The questions written on Labour's blank page
Soul-searching about tax, stability, experience and the reduced strength of the Māori caucus looms for a Labour party looking to rebuild
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, November 8, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: Consumer NZ says proposed Foodstuffs merger will provide ‘back-room savings’, not ‘cheaper prices’; new research reveals how patients and families feel about assisted dying, two years on from the enactment of the End of Life Act; a new documentary profiles the world of competitive scrabble in New Zealand; but first, Chris Hipkins says everything comes back onto the table as Labour seeks to rebuild after election loss
Chris Hipkins remains Labour leader after secret ballot
As expected, Chris Hipkins retained his position as leader of the Labour party after the caucus met yesterday and a secret ballot was conducted. There were no other candidates for leadership of the party. Carmel Sepuloni is now Labour’s deputy after Kelvin Davis opted not to stay in the role. Sepuloni will now head to the Pacific Islands Forum in Rarotonga with National’s Gerry Brownlee. In the press conference afterwards, Hipkins was asked by media about a wealth tax. “I have also been clear with the caucus - we lost and that means we start again, and that means everything comes back onto the table - and that includes a discussion around tax,” he said.
Tax questions remerge as Hipkins enacts ‘government has ended’ caveat
Echoing his predecessor’s ruling out of a capital gains tax and a wealth tax while leading government, Hipkins had said before the election that “under a government I lead there will be no wealth or capital gains tax after the election.” Yesterday he said that government had ended and it was now after the election. He was unwilling to say whether ruling the taxes out was a mistake. Newsroom’s Jo Moir has questioned the viability of Hipkins being able to “seriously sell a wealth or capital gains tax to voters in just a couple of years’ time without looking like a leader devoid of any political principles.” Reminding us that questions about these kinds of taxes have been swirling around for 12 years now, The Post’s Luke Malpass writes, “the fact that it continues to be a major policy in the mix suggests a lack of new thinking, over a long time, from the left-of-centre party… a capital gains tax and a wealth tax could reasonably be in the mix for some tax reform, but neither will win many votes or make New Zealand a more prosperous country.”
Experience, stability and the Māori caucus
Labour’s election loss has already seen the departure of senior Labour MPs Andrew Little and Nanania Mahuta. Yesterday, Willie Jackson reiterated his earlier comments about not being sure if he will stand in the 2026 election. As Malpass notes, the summer holidays will provide more time for reflection for other Labour MPs and we could see further resignations. Moir writes that there will be plenty of soul-searching about what happened in the Māori electorates, where Te Pāti Māori won six out of seven seats. As Jon Stokes writes in the Herald, despite Labour having its biggest ever Māori caucus during the last term, “the election result is a powerful example that Māori support must never be taken for granted.”
Full check of all voting place results after data entry errors
The Electoral Commission isn’t quite starting with a blank page but will be conducting a full check of all voting place results after data entry errors at three polling booths led to hundreds of votes being wrongly assigned to fringe parties. At two voting places in Port Waikato and one in Ilam, some party votes were recorded in the wrong row, giving hundreds of votes to the Leighton Baker Party and the New Conservatives, while National received none. It appears that the commission was only alerted to the error after a Herald investigation. Chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne said that the number of votes involved was low and “does not affect the overall results, successful candidates or allocation of seats at all” and the Commission has apologised.
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Merger will provide ‘back-room savings’, not ‘cheaper prices’ says Consumer NZ
Foodstuffs, operators of Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square, is set to apply to the Commerce Commission to merge its North Island and South Island co-operatives into a single national business. Foodstuffs’ South Island and North Island entities currently operate as separate co-operatives owned by owner-operators. In the North Island, it operates Gilmours, and in the South Island, it has Raeward Fresh, a fresh produce and meat retailer and On the Spot. The boards of Foodstuffs North and South Island have proposed the merger to remove duplication, simplify the business, and save costs. As Stuff’s Susan Edmunds reports, retail commentator Chris Wilkinson said he did not expect it to make a lot of difference to consumers, but it could make Foodstuffs more competitive against Australian-owned Woolworths. Jon Duffy, chief executive of Consumer New Zealand, said while a Foodstuffs merger would provide back-room savings, that could lead to higher profits instead of cheaper prices. CEO of the Warehouse, Nick Grayson, says it’s “difficult” to see how the proposed merger will help lower grocery costs for cash-strapped consumers.
RNZ’s Guyon Espiner published a new investigation into the embedding of a lobbying firm within the Commerce Commission. Among the projects Wellington consultancy SenateSHJ worked on was the study into the supermarket sector. The firm declared a conflict of interest in relation to the project, but the details of the conflict were redacted in the documents the commission released to RNZ. After the study was released, Senate told the Commission it wanted to work with another player in the supermarket sector.
Two years on from the enactment of the End of Life Act
The End of Life Act was enacted two years ago yesterday. New research from Dr Jessica Young from Victoria University’s School of Health–Te Kura Tātai Hauora provides some insight into how those who accessed assisted dying before their deaths and their families felt about it. Young spoke to 19 people and said most patients did not anticipate how difficult it would be to choose the date and time for their death. Those spoken to describe being extremely grateful that the service is available to them and are very grateful to the people who provide it. “Families are both relieved that their loved one is no longer suffering, but also it’s really hard to have this date hanging over your head of when you will die ... it’s bittersweet,” said Young. As The Post reports, there have been 482 assisted deaths in New Zealand since the Act was introduced to June 30, 2023.
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Welcome to the world of competitive Scrabble
Whether it is unscrambling seven letter words in meetings, poring over printed word lists for hours, or cramming in spelling lessons on the way to work, Every Word Counts captures the passion and dedication needed to become a top Scrabble player in Aotearoa. Culminating in a thrilling three-day battle of words, this is Scrabble as you’ve never seen it before.
I watched this at a viewing last night and highly recommend it. It’s directed by Alexander Gandar, who is also a competitive Scrabble player and was profiled in the Herald yesterday (paywalled). There is nothing better than watching people do something they love with a director at the helm who has enormous respect for the people involved. On conferring with other Spinoff writers in the room, I can also report we now all feel the need to increase our vocabularies.
Every Word Counts is available to watch now on The Spinoff and is made with the support of NZ On Air.
Click and Collect
Nine charts explaining the key issues the incoming government is inheriting
Extent of Victoria University’s enrolment system problems last year revealed
330,000 passengers to be impacted as Air New Zealand deals with engine maintenance issues
The University of Auckland has sought to limit media coverage of the Dr Siouxsie Wiles case after an incident at its campus yesterday morning
New Zealand’s Bird of the Century goes global. John Oliver’s wildly theatrical segment announcing his support for the Pūteketeke is big news here, but it’s also news in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where the Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter has reported on John Oliver buying a billboard in the small city.
Gone by Lunchtime is back with a new episode to assess the state of coalition talks
Toby Manhire sorts through the big wins Act and NZ First might seek in their negotiations with National. Duncan Greive provides analysis of the flow of some of Stuff’s biggest names to RNZ. Mad Chapman asks why we’re arguing over the words to describe the crisis in Palestine. Unity Books reviews a handful of children’s books that will inspire and delight readers of all ages. A downsizer in his 70s tells us where he spends and saves for the Cost of Being.
Sporting snippets
New research from Sport New Zealand shows an additional 450,000 New Zealanders watched women’s sport in the past year – an increase of 29% since July 2022
We do not cover a lot of curling news in The Bulletin, but this is a delightful story about the New Zealand curling team, who, in wanting to train in Canada, needed accommodation. They found it in a retirement village in Calgary and now live side-by-side with the residents who have embraced them. “That’s all the women talk about,” said Bill Dench, 67.
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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