What's left on the parliament agenda for 2024?
Get ready for the pre-Christmas push.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, December 16.
In today’s edition: Tech rollout at Auckland City causes headaches, work to mothball Christ Church Cathedral has finished, and a warning after four water deaths in 24 hours. But first, buckle in for the final days of parliament in 2024.
The last push
Welcome back and, good news, we’re in the home stretch. It’s the last week of The Bulletin for 2024, and so too is it the final sitting week of parliament before a long-awaited summer break. While some of us may be winding down already, politicians will have no such chance for a relaxed farewell to a busy year. As The Post’s Thomas Manch looks at this morning, parliament is currently expected to wind up on Wednesday afternoon following a spree of urgent lawmaking. The government said it doesn’t intend to use urgency this week, though the Labour Party has suggested debate could drag on longer than currently planned.
There’s still a lot on the order paper to try and get tidied up this side of Christmas in an effort to check off the prime minister’s final quarterly plan of the year. That includes resource management amendments, a water reforms bill, and an amendment bill that will allow advertisements on television on Sunday mornings.
On the edge
RNZ’s The House programme took a look at what was tackled before the weekend during a mammoth sitting week for the parliament. Seven bits of legislation were added to the agenda last Monday followed by a few more the next day – 11 in total were given the urgency treatment, either being read for a first time or quickly passing through all stages. Among those that we didn’t talk about last week, an update to tenancy laws that will bring back the ability for renters to be evicted with no cause and brings in “pet bonds” for animal owners. Disposable vapes will also be banned as part of the government’s rejigged plan to tackle smoking. And the Therapeutic Products Act Repeal Bill was also passed, dumping a law only introduced by the former Labour government in 2023.
In short, there’s been a lot. Newsroom’s Laura Walters, in an evocative piece over the weekend, explained why parliament appears to be “teetering on the edge”.
“The high volume of proposed laws being put before parliament by this coalition government, paired with the introduction of significant amendments to some controversial legislation, overlaid with a busy year, difficult economic times, and some historic moments, have created a perfect storm,” wrote Walters. Toby Manhire delved into some of this in last Friday’s Bulletin.
The bad news to come
This week won’t only see the government attempt to tidy up a wave of legislation, it will also see the finance minister prime us for what’s to come when it comes to the economy in 2025 and beyond. On Tuesday, the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update – or Hyefu (pick whatever pronunciation works for you) – will be released. It’s unlikely to bring much in the way of good news, as The Post’s Tom Pullar-Strecker explained, though the government will likely look to signal areas of economic growth for the year ahead and foreshadow next year’s budget.
It’s widely touted the Hyefu will see the government announce a further 12-month delay to its plan of returning the books to surplus, bumping it out to the 2028/29 financial year. Winston Peters, in a recent interview with The Post, was one of those highlighting the lack of impact the government’s tax cuts had had on economic growth. None of this will be too embarrassing for Nicola Willis given the goalposts have been pushed out several times already. But, as Liam Dann pointed out in the Herald (paywalled), it will come just 48 hours before the latest round of GDP data is expected to show we’re back in recession (albeit very slimly). The data is historic and, as David Hargreaves wrote for Interest, will do little to change the fact it feels like we’ve been in recession for at least two years. Nevertheless, whatever political narrative is adopted by the governing parties, the pre-Christmas news is likely to be anything but cheery.
Sexual violence funding to be reviewed
Meanwhile, on a very different note, the government yesterday announced it will review $1.3 billion of family and sexual violence funding as part of a 25-year plan to eliminate family and sexual violence. This is the second Te Aorerekura Action Plan that has been unveiled as part of the broader strategy. “This plan is focused on government prioritising fewer things and doing them well,” minister Karen Chhour said. But the Labour Party has criticised the announcement, reported RNZ, with spokesperson Ginny Andersen questioning why there had been no update on deliverables from the first action plan. "There is language that says they want to improve on prevention, and there are some programmes listed there that were already being delivered,” Andersen said. “But there is no further detail on how they intend to further expand prevention programmes."
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‘Teething issues’: Tech rollout at Auckland City causes headaches
The rollout of a new IT system at Auckland City Hospital has allegedly caused delays for some patient treatment, Isaac Davison reports on the front page of this morning’s Herald (paywalled). The introduction of the $95 million administrative system called TrakCare, which started at the end of October, has been criticised as “incredibly stressful and traumatic” for staff, reportedly causing increased workloads and forcing nurses to use a whiteboard to keep track of patients. It comes at a time when Te Whatu Ora, working on the government’s instruction, has been tasked with building efficiency in the health system.
Explaining the issues, Ben Basevi of the NZ Nurses Organisation said: “If I’m a nurse in a ward and ED rings me up and says I’m handing over a patient and he’ll be up in your ward in five minutes, the nurse can’t admit the patient into the ward because the systems aren’t talking to each other.” It means patients can be “lost” in the system when moving between different parts of the healthcare network. Auckland Hospital’s Dr Mike Shepherd said “teething issues” with the system were to be expected and patient safety was “paramount”.
An update on the response to our open letter
It’s been a fortnight since we published our open letter outlining our current reality.
We revealed that only 2% of our audience support us financially and shared the real need to double the number of members who support us with monthly or annual payments. As of today, we are over one third of the way towards that target.
The response to our letter has been encouraging. Thank you to all our existing members who responded by donating or increasing their contributions. We’re grateful to all who also decided to sign up again. Welcome to our new members. We’re delighted to have you.
We still have a way to go, but the support has made us as determined as ever to get there. Please continue to spread the word and share the letter. You can also gift someone a membership for Christmas or donate as an organisation or company.
If you haven't yet, please become a member or donate today.
Best of 2024: What it’s like to be made redundant by the Ministry of Education
As we race towards the end of the year, it’s time to take a look back at some of the biggest and best Spinoff stories from 2024. This morning: one of the hundreds of people to lose their government job this year reflects on how it all played out. First published April 18.
It is a Friday. I’m in the middle of an online Teams hui working out the finer details of a series of workshops we’ll be presenting next week. It’s a normal work day at 10am. Someone has just cracked a joke about how much money they’ve been saving by drinking instant coffee when the email comes in.
“Oh, did you get an email?” Everyone stops talking. We check our inboxes.
An email has been sent to every person involved in the NCEA Change programme: over 300 staff. The programme is supposed to be the biggest reform to NCEA since its inception.
We are being summoned to an urgent meeting at midday.
Get the best of the Spinoff this year sent to you over summer
Sign up for The Spinoff Daily to receive our twice-weekly summer digest. Sent to you at the leisurely time of 10am on Tuesdays and Fridays over the summer break, you can enjoy a handpicked selection of the best of The Spinoff this year. perfect for beach, bach, backyard or travel reading.
Click and Collect
Toby Manhire pays tribute to all the current affairs New Zealand lost from our screens in 2024.
If you’re a Herald Premium subscriber, I recommend Claire Trevett’s pick for “politician of the year”. It might not be who you’re expecting, but the case is compelling. (paywalled)
Work to mothball Christ Church Cathedral has finished, with the last contractors leaving the site earlier this month.
Two days and several big calls to end 2024 for Wellington City Council.
Once vowing to build 9,000 EV charging points, the government has so far delivered less than half the cash and chargers.
Has Christopher Luxon made another tactical blunder? Andrea Vance looks at the handling of the Cook Strait ferry saga for the Sunday-Star Times.
Stay safe, be cautious around water: Warning after four deaths in 24 hours.
In sport: Auckland FC’s winning streak is over, but the team remains unbeaten. Meanwhile, the Black Caps are on track to win the third test against England after a pair of defeats.
Shanti Mathias spends a day in the Hauraki Gulf with a group of British scientists investigating the links between carbon and biodiversity in the seafloor mud. Anna Rawhiti-Connell asks: why is it so hard to find a decent pair of togs? After nearly 50 years of friendship, Venetia Sherson thanks her inner circle. New Zealand’s “Godfather of Christmas” Frankie Stevens looks back on his life in TV and music. Art rock singer-songwriter Elliott Dawson shares his perfect weekend playlist.
That’s it for another day. Thanks for reading and see you back here tomorrow.
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