What's next for Labour MP Gaurav Sharma?
The Labour caucus voted to suspend Sharma yesterday afternoon and the prime minister has resolutely confirmed he is on his last warning.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, August 17, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: most economists picking a 50 basis points rise in OCR today; commission calls for rent freeze; women’s under-17 football team may miss out on world cup but first; Labour MP Gaurav Sharma on final warning.
Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma (Photo: Getty/Hagen Hopkins)
Unanimous vote to suspend Sharma
Yesterday afternoon the Labour caucus met and unanimously decided to suspend Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma, effective immediately. “A sense of trust has been broken through repeated breaches of our caucus rules over the past five days,” said prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Sharma has been suspended until December, at which point he could return to caucus if this was deemed appropriate. On the bullying and harassment allegations made by Sharma, Ardern said she had seen “nothing to substantiate the claims”. She added that “Gaurav has a very different view about what are essentially the same facts''. As Stuff’s Luke Malpass notes, the “hundreds of pages” of evidence Sharma says he has, have yet to be produced.
What suspension means
Labour last suspended an MP from its caucus in 2010. Chris Carter was suspended for releasing a letter that was publicly critical of then-leader, Phil Goff and was expelled in October that year. National suspended Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell just last week, pending an investigation. Shama will continue to be the MP for Hamilton West but will not attend caucus meetings or be involved in other party matters. Sharma has been asked to participate in a mediation process to build back the trust he has lost. Sharma indicated to the Herald he might stand as an independent MP if he was expelled by the caucus.
Revelation of meeting potentially narrowed Ardern’s options but also did her a favour
While caucus met, Sharma got in touch with media to say that the Labour caucus had met without him the night before. Ardern confirmed at the press conference that Labour MPs had met without Sharma the night before to allow MPs to discuss the matter freely and confidentiality, without fear of it being leaked, presumably by Sharma. As Audrey Young (paywalled) writes, with the details of the meeting the night before revealed, Ardern had to “take the long way round” on the potential expulsion of Sharma and appear to be fair. Newsroom’s Jo Moir writes that Sharma did Ardern a favour by alerting the media to the meeting.
Sharma’s final warning
Politik’s Richard Harman (paywalled) writes, Sharma appears to be on a track that could culminate in expulsion from the Labour Party. Expulsion is still a live option for Sharma. The bar has been set very high for Sharma to return to caucus and any further misconduct could see him expelled before the review in December. When asked if this was Sharma’s final warning, Ardern replied “Yes.” So far Sharma has not responded to any media requests for comment, nor posted any responses on Facebook.
On average, one person is killed and seven are seriously injured every day on New Zealand roads. Road to Zero is the ten year strategy with a target to reduce deaths and serious injury by 40% by 2030. This happens by improving our roads and streets so that they are safe for everyone, which means setting safe speed limits, improving the safety performance of our cars, trucks and motorbikes, improving the safety of people who are driving for work, and supporting road users to make good choices. The Spinoff spoke to Waka Kotahi experts about the plan (sponsored).
Where will the OCR land today?
Most economists are picking a 50 basis point rise in the OCR today, taking it to 3%. Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said, "If the RBNZ wants to get bang for buck, an outsized 75bp move would cause quite the stir in financial markets”. Many economists believe inflation has peaked. You might be hoping for a quick drop in interest rates but as Giles Beckford reports, that is probably premature. Despite financial markets pricing anticipating the next phase of monetary policy where we may not see further rate hikes, Westpac acting chief economist Michael Gordon said he did not think the Reserve Bank would want to encourage that view. "This is not simply a matter of Old King Cole marching up a hill just to march straight back down again," he said.
Human rights commission calls for rent freeze
As RNZ reports, a housing inquiry launched by the commission last year found rents were rising faster than income and inflation. The commission has called on the government to freeze rents, as they did in 2020 response to the beginning of the pandemic. They have also asked the government to immediately increase the accommodation supplement. The Salvation Army called for a review into the supplement last month. Supplement payments are currently based on rent data that is about six years out of date. As a survey released this week by ASB showed, one-in-five 18-24 year-olds are living paycheck to paycheck.
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New documentary follows an unlikely group of West Coast crime-fighting heroes
When a small West Coast town saw a rise in crime, a group of mates decided they’d had enough. They formed their own community patrol, and now while everyone in Westport is sleeping, the Kawatiri Knight Owls keep watch. Watch the documentary special The Knight Owls below or on The Spinoff. Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Click and collect
The weather is absolutely awful today with a state of emergency declared on the West Coast region.
Majority favour lifting all Covid restrictions now or post this wave.
Petrol prices might be “as good as we are going to get”.
50,000 drivers have been photographed using their phones or not wearing their seatbelts on Auckland roads but they won't get tickets.
Thirty-two councils introduced Māori ward seats for the first time this year and there is plenty of competition for seats.
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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An ever-growing Facebook group is providing comfort and support for people with long Covid. Rachel Judkins is a member. Toby Manhire profiles the five Auckland mayoral candidates demanding a "fair go" from media and debate organisers. Reweti Kohere meets an Auckland biotechnologist using native fungi to create alternatives to plastic packaging. Tara Ward watches new British geopolitical cyberterrorism thriller The Undeclared War. And here's an entertaining excerpt from Poor People With Money, the new novel from writer and poet Dominic Hoey.
Women footballers may miss out on world cup
The New Zealand under-17 football team was meant to be playing in the under-17 women's world cup from October 11-30 in India. The team may now miss out after FIFA suspended the Indian body that was meant to be hosting the tournament, which can no longer be held in the country as planned. The Supreme Court in India disbanded the All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee in May after it failed to hold elections on time and amend its regulations in line with rules stipulated by the national sports code. In June, FIFA told the AIFF to complete changes to its constitution and elect new office bearers by September 15 to avoid being banned. As yet the elections haven’t taken place.
Zooming your doctor
The feature today is from a doctor who has gone from being a sceptic about telehealth to a believer. Telehealth is basically just calling or video chatting with your doctor. Danielle Ofri is a physician in New York and author of When We Do Harm, a 2020 book that explored the health care system flaws that foster mistakes from medical practitioners. I've always felt like telehealth would never replace face to face doctors visits, but as Ofri argues, it can make healthcare more accessible. When I think about the commute, parking, cost and time required for me to get to a doctor these days, it makes sense. Ofri writes, “Doctors and nurses would ill serve our patients if we didn’t retain the capacity to change.”
