Why the PM was quizzed on the harms of nicotine
Associate health minister Casey Costello has routinely been in the news this year, in part due to ongoing confusion over the authorship of policy document.
Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Wednesday, August 28.
In today’s edition: A leaked document appears to show the planned closure of all after hours GP services on the West Coast, Labour prepares to address the tax question (again), and three new offices for ministers will cost $7m. But first, a brief overview of the ongoing saga of Casey Costello – and why the prime minister has been pulled in.
Questions over caffeine and nicotine
He might not drink coffee, but the prime minister was prepared to admit in parliament yesterday afternoon that he believes nicotine is more harmful than caffeine. It’s hardly a shocking claim, though it stems from reporting this week that suggests one of his ministers may be of the opposite view. On Monday, RNZ’s Guyon Espiner published the latest in a series of reports focused on the associate health minister Casey Costello. The NZ First MP has been thrust into the spotlight since entering parliament late last year, making headlines – many of them thanks to reporting by Espiner – over her role in overseeing the government’s policies around smoking.
The latest report, which you may have read in Monday’s Bulletin, included details of a document purportedly sent to health officials by Costello but which the minister has persistently denied writing or having any knowledge of. The letter had previously been released in a bundle of other information and included the bold (and, as this paywalled report by The Listener argued, untrue) claim that “nicotine is as harmful as caffeine” and labelled the former Labour government’s plans for a smokefree generation as “nanny state nonsense”.
A multitude of headlines
All of this flows from the coalition’s controversial move to backtrack on legislation by the previous government that was targeted at outlawing smoking for future generations, as this report by The Guardian from last November explains. The world-first legislation, that was unexpectedly ditched by the government after taking office, would have steadily increased the legal smoking age to stop those born after January 2009 from being able to purchase cigarettes. Unsurprisingly, as this report by The Spinoff’s Gabi Lardies explained, it prompted significant backlash and protests, but the government hasn’t budged.
In the months since, there have been ongoing suggestions by the opposition that the government, and in particular Costello and NZ First, are effectively in the pocket of “Big Tobacco”. In January, reported Espiner, a Ministry of Health document suggested Costello was proposing a freeze on tobacco excise tax (which she denied). The notes from her office, which included the line about caffeine, were subsequently released, but Costello maintained she had not written them. In parliamentary question time yesterday, Labour’s health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall attempted (unsuccessfully) to get additional details, with Costello saying she received a “range of information” after becoming a minister. It’s worth noting that the claim about nicotine and caffeine also appeared in NZ First’s 2023 manifesto – potentially one explanation for how it ended up with health officials. And, noted The Verge in 2019, it’s a regular tobacco industry talking point.
Who’s connected to who?
Costello has maintained she has no links with the tobacco industry, though Verrall has in recent days suggested that the minister may have fallen victim to intense lobbying. Last week, Espiner reported on a leaked Phillip Morris strategy document from 2017 that said the company should target political parties, including New Zealand First, in order to push through more favourable regulation for heated tobacco products – which the coalition silently moved forward with in July. Otago University published a briefing last week that showed New Zealand First had one of the worst voting track records in parliament when it came to supporting “progressive smokefree legislation”, supporting two out of seven pieces of legislation since 2003.
An earlier briefing from February found that members of the coalition government have on several occasions echoed talking points from tobacco companies and, as the Herald’s Isaac Davison explained, noted past and present links between the government and the tobacco industry. This in-depth report from RNZ’s Kate Newton looked at the wording of Costello’s briefing to health officials last year, concluding that “whether intentional or not, there are frequent… similarities between the language and themes from the document that came out of her office and those used by the [tobacco] industry”.
Lobbying in the spotlight
As The Post’s Andrea Vance wrote in May, it’s certainly not just New Zealand First that has faced perception issues – though there was also the issue with Shane Jones’ undeclared dinner we looked at in July. Other members of the current and former government have ties that, from the outside, can look a bit murky. In 2022, former Labour cabinet minister Kris Faafoi went through the revolving door straight into lobbying, while Espiner (yes, again) had a series of excellent reports in May last year that included revelations Chris Hipkins’ chief of staff had headed a lobbying firm that represented liquor companies and argued against a reform the Labour government ultimately scrapped.
A recent report from the Helen Clark Foundation raised concerns around largely unregulated lobbying in our political system, reported the Herald’s Derek Cheng (paywalled), with former attorney-general Chris Finlayson arguing that we need to raise our standards. “It is not enough for democracies like ours to pay lip service to principles of transparency and steps which need to be taken against corruption. New Zealand must critically examine these issues on a regular basis.” Among the recommendations: a mandatory code of conduct, a public lobbying register and closing the revolving door via a three-year stand down for certain officials.
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Plan to close after hours GPs on West Coast sparks concern
Stuff’s Glenn McConnell has reported on a leaked document that appears to show the planned closure of all after hours GP services on the West Coast as the health sector continues to struggle. But it has health workers concerned, pointing out the two hospitals in the region are already under pressure and closing GP clinics after hours would only increase demand. Under the plan, reported McConnell, locals in the region would have to rely on a rural telehealth service for after hours support or choose to visit one of the hospitals. Te Whatu Ora said, at this point, it remained a proposal that would be consulted on.
Meanwhile, The Post’s Rachel Thomas has reported that the chief executive of Health NZ stepped in after an under-development critical care unit at Wellington Hospital faced the risk of being mothballed. The project, which sources said was 80% completed, was said to have been put on hold due to financial concerns at the health agency, until Margie Apa intervened.
Takeout Kids’ second episode introduces Dom who, when he’s not playing sports at school with friends, shoots hoops outside his mother’s Thai restaurant in Taupō. Dom helps his mum out by waiting tables and letting her critique his golfing stance, even when he doesn’t want to hear it. Looking to disconnect himself with his father, Dom embraces his mother’s last name and prepares to use it as his own, and tears up over the thought of life without her.
Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Labour prepares to address the tax question… again
It’s seemingly a natural part of each political cycle: what will Labour’s tax policy be? We’re still a fair way off knowing that for the 2026 election, but The Herald’s Thomas Coughlan (paywalled) has reported that the party could be considering a “capital income tax” – a sort of combination between a capital gains and a wealth tax. “The Labour Party is having a debate as to whether in the tax space we should have a capital gains tax or a wealth tax and a wealth tax can alternatively be described as a tax on capital income – a Capital Income Tax,” Parker said. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the party would set out its tax policy in “due course” and the party wasn’t far enough through discussing it to comment at this time.
Meanwhile, finance minister Nicola Willis took to Twitter where she questioned why it was Parker talking tax given he no longer held the revenue position. Labour’s current revenue spokesperson is Deborah Russell, while Barbara Edmonds is the finance spokesperson.
Listen: Legacy media strikes back
The 2024 edition of NZ on Air's Where are the Audiences is a bombshell – largely because so little has changed. The past decade has been characterised by a sharp and consistent rise in UGC, social and SVOD platforms, while local media has slid precipitously. This year that slide has arrested – and in some cases reversed.
On The Fold this week, Duncan Greive is joined by The Spinoff's Ātea editor Liam Rātana, dissecting the findings as they take turns drafting their five favourite data points from WATA 2024.
Listen to the episode below or wherever you find your pods.
Click and Collect
The government is being accused of hypocrisy as it looks to spend up to $7 million dollars on three new offices for ministers, reports Maiki Sherman at 1News.
Harmful content accessed on primary school iPads despite $33m safety spend. (NZ Herald Premium, paywalled)
Relevant to our lead story today, The Press has reported that vapes are “cheap as chips” once again as retailers sell off non-compliant stock before new regulations enter into force.
The rumours were true: Iconic Britpop band Oasis will be reforming and hitting the road in 2025. According to this report from The Guardian, the reunion could make the Gallaghers more money than they made in the “entire 90s”.
Stuff’s Tova O’Brien explains why a meeting between two senior ministers and the seafood lobby, where the issue of Māori rights to the foreshore was discussed, was within the rules. Meanwhile, The Spinoff’s Liam Rātana explains what customary marine title is and why some people seem so scared of it.
The government is open to tolling the new Penlink highway, but no decisions have been made yet. (BusinessDesk, paywalled)
Low pass rates in new online NCEA literacy and numeracy tests have secondary teachers worried.
Terms of reference for the second phase of the Covid-19 inquiry have been confirmed.
The prime minister has landed in Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum, and as we discussed yesterday, the timing is a bit awkward.
Shanti Mathias lays out the reasons to eat insects – if we can overcome the “yuck” factor. Here's an introduction to the 25 New Zealand athletes representing New Zealand at the Paralympic Games. Jenny Rockwell considers the artists who have helped her embrace queer joy. For The Cost of Being, a single mum of three who 'will skimp on everything where possible' discusses her costs.
That’s it for this morning, thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow.
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