,” RNZ political reporter Lillian Hanly tells The Detail. “Not only could they determine various coalition make-ups, and whether even Te Pāti Māori make it back into parliament; the contest in the seats between Labour, Te Pāti Māori, the Greens and now an independent, is going to be fascinating.”

Kapa-Kingi’s split follows months of unrest, accusations, a court ruling, and growing frustration within Te Pāti Māori’s ranks, with critics questioning leadership decisions and the internal handling of conflict.

“This is about restoring balance, strong local representation, and sending a clear signal that Tai Tokerau political power will no longer be taken for granted,” Kapa-Kingi said at her announcement that she would contest the 2026 election under a new banner.

But straight after that announcement, there was speculation, then confusion, around who would follow her out the door.

A new media advisor for Te Pāti Māori sent a message to a Stuff journalist saying MP Oriini Kaipara was considering her options, only for Kaipara to declare she wasn’t going anywhere.

“This was very confusing,” says Hanly, who has been following the story closely. “You [as a political party] can make mistakes, but the main issue here is, and the main question is: will Oriini Kaipara and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke split away? You really don’t want to make a mistake on that particular issue.

“The party has come out strong against Stuff, and they think it was misleading, but Stuff released the messages themselves, showing it was attribution… but it just gets a bit messy.”

Hanly says they have not yet heard from either Maipi-Clarke or Takuta Ferris about their plans.

But veteran activist and former MP Hone Harawira has been vocal, and says he could return to frontline politics to bolster Te Pāti Māori – pending a ‘yes’ from his wife.

“We would be silly to underestimate Hone Harawira returning to politics,” says Hanly. “I think it is fair to say he is considering it. He wouldn’t be out there saying that he’s backing Te Pāti Māori, that he’s considering it, or that he’d do it depending on what his wife and whanau say.

“He’s in the selection process, is my understanding, and therefore those considerations are already underway.”

So who will Māori voters trust at this year’s election? Will they stay loyal to Te Pāti Māori despite the turmoil? Will Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime regain support as the movement fractures? Will Kapa-Kingi star on her own, or will the Green’s Hūhana Lyndon continue to gain traction?

“There are now four candidates who potentially all have a shot,” Hanly says. “It’s just fascinating, and it’s going to be very close.”

So after months of turmoil, negative headlines and walk-outs, can Te Pāti Māori move forward and survive, or will it finally collapse?

“That’s a big question,” says Hanly. “I think it is fair to say that they have had some huge blows, and that a lot of people think that the party has some serious work to do.

“The kaupapa itself behind Te Pāti Māori, that’s something that I don’t think will ever collapse. I think there will be a version of, or an iteration of, that original party born out of protest. There will probably always be space for that in the political spectrum.

“Whether it carries on existing in its current form or if there are changes underway, that’s still to be seen. But at the moment, the leadership is clear… their focus is on the election and getting this current government out.

“So, at this point, they don’t plan on collapsing.”

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government has today introduced the Disability Support Services Bill to Parliament, providing clarity and stability to the system which supports thousands of disabled New Zealanders. 

“Disability Support Services (DSS) plays a vital role in people’s lives, but it’s been operating without a clear legislative foundation,” Minister for Disability Issues Louise Upston says. 

“This has made it harder for people to understand what support is available, who qualifies, and how decisions are made. 

“This Bill establishes foundations and sets a clear framework for how DSS operates. It sets out what the disability support system does, its purpose and how public funding can be used. 

“It will improve consistency, fairness, transparency and sustainability, building on our work to stabilise support after the 2024 Independent Review. 

“Over the past two years we have taken urgent action to introduce a nationally consistent assessment process and more choice over flexible funding. This legislation is the next step,” Louise Upston says. 

Significant features include:

The introduction of the Bill does not change existing services, funding allocations, or who can receive disability support services.
Eligible disabled people, their whānau and carers will continue to receive the support they rely on.
The Bill makes it clearer what DSS provides and how it fits with other supports. It confirms family and whānau remain an important source of support, alongside publicly funded services. 

“I know how much disabled people rely on support from DSS, and how important it is that they and their families have certainty that support will continue to be available.

“That’s why the work the Government has done to stabilise DSS is so important,” Louise Upston says.

Supreme Court decision and carers

This Bill also responds to issues highlighted by the Supreme Court in December, which found two people being paid to provide care to a family member were employees of the state.

“This Bill doesn’t affect those two successful claims however I believe there are better ways to recognise and support carers than treating family members as state employees. I have commissioned further work in this space and will be consulting on a package for carers. I expect to make further announcements soon to better recognise support for carers.

“This Bill also builds on our previous work for carers. For the first time, support for families’ and carers’ needs, including respite options for carers, are now part of the assessment. From 1 April 2026, disabled people with flexible funding gained more choice and control over their supports.

“DSS support is one part of a wider system, alongside support from families, whānau, communities, and other public services.

“This Bill clarifies that DSS funding is a contribution toward disabled people being able to live an everyday life. It makes clear that families and whānau have responsibility for the wellbeing of their members in the first instance and where appropriate.

“This reflects the way that DSS already works. It doesn’t mean that DSS won’t help where disabled people’s families support them.

“My priority is making sure we are fixing the basics of disability support and building a sustainable future which disabled people, their families and carers can rely on.

“Across my portfolios, I’m firmly focused on ensuring New Zealanders in the greatest need can access support. That’s why it’s so important we have a fair, clear and simple disability system in place. 

“In the past two Budgets this Government has already committed a record investment of $2.1 billion of additional funding into the disability support system,” Louise Upston says. 

Following its first reading, the Disability Support Services Bill is expected to be referred to the Social Services and Community Committee for consideration.

DSS currently supports around 55,000 disabled people in the community and residential care, and around 100,000 people who access environmental support services products to live safely and independently.

It funds Child Development Services for around 26,000 disabled children each year to support them in reaching developmental milestones.

Source: Radio New Zealand

The finance minister is set to reveal proposals to reduce the number of government agencies, by telling ministries and departments to come up with plans for amalgamation.

RNZ understands Nicola Willis will set out three proposals on Tuesday afternoon to create efficiencies in the public service, including amalgamating government agencies, more work on digitisation and using AI, and setting a target to reduce the public service headcount to 1 percent of the total population by 2029.

Willis will reveal further details in a pre-Budget speech to Business North Harbour.

On Monday evening, she told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan the government would be taking the approach of asking the public service to come back with options on “logical” mergers.

Asked whether some departments would be cut altogether, Willis said there were two ways of coming at the same problem, pointing to the new Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions, and Transport, which will replace the Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Ministry of Transport, and the local government functions of the Department of Internal Affairs.

“So, in effect, some of those entities don’t exist anymore, but what you’ve got is one joined up agency that delivers all of the decent things those agencies were delivering in a much more coherent way,” Willis said.

“So we want to do more of that approach of saying, ‘well, what actually would make more sense to come together under one umbrella and one agency, and would actually lead to a better service to the customers it’s trying to serve, and would be more efficient?’”

Last year, the Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche told Mata he was looking at a shakeup of agencies.

At the time, he said all options were on the table, but indicated ministries’ functions and branding would remain.

Willis told Newstalk ZB she would release figures on reducing the headcount during her speech, but said she accepted New Zealand would continue to have a growing population, and growing demands for the delivery of public services.

“We’ll continue to incarcerate people in our prisons, deliver welfare support to families, so those things will continue, but absolutely we can do more of that using digital tools, being more efficient. We don’t need as many departments to do it. We’ve got some awesome public servants. They’re smart cookies, but ultimately we tie them in bureaucracy a lot at the moment.”

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government will spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget, the Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

Stanford made the pre-Budget announcement alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Boulcott School in Lower Hutt on Monday.

Another 12 initiatives as part of primary and intermediate school education reforms would boost achievement and close the equity gap, Stanford said.

“[Children] will see more resources in their hands, more tutoring catch ups, more time with intervention teachers, and more help with a teacher at the front of the class who knows how to teach maths, reading and writing best practice.”

The new maths initiatives included:

• Maths hubs to improve teacher confidence and capability
• Hands-on maths resources and games for all Year 0-8 classrooms
• 36 additional Maths intervention teachers
• A new times table and division check at Year 5

The new literacy initiatives included:

• New writing workbooks for Year 4 and 5
• A digital writing tool for all Year 6-8 students
• New “decodable” books for older learners in Year 3-10
• A 12-week structured literacy programme for those who are struggling
• A new Year 2 Literacy Check, covering reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and basic punctuation (joining the existing Year 2 Maths Check)
• Guidance for teachers to improve the teaching of literacy, with supporting videos and resources.

There would also be a new reading action plan called Read to Succeed – joining the Make it Count maths plan and Write it Right writing plan.

Asked whether teachers would be overloaded with so many extra workbooks, Stanford said she had been asking schools what would make the biggest difference.

“This is coming directly from the sector themselves, and we are delivering it,” she said.

“Nothing is compulsory, but at least we’re making it free of charge.”

The initiatives would contribute to the government’s target of seeing 80 percent of Year 8 students achieving the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030, Stanford said.

“Parents will have more information at each step of their child’s journey about how they are doing at school and students will be better set up for success when they enter high school.”

Very early signs reforms are working – minister

Stanford said fresh data released on Monday showed “very early signs” of success with last year’s maths and literacy curriculum changes.

“No one is claiming mission accomplished just yet,” she said.

“But these early results give us optimism and confidence that our reforms are moving in the right direction.”

Stanford said the investments would “level the playing field, reducing costs for schools and backing evidence-led reforms”.

There were early signs the government’s education reforms were already working, she said.

The latest Curriculum Insights and Progress Study looked at student achievement in late 2025 – three terms into previous reforms – and the results “surpassed expectations”, she said.

“A statistically significant improvement of 5 percent in writing and 6 percent in mathematics for Year 6 students between 2024 and 2025 interrupts New Zealand’s long-term decline in achievement between Year 4 and Year 8 and will better set these students up for success at high school.”

The minister credited teachers for that improvement.

Achievement in other areas and year groups was flat, which is what the government expected as the new curriculum was bedded in, Stanford said.

She expected to see “accelerated progress” over time.

The package would be funded from a mixture of new and reprioritised money, but Stanford would not reveal further details before the Budget.

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A school principal has said the government’s planned investment into education will help teachers and deliver a more consistent quality of learning across the country.

The government pledged on Tuesday to spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget.

Among other things, this will cover the use of digital writing tools in classrooms and an additional 36 maths intervention teachers.

President of the Auckland Primary Principals’ Association Lucy Naylor told Checkpoint she did not know of any principal who would argue with more funding.

She said the budget reflected that the government was investing in “things we can see are making a difference” – even if the data about its reforms was still in early stages.

Education minister Erica Stanford announced that National’s refreshed curriculum reforms had achieved an improvement of five percent in writing and six percent in maths.

Naylor argued the plans would reassure parents that “wherever their child goes to school they’re going to get a really good deal”.

She expressed doubt as to where the additional maths intervention teachers would come from and what their role would be.

And she said it was important for teachers to understand how to use digital writing tools effectively so as not to become a “babysitting tool”.

She anticipated a period of increased testing as schools would be “reluctant to let go of what they know and trust” without evidence of success.

But she said a large part of how this would be received by students would come down to how schools implemented extra testing.

She stressed that academics was only part of measuring a child’s success.

“Success is going to look different for every child.”

“Are they socially confident? Are they good communicators? Are they risk takers? All of those skills really do come into play if we’re looking at creating students who are going to go out to work in the wider world.”

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government will spend $131 million on improving students’ reading, writing and maths in this year’s budget, the Education Minister Erica Stanford says.

Stanford made the pre-Budget announcement alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Boulcott School in Lower Hutt on Monday.

They revealed 12 initiatives as part of the government’s “generational reforms” in primary and intermediate school education.

The new maths intiatives included:

• Maths hubs to improve teacher confidence and capability
• Hands-on maths resources and games for all Year 0-8 classrooms
• 36 additional Maths intervention teachers
• A new times table and division check at Year 5

The new literacy initiatives included:

• New writing workbooks for Year 4 and 5
• A digital writing tool for all Year 6-8 students
• New “decodable” books for older learners in Year 3-10
• A 12-week structured literacy programme for those who are struggling
• A new Year 2 Literacy Check, covering reading, comprehension, writing, spelling and basic punctuation (joining the existing Year 2 Maths Check)
• Guidance for teachers to improve the teaching of literacy, with supporting videos and resources.

There would also be a new reading action plan called Read to Succeed – joining the Make it Count maths plan and Write it Right writing plan.

The initiatives would contribute to the government’s target of seeing 80 percent of Year 8 students achieving the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030, Stanford said.

“Parents will have more information at each step of their child’s journey about how they are doing at school and students will be better set up for success when they enter high school.”

Stanford said the investments would “level the playing field, reducing costs for schools and backing evidence-led reforms”.

There were early signs the government’s education reforms were already working, she said.

The latest Curriculum Insights and Progress Study looked at student achievement in late 2025 – three terms into previous reforms – and the results “surpassed expectations”, she said.

“A statistically significant improvement of 5 percent in writing and 6 percent in mathematics for Year 6 students between 2024 and 2025 interrupts New Zealand’s long-term decline in achievement between Year 4 and Year 8 and will better set these students up for success at high school.”

But the early improvement in some areas needed to translate to more consistent improvements over time, with more students achieving and fewer needing additional support, Stanford said.

She said the government is delivering on its promise to continue investment in education reforms.

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

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

GPs are calling for more funding and more accurate ways of allocating it, to ensure practices aren’t losing money.

The government has recently announced a new method of determining the level of funding GPs qualify for to provide care for their patients.

Some practices will have higher numbers of patients with complex needs than others.

But GenPro, the association for general practice owners, has called for all political parties to consider investing more in primary healthcare, ahead of the election later this year.

They want a minimum increase in general practice funding of 30 percent over three years, and an increase in investment in primary care from the current six percent of total health funding up to 14, in-line with international WHO/OECD benchmarks.

The goal is to improve patient access, reduce hospital pressure, support the healthcare workforce, and restore financial sustainability to general practice.

Currently, chair Dr Angus Chambers explained, the main sources of income for GPs came from the government, called capitation funding, which flowed from the government, through Health NZ, then Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) and into GPs.

The amount they received annually per person was determined by HNZ, and calculated using estimates of how much care someone would need based on age and sex, with the shortfall topped up by patient fees.

But from July 1, the government will add more specific age bands, multimorbidity (when people have two or more chronic conditions), rurality (how close people are to urban areas) and socioeconomic deprivation to the equation.

Chambers said he understood there were 1024 variables possible under the reweighting. “You might be rural, but not deprived, you might be female, and this age.” Health NZ was in charge of determining a person’s need based on those.

Ethnicity would not be included, which Chambers said was “problematic”.

“Ethnicity is related to need in our system at the moment, unfortunately,” he said. “That would be something I would urge them to reconsider.”

These days, patients were costing more on average to treat – more services were being pushed out of hospitals onto GPs, there were more treatments and tests available to people, and the population was ageing, making its needs more complex, Chambers explained.

“The current system that’s used tends to under-estimate the cost pressures,” he said.

A report prepared by Sapere in 2022 estimated GP practices made a cumulative loss of $137 million each year, or 7.6 percent.

That left patients shouldering higher costs, Chambers said.

Receiving more money per patient would mean GPs could afford to spend more time with complex cases.

“For too long, general practice has been expected to absorb rising costs and growing patient demand without adequate investment,” Chambers said. “If we want affordable, accessible healthcare for New Zealanders, we must strengthen the frontline of the system.”

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

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

Source: New Zealand Government

The Minister for Regulation and the Attorney‑General have today issued joint statutory guidance to support consistent application of the Regulatory Standards Act 2025 (the Act) across government.

“We’re showing voters who is responsible for putting costs on them and why. Better information means more informed choices at the voting booth. That’s important for the future of New Zealand,” Mr Seymour says. 

“Statutory guidance issued today will show government agencies how to comply with the Act’s new transparency requirements. From July any Minister introducing a Bill to the house must also provide a Consistency Accountability Statement (CAS), which will published. The CAS will show whether proposed laws are consistent with the principles of good regulation in the Act, and if not, Ministers must explain why not.”

The guidance outlines expectations and best practice in relation to:

• how the principles of responsible regulation should be applied
• how to review proposed or existing legislation for consistency with the principles of responsible regulation
• the content and presentation of consistency accountability statements
• how to prepare, publish, carry out, and report on plans for review of existing legislation.

“From July we are also replacing Regulatory Impact Statements (RIS) with shorter and sharper Regulatory Analysis Summaries (RAS). RISs could be over 100 pages of fluff. RASs will be less than 20 pages and more focussed on cost benefit analysis. To ensure the quality of the analyses, RASs will be quality assured by an independent panel,” Mr Seymour says. 

“Bad regulations have real consequences for real people. People work hard to earn their livelihood. Now there is scrutiny for people who ruin it with bad regulations.”

“The guidance was developed in close cooperation with the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Crown Law Office. It reflects the Crown’s understanding of the legal effect of the principles of responsible regulation as set out in the Act,” Attorney‑General Chris Bishop says.

“Good regulation should be necessary, proportionate, and effective. The guidance helps agencies apply those principles in practice.” 

The full guidance can be found here: https://www.regulation.govt.nz/about-us/our-publications/guidance-issued-under-section-26-of-the-regulatory-standards-act-2025/