An unnecessary byelection and a massive headache for Labour
Gaurav Sharma claims the Labour party was going to invoke the waka jumping provisions, so he resigned. The party says otherwise.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, October 18, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: leaked letter warns of dire situation at Middlemore; inflation not so tamed; New Zealand Rugby’s culture of silence but first; the ramifications of an unnecessary resignation
Gaurav Sharma resigns as an MP months after expulsion from Labour (Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone)
Sharma tries to get ahead of costly byelection talk
Announcing his resignation in a 1,500 word Facebook post yesterday afternoon, Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma was at pains to preempt talk of how costly a byelection is. “Labour will now try to spin my decision by talking about the cost of the byelection” he wrote. Among other things, he cited Paul Eagle still getting paid while running for mayor of Wellington (Eagle confirmed he was donating $24k to charity last week). Had Eagle won the mayoralty, the estimated cost of the byelection in Rongotai was pegged at $1.2m. One in Hamilton West will likely come in around a cool million dollars.
Labour says it was not going to invoke waka jumping provisions
Sharma’s basis for resignation was that he’d been advised that the party planned to invoke the waka jumping rule six months before the next election to remove him from parliament and ensure there is no need for a byelection. In a statement issued shortly after Sharma’s post, prime minister Jacinda Ardern clarified that the party has not and was not considering invoking the waka jumping provisions. Labour party president Claire Szabó has confirmed the party recommended Sharma be expelled from the party but also denied plans to use the waka jumping provisions.
Rewind: a reminder on waka jumping
“Waka jumping” is the colloquial moniker for what became the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act. Passed in 2018, it was labelled “a bad solution to a non-existent problem” by Jeanette Fitzsimons at the time (worth a reread right now). If Sharma wants to fulfil his stated intention of starting his own party, he doesn't need to trigger a byelection to do that. I asked law professor Andrew Geddis about this and Geddis said “Sharma can announce he is forming a party, then register it with the Electoral Commission, and then even style himself publicly as being an MP from that party, all without triggering the party hopping law.” Geddis also raised questions about Sharma's claim that Labour was going to wait until six months before the election and then boot him to avoid a byelection. “A byelection can only be avoided within six months of an election if 75% of MPs agree to this happening. So, National would have had to go along with the scheme. That is not a given,” said Geddis.
A byelection in Hamilton West is “a full-blown migraine” for Labour
What’s done is done and we now turn to the political ramifications. Toby Manhire writes: “If Tauranga was a headache for Labour, a byelection in Hamilton West is a full-blown migraine.” Manhire explores all the reasons why the timing and electorate in question make this bad news for the governing party. Stuff’s Rachel Moore looks at who might stand against Sharma who says he will run under the banner of his new centrist party. The Herald’s Audrey Young writes (paywalled) that “it was Jacinda Ardern in a Covid crisis, not Gaurav Sharma who won Hamilton West for Labour in 2020 but it will be a miracle if she can save it in 2022.”
The award-winning app making te reo more accessible
The product of a careful collaboration between Te Māngai Pāho, Te Aka Māori Dictionary and Wellington-based digital agency Octave, ReoAko is an app designed to make it easier for businesses to use (and celebrate) te reo Māori. For Mike Brough, managing director of Octave, the app represents an effort to “honour the mana and beauty of te reo, and contribute to its revitalisation in the process.” To learn more about the creation of ReoAko, read the full interview on The Spinoff – and to learn how your business could use the app, visit ReoAko.nz.
Leaked letter warns of dire situation at Middlemore
In a letter leaked to the Herald, senior doctors warn that the situation at Middlemore Hospital is so dire they should stop teaching medical students as it's an unsafe environment. The Herald has been leaked two letters signed by 60 physicians working in general medicine at Middlemore Hospital that alert various health bodies that they're at breaking point. The Mental Health Foundation is also signalling that the public health system has entered a “downward spiral” with no easy fix. Employment data from Health NZ shows the country is in need of 120 psychiatrists, 408 mental health nurses and 115 clinical psychologists, leaving us with a shortage of 643 full-time mental health staff.
The thief in your pocket has not been apprehended
Reserve bank governor Adrian Orr refers to inflation as “a thief in the pocket". Despite consensus that the rate of inflation was going to fall, it merely slipped slightly, down to 7.2% in the three months ending September 30, from 7.3% in the previous quarter. Buckle up, brace yourself, ugly, inferno and worst fears made the headlines as non-tradeable (domestic) inflation came in higher than expected, reflecting rises in the building and construction sector and food prices - particularly fruit and vegetables. That lettuce seeing if it can outlast Liz Truss just seems wasteful now. The news came with warnings for those with home loans. Stuff’s Rob Stock outlines why further interest rate hikes now seem inevitable. ANZ economists are now predicting an official cash rate (OCR) of 5% by next year. The next OCR announcement is in November.
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New Zealand Rugby’s culture of silence
In the season finale of Alice Snedden’s Bad News, the comedian takes aim at rugby culture in Aotearoa, and what NZ Rugby is doing to combat toxic masculinity and right historic wrongs. For example, the All Blacks are a cultural institution in Aotearoa, so why have they still never fronted a domestic violence campaign? Featuring New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, sports journalist Dylan Cleaver, criminologist Dr Lynzi Armstrong and former first XV player Joe Daymond, this episode reveals just how pervasive the “culture of silence” around rugby in Aotearoa really is. No spoilers, but let’s just say this is not the first time Alice Snedden has tried to make an episode about rugby…
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Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
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