AM Edition: Here are the top 10 politics articles on LiveNews.co.nz for August 23, 2026 – Full Text
1. Winston Peters: “Adding Real Export Value – Use It or Lose It”
August 22, 2026
Source: New Zealand First
Democracy
As we each day draw closer to the election, New Zealanders are beginning to focus more on political parties and the policies they stand for.
It is true that we all get to exercise our democratic right every three years, but the reality is that we only exercise that right on one day every thirty-six months.
That means the electoral choice on that one day is critical. It is important for New Zealanders to understand the values, principles, and character of the party they choose to vote for on Election Day.
However, what’ s different this time is, that if New Zealanders as a country make the wrong choice in November, it will put New Zealand on a pathway from which we may never recover.
There are countless examples in other countries where the wrong choice has taken the country from being a leader, straight to the third world.
For those voters thinking of changing the government, we suggest they carefully look at the four parties on the left, have a good look at their track record, then view the list of changes they want to make to New Zealand, and then ask this question – are these changes possible without inflicting irreversible harm on New Zealand.
Later in this speech we will be talking about our polices, but first, lets look at the other side.
And we mean all four of the parties on the left because they will all be needed to form a government.
It is not just a vote for Labour, or just a vote for the Greens, or just a vote for the Māori Party, or just a vote for the Opportunity Party.
They will all be needed to form a four-headed government combination the type we have never seen in this country’s history.
Because within these four groups are communists, separatists and worse still they are all globalists. Which is a sure fire toxic concoction to turn our country into the Venezuela or Myanmar of the South Pacific.
That is not an exaggeration.
We cannot be more serious in our warning that those parties of the left would destroy the New Zealand we know. Our values, our character, our economy, and our society.
In an interview last week, Ryan Bridge asked the Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi why the Māori Seats are needed when this current government has the highest number of Māori in Cabinet on record – that’s even more Māori in Cabinet than when Labour and the Greens were in power.
Do you know what Rawiri said?
“They may have whakapapa Māori, but they’re not kaupapa Māori based MPs.”
You know what that means don’t you? That Rawiri thinks that you’re the wrong kind of Māori if you don’t agree with what Rawiri thinks.
Here is someone leading a party that purports to ‘represent Māori interests’ in our country, yet only received three percent of the vote – out of a claimed seventeen percent population of Māori in New Zealand. That means less than one in eight Māori even voted for the Māori Party, so who do they represent exactly?
What is worse, is the Māori Party are now actively campaigning against people giving their party vote to the Māori Party.
They are wanting to manipulate the Māori vote by telling people to party vote for some other party on the left.
This is after giving everyone a lecture for decades on the importance of an independent Māori vote, and why other Māori MPs are not Māori enough.
All they have done is treat Māori with disdain, turn up to parliament once a month, and do a haka now and again in the House.
And who wants to sit with them at Cabinet with their extremist views? The Labour Party.
Another party the Labour Party wants to work with is the shiny new Opportunity Party.
The Opportunity Party wants homeowners to pay 1.75% of your home’s land value every year, that’s on top of your local rates.
Now you will have to pay an annual rent to the government.
And what did the leader of the Opportunity Party say when questioned about a couple on the pension, who worked hard and saved all their lives, bought a house for their future and their children’s future, who would now, under Opportunity Party, face a $20k land tax bill every year? She said, yes, they will have to downsize their house to afford it.
This is blisteringly ignorant. But it gets worse.
Because, do you know what that money would be used for?
The $20k for an old couple on the pension? Infrastructure? Health? Education? Fuel security? Or food prices? No.
The $20k of land tax taken from the old couple, will be used to give everyone in New Zealand, working or not, a Universal Basic Income of $19,400 a year – for free, for life, even if you’re doing nothing.
Opportunity Party calls this ‘fairness’.
New Zealand First calls it ‘communism’.
The question is, what are you as the voter, going to call it?
The Opportunity Party also wants to raise the youth court age to twenty-five years of age – however, when they were questioned on that, they quickly deleted the 25 year court age from their website and then said they haven’t figured out the new court age yet.
Something Opportunity also changed, only when they were found out, was that their constitution that stated the unelected board could veto caucus decisions. The leader, on television, revealed that she didn’t even know there was such a provision.
Their ‘redistribution of wealth’ and bludging tax policy doesn’t stack up, their ridiculous view on law and order doesn’t stack up, and their policy to intrench Te Tiriti into law along with a Māori Upper House in parliament is worse than the Māori Party’s racist policies.
The mainstream media promoted Opportunity Party campaign is falling apart everyday – just ask the Labour Party leader Helen Clark.
But who wants to sit across from them in Cabinet? The Labour Party.
As for the Green Party, they have proven themselves to be the nutbars they always were.
The Greens want an $88 billion debt increase, and have a new policy bribe to give $2.4 billion to Marae – without any oversight or audit.
If you’re a Māori in this room today, tell us honestly, what does that reflect about what they think of you?
This is inverse racism of the worst sort. They think they can use a bribe to get your vote. Does that reflect respect for you or sheer contempt?
The Greens care more about a geopolitical war happening ten thousand miles away that they know nothing about, than they do about what is happening in their own country.
The are obsessed with race, gender, pronouns, and protests, performative politics, virtue signalling, and woke cancel culture, and they have lost sight of what their party once stood for.
They are no longer worried about the environment like Rod Donald and Jeanette Fitzsimons once were – they have turned into a bunch of weirdo globalists who like to sanctimoniously lecture people – while wearing costumes from some other country.
And who wants to sit across the Cabinet table with them? The Labour Party.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the stark truth. The Labour Party that you once knew, perhaps even supported, is no more.
That party is gone. All of these polices and parties they are willing to support are proof of that.
Can you imagine Helen Clark or Michael Cullen, or Bob Tizard or Peter Frazer signing up to this?
These parties on the left are not people who see New Zealand as one people, one country, one flag, one law, or who believe in fundamental kiwi values like hard work, ambition, and personal responsibility.
These are people who believe in a separatist society, and who want to borrow, tax, and spend – but have zero economic credentials, or even vision, to deliver growth.
Chris Hipkins and Labour are willing to work with parties like Opportunity, Greens, and the Māori Party because Labour care more about the number of seats that will give them power, rather than the danger of who it is they will share power with.
Ladies and gentlemen, part of New Zealand First’s mission is to keep these dangerous lefties out of power.
NZ First will not let Waikato farmers be buried by “Plan Change 1”
This week New Zealand First has made our position clear that the Waikato Regional Council’s “Plan Change 1” must be paused before it becomes a bureaucratic death sentence for farmers and growers across the region.
“Plan Change 1” is a 14-year-old regulatory mess, dragged out by the old RMA, and now threatening to strangle the very people who feed this country.
These rules were designed under a planning system the Government is already replacing. It is absurd to force Waikato farmers into costly consents, gold-plated farm plans, and layers of compliance just as Parliament is moving to scrap the very framework that created this mess.
More than 4500 farms across the Waikato and Waipā catchments could be affected, with hundreds facing the prospect of needing resource consent simply to continue existing farming operations.
That is not environmental management. That is economic vandalism.
New Zealand First will not stand by while regional bureaucrats and courtroom processes make it harder to grow vegetables, milk cows, produce food, and keep rural communities alive.
We are in a cost-of-living crisis. And the last thing New Zealand needs is a planning regime that pushes food prices up.
New Zealand First is calling for PC1 implementation to be paused until the replacement RMA system is in place, existing lawful farming operations are protected, and any future freshwater rules are subject to a primary production viability test.
Cleaner rivers do not come from bankrupting farmers. They come from practical, workable rules that recognise the work already being done on-farm.
And we are not going to allow, PC1, to continue to be the tool for Treaty of Waitangi claims that were not there when the Tainui settlement happened in the 1990s.
New Zealand First’s position is common sense. We must protect productive land, protect food production, and stop the bureaucratic war on farmers.
“Use it or Lose it” Dairy Policy
This week we also announced another policy.
New Zealand First is proposing changes to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 to incentivise investment in value-added dairy manufacturing in New Zealand.
The ‘use it or lose it’ policy would give qualifying manufacturers investing in new value-added dairy production access to up to 500 million litres of Fonterra milk per year for ten years, by lifting existing regulatory settings tenfold from 50 million litres at present.
As you know Fonterra recently flogged off a number of well-known brand-names to Lactalis France.
That means Anchor, Mainland, Kapiti, and more were sold off and now all of that added value to milk products is going to some other country, not ours.
How ignorantly economically counterproductive to your own economy can you be?
Fonterra was created, by Parliament, and by statutory monopoly, to build a dairy co-operative of extraordinary scale to sell milk and dairy products, and Parliament has the right and the responsibility to ensure the policy is to turn our milk into the maximum possible value for New Zealand jobs, wages, skills, exports, and wealth.
The legislation currently allows independent processors to access up to 50 million litres of milk per season, but this is too low to incentivise manufacturing of substantial scale, so we will lift it tenfold to 500 million litres.
The current regime can help investors start, but it is specifically designed not to help them reach industrial scale, and that is not appropriate now that Fonterra has sold its own consumer products to another company in another country.
The current rules obstruct future investors in added value. That must change.
We are changing the rules, but for those who wish to use the new rules, they must use the rule change now, or lose the benefit.
To qualify, you need to establish a dairy product manufacturing base in New Zealand, majority owned by New Zealanders, marketing ‘New Zealand dairy’ to the world.
Milk would not be subsidised. Manufacturers would pay the farm gate milk price plus efficient collection and delivery costs.
Fonterra and farmers would be paid as usual, but we wish to give certainty to new investment in the dairy market to diversify, secure New Zealand jobs, and add value to New Zealand milk.
We are giving certainty for any business willing to manufacture dairy products in New Zealand.
We want industry in New Zealand. If investors want to invest more in higher-value manufacturing, then our economic settings should welcome them.
Build the factories. Build the brands. Take New Zealand dairy products to the world.
Experience Matters Most
New Zealand First started our long campaign in March this year and we have been packing the halls around the country every week delivering the message to thousands of kiwis that we are focussed on two things – bold policies our country needs for a real change, and the fight for ordinary hard working kiwis against the establishment, the elites, and the status quo.
Experience and leadership has never mattered more.
We need leaders of the next government to say the things that people are thinking without fear or favour – even the things that might be unpopular.
New Zealand needs strong leadership who are not afraid to be strong on important issues.
And we don’t need weak leaders who don’t understand New Zealand values.
We can’t go on allowing the two old parties to tinker round the edges of big issues, and do nothing but manage the decline of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have already announced a number of bold policies this year.
It is what we need for real change to drive down the cost of living, secure a better future for kiwis, and reinforce who we are as New Zealanders.
Announced Bold Policies
We have announced practical, logical and workable policies to break up the power companies’ monopoly, and drive power prices down.
We have announced practical, logical and workable policies to split the supermarket duopoly, and drive food prices down.
We have announced practical, logical, and workable polices to re-establish a competitive New Zealand owned state bank, to drive banking charges down.
We have announced polices to return mining royalties, created in the regions, back to the regions.
We have announced establishing a proper transparent inquiry into those who were injured by the Covid 19 vaccine – so we can find out exactly what happened, who was responsible, and publicly hold them to account.
And we are going to further inquire into how over 311,000 twelve to seventeen year olds got the second vaccine when the then Prime Minister Ardern, and two Ministers in charge Hipkins and Verrill, were advised not to.
Ladies and gentlemen, the fact that this is not headlining in the mainstream media or in parliament is testimony to how the establishment, media and political, almost completely conformed to the “podium of truth”.
The reason why you aren’t seeing any headlines is that both the media and politicians are exposed to their wanton compliance and obedience in how they mislead the public of New Zealand – this is a conspiracy.
We are going to expose the cover-up on this issue by the other political parties and the establishment who all signed a document not to talk to the protesters.
We announced our KiwiSaver policy of making it compulsory with automatic $1000 sign-up at birth. It means the day a baby is born it gets $1000 in its account to start saving.
We have announced our policy is to establish a $100 billion Future Fund that will invest in a thirty-year infrastructure plan for our country. And that’s where we are going to get the money to build the projects that we promise in our country.
We have also announced that we will pull out of the failing Paris Agreement that is senselessly hamstringing our economy.
New Zealand has one of the loosest electoral laws in the world, and that is why we have announced a policy to ensure that by 2029 only citizens are allowed to vote in our country.
At our Campaign Launch, we announced a policy to invest $1billion to start exploring our gas and oil reserves in our deep-sea basins so we can own and export our own oil and gas – we need to be independent from events like in the Strait of Hormuz.
We also have announced the ‘Kiwi Kids Grant’ that will support New Zealand citizens raising their first three children, through the first three years of their lives – $5000 per child for each of the three years.
Value of Citizenship
New Zealand needs to start viewing our citizenship as most other countries around the world do – as a privilege that comes with special and unique rights.
This does not take away from migrants the ability to move here and help build our country, from showing total commitment and patriotism for New Zealand by becoming a citizen.
We have massively allowed so many of our standards to drop.
Even the most basic of privileges and rights in any country like voting has in our country become more like an expectation for anyone, rather than a unique right for New Zealanders.
Ladies and gentlemen, why do so many ‘apologetic globalists’ act shocked and dismayed that a political party is wanting to ensure that citizenship actually mean something?
There is a difference in this election. Kiwis are looking at what parties are offering as their values and principles in these uncertain times.
NZFirst Party of Conservatism, Patriotism, Nationalism
We signed a coalition agreement to govern with stability and experience three years ago – and we have kept our word.
New Zealand First brings what is too often missing in politics – experience and common sense.
New Zealand First brings a commitment to New Zealand industry, to manufacturing, to jobs right here for our own people.
New Zealand First brings commonsense to immigration policy – where we allow in people that we need, not people who need us.
We believe in infrastructure before population growth, not afterwards, and infrastructure focused on fixing what’s broken, not flash upgrades and vanity projects.
New Zealand First brings traditional kiwi conservative values – where hard work should be rewarded, where job security and home ownership underpins a stable family life.
We want a country where young people aren’t worried about their family’s future, or where they see better opportunities overseas.
We are the party of social conservatism, patriotism, and nationalism. Those values are what it means to be a Kiwi – and New Zealand First is proud to not only stand by those values, but to fight for them.
We must be focussed on what New Zealanders gave us a mandate to do – turning this country around with policies and values that will give our country a better future – driving down the cost of living, cost of food, cost of power, cost of fuel, and turning this economy around – and doing it all with stability and experience.
We in 2023 inherited an economic nightmare. But not enough government members of parliament understood that.
This pivotal election voters want to hear a clear and unified message – that we are going to win, and take New Zealand back to being a leading economy again.
Challenging the Status Quo
The greatest threat to this blind ideology, to social elitism, and to the status quo, is New Zealand First.
And the country we are defending is called New Zealand – it’s in our party’s name.
We fight for the hardworking blue-collar Kiwi battler, who just wants the chance to help build a country they are proud of.
In this election, we have a rare chance to change the shape of parliament for the better, and in doing so, to reshape our country the way you want it.
We are asking you to make a choice with our future generations in mind.
Take back control from the Wellington bubble.
Take back control from those who choose to be CV politicians, where they are here one day, “no more gas in the tank”, and are gone the next – taking with them a rolodex of international jobs, speaking circuits, or book tours, looking back over their shoulder at New Zealand’s decline – which they caused.
New Zealand First, from our launch thirty-three years ago, has been battling that elitist status quo. No one can deny that. On issue after issue that needed public exposure, the rest remain silent. When others wouldn’t raise a finger, we have raised the roof.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, we are all here because we love our country, and we are proud of it.
True democracy is a rare flower in the history of humanity.
Down thousands of years living in democracy with freedom is a historical rarity.
We have inherited a free country that our forebears fought and died for, and it’s our job to preserve it.
But only if we are proud of what we have inherited can we come together and move forward to shape the vision of our country’s future.
We live in a country that, at its core, traditional New Zealand values once saw us amongst the world’s leaders – hard work, fair pay, valuing our citizenship, building a sense of community, and knowing who we are as kiwis.
We must remember, New Zealand is the beneficiary of Western values, democracy, and the rule of law. And the advancement and enhancement of those principles have only occurred in those societies that have united together as one people – and who celebrate their nationhood instead of perpetuating division.
There is a lot of uncertainty around the world and at home, but we must keep hope alive that, with hard work and perseverance, tomorrow will be better.
New Zealand First is nationalist, patriotic, and socially conservative values that we fight for.
It hasn’t been easy – but things in life worth doing never are.
We must never forget that challenge.
We must never stop believing in New Zealand.
That is our vision and that is our mission.
To protect, to save, and to restore New Zealand’s place at the top of the world.
By putting New Zealand and New Zealanders first.
We are asking you to join us – and Party Vote New Zealand First.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/22/winston-peters-adding-real-export-value-use-it-or-lose-it/
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2. PSA Analysis – Government’s axing of pay equity cost jobs & GDP growth
August 22, 2026
Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
Analysis shows pay equity settlements over four years would have:
- Created 13,000 jobs
- Grown GDP by $13.5 billion or 0.6%
- Increased tax revenue by $5 billion
Fresh analysis by the PSA of Treasury’s own modelling shows the Government’s decision to cancel pay equity claims under urgency in May 2025 was an economic own goal, one that has cost the country billions of dollars in lost growth, lost jobs and lost tax revenue.
The analysis, based on Treasury’s own MATAI macro-economic model, shows that reinstating pay equity would grow the economy by $13.5 billion over four years and create around 13,000 jobs. It would also generate an extra $5 billion in tax revenue, reducing the net fiscal cost of pay equity to $6 billion over four years, or $1.5 billion a year.
“Low paid women workers have paid the price for a decision that was all about making the Budget numbers work, without a considered assessment of the economic upside from the significant income boost that would flow from pay equity settlements,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“Our analysis shows the Government had a genuine opportunity to grow the economy, create jobs and boost tax revenue by continuing with pay equity settlements, and it walked away from it.
“This was short sighted economic management, plain and simple, depriving over 150,000 women of the pay rise they need and deserved.”
Treasury’s own figures show pay equity delivers a return of $2.25 for every dollar of net government spending, a stronger return than other major Budget initiatives.
The 0.6% increase in GDP from pay equity outperforms other less effective Government growth policies. By comparison, Treasury modelling shows the Government’s Investment Boost policy generates just $6.4 billion in GDP growth (0.3%) from a $4 billion net spend; a return of just $1.6 for every dollar spent.
“Pay equity isn’t just the right thing to do for women who have been underpaid for years, it’s also better value for the taxpayer than some of the Government’s own flagship policies,” Fitzsimons said.
“The actions of the Government in cancelling pay equity claims and gutting the Equal Pay Act 1972 were an act of constitutional vandalism and wage theft which must be overcome. We will leave no stone unturned until New Zealand women receive pay equity starting with care and support workers many of whom are now back on the minimum wage.
“We need to see clear commitments from opposition parties to pay equity which means and properly accounting for it in their fiscal plans and fixing the Equal Pay Act 1972.
“Low- and middle-income workers spend the money they earn in their local communities. That spending supports local businesses and creates local jobs. This Government keeps choosing policies that don’t deliver anywhere near the same bang for buck, simply because it prioritised tax cuts for landlords over our nation’s working women.”
With unemployment rising to a decade high and the economy struggling, the analysis is a reminder of the cost of the Government’s decision.
“The Government says growing the economy is its top priority, but it turned down a $2.25 return on every dollar. That’s not economic management; it’s an own goal.”
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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3. Fast-track application lodged for dry dock
August 22, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
A significant milestone has been reached for the Northland Shipyard and Dry Dock project with the lodgement of the substantive fast-track consent application, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says.
The application for the shipyard and marine maintenance facility at Marsden Point has been lodged with the Environmental Protection Authority under the Fast-Track Approvals Act 2024 (FTAA).
“This project will be a game-changer for New Zealand’s maritime sector, providing a domestic option to maintain, service, and repair large vessels right here at home,” Mr Jones says.
“It will reduce reliance on overseas dry docks in Australia and Asia, save owners considerable transit costs, improve vessel availability, and reduce associated emissions.
The dry dock will be located next to the western edge of the existing Northport commercial area, within Whangārei Harbour.
“Enabling more marine maintenance activity to be done in New Zealand will support the domestic economy and help deepen our skills and supplier base – a win-win for the Northland region and the whole country.”
Modelling has indicated construction and operations could boost the economy by an additional $1.05 billion over 38 years. It is also estimated an average of 1700 jobs a year will be created during the three-year construction phase and 450 jobs during its operation.
“Supporting strategic infrastructure projects in the right locations is a key component of how we strengthen and grow New Zealand’s economy. Marsden Point is well suited for the facility because of its deep-water access, proximity to an established commercial port, and existing marine services expertise,” Mr Jones says.
It is intended the facility will be capable of servicing New Zealand’s largest current and planned vessels, including naval ships and major commercial vessels such as inter-island ferries.
Progressing work on the Northland Shipyard and Dry Dock is part of the National-NZ First coalition agreement. The project is listed in Schedule 2 of the FTAA. The Act’s purpose is to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits.
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/22/fast-track-application-lodged-for-dry-dock/
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4. Auckland children’s dental surgery waitlist falls by two-thirds
August 21, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
More children are getting faster access to dental treatment in Auckland, with the number of children waiting for dental surgery falling by more than 1,400 to its lowest level in years, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
“Children shouldn’t have to wait months for the dental treatment they need. Reducing this surgical waitlist by two-thirds, going from 2,200 to 743, means hundreds of children in Auckland are now getting the care they need, without an unnecessary long wait,” Mr Doocey says.
“A range of initiatives have helped significantly reduce the waitlist, including providing additional support for families, more weekday and Saturday theatre capacity, and closer collaboration between hospital and community oral health teams.
“Eight months ago, a pilot of publicly funded sedation for dental treatment was launched, giving children aged five and over who might otherwise require treatment under general anaesthetic in hospital another place to go.
“340 children have been referred to the service since it began, giving them an alternative faster way to receive treatment without having to go on the surgical waitlist.
“By providing this additional pathway, we are helping free up hospital capacity for children with higher clinical needs, while also helping bring the Auckland surgical waitlist to its lowest level in years.
“This has been a huge effort from our frontline dental workforce to bring this waitlist down. They do excellent, important work every day getting people the treatment they need.
“This is great news for the children who have been able to get the support they need, and for the thousands more who will be able to as a result of our focus on ensuring timely and quality access to healthcare.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/21/auckland-childrens-dental-surgery-waitlist-falls-by-two-thirds/
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5. Federated Farmers – Government clears runway for agricultural drones
August 20, 2026
Source: Federated Farmers of New Zealand
Federated Farmers says the Government’s decision to cut red tape around agricultural drone use will unlock a technology with huge potential on Kiwi farms.
“Farmers have been telling us for some time that the rules around agricultural drone use were getting in the way of innovation,” Federated Farmers transport spokesperson Chris Dillon says.
“Under the current system, farmers wanting to use drones for applications such as spraying fertiliser or agrichemicals have faced the prospect of applying for a Part 102 certificate and potentially waiting years to find out whether they could get one.
“For many farmers, that simply wasn’t worth the hassle – so they haven’t even bothered.
“We’re really pleased the Government is now stepping in to make sensible changes that will make agricultural drone use much more accessible.”
Dillon says drones have huge potential to improve the precision of agricultural applications, while reducing the amount of product farmers need to use.
“Drones can apply fertiliser and agrichemicals with incredible precision, targeting exactly where they’re needed rather than treating areas unnecessarily.
“That means less product being used, which is good for farmers’ bottom lines and good for the environment.”
He says use of drones for routine farm tasks like mustering, checking crops and doing flood assessments is already high.
“That’s largely because operating small drones on farms hasn’t required the hassle of a Part 102 certificate.
“More and more farmers have started using drones after seeing them showcased at a farm discussion group, and they don’t cost a lot to buy.
“It makes sense to remove unnecessary barriers stopping farmers from using them for spraying as well.”
Dillon says Federated Farmers will now work with Government and officials to ensure the new rules are practical for farmers operating in real-world agricultural environments.
“We want to make sure the final rules deliver the flexibility farmers need while maintaining appropriate safety protections.”
The changes are due to come into effect in mid-2027.
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6. New mental health facility opens in Rotorua
August 20, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
A new 16-bed acute mental health and addiction facility has officially opened at Rotorua Hospital, providing people in the Lakes district with faster access to support and a better crisis response, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
“The previous inpatient unit was more than 45 years old and no longer provided the right environment for people to get well. People go into these facilities to get the support they need to get better, and they deserve a place that helps them do that,” Mr Doocey says.
“This new facility increases the number of beds available from 14 to 16 and will mean more people in the Lakes district can access the support they need when they need it.
“The new facility includes individual bedrooms, therapy and activity spaces, family areas, and internal courtyards. It also has different spaces for people with different needs, including quieter areas for those who need a lower-stimulus environment.
“It also matters for our frontline workers. Mental health staff do an incredibly important job supporting people through some of the most difficult moments in their lives, and they need the right facilities to do that job.
“The Mental Health Wellbeing and Recovery Unit, Te Whare Oranga Tangata o Whakaue, will welcome its first patients from 25 August.
“This is part of our plan that’s delivering faster access to support, more frontline workers and a better crisis response for New Zealanders.
“$50 million has been invested in this facility as part of the Mental Health Infrastructure Programme, which includes 18 projects to improve mental health facilities around the country.
“We are also continuing to invest in support across the continuum, including better primary mental health support, specialist services and promotion. By investing earlier, we can help prevent more people from reaching the point where they need inpatient care.
“This is about building a better future for people in Rotorua and making sure when they reach out for help, support is there.”
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/20/new-mental-health-facility-opens-in-rotorua/
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7. Pacific – President backs Winston Peters economy comments as Naoero’s economic progress is called world’s best
August 20, 2026
Source: The Republic of Naoero
August 20, 2026
As the region prepares for the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau, President David Adeang has supported a call from New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for Pacific leaders to shift their focus from aid to strengthening their own economies.
Mr Peters told Pacific Mornings that stronger economies are vital if island countries are to have more control over their future.
He said, “I go to ASEAN, and it’s all about the economy, the economy, economy, economy. I go to the Pacific, it’s all about aid.”
President Adeang said his Government had been pursuing that approach since he was elected in 2023 and its long-term economic strategy is delivering strong results.
He said the progress has been driven by bold thinking, innovation, close friendships with Australia, China, and the ADB, and long-term planning to create a stronger future.
“From the outset we said that our future will not be defined by the UN’s ranking of Naoero as the world’s fifth most vulnerable nation to economic and climate shock.”
Naoero’s success has now been hailed in a recently published analysis by Australian National University’s director of the Development Policy Centre, Professor Stephen Howes.
Professor Howes highlighted Naoero’s economic transformation over the past decade, noting strong growth in national income, increased employment and the success of new sources of foreign income in supporting the nation’s development.
He noted that Naoero experienced average annual growth in national income of 4.9 per cent per person between 2009 and 2024. With major advances coming in the years President Adeang served as finance minister, Naoero is once again soon to be classified as a high-income country by the OECD.
His report also highlighted major economic improvements between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, including a 36 per cent increase in jobs for men, a 74 per cent increase in jobs for women, and employment growth from 47 per cent to 64 per cent of the population.
In the report, Professor Howes noted the available economic indicators suggest Naoero’s strong economic performance has continued beyond the 2021 Census.
“While the 2021 census data is now a bit old, there is no sign of Naoero’s boom having ended,” Professor Howes wrote.
“If any other boom worldwide has delivered similarly stunning results in such a short period, I am not aware of it.”
Reflecting on Naoero’s economic recovery journey, President Adeang has previously highlighted the importance of transparency, trust and working closely with communities.
He said dei-Naoero understood the importance of the Intergenerational Trust Fund which was securing the financial future for generations to come, and are embracing initiatives like advances in crypto, the citizenship program, new fishing initiatives and third-party resettlement arrangements with Australia.
“We are succeeding because we were transparent, because we spoke directly with our people, and because they trust that the sacrifices were for Naoero’s future,” he said.
President Adeang said those same values continue to guide the government’s approach to leadership and nation building.
“Faith, family, and community remain our compass. Leadership means keeping community relationships close and never forgetting who we serve.”
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8. Federated Farmers applauds improved consent path for Horizons farmers
August 20, 2026
Source: Federated Farmers of New Zealand
The Government has stepped in to give a group of Manawatu and Tararua farmers stuck in consenting limbo for more than a decade a way forward.
“It’s great news that the Government has heeded calls from Federated Farmers and announced a pause on Horizons’ Plan Change 2 (PC2),” Federated Farmers Tararua president Aaron Passey says.
“It gives 167 farming families a controlled consent pathway that is much more straight forward than what they faced under an Environment Court ruling.”
Passey says they’ll have to demonstrate they have good farm practice and a nutrient management plan as they apply for a controlled activity resource consent.
“So there are still tests to meet but for farmers who have been under a cloud of uncertainty year after year, we think yesterday’s announcement from the Government will be very welcome news.”
Under the Environment Court decision, the dairy farmers had just 12 months to get their consent applications in once PC2 kicked in, or their applications would be subject to a tougher discretionary consent.
Even to qualify for approval, farms would have needed to achieve either a 20% reduction in nitrogen loss from their 2012 baseline (35% for commercial vegetable growers), or reduce nitrogen loss to the 75th percentile for their catchment – whichever is lower – within two years of receiving consent.
“That was a near impossible ask,” Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei president Ian Strahan says.
“It’s not reasonable or practical to expect farmers in 2012 to have anticipated the complex chain of regulatory and technological shifts and to have known they’d need to keep a record of their N-discharge because there would be a software update three years later.
“It was that software update that made the 167 dairy farms non-compliant, leading to a new set of rules in 2026 that required farmers to produce a record of what Nitrogen loss was in 2012.”
Many of the properties affected by the 2026 rules have changed hands multiple times since 2012.
New owners do not have legal or practical access to the specific input data (fertiliser receipts, stock rates, feed use) required to construct a valid 2012 baseline, Strahan says.
In 2012, the One Plan was built around a specific version of Overseer. When the software updated its underlying scientific models in 2015, it instantly changed the calculated nitrogen output of those farms-on paper only-without any actual changes happening on the physical land.
“Expecting a business owner to maintain records for a hypothetical compliance standard that did not exist yet, using software that would later redefine the rules retrospectively, is ridiculous,” Strahan says.
“It’s really good news that the Government has stepped in to end the insanity, and also to usher in new resource management rules that will cut down the unnecessary red tape that has hobbled our sector, and many others.”
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9. Government Cuts – Squeeze on conservation funding sees 28 more roles proposed to go at DOC
August 20, 2026
Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
The Government’s underfunding of the public sector is resulting in yet another destabilising, short-sighted restructure at the Department of Conservation (DOC), the PSA says.
DOC has handed down a document today to its Strategic Communications and Engagement team that proposes 33 positions be disestablished and 37 new positions established.
Under the proposal, 25 fixed terms positions will come to an end naturally, and three new fixed-term roles would be established. In total, the team would be reduced from 83 roles to 55.
“DOC has been forced to reduce staff numbers again and again thanks to the coalition’s crunch on public sector spending,” Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Duane Leo, says.
“This latest restructure will see critical capability stripped from the communications and engagement team. The PSA is completely opposed to the changes outlined today and will be supporting staff to submit feedback.
“These professionals navigate the complex, and constantly changing, media landscape and online world to make sure New Zealanders know what DOC is doing and how they can contribute to national conservation activity.
“Like so many public sector agencies, DOC is being asked to do more with less. But when you strip away so many staff, you don’t end up with more efficient departments, you get hollowed-out agencies who are physically unable to deliver on what New Zealanders should expect from a modern public service.”
Staff consultation on the proposed changes opens today and closes on 7 September. A final decision is expected on 25 September.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (https://www.psa.org.nz/) is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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10. Pharmac culture continues to improve, and get more transparent
August 19, 2026
Source: New Zealand Government
Associate Health Minister David Seymour welcomes the summary report on Pharmac’s progress against his 2025/26 Letter of Expectations.
“What we are doing is working. We’ve transformed the culture at Pharmac,” Mr Seymour says.
“The patient community used to picket outside Pharmac. Now, patients have a stronger voice at the table when Pharmac makes its decisions, because that’s important to them.
“Pharmac has gone from focussing solely on managing their fixed budget, to an agency that seeks collaboration for better outcomes, and advocates for further funding.
“I want to acknowledge Pharmac for the work they have done to respond to my Letters of Expectations.
“We will continue to improve how Pharmac operates, because Kiwis deserve it.
“For example, my expectation is that Pharmac continues to improve access to medicines and medical technology. In this work patients, consumers and their families will have a strong voice in decisions.
“I also made clear my expectation that Pharmac continues to improve the timeliness of its assessment and decision-making processes. Transparency and strong partnerships are maintained across the health sector.”
The summary report outlines Pharmac’s progress across 13 expectations in the 2025/26 expectations letter. As of June 2026, key achievements include:
- Prioritising improvements in the timeliness of assessment and decision-making, including trialling a streamlined assessment pathway and introducing new performance measures to reduce application backlogs.
- Strengthening patient and consumer involvement in decision-making through the Consumer and Patient Working Group and a dedicated consumer engagement team.
- Updating policy settings for rare disorders to align with the Rare Disorders Strategy.
- Begun a review of its Exceptional Circumstances Framework, including the NPPA process
- Developed a refreshed vision and strategy that sets a clear, ambitious direction for the future that fosters trust, collaboration, and innovation.
- Progressing significant data and digital investments, including upgrading tools and processes.
“For the first time, Pharmac has a clear multi-year programme of organisational improvement underway. While still a work in progress, it is encouraging to see progress on consumer engagement, timeliness and sector collaboration,” Mr Seymour says.
“Pharmac is also more transparent than ever. Progress is published to hold Pharmac to account, and to keep the patient community up to date so that when they have their say, it’s based on the best information.
“The progress so far has been impressive, but there is more work to be done. Listening to the voices of patients and consumers will continue to be at the heart of Pharmac’s work as it launches the next phase of its long-term improvement programme.”
The full report can be found at on Pharmac’s website: 2025/26 Pharmac Letter of Expectations progress update
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/08/19/pharmac-culture-continues-to-improve-and-get-more-transparent/
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