AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for June 6, 2026 – Full Text

Source: New Zealand Government

[Speech to the Upper North Island Strategic Alliance, Whangarei]

Good afternoon.

Thank you to our hosts at Whangārei District Council, and to Mayor Ken Couper, Mayor Mahe Drysdale, and Chair Pita Tipene for inviting us to be with you today.

Warm acknowledgments to everyone here today, including Mr Reidy from KiwiRail.

Here we are with the leaders of Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga. We do have some form in your arena, having represented Hunua, Tauranga and Northland, but who’s counting.

You asked for our views on freight, rail, and how they align with the Upper North Island Strategic Alliance. It just so happens we have views on all three.

New Zealand’s freight system

Let’s face facts. New Zealand sits at the end of the global shipping line, just north of the penguins. Scale matters. That is why exporters like Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms created Kotahi, and why our relationships with major shipping lines are so important.

We cannot overstate how essential business and government relationships are with major players like Maersk, CMA and so forth in maintaining our economic connectivity with the rest of the world.

When people ask which ports matter most to New Zealand’s future, we do not hesitate: Tauranga, Northport, Lyttelton and Port Chalmers.

That does not diminish the role of other ports, but when the shipping lines consistently tells us where they want to go—ports with deep water, capable of taking large ships, and simpler operations—at some point we have to listen.

We have endured countless reports calling for another ports strategy. Frankly, it is remarkable how difficult we make something as fundamental as connecting New Zealand to the world.

Mayor Wayne Brown, with his usual forthrightness, showed how to get results with the Ports of Auckland: a $1.1 billion profit share, more waterfront access, higher gate charges, scrapped automation plans, and a port focussed on what it does best—and that includes rail freight.

Likewise, Mayor Mahe Drysdale and Bay of Plenty leaders remain focussed on the long-term growth of Port of Tauranga. Of course, we will leave remarks about the planned asset sale by the regional council to another day.

As a former Member for Tauranga, we know the transformation that port enabled for the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand. It is now New Zealand’s largest port. But could it have happened without rail? No.

The Kaimai Tunnel connected Hamilton to Tauranga and changed the game, avoiding the Karangahake Gorge and speeding up the connection of freight.

Today, almost half of every container at Port of Tauranga moves by rail. Southdown and Ruakura thrive because rail is the conveyor belt keeping freight moving.

The Golden Triangle should in fact be called the Steel Triangle.

Rail also frees road capacity and cuts fuel consumption. Moving the equivalent freight from Auckland to Palmerston North by truck would burn around 14,000 extra litres of fuel on a single trip.

It proves once again that being green is an economic choice—requiring none of the eyerolling, virtue-signalling nonsense seen from some of our opponents in Parliament.

Thankfully, we are in Whangārei, not Parliament.

Rail priorities

Rail has a task to serve, and it is doing it.

It would be good to see more leaders acknowledging the work happening at KiwiRail.

Ten years ago, rail was neglected. Today it is succeeding. KiwiRail reported a $73 million half-year profit and remains on track for $160 million this year. Freight volumes are up seven percent, compared with around two percent for road.

So why is rail succeeding?

Because we set a strategy and railway people delivered it.

We changed the law so rail infrastructure is funded more like state highways. Since then, sleeper by sleeper and bridge by bridge, the network has been rebuilt.

This year’s storms caused only two significant washouts nationwide. One per island for a national network is not a bad result.

Budget 2026 includes $1.075 billion for the national network and another $107 million for metropolitan rail renewals.

More than 2,000 new wagons are already in service, with hundreds more being assembled at Hillside Workshop in Dunedin. New shunts are operating in KiwiRail’s freight yards, and the entire South Island locomotive fleet will be replaced next year with state-of-the-art locomotives built in Spain.

KiwiRail will soon have the youngest locomotive fleet of any rail freight company in the world. People need to sit up and see what is in front of them here: rail is back in big way.

Indeed, two new ferries will arrive in 2029 – with rail on them just has been the case for the past 60 years.

In Northland, the North Auckland Line has been comprehensively upgraded. Culverts replaced, embankments rebuilt, tunnels lowered, and standard-weight trains restored.

That work has put the railway in position for Marsden Point.

For the business itself, KiwiRail has finally grappled with its cost competitiveness. It has taken hard decisions to remove inefficient practices, thereby saving costs. Those decisions have a twin objective: offer a cost-competitive rail solution, while contributing to what is most important to freight customers: schedule reliability.

In our office, we have adopted a freight term: ‘Delivered in full on time”. This is a well-worn measure that KiwiRail people spend their working days focussed on, as reliability is everything.

The Interislander, for example, is 98 percent reliable. A major advance on recent years.

KiwiRail’s freight services are around 90 percent, often 95 percent for major customers such as Fonterra, and all have markedly improved in recent years.

Part of this is to do with the new assets we bought for them, but much of it comes down to the work on the ground and that is why rail is succeeding.

Because when we give people in this country the tools to succeed, New Zealanders succeed.

And so, we turn to another building block for long-term export success.

Marsden Point Rail Link

The Marsden Point Rail Link is needed. It is blindingly obvious that Northport should have the same rail connection enjoyed by every other major port in New Zealand.

The previous Government allocated $410 million before a railway had been designed. KiwiRail was effectively asked to create a brand-new railway while solving every conceivable problem along the way.

It wasn’t enough to just build a railway from Oakleigh to Marsden Point, KiwiRail was also expected to save Northland from extreme sea level rise and build overbridges so a ute can inspect a pole every year or so.

The result was a design costing more than $1 billion, and suddenly the previous Government had nothing much to say about this project.

That is a major fault in how New Zealand does infrastructure. We have ambitions for sainthood when we just need to attend confession.

Governments announce projects, spend years producing business cases, reveal what they are willing to pay, and then act surprised when costs rise.

That is not what we are doing here.

Last year we opened KiwiRail’s design work to the market. Builders and funders reviewed the information, proposed alternatives, and identified opportunities to reduce costs.

This week we announced that Acciona, the Downer-HEB partnership, and Martinus Rail will compete to develop lower-cost options.

And here is the beautiful part: they are competing. They want the construction contracts. We want value for money. And they do not know our budget.

Imagine applying that principle across more infrastructure projects instead of publishing glossy business cases that reveal the number on day one.

This approach means our Government will receive robust cost estimates, actual design data underpinning them, and can proceed to build and fund with far higher confidence than is typically the case for infrastructure.

Conclusion

Collectively, your regions represent more than 60 percent of New Zealand. The opportunities are immense, but opportunities not taken count for nothing.

What we need is a focus on basics.

In rail, 66 cents of every dollar goes into maintaining and renewing the network. The Infrastructure Commission says we should spend more than 60 cents. We already do.

The transport system is exactly that: a system. Rail, roads and coastal shipping working together.

An expanded Northport. An expanded Port of Tauranga. A rail connection to Northport. Additional crossing loops around the Kaimai Tunnel. More freight capacity through Auckland. An Avondale–Southdown connection.

Put those together and you create a stronger connection between Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Northland.

And the connector—the ballast for growth—is rail.

A system as old as anything, coming into its own for the future.

We do not shy away from bold ideas. If our record is anything to go by, we deliver them.

Thank you.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/delivering-in-full-on-time-rail-and-the-rationale-for-the-marsden-point-rail-link/

Source: New Zealand Government

Toitu te taiao – Nature endures

Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau is set to lead the next phase of Predator Free 2050, with a $10 million Government investment to expand predator elimination efforts across the region and develop new tools that can be used across New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka and Minister for Auckland Simon Watts say. 

“Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau has already shown what can be achieved when Iwi, councils, communities, conservation groups, philanthropists, scientists, and volunteers work together. We are backing that success and helping take it to the next level,” says Mr Potaka.

The investment, funded through the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL), will be delivered over five years and support work across the Hauraki Gulf and mainland Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau. 

“This Investment will enable us to launch Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau’s first urban mainland predator elimination project in our country’s largest city and build momentum behind successful predator-free initiatives already underway across the region. 

“We know predator control delivers results. When native species recover and ecosystems thrive, the benefits extend well beyond conservation. Communities build stronger connections with their local environment, biodiversity is strengthened, and international and domestic visitors are drawn to places where nature is flourishing.” 

Auckland Minister Simon Watts says Predator Free 2050 is a commitment of The Auckland Deal, New Zealand’s first City and Regional deal.

“The investment forms part of the Natural Environment and Harbour priority area under The Auckland Deal, which brings together Government, Auckland Council, Iwi and conservation partners. 

This announcement is an example of how The Auckland Deal delivers for Aucklanders. It shows that when central and local government work together, we can achieve real improvements for communities and the environment.”

This investment builds on a strong partnership between the Department of Conservation, Auckland Council, Iwi, the NEXT Foundation and conservation organisations, with partners working together to accelerate predator-free efforts across Tāmaki Makaurau. 

“Predator Free 2050 is one of New Zealand’s most ambitious environmental goals. Achieving it requires innovation, partnership, and practical action on the ground,” says Mr Potaka. 

The Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau investment builds on the Government’s wider conservation programme, including a recent $5.5 million investment in Predator Free Wellington and ongoing support for more than 20 large-scale predator free projects and thousands of community-led initiatives across the country. 

“Our Government is focused on fixing the basics and building for the future. 

“That means investing in the biodiversity, visitor experiences, and natural assets that make New Zealand unique while creating opportunities for communities and supporting regional economic growth. 

 “Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau now has the opportunity to help shape the next chapter of Predator Free 2050 and create a model that can be applied across New Zealand.”

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/10m-to-accelerate-predator-free-in-auckland-tamaki-makaurau/

Source: NZCTU

Security for all?

The government has framed Budget 26 as one that will “secure New Zealand’s future”. The key argument that Minister Willis and Prime Minister Luxon want to make is that “financial discipline” today is required to deliver “economic security” tomorrow. In Budget 26 this financial discipline takes the form of cuts to social housing tenants’ incomes, who will be $31 worse off per week from next year. It also takes the form of ongoing cuts to core public services – from social welfare to border control to food safety to our culture and heritage. When accounting for inflation, the cumulative real term cuts to core public agencies’ baselines that were announced will total 18% by 2029. This will devastate many services that New Zealanders rely on.

The government’s version of financial discipline also sees reduced support for students, with the ending of the final year fees free programme; on top of this, student fees will increase by 6% next year – for the third year in a row. It also sees real term cuts to early childhood education (ECE) subsidies and schools’ operational funding. ECE subsidies have gone backwards in real terms since 2020, and schools operational funding has gone backwards in real terms since 2021. And it sees scant relief for families across the country who are struggling with the cost of living.

From the NZCTU’s perspective, this is the very opposite of “securing our future”. Real economic security means that families have secure jobs, decent incomes, access to quality public services, healthy and affordable housing, and connected and cohesive communities. The government’s cuts to social welfare, public services, and education put these goals further out of reach. And the government’s failure to provide support for families struggling with out-of-control electricity, food, and transport costs will mean greater poverty, which means more fractured and insecure communities.

Budget 26 also fails to address many of the structural challenges we are facing as a country. Although healthcare expenditure has increased in nominal terms (it does so every year), this was likely not enough to maintain the system at its current, over-stretched state, where unmet care is already high. As a recent report from Kaitiaki Hauora finds, we have accumulated a large funding gap in health, of over $6 billion per year, largely because the system was underfunded during the Key/English governments. A responsible budget to secure New Zealand’s future would start to close that gap, which in concrete terms means supporting an expansion of the workforce, modernising our hospitals, and reducing wait-times for care, among other things.

There was no investment made in climate mitigation, and on the adaptation side, the only investment of substance was for future highway resilience projects. Roading resilience is important, but a much more ambitious programme of action is needed in this space. New Zealanders are now experiencing climate-change-driven weather disasters on a yearly basis. A Budget that was really about “securing our future” would put action on climate change at its centre.

The Budget did not bring housing security any closer for the tens of thousands of whānau living in precarious situations. Despite the declining property market in most parts of the country since 2021, New Zealand still has a chronic problem with housing affordability, both for renters and homeowners. We have failed to add sufficiently to our public housing stock and have failed to keep the existing stock in good condition. While Budget 26 did allocate some money to new social housing builds, these are not set to start until 2028/29. And at the same time it has announced this money, the government has continued its rollback of emergency housing support, which will contribute to rising homelessness – now understood to be at a record high – the very opposite of housing security.

There is no plan to address the rising problem of unemployment either. We now have the highest number of people unemployed since the early 1990s – over 160,000 Kiwis. And because the job market is so weak, people are staying unemployed for a long time. The number of unemployed people who have been out of work for more than 6 months has increased almost 150% since the beginning of 2023. In the March 2026 quarter, almost 65,000 New Zealanders had been unemployed for more than 6 months. This can have devastating financial and psychological outcomes for affected workers and their whānau, and it can be devastating for entire communities. Yet there was no economic development plan in this Budget – only the empty promise that the recovery has once again been “delayed but not derailed”.

At the same time that it has neglected to make investments in these critical areas, the government allocated almost $1 billion of new operating money and over $2.3 billion in new capital expenditure to New Zealand’s military. Spending big on the military at a time of growing poverty and economic precarity in New Zealand demonstrates this government has its priorities wrong. We do have the resources to meet the address the big challenges we face and make ordinary people’s lives better, but this government is choosing not to.

The “financial discipline” that Minister Willis and Prime Minister Luxon promote is intended to reduce the government’s debt levels. It is true that debt has gone up in recent years, largely because of the need to support incomes and the health system during the Covid pandemic (both good things to spend money on), and also because of much-needed infrastructure investment. But it is also true that New Zealand’s government debt remains at relatively low levels compared to our peer countries. On the International Monetary Fund’s figures, the average net-debt-to-GDP ratio across advanced economies was 79.1% in 2025, with New Zealand well below that at 25.8%. Maintaining government debt at sensible levels is important over the long run, but cutting expenditure during an economic downturn is not a good way to achieve this. If the government cuts jobs and spending when the economy is weak, this just further exacerbates the problem and actually makes it harder to reduce debt levels in the first place.

A better approach in the current context would be to rebalance New Zealand’s tax system so that the wealthy actually pay their fair share. As we know from the work of IRD, the wealthiest New Zealanders pay much less tax as a proportion of their income than ordinary people do. This is partly because we are an international outlier in not having a capital gains tax. Tax reform should be accompanied by investments that support good, productive jobs. The government has talked a big game on these issues in recent years but has not outlined a coherent plan for achieving them.

This lack of vision, combined with the fixation on a narrow conception of “financial discipline”, has contributed to the continual postponement of economic recovery over the past few years. In Budget after Budget, this government has made the wrong decisions.

Budget 26, then, continues Aotearoa New Zealand’s drift. There is no economic plan from the government to drag us out of the current funk. But there are plenty of reckless cuts to public services, to jobs, and to poor households’ budgets. This will not help get Aotearoa to a more secure place, economic or otherwise. It will not “secure our future”.

In the remainder of this report we cover the most important elements of the Budget from a worker’s perspective. As Budgets are full of technical jargon, we’ve provided a glossary of key budget terms at the back of the report.

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss any aspects of Budget 26 or the NZCTU’s analysis.

Sandra Grey

President

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/workers-analysis-of-budget-2026/

Source: New Zealand Government

An upgrade of the Waihi Recycling Transfer Station that will significantly reduce waste going to landfill and boost recycling capacity has been announced by Environment Minister Nicola Grigg and Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts today.

The Hauraki District Council (HDC) is receiving almost $660,000 from the Waste Minimisation Fund, combined with $420,000 from the Council, to build a dedicated construction and demolition waste sorting area.

“The amount of organic, soils and construction and demolition waste going to landfills is a significant issue nationwide. The Government will continue to support targeted investment which have a range of benefits, including reducing landfill levies and landfill-related carbon emissions.”  

“This project is a great example of how the Waste Minimisation Fund continues to co-fund projects that significantly improve waste management systems at local facilities, divert organics and other reusable material from landfills, and enhance services for communities nationwide,” Ms Grigg says.    

When the upgrade is complete in 2028, about 3,400 tonnes of material will be diverted from landfill each year. This includes 3,000 tonnes of green waste, 350 tonnes of paper and cardboard, and around 30 tonnes of construction materials. 

It will also increase the station’s capacity to receive recyclables and glass by an estimated 20 to 40 percent. 

The upgrades will allow green waste to be mulched and reused in local parks and public spaces, with surplus material composted. 

Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts said the Waihi RTS was an example of the work the Government is doing to reduce emissions and enhance efficiency across key sectors. 

“Continuing to reduce emissions from the waste sector was one of the key areas we targeted in our second emissions reduction plan. Waste Minimisation Fund projects like this support our climate transition by reducing organic waste and emissions,” Mr Watts says.  

The Waihi RTS serves public and small private users from both the Hauraki and Western Bay of Plenty regions. It is the HDC’s busiest transfer station, especially over summer months when the region receives large numbers of visitors and when construction activities are at their highest.  

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/waste-funding-for-waihi-refuse-transfer-station-upgrade/

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 5 June 2026 – A large high-level business delegation led by John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), today (June 5) wrapped up its five-day visit to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan respectively, achieving fruitful results of strengthening bilateral relations and deepening ties with Central Asia.

The delegation of over 70 business and institutional leaders from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland is the largest and most diverse overseas mission led by the current term of the HKSAR Government so far.

<figure data-width="100%" data-caption="Hong Kong SAR’s Chief Executive, John Lee (fifth right) and the Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan on Strategic Development, Sardor Umurzakov (fourth right) witness the exchange of memoranda of understanding and co-operation agreements between government departments, enterprises and organisations from Hong Kong and Uzbekistan.
” data-caption-display=”block” data-image-width=”0″ data-image-height=”0″ class=”c6″ readability=”4″>

Source: New Zealand Government

A remediation project to clean up two former landfill sites in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park has been completed this week, Environment Minister Nicola Grigg and Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced today.

The $3.32 million remediation project removed about 2500 cubic metres of waste from the sites that had been used as landfills between 1950 and 1980, around 3km from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village.

The Department of Conservation and the Ministry for the Environment each contributed $1.66 million to the project. During flooding in 2022, waste from one of the landfills spilled into the Hooker River, which flows into Lake Pūkaki.

“These sites had become increasingly vulnerable to erosion and flooding. We’re investing in getting ahead of those risks, and protecting communities and waterways from historic contamination,” Ms Grigg says.

“Funding this work allowed for waste material to be excavated and disposed of safely at a licensed facility.”

“This is an environmentally sensitive catchment and without intervention, waste would continue to erode into the river and impact the park’s water quality, ecosystems and natural values,” Mr Potaka says.

“This work continues DOC’s investment to address increasingly at-risk legacy landfills and other contaminated sites across the country.”

DOC applied to the Ministry for the Environment’s Contaminated Sites and Vulnerable Landfills Fund (CSVLF), with support from Environment Canterbury, in mid-2025.

Work on the landfills got underway in April 2026 and was completed 4 June.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/04/clean-up-of-former-landfills-in-national-park-complete/

Source: New Zealand Government

Our most vulnerable, children and young people with high support needs, will receive a boost in support thanks to Budget 2026. 

This government is investing in better help for high support needs young people and their families. 

Minister for Children Karen Chhour says, “we’re seeing a seeing an increase in the number of children with high and complex needs, children experiencing multiple, significant challenges across several areas of their life — such as health, mental wellbeing, behaviour, disability, safety, and others. 

“These young people need and deserve our care and support, this is why we are continuing to boost support for these children and their families in Budget 2026.  

“$93.5 million will be invested over four years, as well as $0.8 million in capital funding, in a broad range of care options, including specialist care placements and clinical support.

“This investment will improve stability for children and young people with high support needs in care, prevent placement breakdowns where possible, and provide earlier and more intensive support when needs are identified. 

“Over time, this approach can also help reduce escalation into more restrictive and costly care. 

“The public want us investing in what matters – caring for our nation’s most vulnerable.”

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/04/boosting-support-for-children-and-young-people-with-high-support-needs/

Source: New Zealand Government

Construction is now underway on a major upgrade of the community birthing unit at Ashburton Hospital, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

“This investment will help ensure local mothers and babies continue to receive quality care in a modern, fit-for-purpose facility close to home.”

The $3.2 million project is being delivered through the Government’s $100 million hospital infrastructure programme funded in Budget 2025, which is accelerating improvements to health facilities across New Zealand.

The upgrade will include:

• Reconfiguring and refurbishing postnatal rooms into a single zone, with additional ensuites 
• Creating a dedicated antenatal clinic area, including a waiting room 
• Relocating the staff support area to a central position near the unit entrance to improve accessibility and workflow 

“These upgrades will ensure Ashburton Hospital’s community birthing unit meets modern health and safety standards while providing a more comfortable, efficient environment for patients, families, and staff.

“Investing in health infrastructure is critical to ensuring New Zealanders can access timely, quality healthcare now and into the future. This project will support better maternity services for the Ashburton community and help meet growing demand for years to come.

“We are focused on fixing the basics and building the future. There is no more important investment than ensuring mothers and their babies have the best possible start, supported by modern, fit-for-purpose healthcare facilities,” Mr Brown says.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/ashburton-community-birthing-unit-upgrade-underway/

MIL OSI

Source: Auckland Council

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/06/05/auckland-council-welcomes-the-governments-10m-boost-into-predator-free-projects/