Greens in eye of storm after climate policy halt
Simple maths suggests Labour’s climate policy deletion could be good for them and the Greens but bold climate action still requires leadership from a major party
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, March 15, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: last minute talks fail and educators will strike on Thursday; the future of the Christchurch Call; contractors earning well below the minimum wage “unacceptable and untenable”; but first, Greens accuse Labour of breach of practice over their cooperation agreement
James Shaw and Marama Davidson at parliament yesterday (Image: Toby Manhire)
Greens accuse government of breach of practice on cooperation agreement
Yesterday morning, Toby Manhire reported that Green party co-leader James Shaw found short-term decisions, like Monday’s deletion of climate policy by the government, “exasperating and frustrating”. By the afternoon, the Greens said the moves amounted to a breach of practice over their cooperation agreement with Labour. This morning Manhire interrogates the theoretical electoral maths whereby both parties benefit from what’s happened this week. Labour eats some of National’s vote by shifting further towards the centre and the Greens absorb some of Labour’s vote, thus growing the left bloc. All well and good? Manhire suggests it’s not as simple as that.
Where does it leave us on climate change action?
When it comes to effecting bold change, Bernard Hickey writes that the Green party’s leverage is diminished because it can never credibly threaten to put National in government. “A Green vote now is purely performative,” he writes. Newshub’s Jenna Lynch has suggested the government is working on something for the Budget which tackles both cost of living and climate change, like half-price public transport. A December poll by 1News showed huge support for the existing half-price public transport policy with 79% of people saying they want it to be permanent so we know it’s politically popular. However a recent Waka Kotahi report found half-price fares are not enough to encourage more people onto public transport. That requires regular, reliable service, close to your home and work, and that’s a whole other kettle of investment and planning fish. The government downgraded a push for councils to focus on getting people out of their cars in all but the main centres on Monday.
54% of people want the government to act with more urgency on climate change
While results from the 1News Kantar poll on Monday night have cost of living miles ahead of climate change as the key election issue, further polling results published yesterday show 54% of people want the government to act with more urgency on climate change. That may seem incongruous or individualistic but the question of how much difference individuals can make is fraught. This new polling perhaps reflects a growing resignation to climate change impacts, a sense that big changes are required and that by and large, those need to be driven by big actors like government.
Bold policy changes in New Zealand generally require one of the main two parties
A 2022 IPCC report showed emissions cuts from behavioural changes can make a difference, but the biggest impacts can only be unlocked with the help of structural changes such as providing clean infrastructure and technology. A 2022 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority survey wasn’t able to determine which comes first on climate change action: taking more personal action, or supporting societal-level change. Societal-level change requires societal-level leadership. Henry Cooke writes that while the Greens may benefit in the short-term from Labour’s actions, “really big bold policy changes in New Zealand generally require one of the main two parties”. “Presumably at the election this year it [the Labour party] will have to have some actual policies to address the fact that New Zealand’s reliance on cars and cows mean we have quite high per-capita emissions and no easy path to bringing those down,” he writes.
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As many as 50,000 educators will strike on Thursday
Talks between the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa, the union representing 46,000 principals, teachers and support and specialist staff, and the Ministry of Education failed to avert planned strike action on Thursday. The strikes have been organised by the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA) and NZEI Te Riu Roa. Rallies and demonstrations are planned in towns and cities across the country and most schools have advised parents they will be closed. NZEI president Mark Potter said a wide range of teacher claims were discussed at the meeting and “while the discussions were worthwhile, there was no formal offer movement on the government’s pay offer.” Teachers aren’t just striking over pay, but staffing levels, support for students and relief for the profession. Those concerns, and the demands of the job, have been summed up in this anonymous piece for Stuff where a teacher writes: “Don't pay me more. Just provide me more time, and fewer students in my classroom.”
The future of the Christchurch Call
Today marks four years since the Christchurch terrorist attack in which 51 people lost their lives after shootings at two mosques. The Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ says compensating victims is an “unfinished agenda.” In the wake of the attack, former prime minister Jacinda Ardern got the Christchurch Call off the ground. Stuff’s Bridie Witton has spoken to Sanjana Hattotuwa, a researcher from the Disinformation Project, about its future. Hattotuwa says “it’s an open question as to how the Call is going to remain relevant in the post pandemic misinformation world.” Prime minister Chris Hipkins said the Call “remains one of our international priorities” at his post-cabinet press conference this week while also floating the idea that Ardern could maintain her interest in the Call beyond her career in politics.
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Contractors earning well below the minimum wage “unacceptable and untenable situation”
I briefly touched on this yesterday but one of the pieces of work that was deferred by the government on Monday was consultation on a new legal test to determine who is a contractor and who is an employee. Rebecca Macfie explores the implications and writes that “Hipkins’ explanation for sidelining the reform doesn’t pass the sniff test”. Macfie has covered this issue extensively with a particular focus on the Employment Court case that determined four Uber drivers were employees and not – as the global ridesharing company claimed – self-employed contractors. Council of Trade Unions secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges says “Many contractors in New Zealand end up earning well below the minimum wage” and “that is an unacceptable and untenable situation, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.”
Click and collect
Government analyst Yuan Jason Zhao denies spying for China and wants apology for 'mistake'
New Zealand’s annual net migration gain has continued to surge back to historically normal levels (paywalled)
The Oxford English Dictionary adds 47 new New Zealand words - most, like koha, whenua and rangatiratanga borrow from te reo Māori. Chur and after-ball also made the cut.
Court filings show employees of the owners of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were aware of the harmful effects of their platforms on young people and disregarded the information or sought to undermine it
Extremely weird (but also somehow very good?) bit of data journalism from the Financial Times on just how much pizza executive leaders at Domino’s have bought over the years
Clarification: in yesterday’s Bulletin I referred to clean car rebates as a policy that had been dropped by the government. It was the clean car upgrade scheme that was scrapped.
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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On behalf of Auckland golfing enthusiasts, Justin Latif says thanks to ratepayers for funding their $2.9b hobby. Toby Manhire reports on findings from an invetsigation into much climate change influenced Cyclone Gabrielle’s rainfall. For Work Week, a sex worker writes about what her days look like, Stewart Sowman-Lund asks various politicians about their first jobs and Emily Simpson talks to the new parents at The Spinoff about returning to work. Leah Dodd writes about why she loves the goldfish on her book cover so much.
Sporting snippets
Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua calls for rule changes to protect players (paywalled)
Dick Fosbury, the pioneer of the high jump technique, the “Fosbury Flop,” has died
“It’s said great comedy = tragedy + time. If so, great drama = test cricket ÷ time.” Ian Anderson makes the case for why test cricket no longer needs to manufacture excitement.
“Remind me why, exactly, these guys have so much control over technological innovation?”
Great read from Edward Ongweso Jr in Slate asking why we should trust the very same venture capitalists (VCs) who had a massive meltdown on Twitter after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, with something as important as the direction of our technological development. The VCs spent four days “ginning up confusion and hysteria about the threat of a systemic risk if depositors didn’t get all their money back, pronto,” Ongweso Jnr writes. He goes on: “You would be hard-pressed to find another parasite that has so thoroughly wrecked the body and environment of its host, all while trying to convince the host that it is deserving of praise and further accommodation.”
