Promise of a gear switch as Labour shifts into campaign mode
After months of reprioritisation, Chris Hipkins is now looking towards the next term. This week’s batch of climate policies has left some asking for a vision that extends beyond that.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Thursday, August 10, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Act wants to direct judges to “hand down more jail time”; teachers ratify new collective agreement settlement; what a Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori cabinet could look like; but first a Spinoff interview with prime minister Chris Hipkins and a week of climate policy announcements
(Image: Archi Banal)
Third term vision coming
On Saturday, election hoardings will begin dotting the landscape as the pre-election advertising period officially starts. In a wide-ranging interview with Toby Manhire for Gone by Lunchtime, prime minister and Labour leader Chris Hipkins is promising a gear switch after months of reprioritisation, and a laying out of a vision for the third term he seeks. As Manhire writes, the shift is likely to be heralded this weekend as Hipkins unveils what is expected to be the Labour Party’s long-awaited tax policy. The vision comes with a caveat. Echoing finance minister Grant Robertson’s recent caution that the fiscal weather means “it’s not going to be possible to make big promises”, Hipkins says “We do have to be realistic about the fact that in the current economic environment, it is going to be a modest election campaign.”
You can listen to the full interview here, on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
The week in climate policy announcements
This week we've had three climate policy announcements. We started with an announcement that new wind farms and solar power projects would be fast-tracked. Newshub’s Lloyd Burr raised a few questions about some of the “if” and “could” language used. Then there was the BlackRock announcement which, as I covered yesterday, left room for more questions about what the government wants to achieve with its energy policy or climate policy (BusinessDesk, paywalled) but there was also cautious optimism. The University of Auckland’s Kevin Trenberth writes that “addressing climate change threats in New Zealand will require more than mobilising private investment with a focus on renewable energy. It will need a comprehensive and collaborative approach that acknowledges dependencies on shipping and air travel, which continue to depend on fossil fuels.” Trenbeth lists 10 ways New Zealand can be “smart and strategic” in meeting the long-term climate threat. We ended with the announcement that 12 new "high protection areas" will be created in the Hauraki Gulf to protect marine life yesterday. Ocean advocates have been left questioning why bottom trawling won't be banned everywhere in the Hauraki Gulf.
Harbour crossing announcement fails a few sniff tests
And so we find ourselves tunnelling (sorry) back to the start of the week. Labour’s announcement on their preferred harbour crossing option had the potential to stand adjacent to something resembling climate policy, or at least as a nod towards accelerating climate-friendly transport options. Instead, we got a very expensive, very long-term vision that involves two road tunnels and a 21-kilometre light-rail tunnel. When asked “When it comes to transporting people and goods around New Zealand, which is more important?” in yesterday’s Guardian Essential poll, 72% of those surveyed said they wanted to improve other options such as public transport, coastal shipping and rail transport. Only 28% said they thought building more roads was important. Examined as an infrastructure project that might stand the test of time, BusinessDesk’s Oliver Lewis (paywalled) questioned why the announcement was made without an indicative business case.
Crossing bridges generational divide
To end, I’ll leave you with an opinion piece from my colleague Tommy de Silva which perhaps encapsulates some of the frustration at the lack of bold decisions being made. de Silva, as he describes, is a climate-anxious, 22-year-old Gen Zer and he has found himself in the perplexing position of agreeing with a 77-year-old baby boomer, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. Ironically, this bridging of generational divides is facilitated by agreement over Labour’s harbour crossing announcement. de Silva thinks Labour’s proposal “sucks” while going on to evidence why. He makes the fair point that he would like to be able to cycle and walk some kind of harbour crossing before he's my age (double his). Brown thinks Labour’s preferred proposal is madness. Hipkins may or may not find the much-vaunted “middle” and a third term with his caveat of moderation. However, this week’s batch of climate policies has left many asking for a vision that extends beyond the next term as scientists sound the alarm over recent extreme events in Antarctica and the world experiences its hottest month on record.
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Act wants to direct judges to “hand down more jail time”
As Thomas Manch writes in The Press this morning, “tougher sentences and packed prisons are effectively guaranteed under any National-Act Government”. The Act party announced its justice policy yesterday promising to direct judges to “hand down more jail time”. As a point of difference to National’s justice policy, Act says it wants to change the law that guides sentencing decisions and prioritise risk to the community and the potential of re-victimisation. National wants to curb judges’ ability to discount sentences. As Manch notes, neither party has been able to estimate how these policies will impact prison numbers or what the cost of an increase in the number of thsoe in prison might be.
Secondary schools teachers ratify new collective agreement settlement
Yesterday, secondary schools teachers “overwhelmingly” backed a new collective agreement settlement announced last week. The pay deal will see a pay rise for teachers of 14.5% by December next year. Education minister Jan Tinetti said the agreement would give teachers “one of the most significant pay increases New Zealand secondary teachers have ever received.” Acting president of the PPTA, Chris Abercrombie, said yesterday that he was delighted by the show of support from teachers and while “there are still significant issues around secondary teacher recruitment in particular that need to be addressed”, “today is for celebrating.”
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Click and Collect
The Herald’s Audrey Young with what a Labour-Greens-Te Pāti Māori cabinet could look like (paywalled)
ASB posted a record profit and Westpac workers gathered in downtown Auckland yesterday to call for better pay during a rare bank worker strike.
Rice prices hit a 12-year high following India’s ban on rice exports
Chinese economy slips into deflation
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For Death Week: you've heard of the cost-of-living crisis, but as Stewart Sowman-Lund finds out, the cost of dying is hitting people hard too. A pet cremator explains the heartbreaking and meaningful aspects of her job. Claire Mabey considers the fraught territory of posthumous publishing. For The Quarter Million, Tommy da Silva speaks to survivors of a miserable boot camp on Great Barrier Island. We also have a treat for fans of New Zealand pop culture nostalgia with some exciting news about The Real Pod.
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The oldest living All Black turns 100 on Friday and doesn’t think his younger self would make the team these days
