The Green party releases its alternative Budget
Principals question $100m maths spend, ex-cop faces porn probe, US and China agree to major tariff reductions.
Chris Hipkins delivers pre-Budget speech at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. Video / NZ Herald
Reporter Carter is in Whangamatā where car collector Billy reveals what it took to get this custom 2-door 1950 Cadillac back on the road.
Black Power members perform a farewell haka for Manurewa homicide victim Selwyn Robson. Video / Supplied
Education Minister Erica Stanford announcing measures to improve mathematics in schools. Video / Mark Mitchell
Christopher Luxon answers a question on the resignation of the Police Deputy Commissioner
With the countries current vaccination rates, an expert warns New Zealand is at risk of a measles epidemic. Video / Dean Purcell / Katie Oliver / Ben Dickens
Christopher Luxon holds a post-Cabinet press conference
Gypsy Rose Blanchard stars in season 2 of the Lifetime series Life After Lock Up, streaming on TVNZ+ in New Zealand. Video / TVNZ
A house in Napier fully ablaze on Sunday night. Video / Supplied
Fletcher Living has unveiled the masterplan for its latest residential project, 'The Hill,' a premium development poised to transform part of the iconic Ellerslie Racecourse.
Zookeeping isn't all butterflies, even at Butterfly Creek! Reporter Evie finds out what it takes to feed the meerkats, otters, and even NZ's only saltwater crocodiles.
The journalist believes the culprit has been identified. Video / Supplied
The Government is making work on restrictions to social media for New Zealanders under the age of 16 part of its official programme. Video / NZ Herald
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Newsroom
2 hours ago
- Newsroom
National makes economic pitch after Trump tariffs setback
Analysis: It's the economy, stupid. If the 10-minute cost of living sermon delivered by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis on Monday left any doubts about where National sees its re-election hopes living (or dying), they were dispelled at the party's annual conference on Saturday. With just four hours open to the media, a full hour was set aside for a not-so-pithily titled session on 'growing the economy to reduce the cost of living for all New Zealanders' – the same time allocated to health, education, law and order, and rural issues combined. Two of Luxon's more reliable performers, Willis and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, led the session alongside Tourism Minister Louise Upston in a further sign of the importance placed by the party on assuring members and the wider public they, rather than Labour, are best placed to look after the bottom line. It was a message hammered by Luxon during his own address to the party faithful in Christchurch, saying the fiscal conditions the coalition had inherited from the last Labour government were 'the worst in a generation'. 'The national debt had tripled, inflation hit a thirty-year high, homeowners were crushed by a surge in interest rates, and critical growth industries like agriculture and energy were under constant siege.' While the Government had made progress, many New Zealanders were still struggling to keep up with the cost of living, the Prime Minister conceded. The solution, at least in part? According to Luxon, 'we have to say yes to letting it happen'. 'We can't afford to leave any stone unturned, shut down whole sectors, or just sit around and hope that conditions will improve.' That was the argument behind the policy centrepiece of his speech – a loosening of the rules around granting permits (or concessions, as they are formally known) for commercial activities on Department of Conservation land, while also introducing a charge for foreign tourists at four locations where they made up more than 80 percent of all visitors: Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Mount Cook. Exactly how the latter element will be put into practice remains somewhat uncertain: 'We have to organise and sort out how that's going to work, but there are ways and means to do that,' Conservation Minister Tama Potaka told journalists, with the four chosen sites functioning as a trial before any wider rollout. Senior ministers Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop led National's defence on its handling of the economy. Photo: Sam Sachdeva The changes to concessions on conservation land attracted criticism from Forest and Bird, which claimed they would 'make it easier to sell off or commercially exploit these areas'. That is an argument unlikely to win favour with the current coalition, as demonstrated by Bishop channelling his inner Shane Jones as he promised the Government's resource management reforms would make it easier to build new wind farms (among other projects). 'We've got the best wind in the world, and we spent years arguing about how we could build wind farms that don't result in the death of just one bird or one lizard, one snail.' It is clear he views the replacement of the much maligned Resource Management Act as a legacy-defining moment for himself and the coalition, emphasising the billions of dollars in compliance costs in the coming decades that could be eradicated with successful reforms. 'That's why I don't get a lot of sleep. That's what keeps me up at night, worrying about it, because we have got to get it right.' As David Parker found, however, such lofty ambitions can swiftly be undone by a political successor, and National will need to find a faster economic fix if it is to be in government long enough for any RMA reforms to bear fruit. One such 'quick win' – the decision to ban surcharges on in-store card payments – has not proved universally popular, with one delegate questioning National's claim to be the party of small business. 'Under [Sir John] Key, we got Mondayisation [of public holidays]. Under Cindy [Dame Jacinda Ardern], we got Matariki, more recently, an extra percent in KiwiSaver, sick days gone from five to 10 days, and now you're looking at getting rid of merchant fees. 'Now the interchange fee is only part of it, so I think we need to reassess that.' Another party member, who worked with small businesses run by migrants and refugees, said many were struggling to pay wages, rent and other costs in the current environment. In return, Willis offered sympathy – 'man oh man, it has been a tough time to be a small business in New Zealand' – but also indicated there was little room for new state support. 'We know where growth and prosperity comes from, and it doesn't actually come from the Government saying, 'I'll write you a cheque. It comes from the Government saying, 'I'll get out of the way and I'll make sure that business people can go and invest and do things and make things and hire people'.' An economic boost could be around the corner, she suggested, with more households due to move onto lower interest rates for their mortgages and free up money to pump back into the economy. That is certainly possible, but there is one rather large complicating factor: the impact of United States President Donald Trump's tariffs. While the Reserve Bank has indicated the tariffs are unlikely to have an inflationary impact on the New Zealand economy, it has also noted household spending and business investment are both significantly hampered by economic uncertainty such as that attached to the Trump tariffs. Friday's unpleasant surprise that New Zealand exports would face a 15 percent tariff into the US, rather than the 10 percent announced back in April, has led the Government to take a slightly more assertive approach to what Luxon labelled a 'rather late decision' from the Trump administration. Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay told the audience he had spoken to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Saturday morning, and was dispatching his 'top trade diplomat' – Vangelis Vitalis – to Washington DC next week for talks. It seems difficult to see Greer or Trump making an exception for New Zealand, however, given 15 percent is the new 'floor' for any country that does not buy more from the US than it sends in the other direction. As Luxon noted, every other country is dealing with the same challenging environment and must forge ahead regardless; any self-pity would risk being seen as hypocrisy, anyway, given he and his ministers have hardly offered Labour any credit for the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its economic performance in government. 'We can navigate some pretty choppy seas to get to the destination we want to get to, but for that to happen, you've got to have the right people with the hands on the tiller, which is us,' the Prime Minister said. Luxon was at pains to emphasise the coalition was only halfway into its term, with 'a lot of work to do as a government' – but next year's election is creeping ever closer, and he will need some luck to come his way if the economy is to be a trump card rather than a Trump-addled drag on National's vote in 2026.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Forest & Bird slams reform as 'conservation retreat', but minister defends economic push
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wants to make concessions easier to obtain. Photo: RNZ / Giles Dexter A major overhaul of conservation land law has sparked sharp criticism, with Forest & Bird accusing the government of gutting longstanding protections in favour of commercial interests. The government's intended changes to the Conservation Act , unveiled at the National Party conference in Christchurch on Saturday, aims to "unleash growth" by increasing the number of concessions - or permissions - granted to businesses wishing to operate on conservation land. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said many businesses already run on conservation land, but the current regime was "totally broken", with concessions "often taking years to obtain or renew". However, Forest & Bird said the Bill's changes will shift the focus of conservation law "from protection to exploitation". "This is not conservation reform, it's conservation retreat," said chief executive Nicola Toki. "We should not be making it easier to sell off conservation land for commercial gain. "Our laws should uphold the promise to protect nature for its own sake, for future generations and for all those who hold these places dear." She said the consultation document proposed making about five million hectares of public conservation land available for exchange or disposal, if deemed "surplus" or to "support other government priorities". Toki said this represented "the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation", warning it would increase pressure on native species and transform the Department of Conservation (DOC) from a protector of biodiversity into a land-use manager. "They dismantle the very purpose of our national parks and conservation lands," she said. "Our national parks are not theme parks - they are taonga with deep cultural and ecological significance. "This feels less like policy and more like an international online auction of the very places that define who we are." Conservation Minister Tama Potaka pushed back on claims the government was selling off conservation land. Conservation Minister Tama Potaka has pushed back on Forest & Bird claims. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii He said the changes were about creating a clearer, faster and more consistent concessions process for a wide range of land uses. "There's a huge backlog - some concessions were taking five-six years," Potaka said. "We've already halved that backlog in the last six months, but we need to change the system, so those backlogs don't build up again." Potaka highlighted that DOC land was already used for various infrastructure and business purposes, including cellphone towers, bridges, guided walks and concerts. He said the government's reforms aimed to bring more transparency and efficiency to how those uses are managed, and to re-invest revenue into biodiversity protection and pest control. "We're trying to get the right balance between the environment and nature, and the economy, but we do need to drive more economic outcomes out of the things we do own as a country," Potaka said. "That land [currently] makes about $50-60 million [annually]. In anyone's language, that might not be enough, especially if we want to re-invest into biodiversity, and ensure more jobs and high wages." Potaka rejected the notion that the reforms shifted DOC from its ecological mission. He said the changes would actually improve conservation outcomes by making the system more navigable for all types of users, including environmental educators and community groups. "People who host outdoor education camps need concessions too," he said. "Often they're more about community and kids than making money." Potaka also pointed to recent funding announcements - including $30m for weed and pest control, and heritage site upgrades - as evidence of the government's commitment to conservation. In addition to changes to land management, the government has proposed charging international visitors between $20-$40 to access four of the country's most popular natural attractions - Cathedral Cove, the Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound and Aoraki/Mount Cook. New Zealanders would not be charged. The prime minister said the new charges could generate an estimated $62m annually, all of which would be re-invested in the same areas. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 hours ago
- RNZ News
Mediawatch: The politics of PayWave
Photo: 123RF "Can someone get the Beehive a press secretary who can understand a news cycle?" asked the host of Herald Now show Ryan Bridge, opening his show last Tuesday with a bit of a broadside at the government's political management. "Yesterday we had a 10-minute sermon - that's the opposition's words - from Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon about the cost of living crisis," he said, referring to Monday's post-Cabinet press conference . That was timed for the first anniversary of their tax cuts - so why was that timing so bad? Bridge flourished The Herald 's own front page that day with a scoop about big boosts to the fees that Crown bodies can pay board members. "It's probably the worst headline you could have at a time like this," he spluttered. "Now I'm not saying they don't deserve it, but the timing... come on!" In bad economic times, stuff that looks bad can end up looking a lot worse no matter what day it goes public. The lead story on Herald Now that day also looked like it was timed with optics in mind - banning surcharges on in-store contactless transactions. "Those pesky surcharges on card payments are gone-skis," Bridge declared, echoing the government's own announcement. "Most customers will be very happy to see an end to the horrible little curled up handwritten coffee stain stickers on the EFTPOS machine," Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson told Ryan Bridge. But Bridge was not distracted by the aesthetics of EFTPOS terminals. He wanted to know who would really reap the benefit of the estimated $150 million saved from the surcharges salami-sliced out at stores as things stand. "That will be absorbed into the retail system," the minister said. "Right. Higher prices, in other words?" Bridge asked. "It's not much over the entire New Zealand commercial marketplace," the minister countered. But if so, it would not really cut the cost of living very much at all - and was not really a strong lead story at a time with so much else going on. "We can only pray that Luxon and Willis understand that shifting $90 million from banks to consumers is irrelevant in the context of a $430 billion economy, including the $7.2 billion the banks made in profits last year," columnist Matthew Hooton said in The Herald on Friday. Consumer NZ was not stoked that credit card surcharges applied to online payments were not covered by the ban. "This is disappointing because your flight or accommodation booking or any other online purchases could still attract a surcharge," Consumer NZ said. "Those transactions are generally much more expensive to process because... they have to protect against online scams, online fraud," Nicola Willis told RNZ's First Up . "We've kept them out of the regime for now because part-passing on the charge to the consumer makes more sense there," she added. But banks also deal with that and their charges are regulated - and it is far from transparent now how those costs are covered for online credit card transactions. While the Prime Minister had said on Monday: "You will no longer be penalised for your choice of payment method," media scrutiny this week revealed that users of EFTPOS and cash payers might end up penalised by a ban. "Any transaction where someone pays by swiping or inserting, is free for a retailer. But as people move to contactless... a higher percentage of their transactions will incur a fee," Retail NZ's Carolyn Young told RNZ 's Morning Report . The Commerce Commission recently moved to cap the interchange fees banks charge each other. That was also meant to reduce the cost to retailers. More people now using PayWave could wipe out the other potential benefits. "I think it's really just performative. If we're paywaving everywhere and then the costs are shared across everyone," Dan Brunskill of told RNZ 's Nine to Noon on Tuesday when asked about the PayWave surcharge ban. The same day BusinessDesk pointed out that just 10 days earlier the Commerce Commission had claimed its interchange fee cap would save businesses $90 million a year in payment costs. The Commission [ also said it was already exploring what regulation may be needed to address excessive surcharging, which it estimated at about $45 million to $60 million a year. But Business Desk's headline Government beats Commerce Commission to card surcharge ban showed that in this case, the government might have got its PR timing right to take the credit for reduced credit card payment costs now. The media scrutiny also illuminated another duopolistic aspect of our economy: Visa and MasterCard dominating this payment trade. Alternatives do exist, BusinessDesk tech reporter Peter Griffin pointed out on Wednesday . But he said after the surcharge ban, PayWavers here will be less likely to seek out cheaper solutions if they cannot see they are cheaper. "We should now focus on reducing the underlying costs of payment processing, not simply regulating away the only mechanism for acknowledging those costs. In the world of payments, as in so much else, what's visible on the bill is only the start of the story." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
