AM Edition: Top 10 Politics Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for May 4, 2026 – Full Text

Source: Radio New Zealand

A leaked report completed for the TAB NZ by racing insiders says the horse racing industry is “unsustainable” without further tax breaks.

It also recommends allowing TAB NZ to run online casinos, shifting the cost of the industry’s integrity board to the government and making structural changes including consolidating property ownership and management.

Winston Peters is currently the Minister for Racing and the report will eventually be considered by him. He is also the leader of NZ First.

The TAB advisory committee responsible for writing the report was chaired by Sir Peter Vela. Other members of the committee include Sir Brendan Lindsay, Mark Chittick, Greg Tomlinson, Ken Breckon, Chris Waller and Steve Thompson.

Both Vela and Lindsay are donors to NZ First. In 2023, they each donated $65,000 to the party. So far in 2026 Vela has donated $150,000 to NZ First and Lindsay and his wife Jocelyn $100,000. NZ First also received another $50,000 from businesses associated with racing industry player Nelson Schick, who was not on the committee.

During an election year, donations over $20,000 must be declared within 20 days of receipt. In total, $300,000 of NZ First’s $475,000 received to date has been associated with the racing industry. NZ First has, so far, declared the second highest amount of donations of any political party in 2026.

‘Loops of decay’ in racing industry

The racing industry report warned there was a structural deficit of more than $50 million per year and cash reserves would be exhausted at the end of the 2027/28 racing season if there was no further support.

The two main issues contributing to “loops of decay” in the industry were fewer foals and races being frequently cancelled due to poor race track conditions.

There are 500 fewer breeders than there were in 2015 and foal numbers have reduced 22 percent in the past ten years.

Adding to woes were administrative costs of $91m a year, which the report recommended slashing by consolidating the boards of horse and harness racing into one entity.

The report said horse racing’s participants and audience were “ageing” with weak youth engagement, which impacts the number of bets made.

Vela’s U-turn on report request

A leaked letter accompanying the report written by chair Vela said the report was requested by Minister for Racing Winston Peters. The committee had a 90 minute meeting with the minister in February, just weeks before the report was completed.

A spokesperson for Peters said that he had not commissioned the report and that it was an initiative of TAB NZ’s committee.

When contacted by RNZ, Vela said he must have got that fact wrong in his letter.

Without changes outlined in the report being made Vela said the racing industry would be in a very difficult place in the future.

He did not believe his donation would impact the likelihood of the report’s recommendations being adopted.

He said he donated to political parties, “because that’s the way democracy works in our country.”

NZ First party secretary Holly Howard said donations to the party are dealt with by party officials, not ministers or MPs.

“The party is not privy to the work done in ministerial offices. The party has no awareness of the report you’re referring to,” said Howard.

RNZ was told the report is currently with the Department of Internal Affairs for analysis before officials report back to the minister.

A history of concessions

The report describes its recommendations as tax “changes”. But Victoria University of Wellington’s tax specialist Lisa Marriott said some of the recommendations were “absolutely” tax breaks.

These included faster depreciation for brood mares and yearlings, and 100 percent deductibility for New Zealand-bred yearling purchases, which Marriott described as “straight out concessions”.

“As an industry, they’ve had so much by way of privileged treatment and concessions decade after decade.”

Unlike Lotto or pokies, which return all or some of the profits to the community, racing was allowed to return profits to itself.

“I just wonder how much more resource governments are prepared to put into the sector, which does harm.”

Taxpayers have come to the rescue of the industry previously, with a $50m bailout package in 2020, including $26m to pay its outstanding supplier bills. Prior to that it received tax reductions in 2018 related to the purchase of “high quality” horses.

A deal with offshore betting giant Entain threw the industry a lifeline in 2023. The agreement contracted out TAB NZ’s monopoly status to Entain in return for five years of guaranteed minimum payouts. These come to an end in 2028 and it’s expected the money made from the 50/50 split of gross betting revenue would be far lower.

Other tax-related recommendations in the report included standard valuation of $2500 for homebred foals, default pass-through GST treatment for breeding co-ownerships, and to allow groups of up to 15 to own a horse while being exempt from Financial Markets Control Act, an increase from the current five owners currently exempted.

The report said these changes, along with its other recommendations would “unlock industry growth” and ensure the industry continues to remain a high-value export sector.

Spending by the horse racing industry contributed $1.38b to the economy in 2022/23, but the industry is estimated to create $1.87b when considering other factors, such as the number of people it directly and indirectly employs.

On track to become ‘a cottage industry’

Industry veteran Brian de Lore said the days of “rugby, racing and beer” were over for New Zealand. In ten years time he thinks racing will be a cottage industry.

He’s written for and edited Racetrack magazine, managed and owned bloodstock businesses, and more recently written a book on New Zealand’s horse breeding families.

He questioned the industry’s sustainability.

“It’s running out of horses and its costs are too high. There’s a general feeling amongst the public that racing’s becoming a little bit redundant and we’re not getting the crowds that we used to.”

Some of the suggestions in the report would go some way to helping the industry, but he called the tax recommendations “ridiculous”.

“The cost of breeding horses is so high today that just offering a tax incentive to try and turn around the foal crop diminishing … well, it’s just not going to happen.”

The report’s five recommendations:

• Unify racing governance under a single accountable body with clear responsibility for strategy, funding, calendar and marketing.
• Create a Strategic Property Vehicle to unlock and deploy racing industry capital across a rationalised venue network.
• Modernise tax and regulatory settings for breeding investment to address the foal-crop shock and rebuild supply
• Transfer Racing Integrity Board funding to central Government appropriation to remove conflicts of interest and protect social licence.
• Modernise TAB NZ’s legislative settings for revenue diversification so it can compete fairly, recapture offshore leakage and sustain funding beyond the Entain guarantee.

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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 Global Sumud Flotilla is demanding the New Zealand government intervene to uphold international law, after being intercepted by Israel.

It said 22 boats carrying aid for Gaza were illegally intercepted in international waters near the Greek island of Crete.

New Zealanders Jay O’Connor, Mousa Taher, Julien Blondel, and Sean Janssen were among the 175 people detained.

O’Connor had received a concussion and a possible broken rib, while Blondel was hit in the face, the Global Sumud Flotilla said.

“These citizens are part of a completely legal action onboard vessels that are lawfully exercising navigation rights under article 87 of UNCLOS – to deliver essential aid, open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza, and break the illegal siege on Gaza by the Israeli regime,” it said.

Israel’s foreign ministry had called organisers “professional provocateurs” and said it would not allow “the breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza”.

Global Sumud Flotilla said that Blondel had assured the team he was “up to be continuing this going forward,” as the rest of the Flotilla continues to sail.

Hāhona Ormsby and Samuel Leason are currently regrouping with the others in Greece.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it understood up to six New Zealanders had been caught up in the interception.

It told RNZ on Saturday that it was aware of allegations made about the treatment New Zealanders had faced while in custody.

“Consular officials in Wellington, New Zealand’s Embassies in Rome and Ankara, and New Zealand’s Honorary Consul in Greece have been working throughout the night and over the past few days to gather information, provide advice to families, and support New Zealanders involved,” it said.

“Immediately following the interception of the flotillas on Thursday, the New Zealand government made it clear to Israel that the safety of New Zealanders involved was paramount and that international law must be upheld. These and other views were made clear to Israel’s Ambassador to New Zealand and by New Zealand’s Ambassador to Israel, stationed in Ankara.”

The ministry added that New Zealand had a long-standing ‘do not travel’ advisory in place for Gaza, explicitly warning against any attempt to enter by sea.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, and two of his most trusted and senior ministers landed in Singapore on Sunday night for a two-day sprint to strengthen a relationship New Zealand’s fuel security is so dependent on.

Two-way trade between the nations is significant at $11 billion annually and Singapore is the second-largest source of investment to New Zealand.

The two countries trade on widely different commodities, making the relationship all the more complementary.

Singapore is a fuel, pharmaceutical, construction and tech mecca, while New Zealand’s appeal to the affluent southeast Asian city-state is what we grow – food supply.

The close friendship between the two nations led to a new agreement in October – a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) – designed to deepen co-operation across six pillars.

In addition to the CSP, the two prime ministers shook hands on a first-of-its-kind agreement on essential supplies, ensuring trade would keep moving in times of crisis.

Little did the two leaders know how crucial that would become just four months later, when the United States and Israel launched their missile strike on Iran.

While prime ministers Christopher Luxon and Lawrence Wong will officially put ink to paper on the deal on Monday, the commitment to keep essential supplies moving has already been formally in action throughout the fuel crisis.

That’s provided New Zealand with confidence that fuel would continue to be available from Singapore and, likewise, food supplies would keep flowing back the other way.

Joining Luxon on the trip is Trade Minister Todd McClay, and his lead minister on finance, economic growth and the fuel crisis, Nicola Willis.

Before the trip, Luxon told RNZ the essential supplies treaty was already up and running, and for good reason.

“Who would have thought, in October, we’d desperately need it four months later,” he said. “I want to go see the refineries, I want to see the system myself and be reassured around the information we’re getting on a daily basis.”

In addition to the fuel check-up and the signing of the agreement, Luxon said the purpose of this visit was to take 29 senior business leaders and broaden the relationship, which he said was “necessary in a more volatile and certainly multipolar world”.

Luxon told RNZ both countries were “very bold”, and he expected there would be further work together on issues like upholding international rules and freedom of navigation – both critical to small trading-dependent nations.

The prime minister continues to speak almost daily with world leaders, as the Middle East situation and Strait of Hormuz blockades continue.

At the end of last week alone, Luxon spoke with his counterpart in Pakistan, which is leading negotiations between the US and Tehran, as well as the Sultan of Oman and the president of the United Arab Emirates.

Willis’ presence on this trip is even shorter than Luxon’s – she’ll be on the ground for just 24 hours, as she races home to resume work on her budget, due in just a few weeks.

Fuel security and economic growth opportunities are the motivation for her extracting herself from her office at such a busy time.

Before the trip, Willis told RNZ she was keen to drive more “export growth into Singapore, more business opportunities for our businesses, so they can create more jobs and higher incomes in New Zealand”.

The inaugural leadership forum taking place on Monday, which brings senior business and government leaders from both countries together, will be key for Willis to meet some of the “movers and shakers” in Singapore.

In addition, she’ll hold meetings with some of the world’s biggest fuel companies operating out of Singapore.

“Singapore is the largest refinery, blending, storage and trading hub for fuel in Southeast Asia,” she told RNZ. “That is where the leaders in fuel thinking reside, where their businesses are based, and it’s just an extraordinary opportunity to tap into their insights and intelligence.”

Willis said you couldn’t overestimate how important face-to-face meetings with the most powerful fuel players would be.

“In the future, I can just pick up the phone, which is different from having officials formally dispatched. It provides more insight and it’s a closer relationship.”

The trip will include a visit to Jurong Island – the home of Singapore’s refining and fuel importing structures.

Willis’ fuel mission on this short flyover is to “get another affirmation that Singapore will not be placing any export controls on fuel into New Zealand, that they will honour that agreement to ensure that we will not face restrictions of that sort”.

While everything they’d said to date confirmed that already, she said hearing it face-to-face added another layer and created a chance to ask how Singapore was thinking ahead.

“How are Singaporean-based fuel companies planning for a scenario of ongoing disruption of oil coming out of the Middle East, and what is their confidence or ability to adjust to a world in which less oil is coming out of the Middle East?”

Willis told RNZ the conversations she’d had to date indicated they were already thinking hard about that new world, and she hoped to seek some insight and reassurance on what that looked like.

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Source: New Zealand Government

Major infrastructure upgrades at Parihaka in Taranaki are complete, strengthening the nationally significant site and supporting its future protection and use, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.

Mr Jones attended an event at Parihaka today to mark the completion of infrastructure improvements supported by $19.8 million in government funding and $8.5m in community co-investment. 

“Strong, resilient infrastructure is fundamental to the protection and future wellbeing of this historically significant place. These upgrades will help Parihaka safeguard its legacy, meet today’s needs, and plan with confidence for generations to come,” Mr Jones says. 

The Parihaka papakāinga, a village on ancestral Māori land, is on the rural coast of Taranaki and is home to three marae and about 30 dwellings. 

The upgrades to roads, water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, lighting, power, fire safety, public amenities and walking trails, will reduce environmental risk, lower long-term maintenance costs, improve flood resilience, and enable future papakāinga housing.

“These are significant upgrades that recognise Parihaka’s history as a symbol of peace, justice, and Māori self-determination in the face of historical Crown aggression.

“Parihaka became a refuge for Māori displaced due to widespread land confiscation during the 1860s. Led by Tohu Kākahi and Te Whiti o Rongomai, its people practised non-violent resistance to land confiscation and forced sales,” Mr Jones says. 

“The Crown formally apologised for the invasion of Parihaka in 1881 in 2019, and these infrastructure improvements honour commitments made under the Parihaka Deed of Reconciliation Agreement, Te Kawenata o Rongo. 

“As part of efforts to boost the relationship between Parihaka and the Crown, in 2018 the Government provided the Parihaka Papakāinga Trust with a $9m reconciliation payment to support further community development.

“Parihaka remains a site of importance as an international symbol of non‑violent, passive resistance. Today marks an important milestone, recognising the strength of the Parihaka community and supporting its future as a place of peace and learning that will continue to welcome future generations,” Mr Jones says. 

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Source: New Zealand Government

Cancer patients across the lower South Island will benefit from more precise and advanced treatment with a new $4.3 million Linear Accelerator (LINAC) machine at Dunedin Hospital, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.

• High-precision, targeted cancer treatment
• Next-generation technology
• Shorter treatment times for patients

“This is a significant step forward for cancer care in the South, giving patients access to more advanced, highly targeted treatment closer to home,” Mr Brown says.

Dunedin Hospital operates three LINAC machines. This latest generation unit replaces one that had reached the end of its working life, ensuring patients continue to receive vital treatment for cancer, as well as some debilitating benign conditions.

“The new machine can target very small lesions to within one millimetre and can deliver radiation to tumour sites from many different angles. This allows higher doses of radiation to be delivered while minimising damage and side‑effect risks to surrounding healthy areas, including critical areas such as the brain.”

“The updated software also allows clinicians to treat multiple tumours at the same time, reducing overall treatment times for patients and allowing for some treatments that are not possible with older models.

“It also supports ongoing service development by giving clinical teams the opportunity to train on the latest technology and continue improving how care is delivered.”

The installation is part of a wider programme to upgrade and expand cancer treatment capacity across New Zealand, including a recent installation at the Taranaki Cancer Centre, with more planned across the country.

Mr Brown says the Government is focused on improving cancer outcomes for New Zealanders.

“Investments like this about building a stronger future for cancer care in the South, ensuring patients and their communities have access to quality, modern cancer treatment closer to home, now and for many years to come.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford says he is going in to bat for his local community to get support from the central government on the repair and restoration of Mauao – which he says is iconic for all of New Zealand.

Hundreds of Mount Maunganui residents attended a community meeting with the council and local MPs on Thursday night to be updated on the re-opening of Mauao – nearly 100 days after a landslide killed six holiday-makers.

Rutherford said there had been a big communication gap between council and locals, and Thursday’s meeting helped to fill that void.

Council shared that remediation works on the track going up Mauao would start next Monday, and could take anywhere between eight to 12 weeks, he said.

Rutherford said the funding and cost of the repairs to Mauao had been a key conversation at the meeting, and council indicated it had an emergency fund of about $6 million to spend on the repairs – which would not cover the total expense.

Tauranga City Council has been approached for comment.

Rutherford said he has had discussions with his parliamentary colleagues about the future of Mauao, and would continue to advocate for support for Mauao.

“Most New Zealanders have an affinity in one way or another with Mount Maunganui, whether they’ve climbed up or walked around or swam at the beach or had fish and chips, swam at the hot pool, stayed at the campsite, whatever it might be.

“And so there is a big conversation to be had about the reopening of this and who’s going to pay for it and how much is it going to cost,” he said.

Rutherford said he was aiming to achieve the safe reopening of Mount Maunganui and the associated facilities, which would carry a significant cost.

“All I’m saying is I’m going to fight for my community at the central government level to say, is there going to be some support and help for our community alongside what other ratepayers are already putting in as well,” he said.

Asked about residents’ concerns with how long it had taken for remedial works to begin on Mauao, Rutherford said it was understandable that the council was risk-averse, considering that six people lost their lives in the landslide.

“So there is that element that we need to be considerate of, and ensure we’re not just reopening it for the sake of reopening, that it’s safe to do so and we don’t have future loss of life,” he said.

Rutherford said the recent weather events also had not helped.

“We’ve obviously had really challenging weather periods in the Bay of Plenty and probably for most parts of New Zealand over the last three to four months,

“With, say, Cyclone Vaianu a couple of weeks ago and other terrible weather events as well … but also, the council needed to do their initial investigation works too, to see, to get a lie of the land, to get an understanding of what they’re dealing with,” he said.

Rutherford said other topics covered at the meeting included the Surf Life Saving Club being able to be re-occupied and discussion around the re-opening of the Pilot Bay boat ramp which was in a zone of potential danger.

He said there had also been discussion on a possible memorial to remember the people who died in the landslide.

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Source: New Zealand Government

Health Minister Simeon Brown has made three new appointments to the Board of the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand.

Dr Margaret Whilsher, Dr Colin McArthur, and Paul Foster-Bell have been appointed to the Board for three-year terms.

Professor Lester Levy has been reappointed as Chair and Jeroen Douwes as Deputy Chair for a further three years. Professor Cameron Grant, Professor Brett Cowan, Professor James MacLaurin, Dr Frances Hughes and Associate Professor Riz Firestone all continue as members.

“The Health Research Council plays a central role in managing the Government’s investment in health research,” Mr Brown says. 

“This includes advising the Health Minister on national health research policy, administering funds, encouraging and initiating health research, and disseminating the findings of health research.

“These appointments and reappointments reflect the need to maintain a strong and balanced Board that can provide stability and effective governance as the organisation undergoes significant change as part of wider science sector reforms.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Authorities should consider the impact on businesses of people staying home when they weigh up the safety considerations involved with wild weather warnings, one data analyst says.

Data from Dot Loves Data shows the impact of weather warnings on 12 April, as Cyclone Vaianu hit New Zealand.

Compared to every other Sunday of 2026, excluding Easter Sunday, it showed Northland spending was down 48 percent. Auckland’s was down 46.5 percent, Waikato was down 52.58 percent, Bay of Plenty down 68.32 percent, Gisborne down 51.6 percent and Hawke’s Bay was down 56.34 percent.

“It’s highest in the areas most closely impacted by the Cyclone’s forecast path and decreases correspondingly the further each region is located,” director Justin Lester said.

“While we think as New Zealanders and human beings, that we’re all autonomous human beings, the reality is we’re actually more like sheep. If someone tells us to do something, we do it.

“And New Zealanders are compliant. They do tend to follow rules, not everybody, but most. So when we get a missive from the MetService or the government around a warning, we follow the rules.

“That’s great. It’s really good to see that, and people are prioritising life safety and family safety. But what we also have to understand for decision-makers is, look, these transactions, the level of spend has a massive decline. There are real-world implications, so it needs to make sure that it’s being done accurately and with a good level of information, and with due care for the potential impact on a local economy as well.”

Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said there might have been an impact on spending anyway, because of the weather being bad.

“Yes we should always be careful with the alerts we put out. I don’t think anyone in MetService or whoever they are now is sitting there and thinking, you know what, I think it would be a fun day to just issue a red alert for lols. So, you know, from that purpose, I don’t think that weather forecasters or those involved with emergency management should have much regard for economic trends there.

“They shouldn’t ever have in their decision making, should I or shouldn’t I issue an alert based on what it might do to spending in the local area? I think that’s not their remit… but like I say, I’m not sure that it’s the alert itself or if it’s more the, there’s a correlation causation question there.”

Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell said weather warnings played a crucial part in helping businesses make informed decisions to mitigate weather-related economic impacts and keep people safe.

“Warnings are advisory and do not impose any restrictions on people or businesses. It is the weather itself, not the warnings, that primarily causes the economic impacts.

“History shows that poor preparation, poor response, and poor decision-making in relation to severe weather events comes with significant economic and human cost. It is not surprising that economic activity slows down during periods of severe weather, but businesses are getting much better at planning ahead for weather-related disruption.

“Weather events are likely to become more frequent and severe, and it is important that all organisations have business continuity arrangements, and insurance, to help them get through.

“Central, regional, and local government will provide as much information and support as possible to communities but ultimately, they are responsible for making their own decisions around how to prepare and respond to severe weather events. The best response to these events is a whole of society response.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Authorities should consider the impact on businesses of people staying home when they weigh up the safety considerations involved with wild weather warnings, one data analyst says.

Data from Dot Loves Data shows the impact of weather warnings on April 12, as Cyclone Vaianu hit New Zealand.

Compared to every other Sunday of 2026, excluding Easter Sunday, it showed Northland spending was down 48 percent. Auckland’s was down 46.5 percent, Waikato was down 52.58 percent, Bay of Plenty down 68.32 percent, Gisborne down 51.6 percent and Hawke’s Bay was down 56.34 percent.

“It’s highest in the areas most closely impacted by the Cyclone’s forecast path and decreases correspondingly the further each region is located,” director Justin Lester said.

“While we think as New Zealanders and human beings, that we’re all autonomous human beings, the reality is we’re actually more like sheep. If someone tells us to do something, we do it.

“And New Zealanders are compliant. They do tend to follow rules, not everybody, but most. So when we get a missive from the MetService or the government around a warning, we follow the rules.

“That’s great. It’s really good to see that, and people are prioritising life safety and family safety. But what we also have to understand for decision-makers is, look, these transactions, the level of spend has a massive decline. There are real-world implications, so it needs to make sure that it’s being done accurately and with a good level of information, and with due care for the potential impact on a local economy as well.”

Brad Olsen, chief executive at Infometrics, said there might have been an impact on spending anyway, because of the weather being bad.

“Yes we should always be careful with the alerts we put out. I don’t think anyone in MetService or whoever they are now is sitting there and thinking, you know what, I think it would be a fun day to just issue a red alert for lols. So, you know, from that purpose, I don’t think that weather forecasters or those involved with emergency management should have much regard for economic trends there.

“They shouldn’t ever have in their decision making, should I or shouldn’t I issue an alert based on what it might do to spending in the local area? I think that’s not their remit… but like I say, I’m not sure that it’s the alert itself or if it’s more the, there’s a correlation causation question there.”

Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell said weather warnings played a crucial part in helping businesses make informed decisions to mitigate weather-related economic impacts and keep people safe.

“Warnings are advisory and do not impose any restrictions on people or businesses. It is the weather itself, not the warnings, that primarily causes the economic impacts.

“History shows that poor preparation, poor response, and poor decision-making in relation to severe weather events comes with significant economic and human cost. It is not surprising that economic activity slows down during periods of severe weather, but businesses are getting much better at planning ahead for weather-related disruption.

“Weather events are likely to become more frequent and severe, and it is important that all organisations have business continuity arrangements, and insurance, to help them get through.

“Central, regional, and local government will provide as much information and support as possible to communities but ultimately, they are responsible for making their own decisions around how to prepare and respond to severe weather events. The best response to these events is a whole of society response.”

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