AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 20, 2026 – Full Text

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

Legal verification of the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been completed with both countries agreeing its signing on 27 April in New Delhi in front of a large contingent of Indian and New Zealand businesses, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay says.

“This once-in-a-generation agreement gives our exporters unprecedented access to 1.4 billion people and an economy set to become the third-largest in the world,” Mr McClay says.

“With so much global unrest, a trade agreement with India has never been more important for New Zealand’s prosperity.

“Signing the FTA allows New Zealand to initiate a formal parliamentary treaty examination and means the public can scrutinise the agreement in full.

“Signature also ensures we remain on track to benefit from a Most Favoured Nation clause for wine and services exports. The European Union has secured better access for wine and services which will automatically be extended to our exporters if our agreement enters into force first. This will be worth tens of millions of dollars in extra exports for the New Zealand economy,” Mr McClay says.

The historic agreement was concluded in December and eliminates or reduces tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports – among the highest of any Indian FTA. Almost 57 per cent of our exports will be duty-free from day one including lamb, wool, coal, leather, most forestry and industrial products. This will increase to 82 per cent when fully implemented including infant formula, a kiwifruit quota almost four times our current exports and seafood. The remaining 13 per cent including kiwifruit, apples, mānuka honey, wine and some dairy is subject to sharp tariff cuts.

Mr McClay confirmed the Government will follow the established parliamentary treaty examination process for the India FTA, allowing all parties to continue considering their support as the public also scrutinises the agreement.

Signing will activate the standard parliamentary process, allowing Parliament and the public to scrutinise the agreement through the Select Committee. The FTA text and National lnterest Analysis will be tabled in Parliament the day after signing and referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADTC).

Once FADTC has completed its examination, enabling legislation will be introduced and will follow the usual legislative process. This approach is consistent with that taken for the TPP, CPTPP, and agreements with the United Kingdom, European Union, and United Arab Emirates.

“The business community, the primary sector, the services sector and many New Zealanders have expressed their strong support for this important trade agreement,” Mr McClay says.

“The benefits of the New Zealand-India FTA will be available to all Kiwis for many generations to come.”

Note to editor:

Key outcomes for New Zealand include:   
•    Tariff elimination or reduction on 95 per cent of our exports.
•    Duty-free access on almost 57 per cent of New Zealand’s exports from day one, increasing to 82 per cent when fully implemented, with the remaining 13 per cent being subject to sharp tariff cuts.
•    Immediate tariff elimination on sheep meat, wool, coal and over 95 per cent of forestry and wood exports.
•    Duty-free access on most seafood exports, including mussels and salmon, over seven years. 
•    Duty-free access on most iron, steel and scrap aluminium, over 10 years or less. 
•    Duty-free access for most industrial products, over five to 10 years 
•    50 per cent tariff cut for large quota of apples – nearly double recent average exports.
•    Duty-free access for kiwifruit within a quota almost four times our recent average exports, and tariff halved for exports outside of quota. 
•    Duty-free access for cherries, avocados, persimmons and blueberries, over 10 years. 
•    Tariffs on wine reduced from 150 per cent to either 25 or 50 per cent (depending on the value of the wine) over 10 years plus a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) commitment. 
•    Tariffs on mānuka honey cut from 66 per cent to 16.5 per cent over five years. 
•    MFN status and liberalisation across services exports. 
•    Duty-free access for dairy and other food ingredients for re-export from day one. 
•    Duty-free access for bulk infant formula and other high-value dairy preparations over seven years.
•    50 percent tariff cut for high value milk albumins within a NZ-specific quota equal to current export volumes.       
 

MIL OSI

Source: Green Party

The Green Party is condemning the Government’s weakening of Te Tiriti o Waitangi provisions across multiple pieces of legislation. 

“Pushing through these sweeping changes in secret shows this Government is a dishonourable Treaty partner,” says Green Party MP Tamatha Paul. 

Documents seen by Paul outline Cabinet’s decision to amend Treaty provisions across 23 pieces of legislation.  

Under the changes, the standard of Treaty obligation would be reduced to no higher than “take into account”.  

Treaty references in other laws would be repealed entirely. The decisions were made in February but never publicly announced. 

“The Government’s changes diminish the mana of Te Tiriti by making it a mere consideration as opposed to something that must be honoured.” 

“It also conflates Te Tiriti o Waitangi with the Treaty of Waitangi, but these two documents are worlds apart in their meaning.” 

“The fact that the Government tried to do this without telling anyone speaks volumes. They know this is wrong.” 

“Provisions that currently require decision-makers to ‘give effect to’ or ‘honour’ the principles of Te Tiriti will be gutted.” 

“No one was consulted in this process. Māori, iwi, hapū, even the general public, have been left out. 

“It’s abhorrent that this Government consistently makes sweeping decisions about Te Tiriti without engaging its Treaty partners.” 

“The Waitangi Tribunal found the Crown’s process would breach Te Tiriti and said the review should be refocused with full engagement and inclusion of Māori in decision-making. The Government ignored both warnings.” 

“The Green Party will continue, as we always have, to uphold Te Tiriti and the promises that were made over 180 years ago,” says Paul. 

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis: A new poll showing National sitting on just 30 percent, and the coalition unable to govern, has set the stage for a crucial week in Christopher Luxon’s prime ministership.

This result is National’s worst in the 1News-Verian poll since Luxon became leader in November 2021.

Labour is up five points on 37 percent, while National’s 30 is down four points since February.

For the other parties in the coalition, New Zealand First is steady on 10 percent, while Act has dropped two points to seven.

On the other side of the house the Greens and Te Pati Maori are both unchanged on eleven and two, respectively.

It gives the centre-left bloc of Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Maori the seats needed to govern with 66 compared to the coalition’s 58, if an election was held today.

Luxon’s personal favourability has taken a decent hit in this poll too, down four points to 16 percent, while Labour’s Chris Hipkins is down one to 19 percent.

The results follow several polls in recent weeks showing National on about 29 percent – the party’s official result in Sunday night’s poll was 29.7, but rounded up to 30.

The prime minister told TVNZ on the back of those results he hadn’t considered resigning.

This latest poll headache comes after a torrid Friday for the prime minister where he was again forced to defend his leadership.

Poor polling, including record- low personal favourability, has been dogging Luxon for months.

A NZ Herald story on Friday morning reported senior whip Stuart Smith tried and failed to get hold of Luxon before Easter to warn him there were rumblings about his leadership from within caucus.

The article reported multiple anonymous sources saying Luxon had evaded Smith, despite the pair both being at Parliament during a sitting week.

RNZ has confirmed with a senior Beehive source that meeting was attempted by Smith, but both Luxon and his office have denied it.

Luxon insisted at a media conference on Friday that he had had the “numbers” and the “full support” of his caucus. He also maintained the coalition could still govern on public polling – not the case however after Sunday’s poll, nor was it the case in RNZ-Reid Research’s poll last month where the result was a hung parliament.

The 1News-Verian poll was in the field until Wednesday, so didn’t capture Friday’s problems for the prime minister.

It has been two weeks since the caucus met at Parliament due to the school holiday recess, and that support will be tested when they gather in Wellington on Tuesday morning.

Luxon will also have to explain, if asked, why he publicly denied the Smith reports.

In recent weeks it’s not only National MPs who have been leaking their unhappiness with the direction of travel the party is heading in, but staff have also been unhappy about how they’re being treated.

Some staff feel they were a victim of a point-scoring reshuffle by Luxon that has seen a number off them “evented”, which means they have lost their jobs and could potentially apply for a new one, but not necessarily in the office they have been working in.

Other staff have been frustrated with Luxon’s unwillingness to listen, take advice, or make change.

Both MPs and staff have expressed the prime minister is getting worse, not better, at public appearances and media interviews, which doesn’t bode well heading into a tightly-contested election campaign.

In amongst that, there has been speculation MPs are keen for change, and Chris Bishop has spent weeks denying he is lining himself up as leader.

He spent the weekend batting away suggestions he was planning to roll Luxon.

At a media conference on Saturday in his Hutt South electorate, in response to questions about his relationship with the prime minister, Bishop confirmed he has confidence in Christopher Luxon but declined to discuss private conversations.

“The Prime Minister and I talk all the time… but I’m not going to get into what I’ve said to him or what he’s said to me recently.”

“Look, I’m just head down, bum up on my portfolios and also working hard locally as well,” he told reporters.

On Sunday in a TVNZ Q+A interview, Bishop denied he was plotting to take the leadership from Luxon.

He said comments that have made their way into the media about flagging support for Luxon and unhappiness in the caucus were “unhelpful”.

Bishop denied any knowledge of Smith’s attempts to warn Luxon about his caucus support, and told Q+A people shouldn’t be “talking out of school” because it’s not the “right way to do things”.

“That is unhelpful and untidy and indicates that the National Party is focused on ourselves rather than focused on the country.”

Bishop said those people in caucus who had spoken to the NZ Herald, who broke the story about Smith on Friday, were clearly “unhappy and untidy”.

“I am prepared to accept that. That is sort of a statement of fact, I am not going to deny the reality.”

The transport and housing minister said he wasn’t aware of anyone in the caucus who thought Luxon shouldn’t be leader, and said he didn’t believe the prime minister was dragging down the party’s performance.

A fresh poll result showing National would lose 12 MPs if that result was replicated on election day might give those at risk of losing their job plenty to think about ahead of Tuesday’s gathering.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Analysis: A new poll showing National sitting on just 30 percent, and the coalition unable to govern, has set the stage for a crucial week in Christopher Luxon’s prime ministership.

This result is National’s worst in the 1News-Verian poll since Luxon became leader in November 2021.

Labour is up five points on 37 percent, while National’s 30 is down four points since February.

For the other parties in the coalition, New Zealand First is steady on 10 percent, while Act has dropped two points to seven.

On the other side of the house the Greens and Te Pati Maori are both unchanged on eleven and two, respectively.

It gives the centre-left bloc of Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Maori the seats needed to govern with 66 compared to the coalition’s 58, if an election was held today.

Luxon’s personal favourability has taken a decent hit in this poll too, down four points to 16 percent, while Labour’s Chris Hipkins is down one to 19 percent.

The results follow several polls in recent weeks showing National on about 29 percent – the party’s official result in Sunday night’s poll was 29.7, but rounded up to 30.

The prime minister told TVNZ on the back of those results he hadn’t considered resigning.

This latest poll headache comes after a torrid Friday for the prime minister where he was again forced to defend his leadership.

Poor polling, including record- low personal favourability, has been dogging Luxon for months.

A NZ Herald story on Friday morning reported senior whip Stuart Smith tried and failed to get hold of Luxon before Easter to warn him there were rumblings about his leadership from within caucus.

The article reported multiple anonymous sources saying Luxon had evaded Smith, despite the pair both being at Parliament during a sitting week.

RNZ has confirmed with a senior Beehive source that meeting was attempted by Smith, but both Luxon and his office have denied it.

Luxon insisted at a media conference on Friday that he had had the “numbers” and the “full support” of his caucus. He also maintained the coalition could still govern on public polling – not the case however after Sunday’s poll, nor was it the case in RNZ-Reid Research’s poll last month where the result was a hung parliament.

The 1News-Verian poll was in the field until Wednesday, so didn’t capture Friday’s problems for the prime minister.

It has been two weeks since the caucus met at Parliament due to the school holiday recess, and that support will be tested when they gather in Wellington on Tuesday morning.

Luxon will also have to explain, if asked, why he publicly denied the Smith reports.

In recent weeks it’s not only National MPs who have been leaking their unhappiness with the direction of travel the party is heading in, but staff have also been unhappy about how they’re being treated.

Some staff feel they were a victim of a point-scoring reshuffle by Luxon that has seen a number off them “evented”, which means they have lost their jobs and could potentially apply for a new one, but not necessarily in the office they have been working in.

Other staff have been frustrated with Luxon’s unwillingness to listen, take advice, or make change.

Both MPs and staff have expressed the prime minister is getting worse, not better, at public appearances and media interviews, which doesn’t bode well heading into a tightly-contested election campaign.

In amongst that, there has been speculation MPs are keen for change, and Chris Bishop has spent weeks denying he is lining himself up as leader.

He spent the weekend batting away suggestions he was planning to roll Luxon.

At a media conference on Saturday in his Hutt South electorate, in response to questions about his relationship with the prime minister, Bishop confirmed he has confidence in Christopher Luxon but declined to discuss private conversations.

“The Prime Minister and I talk all the time… but I’m not going to get into what I’ve said to him or what he’s said to me recently.”

“Look, I’m just head down, bum up on my portfolios and also working hard locally as well,” he told reporters.

On Sunday in a TVNZ Q+A interview, Bishop denied he was plotting to take the leadership from Luxon.

He said comments that have made their way into the media about flagging support for Luxon and unhappiness in the caucus were “unhelpful”.

Bishop denied any knowledge of Smith’s attempts to warn Luxon about his caucus support, and told Q+A people shouldn’t be “talking out of school” because it’s not the “right way to do things”.

“That is unhelpful and untidy and indicates that the National Party is focused on ourselves rather than focused on the country.”

Bishop said those people in caucus who had spoken to the NZ Herald, who broke the story about Smith on Friday, were clearly “unhappy and untidy”.

“I am prepared to accept that. That is sort of a statement of fact, I am not going to deny the reality.”

The transport and housing minister said he wasn’t aware of anyone in the caucus who thought Luxon shouldn’t be leader, and said he didn’t believe the prime minister was dragging down the party’s performance.

A fresh poll result showing National would lose 12 MPs if that result was replicated on election day might give those at risk of losing their job plenty to think about ahead of Tuesday’s gathering.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government’s attempts to shake up the supermarket sector have so far failed and something has to be done, Consumer advocates say.

New Zealand First said at the weekend that it was going into the election with a policy of ending the supermarket duopoly.

New Zealand’s grocery industry is dominated by Australian-owned Woolworths, and New Zealand co-operative Foodstuffs, which operates New World, Pak’n Save and Four Square.

NZ First said it would introduce legislation to break up Foodstuffs into two co-operatives, one for New World and Four Square and the other for Pak’n Save.

It also wanted tougher penalties and powers for the Commerce Commission and to address the supermarkets’ control over which products were stocked on shelves.

A potential break-up of the supermarket duopoly was raised as a prospect after the Commerce Commission’s 2022 market study into the supermarket sector, which found they were earning $1 million a day in excess profits.

After the 2023 election, ministries examined structural reform options, but the bulk of the policy effort focused instead on smaller regulatory fixes and market-led solutions, including work to understand what hurdles were in the way of another competitor entering the New Zealand market.

Officials warned that structural separation was more likely to be effective but was riskier.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has said stronger intervention is possible if reforms are unsuccessful.

As of last year, a cost-benefit analysis was underway, she said. But similar work commissioned under the previous government found the economics of a break-up were far from straightforward.

A 2023 MBIE analysis suggested forced divestment could deliver competition benefits but also carried the risk of a $3.8 billion net cost over 20 years, largely due to the loss of economies of scale.

Consumer NZ spokesperson Gemma Rasmussen said since the Commerce Commission report, there had been a lot of tinkering around the edges of what was required.

“We have more regulation in the market, and more formal protections, but it’s fair to say that consumers aren’t really seeing any major changes at the supermarket. We’ve got the Grocery Industry Competition Act and the Grocery Commissioner has been created.

“There’s been work put in place to try and help suppliers, like the Grocery Supply Code of Conduct, and obviously there’s been the land covenant ban, which is to try and make things easier for a new entrant to come in, as well as some wholesale supply reforms. But what we’ve found, and what we’ve seen, is it seems like National has placed all of their chips on an international third party coming in, and that’s something that doesn’t seem to be a gamble that’s paid off. We’re a country with a really small population.”

She said the geographic isolation of New Zealand increased supply chain costs and made it harder for international players to expand here.

She said there were things in NZ First’s proposal that Consumer would support but there was no one solution that would fix the sector’s problems.

“When you potentially work to break up Pak’n Save and New World, you could potentially see an increase in operational costs which could drive up the price of food.

“There could be unintended consequences of the price of food going up ion the short term, or potentially the long term.”

She said there was also a risk that Woolworths could leave the country if it was no longer viable.

“Then we’d be back to square one with two small players.”

Rasmussen said a third player would also not necessarily guarantee lower prices.

In Australia, even with Aldi, the government had to introduce intervention to try to improve competition.

From July, the Australian government will introduce a law that bans large supermarkets from charging excessive prices.

This carries a penalty of up to A$10 million or 10 percent of turnover, or three times the gain from unjustified prices.

“This is something that would potentially be less risky. It would send a warning shot across the industry that when there have been these examples of extremely high mark-ups that they can’t be doing that.”

She said Consumer wanted to see more heat on supermarkets and more drastic measures taken. A move similar to Australia’s on excessive pricing could help, she said.

“If that wasn’t to work, then potentially to break them up. However, we do support what [NZ First] is proposing in terms of stronger powers for the Commerce Commission and the Grocery Commissioner, and we think it’s really great that they’re looking at that farm-to-shelf pathway.

“With what’s happening, it is a concern for us if that local grower market continues to diminish, New Zealand could be in a place where we’re actually really vulnerable to what’s happening in overseas markets.

“Right now, there’s a fuel crisis. If we are primarily importing our food and fuel prices go up, that’s something else that’s just going to continue to drive prices up. So really looking to ensure that our local growers are thriving is a great call and more resourcing there is welcomed by us.”

She said the public was frustrated that millions had been spent on a market study that found excessive prices but little had happened.

Tim Hazledine, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Auckland, said he would support the supermarkets being broken up.

But he said Foodstuffs should be split into New World on one side and Pak’n Save and Four Square on the other so they were competing against each other in every market from the outset.

He agreed that what the Commerce Commission had done so far had not made a difference.

“There may be people who don’t do certain bad things because they’re afraid the Commerce Commission would act, and I hope that’s true, but they haven’t said, right, we really want the minister to give us powers to step in here and break up the duopoly.”

He said the commission had seemed not to want to be given significant powers at all.

‘They said, ‘please don’t, we’re not very brave here, so please don’t send us into battle. We don’t want any weapons. Thank you very much’.”

A spokesperson for Foodstuffs said there was no evidence to suggest breaking up its business would lead to lower grocery prices.

“The Foodstuffs North Island and Foodstuffs South Island co-operatives are made up of more than 500 locally owned and operated supermarkets, each store individually owned by a New Zealand family that is deeply embedded in the communities they serve. Profits are retained locally.

“It is a distinctly New Zealand business model, with members working together, buying together, and collectively owning their supply chain, support functions, and technology systems. This creates the scale needed to deliver the best possible value to their local communities no matter how remote they might be.”

The spokesperson said the model allows it to keep costs down and compete effectively against larger overseas-owned competitors – as well as New Zealand-owned operators.

“We are also a major partner to thousands of suppliers across New Zealand. We place strong emphasis on supporting supplier growth and innovation, and small New Zealand suppliers are among the fastest growing parts of our supplier base.”

The spokesperson said breaking up the co-operatives would reduce efficiencies, require duplication across supply chains and infrastructure and increase costs.

“New Zealand grocery prices are broadly in line with comparable international markets, particularly when factors such as GST on food and the cost of operating in small, geographically remote markets are taken into account.

“We support efforts to improve competition and regulation that deliver better outcomes for customers. In our view, the most effective way to achieve that is by improving efficiency and lowering the cost of doing business, including enabling greater scale across the Foodstuffs co-operatives-owned business model.”

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

Source: Green Party

This Government has cut flood protection spending by 41 per cent compared to the last Government, even as climate-change-charged extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.

“Luxon’s Government gets up after each extreme weather event to talk about much they’re spending on flood protection – spending that they’ve almost halved in comparison to the last Government,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.  

Documents OIA’d by the Green Party confirm Budget 2020 committed $217 million, Budget 2023 committed $122.9 million, and $647.5 million for North Island Weather Events Category 2 risk mitigation was confirmed and signed under the previous government.  

This Government’s contribution has been $200 million through the Regional Infrastructure Fund.  

The previous Government committed $340 million over three years to flood resilience, excluding one-off disaster recovery funding. This Government has committed $200 million total across three years, spread across 74 projects nationwide. That is a decrease of $140 million.  

“Every other week we’re experiencing yet another ‘one in one hundred year weather event.’ We need climate resilience now. Luxon’s Government has not only poured fossil fuels on the fire, but cut flood protection funding and last year decided to kick any meaningful decisions on climate adaptation funding til after the next election.” 

“Treasury is telling us there’s an 80 per cent chance of another Gabrielle-scale event in the next 50 years, as Luxon’s Government quietly delays and defunds any real work on resilience.”  

“Every dollar we fail to invest in flood protection now is a dollar communities pay back many times over when the next event hits.” 

“New Zealanders are sick of being told the Government is investing in keeping them safe when the reality is the opposite. They deserve an honest Government who does the real work to fix the entangled climate and cost-of-living crises; a Government that works for regular people, not the profit of mega corporations,” says Swarbrick. 

MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has blamed leaks about his leadership on a “small handful of dissatisfied MPs” and says he will address the matter with his caucus at a meeting tomorrow.

In a round of interviews with morning media on Monday, Luxon insisted there was “no risk” of him standing down or being rolled from the top job.

“That’s not going to happen,” he told Morning Report. “I have the backing of my caucus.”

Asked whether he would put his MPs’ loyalty to the test and call a confidence vote, Luxon refused to say: “What we do in caucus is up to us, but we’ll have a good conversation.”

He said he did not know which MPs had been leaking to the media.

“In every political party, there’ll be a small handful of people who either are disappointed they weren’t made ministers, or are concerned about being in marginal seats.

“I want every one of my MPs back in Parliament, and to do that, the party needs to do better, and that’s what our focus is going to be between now and the election.”

Over on NewstalkZB, Luxon suggested the caucus discontent was confined to “probably five people that are, you know, moaning and frustrated”.

The comments came after a shocker 1News-Verian poll published on Sunday, showing National crashing to 30 percent – seven points behind Labour – and without a pathway to power.

Luxon questioned the findings on Morning Report, saying it was “quite different” from other polling which showed the coalition’s re-election.

“Frankly, I just don’t believe that New Zealanders want a Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori coalition.”

On his personal popularity, Luxon acknowledged “not everybody… wants to invite me over for a barbecue”, but he said New Zealanders understood the coalition – under his leadership – was the “best custodian of the economy” during tough times.

National ministers stress unity and discipline

Arriving at Wellington airport on Monday morning, National campaign chair Simeon Brown declined to speculate on how many of his colleagues were leaking to the media, but he said Luxon had his full support.

“We have a great leader,” he told reporters. “As a caucus, we must come together and work as a team, back our leader and deliver for New Zealanders.”

Brown dismissed the findings of “one poll”, saying National was focused on the 7 November election.

“As the leader has said, we all want to do better. We’re very focused on supporting him and making sure we’re focused on the issues that matter to New Zealanders.”

Senior National MP Mark Mitchell said the party would only hurt itself by changing leader by demonstrating a lack of discipline, focus and unity.

He “absolutely” ruled out putting himself forward to take over as prime minister and said he had no idea which MPs were speaking out of school.

“I’m not going to speculate on disgruntled back benches,” he said. “There is no witch-hunt going on.”

Mitchell went on: “Quite simply, there will be a talk, I’m sure, on Tuesday around the importance of unity and discipline.”

He insisted nobody had called him over the weekend about leadership.

“I haven’t had MPs ringing me saying that they’re frustrated or they’re upset, or they’re doing numbers, or there’s a coup, or there’s anything like that happening at all.”

His colleague Paul Goldsmith told reporters he was “absolutely not” one of the MPs moaning about the prime minister and had “no idea” who they were.

“If you’re a caucus of 49, there will always be one or two discontented people, but we’re absolutely rock solid behind the prime minister.”

Asked about the five or so MPs allegedly leaking, newly appointed Cabinet minister Chris Penk said the perfect number would be zero.

“Anything more than that shows that people aren’t focused on what they should be doing, which is, you know, working hard for New Zealand.”

Penk said all National MPs needed to do better in talking about the important issues “as opposed to ourselves”.

“I hope we’ll have a discussion about caucus discipline [on Tuesday], because clearly at least one colleague and maybe a few need to be reminded of that.”

ACT leader and deputy prime minister David Seymour told reporters he was not worried about National’s polling.

“There’s been four polls this week, and one of them is bad, and three of them are good. So I guess we’ll just keep working, huh?“

Asked whether the coalition could collapse if Luxon was ousted as prime minister, Seymour said that was just “mindless media speculation”.

“It’s not on the table right now.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Northland iwi leader says some form of ongoing support is needed in order for marae to continue responding effectively to severe weather events.

The Government says it won’t set up another dedicated fund to reimburse marae for their work leading up to Cyclone Vaianu, but is encouraging marae to keep in touch with officials on the ground in case they need support.

In the wake of the deadly weather that struck the North Island in January the government announced that a $1 million fund, administered by Te Puni Kōkiri, would go to marae who supported communities in need.

Ngātiwai Trust Board Chairman Aperahama Kerepeti-Edwards told Morning Report seeing those efforts recognised was heartening.

“It wasn’t so much the fund primarily it was the fact that there was recognition of the important role our marae play, recognition of the responsiveness of our communities, our hapū, especially in some of our remote rural areas who naturally and consistently respond in these times of crisis.”

There’s a sense of duty and obligation that runs deep which leads marae to swing into action time and time again, he said.

“As these events become more and more consistent I suppose the toll of that comes to the fore but, you know, you never hear grumbles, you never hear moans, our whānau just do what they do.”

As of April 10 $951,565 of the Marae Emergency Response Fund has been has been distributed to marae across Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki Makaurau, Waikato-Waiariki, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Te Tai Hauāuru and Te Waipounamu, to help reimburse costs incurred, according to Te Puni Kōkiri.

In a statement Te Puni Kōkiri said in areas such as Te Tai Tokerau and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti – where geographic isolation and weather-damaged infrastructure significantly constrained access – marae became central hubs for wider community response efforts.

“Many provided support not only for their own whānau, but for the broader community, including coordination of supplies, hosting displaced families, and supporting kaumātua and vulnerable people in remote locations.

“Funding payments have been made to individual marae and to umbrella organisations that coordinated response efforts across multiple marae. This approach recognises the collective, networked way in which Māori organisations mobilised during the emergency, particularly in regions where access challenges required local leadership and rapid decision-making.”

Kerepeti-Edwards said given there has been recognition of marae efforts there should be some form of ongoing support.

That said, marae will spring into action regardless, but that shouldn’t be taken for granted, he said.

“For a lot of our remote, rural and isolated communities, but even our communities in general the marae are some of the most significant infrastructure that are equipped to be able to look after the masses in times of need, from ablutions, to bedding, to the dining facilities it’s all the there. And the policy at the marae is nobody is left out.”

Every time there is a severe weather event there are costs incurred to marae, but with the contribution of the entire community that’s how they make it work, he said.

“If there was a, you know, a dedicated means of ensuring that the load that’s being carried voluntarily by those communities to support and strengthen the wider community [that] would be reasonable.”

Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka said the Marae Emergency Response Fund was designed to provide practical, immediate support.

It was a targeted, time-limited fund focused on the January events, and it has delivered support quickly where it was needed, he said.

“We know the pressure doesn’t stop after one event. Communities in parts of the North Island are continuously preparing for further severe weather, and marae continue to play a critical role in those local responses. Officials are actively monitoring impacts on the ground and working alongside Civil Defence and other agencies to ensure communities are connected to the support available.

“Marae can continue to access support through Civil Defence and emergency management channels, as well as working directly with Te Puni Kōkiri and other agencies to identify the right support for their circumstances.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Scott O’Donnell would have been paid tens of thousands of dollars to be on KiwiRail’s board. But he missed large chunks of its meetings and quit after only eight months.

When Scott O’Donnell was appointed to KiwiRail’s board in July last year, a substantial conflict of interest plan was required.

Some of the 10 companies O’Donnell is involved with supply services to KiwiRail.

Board chair Suzanne Tindal expressed concern about O’Donnell’s numerous business interests before his appointment.

The three-year appointment, by Rail Minister Winston Peters, went ahead regardless. But O’Donnell’s conflicts would see him excluded from 15 agenda items over six board meetings. He was absent for a further 19 items for other reasons, such as travel, bringing the total number of agenda items he was not present for to 34.

In March, O’Donnell resigned to spend more time on a new business venture in Australia.

In a brief resignation note, he told Tindal he was sad to leave but would be happy to assist KiwiRail from outside the board – “just call”.

It marked the abrupt end of an appointment dogged by speculation about his ability to perform his board duties while managing so many conflicts of interest.

‘Frankly unmanageable’ conflicts of interest

Victoria University of Wellington senior research fellow Max Rashbrooke said O’Donnell’s appointment was the most egregious example of someone with significant conflicts of interest being appointed to a public board he was aware of.

“It seems very wasteful to go through all the administrative hassle of appointing someone and then the even more enormous hassle of trying to deal with their frankly unmanageable conflicts of interest, only for them to step down in very short order.”

Rashbrooke said considering how extensive O’Donnell’s conflicts were, it was debatable he was able to perform his duties in a manner the public would expect.

O’Donnell is one of the four directors of Dynes Transport Tapanui, which donated $20,000 to NZ First in July 2024.

At the time he was appointed to KiwiRail’s board, Peters said O’Donnell would be effective in his role and that the donation played no part in the appointment.

While KiwiRail confirmed the number of agenda items O’Donnell missed during his tenure, they could not immediately say how many he was present for. This would need to be addressed as an Official Information Act (OIA) request, it said, which can take up to 20 working days for a response.

It also could not immediately say what O’Donnell was paid. KiwiRail’s most recent annual report shows board members received between $57,000 and $62,000 for a full year’s tenure. However, Newsroom reported board member fees were set to increase to more than $86,000 for 2026.

RNZ’s request to KiwiRail for an interview with Tindal was declined.

Tindal has, however, previously expressed concern about the impact of O’Donnell’s conflicts.

During Parliament’s ‘scrutiny week’ in December last year, where MPs publicly examine public agency performance, she said O’Donnell’s conflicts of interest affected the board’s capability and efficiency.

Tindal said “importantly” that directors needed to consider whether they could discharge their duties as required in accordance with the Companies Act.

She reminded the MPs present that she wasn’t responsible for selecting board members.

“Just for clarity, as you all know, I do not appoint directors.”

Documents released under the OIA to RNZ show Tindal went as far as checking publicly available information on the Companies Office register and hand-drawing what she described as an “interests diagram”.

The conflict of interest management plan set up for O’Donnell by the Treasury included seven mitigations.

ACT MP Simon Court, who raised questions about the impact of O’Donnell’s conflicts during scrutiny week, said Tindal’s response had shown O’Donnell’s appointment was unworkable.

“While I was surprised at her answer, I think, based on what Radio New Zealand has since uncovered, that it’s quite clear that the board was struggling.”

Due to the small talent pool of experienced people in New Zealand, conflicts can arise, Court said, but it was obvious the board had made every effort to work around them.

“In the end, it’s up to the minister proposing an appointment to be satisfied. I understand the minister was satisfied at the time, but, as things have worked out, it’s proven to be unworkable.”

A spokesperson for Peters said despite the high number of agenda items O’Donnell was absent for, he was effective in his role.

“We remind you that Mr O’Donnell would still be a KiwiRail director if he did not need to allocate more time to an Australian venture.”

Rashbrooke said an overhaul of the rules around appointments was needed with a focus on avoiding conflicts of interest by selecting different candidates rather than managing conflicts.

“Sometimes the talent pools will be shallow, that is absolutely true, but they’re not so shallow that they contain only one person.”

Scott O’Donnell was approached for comment.

The conflict of interest management plan included the 10 companies outlined below.

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