AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for April 23, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Mata

Former Te Pāti Māori president Che Wilson has sparked debate following a controversial haka performed at the Tainui Regional Kapa Haka competition over the weekend.

The haka, directed at ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar, included the phrase “purari karikari iniana”, which has been interpreted as a derogatory reference to Indians. It also incorporated gestures referencing Indian cultural practices, including sitting cross-legged with hands in a prayer position. Wilson appeared to mimic an Indian accent and head movements during the performance.

When contacted by Mata, ACT Party ethnic communities spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar said: “Reports that this performance was composed and directed at mocking Indians are deeply troubling. Many in the Indian community have come to New Zealand seeking opportunity, safety, and a sense of belonging. They deserve to be treated with dignity“.

In an interview with Te Arawa FM journalist Kereama Wright posted on Monday, Wilson defended the haka, saying, “Ko te hunga pēnā ki a Parmjeet e hiahia ana te tohutohu mai, ko tāku, haere hoki!”, “For people like Parmjeet who want to tell us what to do, I say you can go”.

Indigenous rights advocate Tina Ngata criticised the performance online, writing that she believed, “Parmjeet Parmar has indeed done a lot of damage, and delivers racist harm to Māori and many others. The answer to that should not be to deliver racist harm back upon her people by mocking them, ridiculing their culture, jeering at the poverty on their lands that comes from the same coloniser, and using racial slurs cloaked in our reo”.

Parmar previously drew criticism after seeking advice from officials on the range of possible penalties for Te Pāti Māori MPs following their Treaty Principles haka in Parliament, including whether imprisonment was an option. She said at the time she was “doing her homework”.

Political connections

Wilson served as Te Pāti Māori president from 2018 to 2022 before being replaced by John Tamihere. He is also a former Deputy Secretary for the Ministry of Environment.

He leads the kapa haka – Te Pae Kahurangi, an affiliate of the kapa haka Te Iti Kahurangi. When Mata first contacted Wilson, it was advised he would not be available to comment due to wānanga commitments.

Te Iti Kahurangi, the senior group, is led by newly selected Labour Party candidate Kingi Kiriona, who announced during the competition that he would stand against Waikato-Hauraki MP Hana Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke.

When Mata contacted Kiriona, he provided a statement attributed to Wilson, and reiterated that Wilson had been unable to reply because he had been away at a wānanga.

The statement said: “Haka is a platform to challenge and where relevant, denigrate in response to an issue. The haka was composed and choreographed by a collective known as Te Whānau o Te Pae Kahurangi, and takes aim at ACT MP Parmjeet Parmar for her actions in seeking imprisonment advice for the performance of the haka by Māori MPs in the house last year, as well as her attack on Māori-focussed roles, courses, and spaces at the University of Auckland.

“Te Pae Kahurangi regards these actions as clear examples of prejudice towards Māori culture, and as such, the haka is aimed specifically at Mrs. Parmar and not the Indian community.

“Te Pae Kahurangi does not condone racism. Te Pae Kahurangi apologises for any offence caused to the Indian community, towards whom this haka was not directed”.

Rising tension

The controversy comes as the government prepares to sign a free trade agreement with India. The issue has already created political tension between National and New Zealand First.

Minister Shane Jones previously warned such a deal could lead to a “tsunami of butter chicken“, a comment that drew strong criticism.

On Tuesday Labour leader Chris Hipkins condemned Jones’ remarks which he described as “racist at the least”, adding “there is no room for racist rhetoric in any government that I lead”.

Last year Hipkins was critical of former Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris when he attacked Labour for using “Indians, Asians, Black and Pākehā” to help campaign for Peeni Henare in the Tāmaki

Makaurau byelection.

Last week an Auckland man was arrested in relation to anti-Indian graffiti near Papatoetoe Central School.

Over the weekend Tāmaki Makaurau MP Oriini Kaipara met with members of the Takanini Gurdwara Sahib in a show of solidarity. She has been vocal in her support of the Sikh community and critical of attacks against them by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki.

Kaipara who is a founding member of national champion kapa haka Ngā Tūmanako told Mata she was appalled Te Pae Kahurangi’s haka, which she believed had ridiculed the Indian culture.

She said “we were always taught that humility is the quintessence of who we are as Māori. Our values of manaakitanga and whanaungatanga never leave us, even in competition mode”.

The Tāmaki Makaurau MP said haka is often controversial but this is different. She said “I don’t recall a haka as confronting as this. I believe it crossed the line. It is racist”.

In her statement she went on to say “we must do better as Māori, and we need our leaders to lead much better than this, whether on the haka stage, in Parliament, in churches, or in our communities”.

ACT response

In her statement to Mata, Parmar said “Racism in any form is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter who it comes from or who it is directed at. It has no place in a country that prides itself on fairness and mutual respect.

“New Zealanders reject the idea that one group is superior or inferior to another. People should be judged on their character and contribution, not their identity”.

Last year Parmar drafted a members bill to prevent universities from giving scholarships based on a person or group’s race or ethnic origin, nor any other financial assistance, accommodation, housing, access to “designated spaces, rooms, or other facilities” or “any other benefit, entitlement, or opportunity”.

“I wrote to the minister for universities to raise concerns about allocation of resources toward students based on ethnicity. This includes special allowances, separate study spaces, scholarships, and course entrance pathways in fields like medicine.”

Parmar also raised concerns students at the University of Auckland were being forced to do a paper on the Treaty of Waitangi, particularly for international students, for whom the course would “hold little value”.

Debate over kapa haka and political expression

Expressing political views through kapa haka is not uncommon, with many groups composing waiata about contentious issues and policies. However, in this case, the use of racial stereotypes on stage has drawn strong criticism. Te Matatini, the national kapa haka organisation, shared clips of the performance on social media over the weekend which have now been removed. When contacted by Mata, Te Matatini chief executive Carl Ross confirmed it had received complaints and acted immediately to remove the haka from its social media and other platforms and contacted Whakaata Māori, which will also remove the haka from all Whakaata Māori platforms.

“We assessed the haka against the standards of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, particularly those relating to discrimination and denigration. We concluded that elements of the performance risked reinforcing negative stereotypes about Indian people, and on that basis, the material did not meet the standard expected.”

A common sentiment expressed on social media was that political critique should focus on ideas rather than culture. One commentator posted “Werohia ngā whakaaro o te tangata, kaua ko tōna ahurea”, “Challenge the ideas of a person, not their culture”.

Wilson, who is currently a director of Māori consultancy firm Naia, appeared unrepentant in his earlier interview with Te Arawa FM, saying: “Mēnā e riri ana ētahi, e tū ana ngā pihi, kei te pai, kei a rātou tēnā”, “If some are angry or upset about it, that is fine. That is up to them”.

The statement to Mata, attributed to Wilson, said “It is worthwhile noting that there are many examples of haka and kaioraora (derogatory songs), that often include references such as ‘pokokōhua’ (boiled-head), ‘kai a te kurī’ (food for the dogs), ‘porohewa’ (baldhead) used to denigrate people”.

Parmjeet Parmar was critical of Wilson saying “leadership comes with a responsibility to bring people together, not to foster division or target others based on race”.

“Kapa haka is a powerful and respected cultural art form. It should celebrate identity, tell stories, and bring people together, not denigrate a particular racial group. When it is used that way, it diminishes the mana and meaning of the haka itself.”

In response to the interview, Ngata stated on Facebook, “This is a perfect example of how colonial harm turns into lateral racism, and it’s exactly why we, as Māori, need to stop excusing ourselves from anti-racism training. Ka pā pouri ahau mō tōku reo rangatira, kua mahia hei patu i runga i te iwi Iniana, hei āwhina i te kaikiritanga anō hoki.” She said she was sad that te reo Māori was being used in a way that harmed Indian people and reinforced racism.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hundreds of principals and thousands of teachers remain opposed to the government’s curriculum overhaul as consultation closes on Friday.

Thirty-nine local and regional principals associations and six teacher subject associations have now signed a letter started by teacher union the Educational Institute Te Riu Roa (NZEI) and the Principals’ Federation a month ago and published in newspapers on Thursday.

The letter said six draft curriculums for Years 0-8 in health and physical education, learning languages, science, social sciences, technology, and the arts were not fit for purpose.

The government wanted the learning areas finalised by the middle of the year with schools teaching the new science, social sciences and health and physical education curriculums next year and arts, technology and learning languages from the start of 2028. They would join English and maths, which primary schools had been teaching since the start of 2025.

Signatories to the letter included Māori Principals’ Association Te Akatea and subject associations for teachers of history, social sciences, physical education, drama and art.

There were also principals associations from north to south, including Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington as well as Te Tai Tokerau, eastern and western Bay of Plenty, New Plymouth, Hawke’s Bay, Nelson, mid and north Canterbury, and Otago and south Otago.

Principals’ Federation president Jason Miles said the drafts must be put on hold.

“It’s not going to take much for the minister to say ‘we need to pause, we need to re-engage with the sector, we need to re-write the drafts in their current forms’ and that’s what we’re asking,” he said.

Miles said the drafts ignored the Treaty of Waitangi, concentrated on knowing and doing things without the third leg of understanding that was in the current curriculum, and had been developed with little input from the education sector.

NZEI president Ripeka Lessels said there was so much opposition the government should pause work on the curriculum.

“The change is ill-thought, is ill-consulted-on, and the change is an ideological change, it’s not a good curriculum development change,” she said.

Education Minister Erica Stanford had ignored their demands so far.

Miles said it was too early to say what might happen if the government forged ahead with its plans.

“We wouldn’t want to preempt any actions,” he said.

“We want to engage, we want to openly sit down with the ministry and look at the draft curriculum and how we can have input into it as professionals. I’d rather put our energy into that than think about what we’re going to do if the minister doesn’t listen.”

Wellington Regional Primary Principals Association president Shirley Porteous said a lot of the opposition was because the government was moving far too fast.

“I’ve heard a lot of feedback that we want the pace to change so whether that is ‘stop’ or ‘slow down considerably’ will be in the hands of the ministry but we certainly cannot continue at the pace we’re at,” she said.

But Porteous said teachers were not thrilled with the content of the draft curriculums either.

“I found it very insightful working with my teachers and watching their faces as they realised just the vast number of things that they are going to have start teaching within one week that they’ve got to now fit in, let alone the content,” she said.

“For those of us who have had the chance to go deep with the content of each curriculum area we are extremely concerned about the actual content and the shift in terms of what we are being asked to teach children.”

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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 Labour Party has confirmed it will support the India-NZ free trade deal, giving National and ACT the required numbers to pass it through Parliament.

But Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he remained concerned about a commitment in the agreement to promote up to $20 billion (USD) of New Zealand private sector investment over 15 years.

In a media conference at Parliament on Thursday, Hipkins said that target was “very unrealistic” and Labour would not have agreed to that in negotiations.

“It is almost impossible for New Zealand to ever meet that target, and that is one of the things our exporters will need to be aware of,” he said.

“We’re not going to stop the agreement proceeding because of it, but businesses need to be aware that that is a risk to them.”

Trade minister Todd McClay is set to fly to New Delhi over the long weekend to sign the agreement on Monday.

However, New Zealand First’s firm opposition to the deal meant National and ACT required Labour’s support in order to pass legislation to enact parts of the agreement.

Labour and National had been at an impasse for months over the extent of advice being shared about the deal.

An array of exporters and business associations last week issued an open letter calling on all parties to support the deal.

At the time, Hipkins said he was still waiting for the government to clarify some “issues and inconsistencies”.

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

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Source: New Zealand Government

A self-certification scheme allowing skilled plumbers and drainlayers to sign off their own work is being expanded to cover more residential work and some commercial activity, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. 

“Trusted tradespeople want to get on with delivering the homes and infrastructure New Zealanders need, but too often they are slowed down by lengthy inspection delays that hold back productivity, pushing up the cost of building” Mr Penk says. 

“The Government is progressing the Self-certification by Plumbers and Drainlayers Bill to put responsibility into trusted tradies’ hands. It will speed up building by allowing approved plumbers and drainlayers with a proven track record to certify their work is consistent with the building consent. 

“The building sector response to the proposed scheme has been strongly positive, and through the Select Committee process we have heard directly from tradies and businesses about ways to bolster the benefits and acted on that feedback. 

“Where the scheme originally focused on straightforward residential plumbing and drainage, such as installing a basic bathroom, it will now cover the majority of plumbing and drainlaying work in a home, along with some commercial jobs, including installing a kitchenette in a small office staff room. 

“It will also better support rural communities by covering common onsite systems such as septic tanks, as well as stormwater retention tanks in both rural and urban areas. 

“Master Plumbers has advocated for years for plumbers and drainlayers to be able to self-certify, just like electricians and gasfitters, and has welcomed today’s changes as a significant milestone for the industry that will enhance efficiency and productivity. 

“Self-certification is about making the building consent system simpler and more practical, while keeping responsibility firmly with qualified practitioners and ensuring consumers are protected. 

“Only plumbers and drainlayers who are licensed and in good standing with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board will be eligible for an endorsement to self-certify. The Board will oversee standards, compliance, and enforcement to protect public health and safety, while Building Consent Authorities will continue to review more novel and higher-risk work.  

“Public and practitioner education will also be important. While further implementation work is needed to get the settings right, the scheme is expected to be in place before Parliament rises for the General Election.  

“These changes will support strong uptake of the voluntary scheme from the outset, cutting unnecessary delays while maintaining robust protections so homeowners can get essential work done faster and with confidence.” 

Notes to editor:  

• The Building and Construction Sector (Self-certification by Plumbers and Drainlayers) Amendment Bill was reported back from the Transport and Infrastructure Committee on 19 March.
• The expanded scope will be set through regulations and will cover work on buildings up to three storeys, excluding apartments, provided it uses standard building designs and does not affect fire-rated or shared walls.
• Onsite systems must use an approved standard design where one exists. Where no standard design is available, the system can still be self-certified but must still meet the requirements of the Building Code. 

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government has welcomed a new investment by French luxury fashion house Chanel in New Zealand’s premium agricultural sector.

Chanel has invested in a joint venture company to own part of and support Lammermoor Station in the central Otago high country, which produces fine wool for Chanel’s garments.

It comes as statistics from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) show average timeframes to assess applications for business and productive forestry investments have decreased significantly since reforms began with the June 2024 Ministerial Directive letter.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour – who is responsible for overseas investment as Associate Finance Minister – says the new streamlined pathway allows low risk applications to be processed faster, delivering more investment to New Zealand.

“The proof is in the investment pudding. While average end to end timeframes for business and production forestry applications before June 2024 were 67 working days, this has decreased to an average of 31 working days in the last 12 months.

“Since the Amendment Act came into force, the average timeframe to grant consent for these types of investment under the new national interest test is now four working days.

“These were common sense changes that improved the efficiency of the system, and give investors greater confidence, in turn delivering growth and jobs for New Zealanders.

“Chanel’s investment in New Zealand is a great illustration of how overseas investment opens new doors for Kiwis, and a reflection that the world now sees New Zealand as open for business.”

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says New Zealand farmers produce some of the highest quality fine wool in the world, and the partnership with Chanel at Lammermoor Station helps cement the industry’s reputation for excellence.

“This investment acknowledges the high quality of New Zealand’s exports. It allows Lammermoor to continue doing what it does best, retaining jobs and livelihoods in the process, and contributing to New Zealand’s export growth.”

Land Information Minister Mike Butterick says Lammermoor is New Zealand’s largest organic farm and only certified organic fine wool producer.

“The investment was granted under the Overseas Investment Act’s Benefit to New Zealand – farm land benefit pathway. The investment is expected to provide substantial benefit to New Zealand.

“Chanel plans to build on Lammermoor’s organic status and achieve Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC). That would make Lammermoor the world’s first ROC fine wool-producing farm.

“Achieving this certification would help to further boost the value of Lammermoor’s fine wool, increasing export receipts. It also boosts the reputation of New Zealand wool’s high quality and sustainable production.”

Lammermoor’s New Zealand owners will hold a stake in the joint venture company with Chanel, and continue to live and work on the land.

“It’s a win-win-win for Chanel, Lammermoor and New Zealanders.”

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MIL OSI

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Labour Party has confirmed it will support the India-NZ free trade deal, giving National and ACT the required numbers to pass it through Parliament

But Chris Hipkins has warned businesses to proceed at their own risk and do their own due diligence.

“New Zealand businesses need to go into this with their eyes wide open,” the Labour leader said announced support for the deal on Thursday.

“The deal cuts tariffs, and increases market access for New Zealand exporters, and that is very welcome. But the $33 billion investment target is unrealistic and missing it could see benefits clawed back in 15 years.

Trade Minister Todd McClay is set to fly to New Delhi over the long weekend to sign the agreement on Monday.

However, New Zealand First’s firm opposition to the deal means National and ACT require Labour’s support in order to pass legislation to enact parts of the agreement.

Labour and National have been at an impasse for months over the extent of advice being shared about the deal.

An array of exporters and business associations last week issued an open letter calling on all parties to support the deal.

Earlier, Hipkins said he was still waiting for the government to clarify some “issues and inconsistencies”.

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

Source: New Zealand Government

Defence Minister Chris Penk will travel to Australia today to undertake a range of engagements to further strengthen defence cooperation with New Zealand’s military ally. 

“New Zealand and Australia share a close bond, and our military alliance is going from strength to strength. It is therefore appropriate that I am making my first overseas trip as Minister of Defence to Australia. I look forward to having the opportunity to further discussions on developing an increasingly integrated ‘Anzac’ force,” Mr Penk says. 

While in Sydney, Mr Penk will meet with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles, visit New Zealand Defence Force personnel working in Australia and take part in Anzac commemorations.  

“This year we celebrate 75 years of our alliance, which is built upon the courage of the Australian and New Zealand forces who landed at Gallipoli in 1915,” Mr Penk says. 

“Today our militaries work hand in hand, sharing expertise, personnel and often procuring the same platforms. But we can do more to operationalise our alliance, as recently reaffirmed by both nations through the Anzac 2035: Closer Defence Relations Statement.” 

Minister Penk will return to New Zealand on 25 April, in time to participate in Anzac Day commemorations in Auckland.  

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