NZ Politics Daily: 7 November 2024
NZ Politics Daily: 7 November 2024
US ELECTION, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE
Rachel Maher (Herald): Donald Trump’s victory: Sir John Key and Brad Olsen weigh in on economic implications
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Trump makes history, NZ has to live with it
Bernard Hickey (The Kākā): What Donald Trump's second Presidency means for us financially (paywalled)
Herald: NZ reacts to Trump’s lead in election, NZD hit, potential tariffs
RNZ: Luxon, Peters congratulate Trump presidential victory
Matthew Hooton (Herald): America entering most dangerous period since 1861 (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Post): At a party in Wellington, US officials try to channel election excitement
Rachel Moore (Stuff): Moving to New Zealand searches spike on Google following Trump win
Eleisha Food (RNZ): How the US election may affect Pacific Island nations
Losirene Lacanivalu (Cook Islands News): Climate change pushback if Trump wins, warns Cook Islands environmental group
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Caleb Fotheringham (RNZ): Cook Islands leader insists new passports won't affect ties with New Zealand
RNZ: NZDF civilian staff escalate strike action as pay talks stagnate
PUBLIC SERVICE
Craig McCulloch (RNZ): 'Be professional and politically neutral': Public Services Commissioner to public servants
Adam Pearse (Herald): Labour urges Winston Peters to apologise for naming public servant after Speaker’s new ruling
Greg Presland (The Standard): Who is undermining the Government’s approach to reducing smoking rates?
Aaron Packard (Post): New human rights commissioners undermined by ministerial meddling
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Inland Revenue's apology for privacy breach of people's details questioned by taxpayers'
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Revenue Minister disappointed with Inland Revenue over privacy breach
Peter Griffin (BusinessDesk): When the taxman takes to Facebook (paywalled)
TREATY PRINCPLES BILL
RNZ: Treaty Principles Bill early introduction before Parliament 'dishonorable' says furious Māori leaders
Jo Moir and Russell Palmer (RNZ): David Seymour defends timing of Treaty Principles Bill debate
Julia Gabel (Herald): Treaty Principles Bill: Wording to be revealed tomorrow amid fierce criticism
Bridie Witton (Stuff): Seymour accuses Waitangi Tribunal of ‘breaking’ trust over Treaty Principles Bill
1News: 'The damage has already been done' – Hipkins on Treaty Principles Bill
Greg Presland (The Standard): The Government’s cynical manipulation of the Treaty Principles Bill
Karanama Ruru and Glenn McConnell (Stuff): Treaty Principles Bill date switch adds fuel to hīkoi, says organiser
Te Karere: Hīkoi organisers unfazed by Treaty Principles Bill move
PARLIAMENT
Roy Morgan: National support down significantly in October after the sinking of HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa
Brent Edwards (NBR): Labour’s hopes of avoiding capital gains tax pitfalls (paywalled)
David Farrar: People support a CGT – but only the one we already have
Phil Smith (RNZ): The House: Early Question Time sparring may indicate themes
LOCAL GOVERNMENT, THREE WATERS
Verity Johnson (Stuff): A better guide on how not to hate Auckland than the council’s one
RNZ: Auckland Council to vote on fix for publicly owned storm-damaged land
Imogen Wells (Stuff): The projects on Wellington mayor Tory Whanau’s chopping block
Harriet Laughton (Post): Déjà vu as funding threats pools, skate parks and sports fields called ‘senseless’
Julie Jacobson (Post): Proposed future of Civic Square a bridge too far
Eye of the Fish: Saving Whanau
Nicholas Boyack (Post): Wellington unlikely to run out of water this summer
Matthew Martin (Waikato Times): An appetite for amalgamation - a case study
Matthew Martin (Waikato Times):$1.6m on unfit land ‘not a mistake’
Stephen Ward (Waikato Times): Cash-strapped Hamilton City Council eyes new way to pay for growth
Alisha Evans (Local Democracy Reporting): Tauranga industrial rate ‘game-changer’ for council coffers
Hamish MacLean (ODT): Report on rates glitch requested (paywalled)
Max Frethey (Local Democracy Reporting): Deficit and debt mar Nelson council’s year
Zita Campbell (Local Democracy Reporting): Gisborne councillors face protesters over Grey St trial
BOOT CAMPS
RNZ: Impact assessment needed before final decision on use of force in youth boot camps - Children's Commissioner
Ryan Bridge (Newstalk ZB): The Government is stuck between a rock and a hard place
Kerre Woodham (Newstalk ZB): There needs to be some measure to keep people safe
FAST TRACK, ENVIRONMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Fox Meyer (Newsroom): ‘Hold us to account’: Iwi defends its own fast-track project
Ian Powell: Fast-tracking wealth accumulation and the ‘war on nature’
Brent Edwards (NBR): Willis wants Super Fund, KiwiSaver to invest in infrastructure (paywalled)
Farah Hancock (RNZ): Sand mining company ordered to pay $500k in court costs in Pākiri beach case
Thomas Manch (Post): A big question: how much are we willing to spend on infrastructure?
NBR: Testing the Infrastructure Commission’s thinking on 30-year plan (paywalled)
HEALTH, DISABILITY
Ian Taylor (Post): The troubling trends in character assassination of Mike King
Jess Stubbing (Post): Mental health challenges need evidence, not ego
Eric Crampton (Herald): Heated tobacco excise - some heet, and some light too (paywalled)
Matthew Littlewood (ODT): Southern leaders meet Reti, Simmonds about hospital plans
Stuff: Petitions over Dunedin Hospital cuts received at Parliament
Gwen Mcclure (RNZ): The Detail: When informed consent evaporates on the operating table
RNZ: StarJam closes due to funding woes
BANKS, RBNZ FINANCIAL STABILITY REPORT
Rob Stock (Post): Parliament’s banking inquiry hamstrung by short hearings
Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): What is the point of the banking inquiry? (Paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Westpac has tougher climate targets for Kiwi farmers than Aussie farmers
Jenée Tibshraeny (Herald): Rabobank tells banking competition inquiry, ‘There is no one dominant bank’ (paywalled)
Dan Brunskill (Interest): Bank profits are ‘first line of defence’ for financial stability, RBNZ
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Reserve Bank taking stock of private equity’s economic risk
Te Rina Kowhai (Te Ao Māori News): Economist vouches for Māori financial institutions instead of Māori-owned bank
Te Aniwaniwa Paterson (Te Ao Māori News): Activists pressure ASB Bank to divest its KiwiSaver investment in Israel-linked firm
ECONOMY
Max Rashbrooke (Spinoff): The right’s weird new obsession: Singapore
Ryan Anderson (Stuff): ‘Felt for generations’: Political parties react to unemployment rise
Rebecca Howard (BusinessDesk): Economists still expect 50bps rate cut after jobs data (paywalled)
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Post): Unemployment rises to near four-year high of 4.8%
Dan Brunskill (Interest): NZ’s jobless rate climbs to 4.8%
Brianna McIlraith and Zane Small (Stuff): Unemployment rises to 4.8%
RNZ: Unemployment rises to near four-year high
Jonathan Mitchell (NBR): Unemployment unlikely to exceed forecasts of 5.5% (paywalled)
No Right Turn: 26,000 unemployed under National
TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE
Tom Hunt (Post): Legal challenges to new Wellington tunnels already promised
Herald Editorial: Wasteful tunnel spend from a Government preaching fiscal restraint
RNZ: Wellington road plan just 'one piece of the puzzle'
Sapeer Mayron (Post): Auckland Transport claws fine from pensioner's super payment
Sinead Gill (Press): Cycleway closure will force kids onto ‘scary’ roads, pupils say
MIGRANT WORKER EXPLOITATION, BUSINESS, EMPLOYMENT
Hanna McCallum (Post): Visa changes spark panic among exploited migrant workers
Gill Bennett (RNZ): Immigration infringements: Dozens of employers placed on stand-down list
Katie Bradford (1News): Figures shed light on number of New Zealanders working from home
Jem Traylen (BusinessDesk):Insurance reform battle: will it be a win for the consumer? (paywalled)
Kate MacNamara (Herald): Foodstuffs merger: What the supermarket giant will consider as it mulls an appeal of declined application
Emma Ricketts (Listener): Unsustainable: The rise of greenwashing in New Zealand - and why we need tougher rules (paywalled)
Dileepa Fonseka (BusinessDesk): Carbon Catch-up: The world catches up to NZ (paywalled)
Rob Stock (Post): Funeral directors reject allegations of predatory behaviour
Chelsea Daniels (Herald): Ultra-fast fashion: who is really paying the price? (paywalled)
JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS
RNZ: Corrections axes mental health contracts for jails
David Harvey (Listener): Law & society: Should our Supreme Court address societal issues where Parliament has failed to do so? (paywalled)
HOUSING
Greg Ninness (Interest): National median rent unchanged at $600 a week since the beginning of the year
Deborah Morris (Post): Is renting alone affordable? Depends where you live
Te Aniwaniwa Paterson (Te Ao Māori News): Māpihi’s approach to tackling the housing crisis in Aotearoa
Maia Hart (Local Democracy Reporting): Blenheim Kāinga Ora project approved over neighbours' objections
RNZ: Boost for potential buyers as ANZ may waive one of its fees - broker
Susan Edmunds (RNZ): Current first-home buyers paying less but getting more
Brianna McIlraith (Stuff): First home buyers capitalise on soft market
Dita De Boni (Post): First home buyers making hay while property market’s muted
EDUCATION
Hanna McCallum (Post): ‘Burdensome’ home-based childcare qualification rule set to be scrapped
RNZ: Paperwork, cost of safe water plans 'tipping some principals over the edge'
Karanama Ruru (Stuff): Journey for Māori PhD candidates is often different and here’s why
Liz McDonald (Press): Getting In: Six-figure price boost for homes in popular school zones
Sophie Lapsley (Press): High demand for Christchurch’s popular state schools
MEDIA
Shayne Currie (Herald): Media Insider: TVNZ plans to axe 50 roles as part of plan to find $30m in cost savings (paywalled)
RNZ: TVNZ plans to axe 50 jobs
Stuff: TVNZ proposes cutting 50 roles, staff to find out more about the fate of their jobs
OTHER
Rob Stock (Post): How do Australian and New Zealand pensions match up?
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Facial recognition test finds no bias against Māori
Herald: Candace Owens: Far-right US commentator’s Auckland show postponed amid Immigration NZ assessment
Simon Terry (Newsroom): An oil supply crisis will trigger a sovereignty crisis for NZ
Melenie Parks (Stuff): Deportees set the record straight in The 501s: An Inside Story
Finn Blackwell (RNZ): Auckland police seize $11m from gangs in ten months - fourfold increase from last year
Mare Haimona-Riki (Te Ao Māori News): Nearly $40,000 donated after South Auckland foodbank vandalised
Ian Llewellyn (BusinessDesk): Veil of silence thrown over key facts in Transpower pylon collapse (paywalled)
RNZ: Possums will evolve to resist 1080 poison - expert
Cartoons
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The Cycle of Broken Promises: Why We Need Transparency and Accountability in Democracy
Yesterday, people voted again, hoping to elect a leader who would actually make a difference. Supporters believed their chosen candidate would address the issues they care about.
My son asked me to look at why people chose the way they did, but I was more focused on the bigger picture—the process where politicians make promises to gain support but seldom follow through. Since 1980, election after election has come with high hopes. But despite these promises, governments have consistently failed to fix the issues that impact people’s lives the most:
- Costs are skyrocketing, wages are flat, and families are barely getting by.
- People don’t trust politicians; they seem self-serving and disconnected from regular people.
- Homeownership feels impossible, and rent is outrageously high.
- Healthcare costs too much, and access is limited.
- Jobs are unstable, with gig work and economic changes leaving people anxious.
- Climate action is weak, and fossil fuels still run the show.
- Inequality is worse, with discrimination and a lack of opportunities keeping people down.
- Big corporations own everything—banks, media, oil, tech, and even think tanks. They pour money into politics and lawyers, so the politicians work for them.
- Foreign ownership is rising, profits leave the country, and locals get less.
- Education costs too much; students graduate in debt with no guarantee of stable jobs.
- Terrorism and cyber threats are up, challenging safety and freedom.
- Human rights progress is uneven; issues like discrimination and privacy abuses are still around.
Every election, we hear the same promises, but for many, life stays the same—or even gets worse. Why does this cycle of broken promises continue?
The answer is simple: the system is rigged. It’s not about what’s best for the public; it’s about who can play within a system controlled by wealth and influence—a system that manipulates every lever of power to ensure that, no matter who “wins,” their interests stay protected.
The result? A democracy in name only.
In a real democracy, transparency is essential. People deserve truth and facts:
- Who’s funding campaigns, and what do they expect in return?
- How are media and tech platforms shaping public opinion?
- Are leaders truly serving the public, or just following the agenda of a powerful few?
- How did monopolies gain control over everything that makes our lives difficult?
If people had clear answers to these questions, they could finally end this cycle of failure and manipulation.
A Path Forward: Accountability for Leaders
We need more than minor reforms. We need a citizen-led group focused on holding leaders accountable—the Leadership Accountability Court (LAC). Here’s how it would work:
The LAC would be legislated because that’s what the majority demands. Once in place, it would allow citizens to bring cases of unethical, incompetent, negligent, or biased actions by government leaders, ending the hijacking of democracy by vested interests.
The LAC would operate online, streamlining the process and allowing cases to be filed, reviewed, and resolved within months. This digital approach would ensure that issues are addressed swiftly, keeping leaders accountable in real-time without the lengthy delays typically associated with traditional legal systems.
Citizen juries would review these cases to keep the process fair and transparent. Leaders who fail the public would face real consequences: they’d explain, correct, apologize—or be removed.
The LAC would make leaders accountable to the people they serve, not just during elections but every day. This isn’t just a new system—it’s a real way to end the cycle of broken promises and bring democracy back to the people.
Summary: Democracy Hijacked by Money and Influence
Democracy in the United States has been increasingly hijacked by wealthy interests, especially since the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. This ruling opened the door for unlimited corporate and union donations to political campaigns, citing free speech and ignoring the undue influence these donations create. Today, the largest lobbying groups dominate nearly every sector, pouring around $8 million a day into Congress and Senate campaigns. This massive financial backing ensures that politicians pass policies that benefit these donors, often at the nation’s expense.
As a result, harmful policies have flourished: national debt skyrockets, taxes for the wealthy decrease, regulatory oversight weakens, wages stagnate, and global asset ownership is secured by laws like the 1947 National Security Act. This act has been used to support Wall Street and mega-corporations, helping them consolidate control over key industries and resources. Without accountability, politicians continue to make decisions that serve Wall Street and corporate giants, neglecting the majority’s needs. This manipulation erodes real democracy, leaving the public without genuine representation.
No matter who you vote for, no matter how charismatic they seem or how inspiring their promises are, once they're in power, the calls will come—the ones from corporations pushing for higher profits, no matter the cost to the public. Politicians might enter with good intentions, but in a system built to serve corporate interests, those intentions are quickly buried.
That's why we need the Leadership Accountability Court (LAC). The LAC is a safeguard for the people, ensuring that leaders answer to us, not to big money or backroom deals. It’s time to hold politicians accountable, to draw a line in the sand, and to reclaim our power.
Politicians are public servants. With the LAC, we make sure they stay that way.
A spike in Google searches on moving to NZ during and following a US election is nothing new:
2016: https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/move-new-zealand-google-search-skyrockets-us
2020: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/desperate-escape-americans-searching-how-to-move-to-nz-skyrockets-during-presidential-debate/F3PWX53JKPHCIJZPG4YZ3RO24U/