Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

Media are invited to cover an upcoming webinar, where politicians from across the political spectrum will present their parties’ policies on lobbying reform.

Lobbying is set to be an election issue: attend a webinar on Monday 5 October to hear where six political parties stand on the issue.

“Out of 47 OECD countries, we are bottom of the class for regulating lobbying activities, when most countries have already enacted laws and regulations,” says Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn.

See OECD Economics Working Paper 2026: https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2026/01/regulating-lobbying-activities-to-protect-competition_269a52e7/ad88f58a-en.pdf

“None of these lobbying regulations, including in places like Ireland, Australia, Canada or France, are perfect, but they do create transparency and accountability.”

The webinar comes at a time when Aotearoa New Zealand faces a health system crisis that could be eased by policies addressing tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food. However, it is highly likely that lobbying by vested interests before and during the development of health policy is the main reason successive governments have failed to act.

One in four years of healthy living lost in New Zealand is caused by the impacts of tobacco, obesity and unhealthy food, and alcohol.

“It doesn’t have to be this way if politicians put people, their voters, ahead of the profits of harmful industries,” says Swinburn.

A recent series of cancer research survey findings, published in the NZ Medical Journal, found broad public support for rules to regulate lobbying across voters for all parties and undecided voters: https://nzmj.org.nz/journal/vol-139-no-1641/public-support-for-better-controls-on-lobbying-and-industry-influence-in-aotearoa-new-zealand-findings-from-a-national-survey

Despite the evidence and public support, successive governments have failed to enact changes at a national level that would prevent illness and save lives. The result is a system that creates enormous health harm, disproportionately experienced by Māori, Pacific people, lower socioeconomic communities and children.

Politicians will be asked where their party stands on:

• A Lobbying Regulation Act with a mandatory, searchable public register.
• Stand-down periods to slow the revolving door between government and lobbying roles.
• Stronger management of commercial conflicts of interest.
• A rewrite of the Official Information Act.
• Tighter limits on political donations.

Health Coalition Aotearoa has received positive responses from – Te Pāti Māori Debbie Ngārewa Packer, Green Party Hūhana Lyndon (health), Jessica Hammond The Opportunity Party, Labour Camilla Belich, National – no response, NZ First Jenny Marcroft, ACT Todd Stevenson.

Join Health Coalition Aotearoa for this cross-party webinar to hear directly from representatives about the reforms they will support and push for. The discussion will be moderated by Georgie Craw from WEAll Aotearoa with time for audience Q&A: https://www.weall.org.nz/read-panui/welcome-georgie-craw-our-new-communications-lead

Event details

Date: Monday, 5 October 2026

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM NZT

Format: Online via Zoom Panel

Confirmed Parties: ACT | Labour | Greens | Opportunity Party

Cost: Free (Registration required)

Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/webinar-a-cross-party-panel-on-lobbying-reform-tickets-2000537987975

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Source: IHC New Zealand

Media are invited to attend Inclusive Futures 2026: National Disability Election Forum, where representatives from New Zealand’s major political parties will discuss their plans for improving the lives of disabled people and creating a more accessible and inclusive Aotearoa.

The forum is organised by leading disability sector organisations and will give voters the opportunity to hear directly from party representatives ahead of the 2026 General Election.

Disability issues affect hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and their whānau, spanning health, education, employment, housing, transport, welfare and justice. Candidates will respond to questions from disabled people, advocates and community organisations about how their parties would address these issues.

Event details

• What: Inclusive Futures 2026: National Disability Election Forum
• When: Wednesday 7 October 2026, 4pm to 6pm
• Where: Te Wharewaka o Pōneke, Wellington
• Online: Live audience participation via Zoom
• MC: RNZ journalist Susie Ferguson

Participants

• Laura McClure (ACT)
• Julie-Anne Genter (Green Party) – TBC
• Priyanca Radhakrishnan (Labour)
• Rima Nakhle (National)
• Jenny Marcroft (New Zealand First)
• Qiulae Wong (The Opportunities Party)

About the organisers

The forum is supported by disability organisations, including IHC, Access Matters, Blind Low Vision NZ, Blind Citizens NZ, CCS Disability Action, Deaf Aotearoa, Disabled Persons Assembly, New Zealand Down Syndrome Association, Spectrum Care, The Personal Advocacy and Safeguarding Adults Trust, and Your Way | Kia Roha.

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Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

The OECD gave New Zealand a zero rating for its lack of policies to manage the risks of lobbying. In an upcoming webinar, politicians from across the political spectrum will be asked what they will do to improve this dire situation.

Health Coalition Aotearoa is hosting the free lunchtime webinar on 5 October to give political parties an opportunity to present their visions and policies for lobbying reform.

“Out of 47 OECD countries, we are bottom of the class when most countries have already enacted laws and regulations,” says Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn. See OECD Economics Working Paper 2026.

“None of these lobbying regulations, including in places like Ireland, Australia, Canada or France, are perfect, but they do create transparency and accountability.”

The webinar comes at a time when Aotearoa New Zealand faces a health system crisis that could be eased by policies addressing tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food. However, vested interest lobbying is a major reason why successive governments have failed to act.

One in four years of healthy living lost to early deaths and disability is due to tobacco, obesity and unhealthy food, and alcohol.

“It doesn’t have to be this way if politicians put people ahead of the profits of harmful industries,” says Swinburn.

Despite clear evidence, successive governments have failed to focus on prevention. The result is a system that creates enormous health harm, disproportionately experienced by Māori, Pacific people, lower socioeconomic communities and children.

Examples include tobacco policy. Tobacco remains the cause of seven percent of years of healthy life lost to death and disability in Aotearoa, yet the current government repealed globally leading smokefree legislation.

In the past three years, as this Government has introduced further industry-friendly policies, New Zealand has fallen from second to 53rd place in the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index.

Alcohol is another area where vested interest lobbying has successfully stalled prevention policies. Alcohol costs Aotearoa $9.1 billion each year through harm to physical and mental health, whānau, communities and society. Much of this could be prevented through reform of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act, yet recent law changes risk increasing availability and reducing community voice. This is despite 900 deaths and 30,000 hospitalisations each year attributable to alcohol. (Health NZ Report 2024.)

Without a public register of lobbyists, a mandatory code of conduct, restrictions on the revolving door between government and lobbying firms, and an Integrity Commission with teeth, commercial interests will continue to hold outsized influence over public policy and health decisions.

Party spokespeople from ACT, NZ First, TOP, Labour, Green Party, and Te Pāti Māori have so far confirmed they will join the webinar.

You are invited: The session will be a moderated discussion with time for audience Q&A.

Event details

Date: Monday, 5 October 2026

Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM NZT

Format: Online via Zoom Panel

Confirmed Parties: ACT, NZ First, TOP, Labour, Greens Te Pāti Māori

Cost: Free (Registration required)

Register: Eventbrite

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Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

Parties on the political left show strongest backing for policies to reduce harm from tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food.

Health Coalition Aotearoa is today releasing the results of its election policy survey (election policy survey), revealing a clear political divide on support for evidence-based measures to reduce harm from tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food, and to protect public policymaking from undue industry influence.

The survey, which was sent to all incumbent political parties ahead of the election, assessed support for Health Coalition Aotearoa’s top prevention priorities.

The findings show strongest support from left-leaning parties for policies that would improve health outcomes, reduce pressure on the health system and boost productivity through prevention. Survey commentary is available in a PHCC Briefing (PHCC Briefing).

“Disappointingly, National and New Zealand First chose neither to complete the survey nor attend our Political Forum on Prevention, held at Parliament in August,” says Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn, a population nutrition and global health researcher at the University of Auckland.

“This pattern of National, and often other Government Coalition partners, not fronting up to invitations to engage on key policy issues has been observed by multiple organisations seeking policy discussions on health in this pre-election period,” Swinburn says.

The survey was based on priorities identified by Health Coalition Aotearoa’s expert panels as the most evidence-based and cost-effective policies for preventing harm from the commercial determinants of health, as outlined in its Prevention Brief 2026 (Prevention Brief 2026).

“What we’re really looking for is areas of general support across the political spectrum so that effective prevention policies might get advanced and sustained, rather than flip-flopping with every election,” Swinburn says.

The policies receiving the widest support were reinstating the tobacco endgame legislation, restoring the Healthy School Lunches Programme to an optimum design, and strengthening protections against undue industry influence in public policymaking. Support was strongest among the Green Party, Te Pāti Māori and Labour.

The findings also showed broad support among those parties for stronger lobbying rules, improved management of conflicts of interest, and greater transparency in decision-making processes. ACT was the only right-leaning party to respond to the survey and was generally supportive of some tobacco and conflicts of interest measures but unsupportive of most other prevention policies.

Notably, National and New Zealand First did not respond to the survey, leaving voters without direct answers on their positions regarding these priority prevention measures.

Although not included in the survey, The Opportunity Party recently released its Healthy People and Clean Up Politics policies, which are closely aligned with Health Coalition Aotearoa’s priorities.

“Enacting policies is, let’s face it, a lot of work, so if we could see progress on tobacco endgame measures, healthy school lunches and lobbying reform under the next government, that would be fantastic,” says Swinburn.

HCA co-chair Jason Alexander says it is disappointing to see parties steering away from taxes and, to a lesser extent, alcohol law reform, including embedding Te Tiriti in legislation.

“Some parties are shying away from alcohol law reform and taxes on unhealthy commodities, which is disappointing given the substantial evidence of their potential to improve health outcomes and equity.”

Tobacco, alcohol, obesity and unhealthy diets cause about a quarter of healthy years of life lost to preventable death and disability (more than 350,000 disability-adjusted life-years lost every year), with these harms falling inequitably on Māori and Pacific people.

Swinburn says the findings are notable because public support for prevention policies is consistently high across areas such as tobacco control, alcohol harm reduction, healthier food environments and stronger protections against industry influence.

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Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi

• Public good test will force agencies to weigh impact on services, communities and Te Tiriti before cutting jobs
• 4 out of 5 public servants say job cuts have not helped deliver better for NZ

The PSA is calling for a mandatory public good test before government agencies and other publicly funded employers can embark on major restructures and cut jobs.

The recommendation is part of a new report – Reckless restructures; how to stop the damage caused by endless restructuring – to be launched today at the PSA 2026 Congress in Wellington (see Congress details below).

“Thousands of dedicated public servants have lost their jobs and the services New Zealanders rely on have been savaged, all in this blind rush to cut costs with no real plan for what would be lost,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

“That’s why we need a public good test. Agencies should have to stop and properly weigh up the impact on services, on workers and on the communities who rely on them, before ploughing ahead with a restructure, not after the damage is done,” (see summary of criteria below).

“This is urgent – if the National-led Government is re-elected, it wants to slash another 8700 roles from the public service and merge agencies. Labour is yet to commit to stopping job losses if elected, and we have a potential king maker in Opportunity talking about cutting jobs.

“When restructures are rushed through as this government has done without any real assessment of the impact, it’s the public who ultimately pay the price.

“The evidence of this reckless approach is everywhere for New Zealanders to see. Emergency departments overwhelmed, nearly 3000 health jobs axed, community service organisations like RespectEd forced to close, 700 scientists and researchers cast out, over 300 DOC workers gone, the list goes on.

“Public servants know this – more than half tell us their ability to do their job has got worse, most say the cuts have not helped them deliver better for New Zealand (see survey results below).

“On top of this, there has been scant regard to the Government’s obligations to honour Te Tiriti. Time and again we are seeing the roles and teams that support better outcomes for Māori treated as expendable when agencies are told to cut costs.

“Enough is enough. We are losing our best and brightest and Australia is hiring many of them when they had more to give New Zealand. Cutting jobs and services to chase short-term savings targets, without any plan for how New Zealand deals with an ageing population, climate change, or our infrastructure deficit, is short-sighted and will cost us far more in the long run.”

At a minimum, a legislative public good test should be contained in the Public Service Act 2020 and apply to State services as defined in the Act; this would go beyond the core Public Service. In addition, it should be extended to cover local government, and to publicly funded services as a condition of public funding.

“If nothing changes, mark our words – there will be future Royal Commissions and other official inquiries that will set out the tragic impact of this dangerous approach to cutting jobs without an adequate assessment of the consequences.

“We can’t afford to keep making the same mistakes and failing to heed the lessons of the past.”

The PSA will pursue the public good test through bargaining with employers regardless of whether the next Government adopts it in legislation.

About Reckless restructures; how to stop the damage caused by endless restructuring

The report sets out what reckless restructuring by the Government has done to public and community services. It shows the human cost of treating cuts as an end in themselves, without understanding the work being done, the expertise being lost, or the consequences for our country. It also shows the net result is a public and community sector less able to protect people, uphold human rights, give effect to Te Tiri- o Waitangi and reduce Māori disparities, respond to crises, and deliver the support New Zealanders need.

Background: the proposed public good test

The PSA proposes a statutory requirement for public sector agencies and other publicly funded employers to assess any significant restructure against a public good test before proceeding. The assessment would need to cover a range of criteria including:

• Impact on the services the agency delivers to the public
• Compliance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the agency’s ability to meet its obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti
• Impacts on workforce capability, both within the agency and across the public and community sectors
• Health and safety impacts, both physical safety and the impact of workload stress on remaining staff
• Long-term, intergenerational impacts, including impacts on New Zealand’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change
• Impacts on population groups at risk of being disadvantaged in their access to public and community services, including women, Māori, Pasefika, migrants, rainbow communities and disabled people
• Consistency with undertakings made by the Government in response to a Royal Commission of Inquiry or Auditor-General recommendations

The PSA says the test should apply to core public service agencies under the Public Service Act 2020 and be extended to local government and publicly funded community services as a condition of public funding.

Member survey results (see report p22)

The PSA surveyed thousands of public servants working in government agencies. Of the 4300 who responded, most said restructures were not improving outcomes:

• 78% do not think the restructures that have occurred over this term of government have helped them to deliver better for New Zealanders. Only 5% agreed that restructurings had helped public sector organisations deliver better.
• 52% think that their agency’s ability to do its job has got worse over the year to March 2026

PSA biennial Congress details

The PSA is holding its biennial Congress over two days in the Capital on Tuesday and Wednesday. The event at Hnry Stadium will be attended by over 300 delegates from around the country under the theme Respect, Restore, Rebuild.

The following sessions are open to the media:

Tuesday

• 10.40am: Speech by PSA President Virgil Iraia
• 11am: Speeches by National Secretaries Fleur Fitzsimons and Duane Leo

Wednesday

• 8.40am: Jessica Hammond, Opportunity Party public services spokesperson
• 9.15am: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Te Pāti Māori co-leader
• 11am: Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, Labour Party leader
• 11.45am: Hon Marama Davidson, Green Party co-leader

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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Source: Health Coalition Aotearoa

Labour announced it would restore smokefree generation policies and a licensing regime for tobacco and vapes at Health Coalition Aotearoa’s (HCA) political panel on prevention.

Act, the Greens, Labour and Te Pati Māori health spokespeople addressed a strong showing of attendees at the Beehive forum on 25 August, hosted by HCA, the University of Otago and the Public Health Communications Centre.

Labour’s Ayesha Verrall also said the party would reverse the heated tobacco tax cut, “a tax break worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The politicians were responding to policy asks in HCA’s Prevention Brief 2026, which are evidence-based policy priorities to tackle harm from tobacco, alcohol and unhealthy food, saving lives and reducing pressure on the health system.

“We were disappointed that National and New Zealand First chose not to attend and tell voters where they stand. We had hoped for a cross-party discussion,” said HCA co-chair Professor Boyd Swinburn.

Act’s Todd Stevenson kicked off the discussion talking about the party’s commitment to increasing Pharmac’s budget, which would cover innovative vaccines, such as for RSV, and widened access to shingles vaccines, plus other preventive medicines.

In closing remarks, Swinburn quipped, “I’ve got some really cost-effective policies for you, more cost-effective than Pharmac funding of drugs.”

However, there was common ground across the parties on HCA’s campaign to ‘level the playing field’ with Stevenson saying he “wasn’t opposed’ to lobbying policies, albeit with technical details ironed out.

Greens and Te Pati Māori agreed on the need for a lobbying register and a cool-down period for politicians before they could work as lobbyists, as well as caps on party donations.

Verrall said Labour was yet to announce its policy but they wanted transparency around lobbyists’ meetings with ministers, plus she had a bill in the biscuit tin to restrict tobacco lobbying.

Green Party’s Hūhana Lyndon said HCA’s policies “act as a compass for where the country should be heading”.

On the left, there was shared support for restoration of healthy school lunches to meet nutrition standards and with provision for community providers.

Verrall pointed out Labour started Ka Ora, Ka Ako and is proud to recommit to the programme, which is a significant spend on making sure people have healthy food.

The Green’s Hūhana Lyndon spoke about the party’s recently announced policy supporting Ka Ora, Ka Ako in a form closer to the original version.

“The Green Party wants to see the programme well-resourced, sustainable and expanded, so that no mokopuna will be left behind.”

Te Pati Māori’s Debbie Ngarewa-Packer was also in agreement with HCA’s policies, emphasising the importance of Māori self-determination and mana motuhake. Her party fully supports Ka Ora Ka Ako.

“We believe that no tamariki should ever go hungry at school, so we oppose the government’s defunding of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme, and we support permanent funding.

“Again, we support restricting unhealthy kai and drink and marketing that targets children.”

Stevenson gave some parting advice, which was for public health advocates to start working with the new government from the minute they came into office.

“My advice is start early in the next parliament and try to look for things that you actually think people could agree on and get bipartisan support for a few issues.”

So, while the political parties defined prevention differently, all agreed it was important.

“Our focus now is working with all parties towards our prevention policy priorities,” says Swinburn. “We would welcome the opportunity to brief National and New Zealand First on them directly.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.”

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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

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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. 

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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.

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