NZ Politics Daily - 19 January 2024

Top 10 “NZ Politics Daily” stories today

Below are some of the more interesting and insightful New Zealand politics items from the last 24 hours.

1) 1News’ Māori Affairs Correspondent Te Aniwa Hurihanganui argues today that “it would be wise for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to pay attention” to what is said at tomorrow’s national hui at Tuurangawaewae Marae, saying that “if the Government is looking to earn its treaty partner’s trust at a particularly precarious time, then taking this gathering seriously would be a good start” – see:  Why the Govt should heed rare national hui

Hurihanganui backs up the Māori King’s instruction that politicians attending the hui should listen rather than debate, and argues that the event “will set the tone for an important few weeks in the political calendar”. She also draws attention to how the hui might conclude, saying “The last time iwi were called on like this was 12 years ago, when the Kiingitanga felt the John Key-led Government’s plan to partially sell state-owned enterprise Mighty River Power threatened Māori water rights. At the time, thousands left their tribal territories and flocked to Ngāruawāhia to discuss how they might collectively challenge the sale. By the end of it all, those gathered released a public declaration that Māori owned the water.”

2) The National Party seems to agree that the hui is for politicians to listen, and Luxon says he’s positive about the event, and that his decision not to attend isn’t because he’s worried about the reception he’d get: “It's not actually a political event, per se, it's actually not for politicians, we are not front and center in those conversations… It's an opportunity for Māoridom to come together. I'm very supportive of it, I think it's a good idea to be able to think about where is Māori going out to 2040 and beyond” – see Katie Scotcher’s Luxon defends decision not to attend nationwide hui

National is sending MP Dan Bidois and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka, who is also taking Luxon’s positive and relaxed stance on the hui: “We may be asked to speak along the way, okay, ka pai, but I'm sure that people attending the hui are more interested in what the rangatira and tangata who are attending the hui have to say rather than ourselves.”

3) Pubs in New Zealand are allowed to operate gambling machines like pokies on the basis that a decent part of the proceeds is given to charity. But how much does this really occur? There’s been an alleged “network of corruption” operating in the charity sector in the Hawke’s Bay – see Ric Stevens’ ‘Network of corruption’ alleged: Eight people charged in crackdown on Hawke’s Bay gambling sector

According to this, the Department of Internal Affairs has charged eight people “in management positions at several community organisations and within the Class 4 gambling sector, abused their positions to fraudulently obtain or misappropriate hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding and other benefits.”

4) The former director of Canterbury Area Mental Health, Dr Erik Monasterio, has resigned, and become something of a whistleblower. Today he’s published an essay in the New Zealand Medical Journal, detailing his concerns about the treatment of prisoners with mental health disorders – see Felix Walton’s Prisons the new psychiatric institutions – former public health leader

Monasterio has told RNZ: “Increasingly, psychiatric care is being defaulted to prisons. Prisons in New Zealand have become the new psychiatric institutions”, and he regards this as not just unethical, but also unlawful. And he’s reported as believing that “conditions faced by mentally ill prisoners are comparable to the notorious Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital”.

5) Former TOP candidate for Wellington Central, Natalia Albert, has started a new political project – a regular email newsletter on Substack aimed at “work towards a less polarized, more informed, and engaged electorate” – see her first edition: We need to better understand politics as voters especially in Wellington

Albert says she makes it her mission to mission to scrutinize “critical institutions like Parliament, the Public Service Sector, Universities, and the media”, and “continually experimenting with novel approaches that challenge the status quo.” And in her first newsletter, she laments that “Our political discourse is increasingly overshadowed by identity politics, group politics, and culture politics. It's as if our ability to think flexibly and find common ground has been eclipsed.”

6) The sad Golriz Ghahraman saga seems to be coming to an end. But conservative pundit Liam Hehir argues that the Ghahraman’s supporters in the media have sought to politicise the issue by positioning the former Green MP as a victim, which is keeping the story alive. He’s particularly opposed to Ghahraman’s supporters trying to draw parallels between her mental health downfall and that of former National leader Todd Muller, who had panic attacks – see: Having a panic attack is not a crime (paywalled)

Hehir argues that if mental health parallels are to be drawn, then a better one is with former National MP Andrew Falloon, who resigned over his inappropriate text messages to various women and then pointed to mental health factors in explaining his wrongdoing. Hehir points out: “The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand was among those who voiced concern, stating that Falloon's use of mental health during his resignation was ‘not acceptable’, and cautioning against the use of mental health as a political weapon or shield. Even those expressed sympathy for his personal challenges criticised him for using mental health as an excuse for his inappropriate actions.”

7) For a similar complaint about the politicization of the scandal and the way it has been covered in the media, see Chris Lynch’s Shoplifting scandal exposes media bias covering Golriz Ghahraman

8) With 25,000 applicants on the state housing waiting list, pressure is turning on Kāinga Ora for keeping too many houses empty, which has the new Minister of Housing telling housing officials to get moving faster – see Adam Pearse’s Minister demands action from Kāinga Ora over thousands of empty state homes

9) Education standards appear to still be declining. And the fights continue over whether this is due to the pandemic or the way the previous governments have changed the education system – see RNZ’s Covid-19 to blame for drop in NCEA results, not previous government - Labour

10) National’s caucus retreat in Christchurch has been largely uneventful, with rather beige public statements made. It suggests that the new government might be shaping up as a rather cautious and centrist rather than reforming administration. Certainly, that’s the big choice for National today, according to rightwing political commentator Matthew Hooton writing in the Herald. This is especially the case in terms of the economy. Hooton says the caucus needs to tell Finance Minister Nicola Willis “whether her brief is to transform New Zealand for the better over the next few months or hold the Key-English do-nothing course for another three years” – see: National faces its moment of choice – bold reform or do nothing? (paywalled)

Here’s Hooton’s key point: “There are arguments for and against both bland centrism and bold reform, and historic examples of successes and failures. The trade-off is this: if you go with centrism, you must avoid upsetting any powerful forces in New Zealand for the whole three years but accept that the economy will be doing worse and inflation and interest rates will be higher than they would otherwise be. If you go for bold reform, you have to do it immediately and hope the benefits arrive and memories of the transition costs fade in time for the next election. For example, if Willis wants inflation to reach the 2 per cent midpoint and new fixed mortgage rates to be back below 5 per cent next year, her spending cuts will need to be far greater than indicated so far and the Government’s books back in surplus, even as ministers keep discovering cost blow-outs in everything from defence to social policy. Taking such risks is likely to be too scary for many National MPs.”

Dr Bryce Edwards

Political Analyst in Residence, Democracy Project, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington

NZ Politics Daily - 18 January 2024

NATIONAL HUI FOR UNITY, TREATY
Te Aniwa Hurihanganui (1News): Why the Govt should heed rare national hui
Joel Maxwell (Stuff): Kīngitanga: Is this monarchy making democracy cool again?
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Kiingitanga hui preparations are now finalised, what’s happening?
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Luxon defends decision not to attend nationwide hui
1News: PM confirms he won't attend nationwide hui called by Māori King
Trent Doyle (Newshub): Why Prime Minister Christopher Luxon won't attend Kiingitanga hui at Tūrangawaewae Marae
Taiha Molyneux (RNZ): Waikato Tainui well prepared and ready to host thousands
ODT Editorial: Differing views and Māori rights (paywalled)
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Waitangi Tribunal: Crown failed to address landlocked Māori land
RNZ: Flaws in Crown's land legislation caused Taihape landlocking - Waitangi Tribunal

NATIONAL PARTY, PARLIAMENT
Matthew Hooton (Herald): National faces its moment of choice - bold reform or do nothing? (paywalled)
Russell Palmer (RNZ): PM Christopher Luxon sets the scene for his MPs: 'Let's go get this thing done'
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s message to MPs: Stay focused, don’t mess it up
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says gendered abuse worse for women in politics, delivers first speech of year to National MPs
Newstalk ZB: What's going on behind the closed doors of the National Party retreat in Christchurch?
RNZ: National MPs highlight discipline, mental health at caucus retreat
Felix Desmarais (1News): 'Turnaround job': PM indicates direction in first speech of the year
Bridie Witton (Stuff): PM Chris Luxon firms up iron grip on National Party caucus
Anna Whyte and Bridie Witton (Post): Abuse aimed at women in Parliament ‘a lot worse’ - Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
RNZ: Politicians back calls for mental health supports at Parliament
Anna Whyte (Post): ‘More work to do’ on Parliament’s culture, says PM (paywalled)
Gabi Lardies (Spinoff): Why do rich people shoplift?
Krystal Gibbens (RNZ): Explainer: Why do people shoplift?
Liam Hehir (The Blue Review): Having a panic attack is not a crime (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Green MP quits, light rail scrapped, electoral changes rejected
Caroline Williams (Stuff): 1 year ago today: Dame Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation
Keith Rankin (Scoop): To Be (a) Liberal
Josie Pagani (Post): Memo to incoming politicians: first, test your values (paywalled)

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