Media industry sheds few tears for minister Lee
The sector says it's hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, April 26.
In today’s edition: Department that spent $2 million on pins is now cutting costs; Treaty claimants to appeal court’s summons decision; civic fountains across NZ dyed red in anti-war protest. But first, Chris Luxon has a blunt message for his National minister: underperform, and get ready to be shown the door.
‘A clear and decisive message’
Almost 48 hours on, reaction to the demotion of ministers Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds continues to arrive. Both lost their portfolios after performing badly over recent weeks, though PM Chris Luxon would not admit that performance was an issue in either case. Instead he said only that their portfolios had grown “too complex” and he had decided he needed "senior Cabinet ministers considering these issues". Writing for The Post (paywalled), Kelly Dennett says the sackings “sent a clear and decisive message to [Luxon’s] caucus – that it won’t take a scandal or serious wrongdoing to be sent to the backbenches”. The demotions come less than six months into Luxon’s term in office. By contrast, Jacinda Ardern’s first demotion, of broadcasting minister Clare Curran, took place in August 2018. However Curran held onto her portfolio and was only dismissed from Cabinet. She resigned as minister the following month.
Good riddance, say media insiders
Of the two sackings, it is Lee’s which has been most scrutinised. Newsroom’s Laura Walters reports that her dismissal “came after another failed attempt at presenting a paper to Cabinet Committee” to address the closure of Newshub and the wider crisis in media. It was the third paper Lee had prepared since the announcement of Newshub’s closure in February, and Luxon felt it still “did not adequately deal with the complexities of the issues facing the media industry”. Meanwhile commentators have weighed in on Lee’s brief tenure as media minister. Mark Jennings, the former TV3 head of news and Newsroom founder, tells the Herald’s Adam Pearse the media likely breathed a “collective sigh of relief” at the news of her removal. “I don’t think any of us thought that she has displayed any deep understanding of the issues and challenges facing us.” Q & A host Jack Tame observes that she was also “notably unenthusiastic about being questioned in her role”. After refusing to appear on the show in the run-up to the election, she “declined an additional four separate requests to be interviewed on the show this year. Her reasoning? She didn't feel there was much she could really say.”
Goldsmith a safe pair of hands
Lee’s replacement in the media portfolio is Paul Goldsmith, already one of the government’s busiest ministers with responsibility for justice, state-owned enterprises, Waitangi Tribunal claims, and arts, culture and heritage. He’s currently in Europe, where he’s due to appear before the UN next week (more on that on Monday), but a spokesperson says he plans to meet with media as soon as possible upon his return. Jennings says Goldsmith is a good choice given his understanding of, and relationship with, the media industry. “He’ll also have the respect of his Cabinet colleagues, so when he puts something forward that is likely to help or solve some of the issues that we’re currently facing, I think it’ll be taken seriously.” Labour leader Chris Hipkins says the early government reshuffle shows the “wheels are falling off already” while bringing up the $4b “fiscal hole" in Goldsmith’s costings when he was finance spokesperson last year.
Climate change reclaims its seat at the Cabinet table
It’s a partial goodbye too to Penny Simmonds, sacked after showing “an apparent lack of attention” to her disabilities issues portfolio, writes Newsroom’s Walters. She also “managed to unify the disability and caring community in collective outrage by placing the blame [for budget shortfalls] on carers for spending up large on haircuts, massages and pedicures”. Simmonds’ replacement is social development minister Louise Upston, while climate change minister Simon Watt has been promoted into Cabinet in Lee’s place. “He was unlucky to miss out on a spot in Cabinet in November… and he's clearly shown Luxon he's up to the job,” says RNZ’s Jo Moir. “It will also bring to an end the frustration from climate and environment quarters over the climate change portfolio being outside Cabinet in the first place.”
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Department that spent $2 million on pins is now cutting costs
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) spent $2 million on pins to honour Covid-19 frontline workers, reports RNZ’s Phil Pennington. The DPMC is now embarking on a round of cost-cutting, as is the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), an autonomous part of the DPMC. Neither would tell RNZ if jobs will go. Up to 80,000 frontline workers, such as MIQ workers, received the pins as part of the 2023 New Year Honours. The $2 million cost is about the same budgeted by NEMA for Civil Defence Emergency Management training in 2023. “Both [NEMA] and DPMC are central to the government's response to overhaul emergency management in the wake of ongoing damning inquiries into last year's response to Cyclone Gabrielle and other storms,” Pennington reports.
Treaty claimants to appeal court’s summons decision
If claimants to the Waitangi Tribunal had their way, children’s minister Karen Chhour would be appearing at a tribunal hearing today to answer questions about the planned repeal of a law forcing Oranga Tamariki to give special attention to outcomes for tamariki Māori. On Wednesday the High Court overturned the summons order for Chhour, a decision that claimants are appealing. Treaty lawyer Annette Sykes, representing Ngāti Te Rangiunuora, tells RNZ that while the court set aside the summons, it did not uphold Crown allegations that the summons was unlawful – an important win for the claimants. “Kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) is important in tikanga Māori,” she says. “If you are going to stand up for what you say is correct, you do that with mana, with respect and face to face. That's what's driving our clients to ask for the minister to come and make those explanations to the tribunal."
Click and Collect
Wellington’s bucket fountain and Auckland’s Mission Bay fountain were dyed red in an Anzac Day anti-war protest, along with fountains in Hamilton, Nelson and Christchurch.
Fourteen government ministers and MPs have visited or will visit at least 18 countries in 22 trips this month.
No, Shane Jones: NZ isn’t bringing in “Indonesian coal every month to keep the lights on”.
Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape conviction has been overturned and a new trial ordered. He remains in prison for another rape conviction in Los Angeles.
Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows and political surrogate Rudy Giuliani are among 18 people indicted in Arizona in yet another 2020 election subversion case. Both men are already facing similar charges in the state of Georgia.
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The meaning of digital cash
The Reserve Bank wants to know how the public feels about a potential new type of digital cash. This digital currency would be exchangeable one-for-one with ‘old’ forms of bank-issued electronic money and ye olde paper cash and metal coins, but would not outright replace the physical stuff. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, the RBNZ’s Head of Money and Cash Ian Woolford joins Bernard to discuss what’s different with this new digital cash, what problems it could solve and how it might open up a whole new front in bank competition.
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Sporting snippet
The Black Caps have scored a four-run win over Pakistan in the fourth T20 cricket international in Lahore, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
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The govt best get a bit tougher not throwing lifelines to a bunch of traitors and liars