Hard questions await the PM in the Pacific as oil and gas exploration to return
It comes after the UN secretary-general made a veiled criticism of the government's plan to reverse Labour's ban.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Tuesday, August 27.
In today’s edition: A major victory for Uber drivers at the Court of Appeal, party warned former political figure was ‘sexual predator’ months before resignation and Black Fern Portia Woodman-Wickliffe announces an international move. But first: before jetting off to Tonga, the PM has announced moves to address our energy crisis.
More gas – and more exploration – on the way
The government has announced plans to allow for the importing of liquid natural gas (LNG) as New Zealand faces an ongoing energy crunch. Unveiled last night in the face of soaring electricity costs, the government confirmed it would legislate consents for a LNG terminal – a “medium term” solution expected to be in place by mid-2026. It was one a suite of measures, some new and some old, announced by the prime minister and his team of infrastructure-adjacent ministers – Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown and Shane Jones – to keep the lights on and power costs down. As The Post’s Tom Pullar-Strecker reported, that included recommitting to the controversial decision to reverse the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, bringing it forward to the end of the year. “New Zealand currently has an energy shortage,” said Brown. “The lakes are low, the sun hasn’t been shining, the wind hasn’t been blowing, and we have an inadequate supply of natural gas to meet demand.”
A mix of old and new
Newsroom’s Marc Daalder noted that of the ten measures released yesterday, just four hadn’t previously been announced, though there is now an added urgency for some given the current crisis. Along with the planned LNG import facility, the new proposals include allowing lines companies to build new power generation and giving hydro generators permission to draw down on their lakes. There will also be a full review of the wholesale electricity market. In a wide-ranging interview with TVNZ’s Q+A on Sunday, Brown was asked why the government was choosing to invest in gas imports as opposed to targeting structural change within the energy sector, such as those detailed in this piece by The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive. "At this stage, the government's sole focus is on making sure we've got enough supply into the market so that we've got the energy New Zealand needs,” said Brown.
Who’s to blame?
The opposition has claimed this is the wrong way to go about it and wants to play the blame game, explained the Herald’s Thomas Coughlan. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the John Key-government had partially privatised the major gentailers, resulting in “billions of dollars of dividends” being paid out as opposed to prioritising new renewable electricity generation. There are “a lot of already consented renewable electricity that could be built right now in New Zealand that the large electricity-generating retailers are choosing not to build,” said Hipkins. The Greens’ energy spokesperson Scott Willis agreed: “Investing in fossil fuels in the middle of a climate crisis is like buying stocks in the Titanic.”
Writing for The Spinoff this morning, Lisa McLaren, from climate justice group 350 Aotearoa, made a similar argument. Not only could it take a long time for the effects of overturning the ban on new exploration to result in new gas coming online, despite the energy crunch being felt now, but the major gentailers have a “perverse incentive” to keep fossil fuels in the grid in order to distribute excess dividends.
In opting to renew exploration for oil and gas, the government is backing away from the Labour government’s commitment for a fully renewable energy sector by the end of the decade. Luxon called that a “bumper sticker, Post-it note idea”, reported Stuff’s Glenn McConnell.
PM heads into the Pacific
Writing in The Post this morning, Luke Malpass argued the government’s moves showed it was serious about the energy crisis and the prospect of energy rationing should be a wake-up call for a first world nation. Nevertheless, the prime minister can expect some hard questions in the days ahead as he jets off to join fellow leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga. Deputy prime minister Winston Peters has been on the ground there since Sunday.
The timing of yesterday’s announcement couldn’t really be more tricky given the PM’s visit to Tonga. As the Herald’s Adam Pearse reported, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres Guterres used his opening address at the forum to criticise governments that were choosing to seek more oil and gas exploration, though his focus was on the largest emitters. “They are signing away our future,” he said. “The G20 – the biggest emitters – must step up and lead, by phasing out the production and consumption of fossil fuels and stopping their expansion immediately. On Monday night, Luxon waved away any suggestion the secretary-general’s comments were a criticism of his government, instead saying they were broad remarks. Guterres told New Zealand reporters over the weekend that he did not discuss the proposed return of oil and gas exploration with Luxon while in the country, but believed it was unnecessary. “The only thing I can tell you is that the oil and gas that will be discovered from now, I am absolutely sure it will never be used.”
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Court rules Uber drivers are employees, company vows to appeal
A major victory for Uber drivers with the Court of Appeal dismissing an appeal from the ride-sharing app over the classification of four drivers as employees rather than contractors. But, as the NBR’s Hamish McNicol reported (paywalled), the company plans to continue its fight. The four drivers, represented by E Tū and First Union, successfully argued in 2022 that they should be considered employees of the global taxi company. After being granted permission for an appeal earlier in the year, the court yesterday ruled that the drivers “were employed by one or more companies in the Uber group to do work for hire or reward under a contract of service… that is, they were employees of Uber...” The managing director of Uber for Australia and New Zealand said it would be appealing the latest decision.
One of the drivers involved in the landmark case, Mea’ole Keil, told the Herald he was was “very emotional” about the ruling. “For too long employers like Uber have exploited gaps in legislation to hide the true employment relationship and take advantage of workers unfairly – we had to take a stand and pray that the legal system would back us – it has,” he said.
Party warned former political figure was ‘sexual predator’ months before resignation
A former political figure that cannot be named has been found guilty in the Auckland District Court on eight charges of indecent assault. It can be reported the man is not an MP, but further details remain suppressed. RNZ’s Anneke Smith has obtained screenshots of a Facebook Messenger conversation where a complainant’s wife told the leader of the party that employed the man they were employing a “sexual predator”. The conversation took place nearly three months prior to the former political figure resigning from their role.
Taylor Roche on cruise ship gigs, TikTok fame and naming his price
From dropping out of a uni music degree to becoming the most viewed New Zealand artist on TikTok, it’s been a wild few years for musician and content creator Taylor Roche. He joined Kiwibank’s This is Kiwi podcast to talk about his journey to online stardom. Read an excerpt from the interview on The Spinoff now. (sponsored)
Click and Collect
How Lydia Ko celebrated her “unreal” Olympic gold medal and Women’s Open golfing double. Plus: The PM doesn’t rule out making Ko a Dame and the Herald’s Chris Rattue ponders if she is our sportsperson of the year (paywalled).
Black Ferns superstar Portia Woodman-Wickliffe announces an international move.
We talked about the mothballing of the Christ Church Cathedral rebuild last week. Newsroom’s David Williams says the city’s focal point has now shifted to the Avon River.
Hundreds of brand-new homes in the Cardinal West development near the Auckland suburb of Massey have not been hooked up to a permanent sewerage system.
How Bright Dairy plans to turn Synlait's losses into profit (BusinessDesk, paywalled).
Christopher Luxon will head to Malaysia and South Korea next week alongside a business delegation.
Anna Rawhiti-Connell wonders how low birthrates have to go before politicians stop appealing to “Kiwi mums and dads”. Edward Miller makes the case against selling (some of) Kiwibank. Madeleine Holden says that the backlash to therapy culture shouldn't stop you from doing therapy. Gabi Lardies attends an evening at the Auckland Irish Club with the radical leftists talking about talking about starting a new party. A bunch of people discuss "stripy", "occasion" and other words that look wrong when spelt right. Here's a new Netflix drama, an Australian legal show, a true crime documentary and everything else on streaming services this week.
That’s it for this morning, thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow.
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