Luxon wants parliament to run longer and start earlier
The incoming prime minister remains keen on conveying a sense of momentum as coalition talks drag on and other party leaders step into the void
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, October 26, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: government calls for “humanitarian pause” in Gaza as UN warns aid operation in Gaza may stop; councillors vote to spend millions on the Wellington town hall; hope for James Shaw’s climate adaptation inquiry; but first, as coalition talks carry on, Christopher Luxon wants to get on with it when parliament resumes as potential coalition partners fill the vacuum
Christopher Luxon wants parliament to wrap up later and start earlier
Incoming prime minister Christopher Luxon wants to shorten the parliamentary closedown period over the summer. “There was work to do”, he said. When asked if everyone was aware of his desire to run longer and start earlier, Luxon told RNZ, “Well no disrespect but that's what happens for the rest of the country, New Zealanders...work up till Christmas, they take Christmas break and then they get back into it in the new year.” It’s in keeping with other comments that suggest Luxon wants to bring his business background to the business of governing and the promised momentum embodied in National’s campaign slogan to “get this country back on track”. Side note: this is a fascinating read from The Post’s Mike White on the thinking and team behind that slogan.
Schedule for 2023 doesn’t have a lot of squeeze
Last year, parliament’s final sitting day of the year was December 14. The first cabinet meeting of the year was scheduled for January 25. Traditionally the political year is deemed to start with the Rātana celebrations in late January, and the first sitting day in 2023 was February 14. As the Herald’s Thomas Coughlan notes, the last sitting day of this year is Thursday, December 21. In practice, the House will adjourn on the Wednesday. “Parliament doesn’t sit on Fridays or over the weekend. Unless Luxon wants to change that, it is hard to see how he could squeeze additional sitting time out of parliament this year, beyond forcing the House to adjourn on Thursday, rather than Wednesday,” he writes. Last year, Labour and National MPs called for shorter sitting days to allow “members to spend more quality time with their families” and the Act party proposed that parliament sit for four days a week for 23 weeks a year instead of three days a week for 30 weeks to reduce air travel emissions.
Questions about tax cut timeframe from Act
As coalition talks continue with little comments being made about them by all parties concerned, and we wait for the special vote count, there is something of a vacuum, but as Ben Thomas writes this morning, cogs will be in motion in Wellington as recruitment of new staffers ramps up. In the absence of coalition news, Act’s David Seymour has questioned National’s time frame on delivering tax cuts, and National’s Mark Mitchell has provided some insight into how the party’s promised “gang crackdown” might work. Mitchell says the party may ban gang facial tattoos if its planned ban on gang patches does not work and cited an Australian law where “gang members have to wake up in the morning and they have to apply foundation to cover offensive tattoos.”
Peters claims about knowledge of mosque attacks deemed ‘inaccurate’
Yesterday, those sitting through the harrowing, blow-by-blow details of the lead-up to the Christchurch mosque attacks at the coronial inquest heard from the parliamentary staffer who called 111 after receiving the terrorist’s manifesto by email. It is well documented that the call was made two minutes after receiving the email and that the email was received just minutes before the attacks started. It contained no details as to the location of the planned attacks. This information was conveyed by then-prime minister Jacinda Ardern in a press conference the day after the attacks. Last night, NZ First leader Winston Peters tweeted claims that yesterday was the first we’d heard of this information. A spokesperson for the prime minister’s office said last night that the tweet from Peters was “clearly inaccurate”. Peters continued his condemnation on Twitter, saying that “Not once were we transparently informed of this information” and “To excuse it because it was known at a ‘public press conference’ the next day, instead of information that should’ve been shared with the deputy prime minister and coalition partner the day before, is as bizarre as it is biased.”
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New Zealand calls for ‘humanitarian pause’ in Gaza
In a statement made yesterday in consultation with the incoming prime minister and National party leader Christopher Luxon, the New Zealand government has joined other countries in calling for a “humanitarian pause” in Gaza to allow life-saving supplies to civilians and create "designated safe areas that are strictly off limits as targets". “New Zealand is calling on all parties involved to act in accordance with international law, and also demonstrate basic humanity,” said prime minister Chris Hipkins.
More:
Unicef decries the rate of death and injuries among children in Gaza as the Red Cross says two of the main medical centres in Gaza “are rapidly running out of fuel and medical supplies”.
UN warns Gaza aid operation will soon stop if fuel not let in
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations says Israel will refuse visas to UN officials following UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ speech where he said Hamas’s attack on Israel did not happen “in a vacuum” as the Palestinians have been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.
Charlotte Muru-Lanning reports on the demonstrations in support of Palestine over the weekend.
Millions to go towards fixing Town Hall
Wellington city councillors voted yesterday to to approve another $147m to repair and rebuild the Wellington Town Hall, bringing the total costs to as high as $330 million. As Joel MacManus reports, the Town Hall has been closed since it was damaged in the 2013 Seddon earthquake. The estimated costs of the repairs have increasingly blown out over the last decade, from an initial point of $43m, to $60m to $90m to $112m and most recently to $182m in 2022. The current estimate is in a range between $252m to $329m. Deputy mayor Laurie Foon described the situation as a stalemate. Mayor Tory Whanau said, “we cannot ignore it and hope that it will go away”. The council also passed amendments proposed by Ben McNulty to direct council staff to explore a Local Bill to prevent future situations where the council was forced to repair damaged heritage buildings.
A message from Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman
Thanks to the generous support of Spinoff Members, we were able to cover this election more expansively than ever before with writers reporting from Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth, Wairarapa, Gisborne, Auckland and Northland. With the results in, we will continue to interrogate and report on those who lead this country with rigour, range and humour. If you value The Spinoff’s political coverage, now is a great time to join the thousands of people who support The Spinoff by becoming a member or making a donation.
- Madeleine Chapman, Spinoff editor
Hope for cross-party consensus on climate adaptation
The third leg of the resource management act reforms was meant to be a climate adaptation bill to deal with, among other things, the thorny issue of managed retreat. As a member of the expert working group on managed retreat said, “adapting to climate change may prove to be the most costly, complex, and enduring challenge that humanity has ever encountered.” The bill never eventuated but was championed by Green party co-leader James Shaw, and he initiated an inquiry into the issue just before parliament rose before the election. As Newsroom Pro’s Jono Milne reports, parliamentary business lapses at the dissolution of parliament and the fate of that inquiry now lies with the incoming government. When asked about it by Newsroom, both Christopher Luxon and David Seymour made supportive comments about the inquiry and crossparty approach to climate adaptation. The comments from Luxon and Seymour come as data from reinsurer Swiss Re reveals the global insurance sector is holding an estimated $50b of losses for the first half of this year. Flooding in New Zealand is cited as one of the contributors. Lloyds of London has warned that the full impact of climate change has yet to translate into claims data despite those losses. At a recent event, the company’s director of portfolio risk management said, “By the time we can definitely see the impact in claims, it will be too late.”
Click and Collect
Warnings and watches are in force as heavy rain, gales and snow to sea level are forecast for central and southern New Zealand over the coming days
Ministry of Health grants a cultivation licence for research into an indigenous magic mushroom that may help those suffering from methamphetamine addiction
Former student who was sexually groomed wants ban on teachers contacting pupils via social media
Toby Manhire on how the fringe right responded to a “fierce slapping” of an election. Apropos of nothing, Charlotte Muru-Lanning has a handy guide to unions. Gabi Lardies looks forward to her rent going down under the new government. Nicole Titihuia Hawkins responds to last month’s investigation into what books are being taught in classrooms in Aotearoa. Duncan Greive reviews After the Party, a new New Zealand television drama starring Robyn Malcolm.
Sporting snippets
“Historic moment for our sport”, “the death of rugby”, “a quantum leap”, “stitch-up” and “closed shop” — something of a mixed reaction to new global rugby calendar overhaul
New Zealand’s ultra running man Sam Harvey has been competing to beat his record of running 101 laps (677km) in an ultra marathon at Big Dog's Backyard Ultra in Tennessee. He made it to 91, dropping out last night. Five runners were still going last time I checked the livestream.
Nelson city council votes against granting NZ Cricket sponsor, Asahi, an exemption to advertise alcohol at Saxton Oval
Former French rugby player Mathieu Bastareaud will be best known to many New Zealanders for a controversial incident while on tour here in 2009. ESPN’s Tom Hamilton has done a wonderful job profiling him as he reflects on the pressures of rugby at that level, mental health and seeing the sport through a different lens now that he's a father.
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The fact that Nact want to control gangs always gives me a chuckle. ‘Control’ hasn’t worked for the last 100s of years so let double down and try it again shall we?