Cobbers and co-hosts catch up
Providing a reprieve from domestic affairs for both prime ministers, Chris Hipkins and Anthony Albanese hung out and talked seamless trans-Tasman travel
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, July 27, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Metservice vs Niwa: weather forecasting systems to be reviewed; backtrack on AirBnB rules for Christchurch; singer Sinead O’Connor has died; but first, Australia and New Zealand to explore seamless trans-Tasman travel
Trans-Tasman relationship in fine fettle
They talked trans-Tasman travel, defence, climate change and “a bilateral roadmap setting out our shared ambition for cooperation over the next decade". They also covered off mateship, league, the Bledisloe, the Fifa World Cup and had a beer. It’s safe to say that boxes were ticked by New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese yesterday, demonstrating that trans-Tasman relations are healthy and markedly improved since the days of Jacinda Arden and Scott Morrison. AAP’s Ben McKay recently interviewed Annette King, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Australia, who revealed Ardern “berated” Scott Morrison in heated disagreements between the pair on migration issues.
‘Seamless travel’ across the Tasman
The prime ministers announced a working group “to scope initiatives to move closer towards seamless travel across the Tasman”. In the press conference at the Beehive yesterday Hipkins and Albanese spoke of a “seamless experience.” That sounds like we’ll be transported via tube or portal in a matter of seconds but is more likely to involve making the smart gates work… smarter. The seamless experience is unlikely to involve a shared passport. The expert group will return its findings within a year.
World Cup co-hosts get a short-lived reprieve from domestic matters
The prime ministers headed off to the Fifa World Cup fan zone in Wellington, where they had a beer and got given shirts. They then went to dinner at Government House celebrating 40 years of Closer Economic Relations. The numbers on the shirts are significant. Hipkins is the 41st prime minister of New Zealand and Albanese is the 31st back in his home territory. Chippy looked chipper for the first time in a while after one of the worst weeks of his tenure. News of leaks from his caucus broken by The Post yesterday (paywalled) and this morning’s story about the use of police dogs to track Kiri Allan’s movements after she was found about 500 metres from her crashed car on Sunday evening, make any reprieve from domestic matters short-lived. In Australia, Albanese is facing opposition and declining support for his government’s bid to enshrine an indigenous voice in Australia’s constitution via a referendum.
Consultant crack-down in Auckland and Australia
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown might be looking across the ditch for inspiration following a report from the Herald’s Bernard Orsman (paywalled) that Auckland Council spent $190m on global accountants and law firms in five years. The Herald investigation found $100k per day was being spent on consultant fees. Brown is “horrified” and has promised to ‘clamp down on spending by consultants from “the big end of town”’. The Albanese government pledged to cut its contractors and consultants bill by $3b (AUD) over four years. This week a plan has been rolled out which breaks down how that will be achieved.
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Metservice vs Niwa: forecasting systems to be reviewed
The government has announced it will review weather forecasting systems. State Owned Enterprises minister Duncan Webb confirmed the review would begin in September and focus on improving the system, taking climate change and infrastructure into account. There have been questions cropping up for a while about why we have two publicly owned bodies, MetService and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), competing to provide forecasts was most recently covered by Media Insider, Shayne Currie (paywalled). They were both created in 1992 with MetService to focus on providing a forecasting and warnings service while Niwa, would focus on research. The lines between the two have gotten blurry. A recent public spat saw MetService alleging Niwa's forecasts may be injurious to public safety when used by the Department of Conservation. MetService is a state-owned enterprise and Niwa is a Crown research entity. As the RNZ story notes, under competition law, it’s become “trickier” for them to share information or agree on areas where they would not compete. The final report will be returned in February 2024.
Backtrack on AirBnB rules
In 2022, Christchurch City Council made the decision that people who rent out properties as unhosted visitor accommodation in residential areas (via Airbnb for example), would have to obtain a resource consent, which would cost at least $1000. Airbnb appealed those plans. As The Press reports this morning (paywalled), mediation between the council and other parties has resulted in a change with resource consent only required if houses or units in residential zones where the owner does not live on-site are rented for more than 60 nights per year. Airbnb New Zealand and Australia manager Susan Wheeldon said the issue highlights the need for a national framework for short-term accommodation.
Click and Collect
Singer Sinead O’Connor has died. I had I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got permanently lodged in my tape deck for a year and no doubt join millions of fans who feel pretty bereft right now. Irish poet Seamus Heany wrote that “a great Irish poet and singer left us today. She was beautiful, courageous and wore her heart on her sleeve. She was before her time. Nothing will ever compare to Sinead O'Connor. Rest easy Sinead.”
How Shane Reti’s ambulance ride-alongs ‘likely breached patient rights’ (paywalled, The Post)
Why New Zealand’s Covid cases have dwindled to record lows
The Chinese foreign minister who subjected foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta to an “epic haranguing” has been mysteriously ousted and replaced
It’s so hot in Arizona in the US that there’s been a spike in the treatment of patients who were burned by falling on the ground
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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Sporting Snippets
Penguins picking the winners of a sports game is very stupid but I love it, won’t stop watching them and am considering setting up a rival model with our dogs. Will they redeem themselves with their prediction for the 2019 Fifa World Cup final rematch between Norway and the US (of Slay) in Wellington today?
