MIL OSI

Source: Dental for All

Monday 27 July

The Dental for All coalition welcomes the Green Party’s commitment to publicly delivered, free dental care for everyone and support for by-Māori for-Māori services in their new election manifesto. This announcement follows increasing attention on the failures of the current approach to oral health and calls for free dental care to be included in the public healthcare system.

“As an oral health therapist, I believe that oral health is a universal right, not a privilege. It is encouraging to see oral health recognised within the wider health agenda, alongside commitments to kaupapa Māori approaches that will help reduce inequities,” says Samuel Carrington, Associate Dean Māori and Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry and member of the Dental for All coalition.

“The PSA is very supportive of this policy which seeks to fully fund dental healthcare,” says Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary of the Public Service Association. The PSA represents the public oral health workforce and is a member of the Dental for All coalition.

“Dental care privatisation has completely failed New Zealanders. The provision of dental care is patchy, and is so expensive that many families now avoid going to the dentist at all. New Zealanders deserve to have dental care wrapped into our public healthcare system, so that all our communities can benefit – not just those who can afford it,” says Fitzsimons.

According to the latest NZ Health Survey, 43% of New Zealand adults report unmet need for dental care due to cost, and previous research released by Dental for All shows that the downstream effects cost the country billions every year.

Polling conducted by Talbot-Mills, released in March, shows that 83% of people support dental care being brought into the public healthcare system, with widespread support from voters across the political spectrum.

In April, Dental for All released a costed policy plan which includes a network of community oral health clinics to deliver universal, free oral healthcare as part of the public healthcare system, investment in the oral health workforce and resourcing for Māori tino rangatiratanga over oral health.

“There is a clear evidence base and strong public mandate for universal, Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare. We know that this is a viable, cost-effective policy and it has popular support.” says Dental for All campaigner, Hana Pilkinton-Ching.

The Green Party’s newly-announced health policies include a focus on prevention in health services, expanding access to essential primary and dental care (working towards publicly delivered, fully free services), funding dental vans to visit rural communities and kaupapa Māori approaches to end health inequities.

“We welcome this direction and look forward to seeing meaningful investment, a strengthened oral health workforce, and a clear pathway to delivering accessible, equitable oral healthcare for all people in Aotearoa,” says Carrington.

“It’s great to see the Greens are ready to put oral health back where it belongs, in the public system. We hope that other political parties will respond to the call from communities around the countries and commit to policies that address the urgent need for access to oral healthcare, and lead us towards a better future,” says Pilkinton-Ching.

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

The Better Taxes for a Better Future campaign welcomes the Green Party’s tax policy announcements released earlier today is an important step towards rebalancing New Zealand’s tax system: to close the gaps in tax on big corporates; to tax wealth, not just hard work; and to generate the revenue we need to fund the things that matter.

“Right now, ordinary people and small to medium local business are paying their tax and contributing the most to funding essential public services, like schools, hospitals and transport infrastructure, while big corporates and the wealthiest people aren’t paying their fair share,” said Kate Stone, Better Taxes campaign manager and spokesperson.

“In 2023 IRD research showed that the wealthiest families were paying less than half (9%) the tax rate of average Kiwis (20%), because while we tax every dollar workers’ earn, we do not tax wealth properly in New Zealand. The Green’s commitment to tax the super-rich 2.5% on net assets over $10m (excluding the family home), and to tax assets and gifts that people receive without working for them where they exceed $1m (excluding family farms and homes), are critical moves if we are going to tackle this unfairness and the inequality it perpetuates. We believe that pairing these policies with a comprehensive Capital Gains Tax would be even better!”

The Better Taxes Campaign considers these policies, alongside the commitment to a $10,000 tax-free threshold and more progressive tax rates, have the potential both to address immediate cost of living pressures, and to tackle skyrocketing wealth inequality that was on full display in last week’s Rich List.

“We’re not anti-wealth or opposed to success. But it’s a question of balance. Over the last 40 years the wealth of the super rich in NZ has increased from $5.3b to $126bn, while child poverty rates have tripled. It is clear that the “success” of the wealthiest few is not lifting up everyone in Aotearoa, and we need to make significant changes now, if we’re to avoid even greater inequality and the breakdown of social cohesion and democracy that come with it, as we’re seeing globally.”

“Better Taxes also welcomes the moves to close some of the gaps in taxes on big corporates, to level the playing field for local small and medium businesses and to ensure the biggest corporations are contributing back into our economy, from which they’re extracting huge profits,” said Stone.

Last year, alongside Tax Justice Aotearoa, we released the Big Tech Little Tax report which  demonstrated that some of the biggest tech companies were making billions of dollars in New Zealand and paying barely any tax. Last week we released expanded and updated research, which estimated tax minimisation practices by Big Tech have conservatively cost over $600m in the last five years.

“Our analysis shows these companies already have obligations under existing law to pay withholding taxes of at least 5% on much of the funds that they send to their parent company overseas and it is great to see the Green Party commit to cracking down on Big Tech,” said Stone.

“Finally, it’s a no brainer to introduce a bank levy on the big four banks. Our recent polling showed there is majority support for such a levy, including amongst voters who support the current government. It was clear during Budget announcements that the Minister of Finance had been keen to advance such a levy, so we hope that there can be cross-party support for this measure that has already been adopted in Australia, the UK and some other EU countries.”

“If the big four try to pass the levy on to their customers then smaller banks will be given an opportunity to compete and people can vote with their feet. We would also recommend an excess profits tax on the big banks, which the UK has adopted, to create a disincentive for the major Australian-owned banks to take Kiwis for a ride, ” said Stone.

You can read the full Better Taxes and Tax Justice Aotearoa policy platform here: https://www.bettertaxes.nz/tax_policy_statement?utm_campaign=greens_tax_policy_2026&utm_medium=email&utm_source=tja

The Better Taxes for a Better Future Campaign is a coalition of over 20 organisations led by Tax Justice Aotearoa.

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

MIL OSI

Queenstown, New Zealand (17 May 2026) Electrify Queenstown 2026 opened today with a sell-out 400-strong crowd, amped to explore Aotearoa’s electric future.

Climate Change Minister Hon Simon Watts and New Zealand Climate Foundation chief executive Izzy Fenwick led the programme, which focused on how electrification can lower costs, lower emissions and strengthen resilience for households and business.

Minister Watts says electrification is central to New Zealand’s economic and climate future.

“Electrify Queenstown brings together businesses, innovators, investors, and local leaders who are helping drive practical solutions that can reduce costs, improve productivity, strengthen energy resilience, and support emissions reduction,” he says.

“Events like this are important because they help turn ideas and ambition into real-world action.”

Now in its third year, the award-winning Electrify Queenstown spans three days in New Zealand’s tourism capital.

Opening day brought electrification to life for attendees with hands-on Electric Experiences across the basin, including solar home tours, EV travel to Kinloch Wilderness Retreat, Catch a Fish’s electric boat trip, and an e-boat and e-bike adventure hosted by Naut, Ride to the Sky and Queenstown Golf Club.

At Queenstown Events Centre, the free How-To Hub and Power Playground ran from 1pm–3pm, with expert advice on solar, batteries, EVs, heating, hot water and finance, alongside test rides and demos of electric technology.

Mat Woods, Chief Executive of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, says the scale of interest reflected how quickly the national conversation around electrification is changing.

“Just a few years ago, electrification was often viewed primarily through the lens of emissions reduction. Today, people are increasingly focused on cost savings, resilience, energy security and how households and businesses can take greater control of their energy future.

“Electrify Queenstown is about making those conversations practical and accessible, and there’s strong appetite from both the community and industry to explore what’s possible.”

The event also featured a significant transport announcement from Christchurch-based company Whoosh, which revealed a consortium of Queenstown business leaders would fund a feasibility study into a potential electric elevated transport network for the district.

The study will investigate whether the autonomous pod-based transport system could help address congestion challenges and support future transport needs across Queenstown.

Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge was also at the lectern, detailing what consumers think about electrification and what will drive uptake, along with Josh Ellison, of Queenstown Electrification Accelerator.

Electrify Queenstown continues Monday (18 May) with its sold-out Business Innovation, Investment & Policy day at the Queenstown Events Centre.

The programme includes keynote presentations from inventor and global electrification expert Dr Saul Griffith, Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey, and a major political leaders’ debate moderated by Paddy Gower.

On stage will be Deputy Prime Minister Hon David Seymour, Leader of the Opposition Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, Energy Minister Hon Simeon Brown, Assoc. Energy Minister Hon Shane Jones, Green Party leader Chlöe Swarbrick and The Opportunities Party leader Qiulae Wong,

A limited number of tickets remain available for Tuesday’s programme – Practical business advice – the ‘How To’.

Event details

What: Electrify Queenstown

When: Sunday 17 May – Tuesday 19 May

Where: Queenstown Events Centre and locations across the district

Feature session: The Future of New Zealand’s Energy System: A Leaders’ Debate, Monday 18 May, 2pm-4.30pm.

MIL OSI

The National Party’s decision to scrap NCEA entirely guarantees many thousands of children will leave school with no qualification, no love of learning, and no preparation for a complex and fast-changing world, the Green Party says.

“One thing is clear from the announcement today by Christopher Luxon and Erica Stanford, they want more students to fail rather than more students to succeed. 

“Education is about encouraging curiosity and nurturing our future generation’s love of learning. NCEA is a world class qualification, one that is already internationally benchmarked. New Zealand students are readily accepted into top universities overseas with NCEA,” says Lawrence Xu-Nan, Green Party spokesperson for education. 

“New Zealand has seen the harm of standardising assessment, where some students are left further behind – especially Māori, Pasifika, disabled and neurodivergent, and rural students. The Minister herself has confirmed that students could leave school without a qualification. 

“The real world does not exist in neat little five subject boxes. Such siloed thinking will be more detrimental for our students’ learning than ever before. However, this Government is addicted to change and is determined to bring back outdated standardised assessments that do not prepare our students for the future. 

“There is also no confirmation on university entrance requirements, nor the relevant curricula that would support the qualification. This is another example of this Government’s cart-before-the-horse approach. 

“The Green Party is committed to halting the disastrous curriculum and qualification changes until there has been meaningful consultation with the communities, including teachers and principals, parents, and students to ensure that any change is centred on the needs and aspiration of individual students,” says Xu-Nan.

MIL OSI

The Green Party is condemning the Government’s decision to weaken te Tiriti o Waitangi references across 19 acts of Parliament, calling it the Stealth Treaty Principles Bill.

“New Zealanders didn’t want the Treaty Principles Bill, and they sure don’t want it by stealth,” says Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson.

“Stripping te Tiriti out of seven acts entirely and dragging the Crown’s obligations in another ten down to the weakest possible standard, is a deliberate diminishment of the founding document of this country.

“Treaty references in legislation are how the Crown’s word gets translated into the decisions that shape whānau lives. The changes set the lowest standard the Crown can give itself. Weakening them weakens the protections people rely on every day.

“The Waitangi Tribunal has warned this Government, repeatedly, about its approach to te Tiriti. Those warnings are being ignored, along with the evidence, the history, and the weight of the agreement that founded this country.

“New Zealanders have already had their say on the Treaty Principles Bill. They submitted in record numbers, they marched in numbers this country has not seen in a generation. The Government should abandon this new Treaty Principles Bill,” says Davidson.

MIL OSI

Luxon’s decision to provide Police with the power to issue move-on orders to homeless people as young as 14 will have disastrous consequences for our country and our most vulnerable, says the Green Party. 

“Christopher Luxon has chosen to make more people homeless, and now he’s criminalising them for being homeless,” says Green Party Co-leader and Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick.

“It costs $200,000 a year to chuck someone in prison, for worse and worse outcomes. The Government refuses to spend a fraction of that on actually supporting people who need it, which not only would improve and save lives, but also save money in the long run as people are able to get back on their feet.”

“Police have been clear they’re not social service workers. Social services are crying out for the resources to actually solve the problem. The Government responded with cuts, and now criminalisation.”

“If you want to solve homelessness, house people. Instead, Luxon’s pushed more people into homelessness and is now criminalising people for not having a home, and nowhere else to go.”

“I’ve invited Luxon for two years to the streets of Auckland Central to meet the people, including the children, who his decisions have made homeless. He’s refused to engage. Today, he’s decided to lock up those as young as 14 for the ‘crime’ of not being able to get support.”

“This is not leadership. It’s punching down on the most vulnerable people you could imagine, after ripping away their support,” says Swarbrick

MIL OSI

The Green Party is urging Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to abandon amendments to the Education and Training Act following the Waitangi Tribunal’s scathing report on the proposed changes.

“The Waitangi Tribunal has been clear: Luxon’s Government has breached its Tiriti obligations. It can no longer mask the racism in its education reforms,” says Green Party Co-leader, Marama Davidson. 

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a promise to take the best possible care of each other. Its place in the education of our tamariki, our taonga, our tomorrow, is not up for debate.

“Our Tribunal mātanga, our experts, have found that the failure of Luxon’s Government to engage meaningfully with Māori represents an affront to the mana of Māori.

“They have also found that these reforms have a similar purpose to the Treaty Principles Bill. If this doesn’t tell Luxon’s Government what it needs to know to immediately halt its changes, we don’t know what else can.

“The Green Party is committed to reinstating te Tiriti o Waitangi in section 127 of the Education and Training Act, re-centring Te Mātaiaho to its original intent and direction, and halting any changes to the curriculum until there has been meaningful consultation with the sector and engagement with Māori.

“In short: The Green Party is committed to upholding its obligations to te Tiriti and to our tamariki.

“The Tribunal ruled that Luxon’s Government’s Tiriti-inconsistency is calculated. We can’t let our tamariki pay the price for political games,” says Marama.

MIL OSI

The Waitangi Tribunal has heard of the violence directed at Māori women in public positions including online abuse, stalking and threats of physical violence.

The tribunal has been hearing from wāhine in leadership roles this week as part of the long-running Mana Wahine inquiry – which is examining the alleged denial of the inherent mana of Māori women and the systemic discrimination, deprivation, and inequities experienced as a result.

Among those giving evidence on Thursday was Green Party MP Tamatha Paul, who spoke of how she has been a public figure her entire adult life and had become desensitised to the violent comments she receives and was only reminded that it was not normal when her family was exposed to it.

“My partner picks me up and drops me off to everything because he doesn’t trust that someone won’t be waiting for me outside of my workplace because of everything that’s happened to me and it’s a tremendous sacrifice that he makes.”

Paul said when she was in local government the violence she experienced happened mostly online; since moving into Parliament, that violence had become real.

“The nature of the violence that I experience is not casual, it’s not someone being mean to me because they don’t like what I say and they don’t like my views. These are people who have fallen victim to extremist ideologies about women and about Māori.”

Paul said people with a fixation on her have attended public events with the intention of speaking with her.

“I’ve had messages from a person who showed up to one of my public events and told me that he was waiting by the bathrooms for me, [for] that whole event for me to go to the bathroom.

“And what happens in these situations – and they’re not just one, they are many – is that these people are referred on by Parliamentary Services to the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, and one solution I’d like to put to the Tribunal for consideration is that this centre needs to be better resourced.”

Paul told the tribunal she wanted to put an emphasis on the experience of rangatahi.

“We live in a completely different world and I think in order for the recommendations of the tribunal to be enduring they need to consider the world that future mana wahine will live in.”

A long-runninginquiry

The Mana Wahine Kaupapa Inquiry is one of the Waitangi Tribunal’s kaupapa or thematic inquiries which deal with nationally significant issues affecting Māori as a whole.

It stems from a claim originally lodged in 1993 by 16 prominent Māori women leaders, including Dame Whina Cooper and Dame Mira Szaszy.

The central question in the inquiry is the alleged denial of the inherent mana of wāhine Māori and the systemic discrimination, deprivation, and inequities experienced as a result. Four pou frame the inquiry: rangatiratanga, whenua, whakapapa/whānau, and whai rawa.

In 2018 the chairperson of the tribunal formally initiated the Mana Wahine Kaupapa Inquiry and appointed Judge Sarah Reeves as the presiding officer, with Dr Robyn Anderson, Dr Ruakere Hond, Kim Ngarimu and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith appointed later as panel members.

The tribunal conducted a range of initial hearings beginning in 2021, to provide a tūāpapa (foundation) for the wider inquiry.

Hearings continue at the Tribunal on Friday.

‘If you’renot visible your experiences tend to get averaged out’

The tribunal also heard from University of Waikato professor of demography Tahu Kukutai on Thursday, who spoke about gaps in high-quality statistics about wāhine Māori.

Data was a tool of power and was absolutely indispensable in the modern world, she said

“Data makes visible groups and statistics, if you’re not visible your experiences tend to get averaged out or hidden in broader population data, so we become all women, or we become all Māori rather than wāhine Māori.”

Kukutai said there was an urgent need for Māori data sovereignty and advocated for the implementation of the Māori Data Governance Model which would see Māori data, including data about wāhine, in Māori hands.

“Data is power and I think that’s never been more true than now. And that would fundamentally mean rewiring those power relationships and vesting authority in Māori, and I think agencies will find that hard, but one of the useful things about the model is it provides a clear pathway.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

By; Chris McGavin*, Dr Andrew Lensen* and Dr Cassandra Mudgway*

Opinion: Nearly a year has passed since the Government released their so-called AI Strategy.

Nine months since we, along with other New Zealand AI Experts, penned an open letter to the Government calling for AI regulation and the establishment of some sort of responsible AI entity.

In that time, both a lot, and nothing has changed.

The world is still being bludgeoned by a maelstrom polycrisis. Youth unemployment, serious concerns about large scale job displacement, a global economy on a knife’s edge, and schools being mistakenly bombed are all top of mind.

These issues are increasingly linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and, whether we like it or not, it is here to stay.

For us to prosper in this ‘AI age’ we will have to, at some point, disregard the hype-cycle and engage with AI’s many unpleasantries.

In the last year alone we’ve seen instances of teenagers being encouraged to commit suicide, umpteen examples of chatbot related delusion and psychosis, chatbots assisting researchers to plan mass killings, and an almost incomprehensible increase in the amount of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-consensual sexualised images.

In fact, there is so much AI harm, that there are several resources devoted to attempting to track it.

These are human rights issues, engaging rights to privacy, freedom from discrimination and sexual exploitation, equality and dignity, and without confronting them we risk sleep-walking into a crisis of our own making.

Despite the thundering of the outside world, New Zealand’s response to these issues is largely non-existent.

The Government’s leadership on AI is lacklustre, and ignores anything that doesn’t include the words ‘productivity’ or ‘efficiency’.

The latest missed opportunity was the decision to not send an observer to this year’s Responsible AI in the Military Domain Summit.

We’ve had a presence there previously, and doing so again would have helped to maintain our reputation as a strong moral leader internationally.

It is not just the Coalition who seem flummoxed.

The majority of political parties do not appear to have any appetite for leadership when it comes to AI. In fact, of all the political parties we contacted, only The Green Party signed the letter and signaled their willingness to take part in cross-party work on responsible AI and AI regulation.

Yet, many of the parties are using AI.

Adorning their campaigns with a variety of AI generated slop to varying degrees of controversy.

Or, in their individual capacities for research which seems an odd task for a tool that hallucinates a significant amount of the time, and reduces your inclination to critically evaluate

its outputs.

The lack of engagement on AI harm is surprising.

Especially given it is an election year. The public is very clearly anxious about AI, and there is good data to back this up.

For instance, only 44 percent of New Zealanders believe the benefits of AI outweigh the risks. Only 34 percent are willing to trust AI. 52 percent are very concerned about AIs impact on society, and a whopping 81 percent of New Zealanders believe AI regulation is required.

As a nation, we are already failing to address the near-term impacts of AI.

Worse still, we have yet to even consider how we might tackle its long term impacts, such as worker displacement (both entry level and later-career) and other AI safety risks.

It goes without saying that in the absence of any political will or impetus none of this will change.

The unfortunate truth is large technology companies do not care about New Zealand. They will not, of their own volition, do anything to ensure that New Zealanders remain safe from AI harms.

It is not their prerogative; their sole goal is wealth extraction. They will bend over backwards to distance themselves from any potential wrongdoings, as they have always done.

In place of accountability, they will promise us the world: for example, a $102 billion dollar boon for our economy if we use their tools. This promise, of course, ignores the fact that their AI tools have failed to live up to the hype.

The vast majority of organisations are not seeing any return on investment from AI. Our public sector reports much the same: they are not getting a return from AI, and most of their proofs of concepts are not working.

We cannot expect technology companies to provide safer AI which uphold human rights.

We have seen other countries like Australia succeed in pushing back. We can and should expect our leaders to do the same.

This election year, we sincerely hope they do. It is vital that you, the voters, consider their policies on AI when casting your ballot. They will listen if you demand it.

*Chris McGavinis director at LensenMcGavin AI

*Dr Andrew Lensen, Victoria University of Wellington, LensenMcGavinAI

*Dr Cassandra Mudgway, University of Canterbury

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

The Prime Minister’s pre-Budget speech today confirms a Government that has chosen to scapegoat migrants and shield corporate profit while New Zealanders struggle to pay the bills, says the Green Party.

“Christopher Luxon has made his choice. Blame migrants for the problems of the world in order to protect corporate profits driving the cost-of-living crisis,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.  

“Luxon talked about the patterns playing out around the world right now, highlighting far-right anti-immigration fear mongering. He very intentionally side-stepped the reality of the billionaires reaping record profit at the expense of people and planet, and financially backing those very parties blaming migrants.” 

“After trying to tie us ever-closer to the Trump administration, he’s now doing a Trump impression. This playbook always ends the same way. Working people get the blame, big business gets the spoils.”

“Cutting operational spending while talking up private capital tells you exactly whose side this Government is on. It is not the side of the whānau choosing between heating and eating tonight.”

“New Zealanders deserve a Government that takes on the corporate price-gougers and invests in the people and the public services that hold this country together.”

“Luxon has confirmed today that his final Budget won’t serve regular people. But I guess he’s never understood that to be his job.” 

“New Zealanders deserve so much better,” says Swarbrick. 

MIL OSI

National’s partners ACT and New Zealand First have taken a tumble in support in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll, but the coalition bloc is still holding its lead.

Under the results, released on Tuesday, the government bloc would receive 62 seats, down three since April, compared to the opposition bloc on 58, up three.

Labour remained the most popular party on 31.9 percent, but took a sizeable knock since the last survey, dropping 1.5 points.

National edged up 0.2 points to hit 30 percent. New Zealand First was down 1.9 points to 11.7 percent.

The Green Party was in fourth spot on 9.7 percent, also down 1.9 points, while ACT took the biggest hit, down 2.5 points to 6.5 percent.

Te Pāti Māori came in at 4.1 percent, up 1.5 points.

On those numbers, National would bring 39 MPs into Parliament. They would be joined by 15 MPs from New Zealand First and eight from ACT, to make a 62-strong coalition.

Labour would pick up 41 MPs but would not have a pathway to power, even with the 12 Green MPs and five from Te Pāti Māori.

On the preferred prime minister measure, National’s Christopher Luxon retook the lead, climbing 1 point to 21.5 percent. Labour’s Chris Hipkins dropped 2.7 points to 19 percent.

New Zealand First’s Winston Peters is in third spot, on 11.6 percent, down 0.5 points.

The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the NZ Taxpayers’ Union. It is a random poll of 1,000 adult New Zealanders and is weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between Sunday 03 May and Thursday 07 May 2026. It has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%. The number of decided voters on the vote questions was 914. There were 49 (4.9 percent) undecided voters and 37 (3.7 percent) who refused the vote question.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

The Government’s surprise announcement this morning to amend the Climate Change Response Act is yet another example of Luxon loosening the leash for corporate profits at the expense of our people and our planet, the Green Party says.

“Luxon’s Government is using its dying breaths to unravel New Zealanders’ right to hold big polluters accountable,” says the Green Party Co-leader and Climate Change spokesperson, Chlöe Swarbrick. 

 “While New Zealanders are demanding affordable power bills and decent jobs, Luxon’s Government has decided to prioritise protecting big polluters’ profits in the limited parliamentary time before the election.” 

 “That tells us everything we need to know about who they work for. It’s the corporations ripping us off and destroying the ecosystems necessary for life as we know it.” 

 “Luxon’s Government shows it can act with urgency when their mates’ profits are at risk, while New Zealanders’ cost-of-living concerns stay on the backburner.” 

 “They’ve spent two and a half years taking a wrecking ball to climate laws and, at the eleventh hour, they’re now ripping away New Zealanders’ and the courts’ ability to do what this Government lacks the spine to do.” 

 “Our country deserves so much better than this shady cookery,” Swarbrick says. 

MIL OSI

The government still intends to pass legislation to liberalise gene technology laws, but cross-party disagreement is slowing the controversial reform.

The Gene Technology Bill sought to end an effective 30-year ban on the use of genetic technologies outside the laboratory, currently regulated by the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO).

Transgenics and new breeding techniques like gene editing were currently legal in Aotearoa, but heavily regulated and kept within confined laboratory conditions.

The Bill, first proposed in late 2024, featured in the National party’s coalition agreements with both ACT and New Zealand First.

Last year, 15,000 people made public submissions on the bill, with most opposing it.

Following that, the Health Select Committee released its report in October, recommending that the bill proceeded, and it now rested with Cabinet ministers negotiating possible amendments.

It was originally intended that the legislation would be passed by the end of 2025.

But a date for its second reading was still unconfirmed, as the Bill stalled in the lead-up to the general election in November.

Such delays could be down to a lack of majority support to take the Bill to second reading, or the Parliamentary Counsel Office that drafted legislation might need extra time to develop complex changes being put forward.

Meanwhile, the new Leader of the House – National’s Louise Upston – said the government intended to progress all legislation on the Order Paper.

ACT supportive, but wants Māori committee scrapped

A spokesperson for the ACT Party said it saw real opportunity in liberalising gene technology.

“Modernising these laws would give our agricultural sector and scientists the tools they need to stay globally competitive,” they said.

But the party did not support the establishment of a Māori Technical Advisory Committee, as the bill proposed, around which discussions were ongoing.

“Our issue with the Bill as it stands is that it risks tying up that scientific and economic potential in co-governed bureaucracy.

“The Bill has not yet advanced to its second reading and it remains with Cabinet, where decisions on its progress or timeline will be made.”

Improvements to human, environmental protections needed – New Zealand First

As part of its coalition agreement with National, New Zealand First agreed to liberalise genetic engineering laws, while ensuring strong protections for human health and the environment.

The party said previously it would withhold support for the bill, unless major changes towards improving these protections were made.

Its office told RNZ the stance had not changed and it was still undertaking party consultation on it.

In November, party leader Winston Peters addressed hundreds of people on Parliament steps who gathered to oppose the Bill.

“What we’ve said is this Bill’s going nowhere unless we’re satisfied and we’re confident that it doesn’t represent any danger,” he told the crowd last year.

“Let me tell you, if the Bill can’t be fixed up, it won’t be going ahead.”

Bill proposes ‘rushed’ approach to risky outdoor uses – Labour

RNZ understands National had been in talks with Labour to try to come to some agreement.

Labour’s Reuben Davidson said while there was broad agreement that gene technology regulations were outdated, reform must carefully balance innovation with protection.

“This reform was an opportunity to modernise our framework in a way that strengthened New Zealand’s science system, honoured Māori perspectives, safeguarded our primary industries, and protected our international reputation.

“The Bill, in its current form, does not achieve that balance.”

Davidson said the Bill proposed a rushed approach, bundling together widely supported applications of gene science, like in medical research or industrial fermentation, with far riskier outdoor uses.

“If the government was functional, the Bill would have been passed already, but the coalition can’t agree on outcomes,” he said.

“Once again National have allowed internal bickering to get in the way of what they promised.”

The Green Party did not support what Steve Abel labelled as ‘radical de-regulation’ that risked the country’s GMO-free status marketed globally.

National says negotiations ongoing

Since the Bill was first introduced by then-Minister for Science Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins, the National-held portfolio had changed hands among ministers.

Minister Shane Reti took over the role, but with both he and Collins announcing their retirement from politics throughout 2026, incumbent minister Penny Simmonds now held the portfolio alongside Tertiary Education (and Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment).

When asked a parliamentary question by the Greens last month, if amendments or changes were intended for the Bill, Simmonds said it was still under active consideration.

Simmonds told RNZ in a statement that negotiations were ongoing.

“Negotiations and subsequent policy changes as a result of the public select committee process, are ongoing,” she said.

“We’ll have more to say soon.”

GMO environmental release concerns organic farmers

Biotechnological benefits from reformed gene technology laws could include for plant and seed production, emissions mitigations and improved productivity, as touted by Collins.

But the reform would also bid farewell to New Zealand’s GMO-free status

Allowing field releases of GMOs into the environment caused concern among organic producers, a sector worth $1.2 billion – half of which are exports.

Hawkes Bay farmer Scott Lawson of Lawson’s True Earth Organics told a webinar held by industry group Organics Aotearoa New Zealand last month that New Zealanders were largely unaware of how vulnerable to sector was to the reform.

“People are aware of the organic industry, but they’re not aware of just how big we are, how important we are… and how vulnerable we are to the impact of something like this Gene Tech Bill. Because once released there is no containment, no co-existence.”

As it stood, an independent regulator would be set up within the Environmental Protection Authority to assess applications for using these technologies in the environment.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

The Green Party is calling on the Government to use every tool they have as shareholding Ministers of the major gentailers to bring power bills down before winter, after new data shows tens of thousands more households can’t afford to keep warm.

“No New Zealander should be left in the cold and dark this winter while the Government’s own power companies are banking record profits,” says Green Party Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. 

In a letter to both Ministers, Swarbrick sets out the steps the Government can take immediately to keep whānau warm and connected this winter. 

“The time for tough talk is over.  Luxon’s Government have every tool they need to bring bills down. With winter weeks away, we’re asking they use those tools now.” 

MBIE’s most recent energy hardship data shows 65,000 more households could not afford to keep their home adequately warm in the past year. 44,000 more could not pay their gas, electricity or water bills on time. 23,000 more were living with damp and mould as a major problem. 

Compared to 2021, 100,000 more households now cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm, and 156,000 are putting up with feeling cold a lot to cut costs. 

“Brown and Willis aren’t innocent bystanders to this hardship. They can use their powers as majority owners of the gentailers, or they’re choosing to keep power bills and profits high,” says Swarbrick. 

The OECD last week recommended the Government put in place an ownership strategy that prioritises secure, sustainable, and affordable electricity over dividends, and warned that gentailer payout ratios are too high. 

“This Government has the power, they have the data, and they have an OECD recommendation handed to them this week. The Greens are calling on them to act before winter sets in,” says Swarbrick. 

Green Party energy spokesperson Scott Willis says the policy tools to bring bills down are already in place, and there is no excuse for delay heading into winter. 

“The Ministers can write to the boards of Meridian, Genesis, and Mercury this week and require them to scale up their energy hardship programmes. As the controlling shareholder, there’s nothing stopping the Government from doing exactly that.” 

“They can call on the gentailers not to raise retail prices higher than inflation. Households cannot keep absorbing rises like the 12 per cent we’ve just seen while the gentailers post hundreds of millions in profit.” 

“No household should be disconnected from the network solely because they can’t afford their power bill. The Government can put that protection in place tomorrow,” says Willis. 

Swarbrick says, “We’ve given the Government a plan to immediately reduce the cost-of-living and New Zealanders’ power bills.  They either choose to use their power and act, or keep profits high by continuing to allow the fleecing of New Zealanders.” 

MIL OSI

Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says the Government is callously trading away New Zealanders’ education opportunities to pay for tax cuts for the super-rich.

“Unemployment has soared since Luxon came to power, and the situation is even worse for our young people,” Davidson says. 

“While Luxon, Peters and Seymour have no hesitation in undermining New Zealanders’ dreams of contributing to society, the Green Party will fight to properly fund the aspirations of our youth and students.  

“Over 14% of New Zealand’s young people are not in work or education but instead of helping people stay in study, the Government is snatching away the funding that supports and incentivises tertiary education.  

“At a time when tens of thousands of our young people are fleeing offshore for better opportunities, we need to be investing more in them not less,” Davidson says.   

“’Fees free’ recognised the benefit to Aotearoa of tertiary education and snatching this away is a clear sign of the lack of value this Government places on learning. 

“Putting aside Peters’ obvious intent to destroy his own Government, this is yet another example of National, Act and NZ First making ordinary New Zealanders pay to subsidise the super-rich.” 

MIL OSI

The Environment Select Committee has recommended disestablishing the Ministry for the Environment, despite overwhelming public opposition.

In its report, the committee said the creation of a new Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport mega ministry under a bill currently before Parliament would not significantly change the functions of the current ministry.

The committee received 588 written submissions. All but five submissions were overtly opposed to the bill.

It has recommended by majority that the bill be passed, despite strong opposition from Labour and Green Party members.

The Green Party members slammed the bill as ”yet another action by the most anti-environment government that Aotearoa New Zealand has ever had.”

The Labour Party members said they were ”appalled by the constant attacks on the environment by this government.”

Greens environment spokesperson Lan Pham said the government’s plan to get rid of the Ministry is ”an absolute travesty for New Zealand.”

”The Ministry for the Environment was established because years ago New Zealanders decided that a voice for the environment at the heart of government was actually essential. It was established at the same time as the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, reflecting how important New Zealanders believed environmental oversight should be,” she said.

”Now, this government is pushing to bury that Ministry inside a mega-ministry focused on development and economic growth, despite no party campaigning on this and overwhelming opposition from experts, iwi and communities.”

Pham also raised concerns about transparency.

”We had no assurance as a Select Committee, for example, that expenditure that comes from government that goes towards the Ministry for the Environment will actually be transparent and clear.”

The bill is expected to return to Parliament for its second reading on Tuesday.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

The Green Party has criticised the government’s decision to scrap the fees-free tertiary education scheme.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed the scheme will be ditched in the upcoming Budget, following comments made by NZ First Leader Winston Peters on Newstalk ZB.

“Ongoing coalition negotiations have led to good budget policy decisions that further the immediate and long-term interests of New Zealanders,” she said.

Willis also confirmed students completing their tertiary studies this year would remain eligible for fees-free, but many of those students completing three-year-courses or longer had already had their first year free.

At the end of 2024, the government modified the system, offering students their last year free, rather than the first, as it was when Labour first introduced the policy.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the government should be investing more in the future of young people, not less.

“This is absolutely outrageous – another kick in the guts for our generations of young people particularly and anyone who wants to dream about giving back to their community.”

The Greens would fight to re-instate fees-free support, she said.

“The Greens know that it is a fantastic, wise, smart investment to invest in tertiary education for students and our communities.”

The government should be incentivising tertiary study, given more than 14 percent of young people were not in work or education, she said.

Students disappointed, not surprised

Victoria University Student Association president Aidan Donoghue said he was disappointed the scheme was getting the axe, but not surprised.

“We’ve continually seen attacks on students from this government and this is just another example.”

Fees free encouraged some students to enter or continue study, because debt was a deterring factor, he said.

“To pay an extra $12,000 in fees is not a good pill to swallow.”

Scrapping the scheme would have a particularly tough impact on those from lower-income backgrounds, Donoghue said.

“Students have been calling for more money week-to-week and… we’re not sure that this will be replaced with anything else that will address the concerns of students with the cost of living.”

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

The Green Party has criticised the government’s decision to scrap the fees-free tertiary education scheme.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed the scheme will be ditched in the upcoming Budget, following comments made by NZ First Leader Winston Peters on Newstalk ZB.

“Ongoing coalition negotiations have led to good budget policy decisions that further the immediate and long-term interests of New Zealanders,” she said.

Willis also confirmed students completing their tertiary studies this year would remain eligible for fees-free, but many of those students completing three-year-courses or longer had already had their first year free.

At the end of 2024, the government modified the system, offering students their last year free, rather than the first, as it was when Labour first introduced the policy.

Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told RNZ the government should be investing more in the future of young people, not less.

“This is absolutely outrageous – another kick in the guts for our generations of young people particularly and anyone who wants to dream about giving back to their community.”

The Greens would fight to re-instate fees-free support, she said.

“The Greens know that it is a fantastic, wise, smart investment to invest in tertiary education for students and our communities.”

The government should be incentivising tertiary study, given more than 14 percent of young people were not in work or education, she said.

Students disappointed, not surprised

Victoria University Student Association president Aidan Donoghue said he was disappointed the scheme was getting the axe, but not surprised.

“We’ve continually seen attacks on students from this government and this is just another example.”

Fees free encouraged some students to enter or continue study, because debt was a deterring factor, he said.

“To pay an extra $12,000 in fees is not a good pill to swallow.”

Scrapping the scheme would have a particularly tough impact on those from lower-income backgrounds, Donoghue said.

“Students have been calling for more money week-to-week and… we’re not sure that this will be replaced with anything else that will address the concerns of students with the cost of living.”

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