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RNZ News
9 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Te Pāti Māori announces Ikaroa-Rāwhiti candidate
Te Pāti Māori candidate Haley Maxwell. Photo: Supplied Te Pāti Māori has announced Haley Maxwell will stand for next year's general election - for the one Māori seat currently held by Labour. Maxwell helped organise the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti in the region last year. "Haley Maxwell spearheaded the historic Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti from Te Tairāwhiti right through to Kahungunu. Haley embodies the fierce compassion and courage that Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is famous for" Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said in a written statement. "She has stood on the marae, in the courts and on the streets for our people. Parliament will be a stronger house with her voice echoing the roar of Te Tairāwhiti." The statement described Maxwell as a wāhine Māori, māmā and nanny whose life's work centred on rangatahi justice, reo revitalisation and tangata-whenua drive community development. It said her campaign would focus on "tackling sky-high food costs, unaffordable housing, and low incomes across Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, while championing Te Pāti Māori's justice, housing, and mana motuhake policies". The party did not respond to questions about the timing of the announcement during a by-election for Tamaki-Makaurau, which Labour is also contesting. In a statement, Labour's MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, said the region deserved choices. "I acknowledge the Te Pāti Māori candidate announcement of Hayley Maxwell, and commend her for putting herself forward," she said. "Ikaroa-Rāwhiti deserves to have choices and will ultimately choose their voice in Parliament. In the meantime it's my honour to continue to serve the region." Te Pāti Māori has announced Haley Maxwell will stand for next year's general election - for the one Māori seat currently held by Labour. Maxwell helped organise the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti in the region last year. "Haley Maxwell spearheaded the historic Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti from Te Tairāwhiti right through to Kahungunu. Haley embodies the fierce compassion and courage that Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is famous for" Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi said in a written statement. "She has stood on the marae, in the courts and on the streets for our people. Parliament will be a stronger house with her voice echoing the roar of Te Tairāwhiti." The statement described Maxwell as a wāhine Māori, māmā and nanny whose life's work centred on rangatahi justice, reo revitalisation and tangata-whenua drive community development. It said her campaign would focus on "tackling sky-high food costs, unaffordable housing, and low incomes across Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, while championing Te Pāti Māori's justice, housing, and mana motuhake policies". The party did not respond to questions about the timing of the announcement during a by-election for Tamaki-Makaurau, which Labour is also contesting. In a statement, Labour's MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, Cushla Tangaere-Manuel, said the region deserved choices. "I acknowledge the Te Pāti Māori candidate announcement of Hayley Maxwell, and commend her for putting herself forward," she said. "Ikaroa-Rāwhiti deserves to have choices and will ultimately choose their voice in Parliament. In the meantime it's my honour to continue to serve the region." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
39 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Cr chided over digs about mayor
A councillor who labelled the Dunedin mayor a "buffoon" and "a baby Trump" has been called an embarrassment to city governance. The remarks come after Mayor Jules Radich suggested, in the wake of singer Ed Sheeran not coming to Dunedin, the city should launch a "Dunedin Sounds" festival. Mr Radich suggested Dunedin Sounds could be an event Sheeran might one day headline along with other international artists, including Taylor Swift. Cr Steve Walker took to social media to criticise Mr Radich's thinking. "It's a reminder of what a complete buffoon this guy is, he's literally rambling on like a baby Trump. "He did this pre the last local election and enough of you fell for it." Cr Brent Weatherall said Cr Walker's "nasty style" on social media did him no favours. "He would be better to invest in a pair of six-inch platforms if he wants to be noticed, and stick to issues important to himself if he wants to be taken seriously by voters opposed to disrespectful personal attacks on the mayor." Cr Bill Acklin said Cr Walker's behaviour was unacceptable and he accused the Labour-endorsed councillor of being disruptive through the term. "I find Cr Walker to be an embarrassment to the governance of this city," Cr Acklin said. "I would like to think that the party who endorse him would also be ashamed of his unprofessional antics." Southern Labour electorate committee chairwoman Ruth Chapman said the party continued to have confidence in Cr Walker as a candidate for a council seat. Cr Walker stood by his position. "In essence, [Mr Radich] can't just bleat out any nonsense about Taylor Swift et al, with no robust background work to understand how mechanically it would all work. "There's never been a vision or masterplan under Radich, just plucked-out-of-the-air nonsense. "Jules isn't a bad or nasty guy — he just isn't capable of the job voters picked him to do." Mr Radich did not want to engage with Cr Walker's comments. "Cr Walker persists in name calling and such behaviour says a lot more about him than his targets." Mayoral candidate Andrew Simms said Cr Walker's comments crossed a line. "I have seen this and many other similar comments from Cr Walker which communicate a deep disrespect for the current mayor and a deep-seated resentment of previous decisions made by Mayor Radich. "While Cr Walker may not respect Mayor Radich as a person, he should have respect for the office of the mayor. "It is entirely possible to express disapproval in the performance of the current mayor and uphold some dignity and respect at the same time. "In my view, such exchanges only serve to further undermine the community's respect for this current council at every level." Cr Carmen Houlahan, who is also running for mayor, said Cr Walker's comments were in the atmosphere of an election campaign. "We are in an election. Have you seen some of the abuse we are getting? "Sadly, 'buffoon' is kind compared to some of the unacceptable comments from some in the public." Cr Houlahan said criticism of the council as dysfunctional was wide of the mark. "This term we have worked hard with a huge workload, with government changes to legislation around Three Waters, the hospital campaign ... Most of the time we have all worked well together. "We have differing views at times — that is democracy." Cr David Benson-Pope said: "My view of the mayor appeared in your publication as the front-page lead when I stated 'he has none of the skills required for the job'." — Additional reporting Grant Miller
Otago Daily Times
39 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Business case flawed: Brooking
The release of a "flawed" business case means more information is needed before Labour decides whether it would dump the planned Waikato Medical School, a Dunedin MP says. Last Monday, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced Cabinet had approved $82.85 million in government funding to build the country's third medical school at the University of Waikato — the institution was expected to contribute more than $150m to the project. Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking, of Labour, said she was "very sceptical" about figures used by the government to make its decision. The project's detailed business case was made public on Friday evening, part of a document dump which revealed the cost of producing GPs at the graduate-entry Waikato medical school would be $50 million a year cheaper than at the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland universities. "The business case has really been written with an outcome in mind and not traversed all of the options, and that's just bad decision-making," Ms Brooking said. "It's bad way to make use of taxpayers' money, and it seems that in general, this all will cost more." She said the "flawed" business case would have consequences for the Otago Medical School: "those are difficult to predict exactly". However, Labour had "no plans at the moment" to dump the medical school, Ms Brooking said. "The issue is that we don't think the business case is credible. "So we'll keep asking questions about that and try and make any assessments on good information when we're in a position to do so." Taieri MP Ingrid Leary said "the so-called business case is really just a public relations document, given the outlandish assumptions and comparators". In a statement last Monday, Mr Brown said the project was an innovative model "that supports our focus on strengthening primary care, making it easier for people to see their doctor — helping Kiwis stay well and out of hospital". Waikato University would begin construction on new teaching facilities later this year. A full cost-benefit analysis was presented to Cabinet before any proposal was finalised, as part of the National-Act New Zealand coalition agreement, he said. Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the government's cost-benefit analysis used to "ram through" the Waikato Medical School made assumptions revealing the "lack of objectivity". Mr Hernandez said the document "falsely assumed" Otago and Auckland universities could not have negotiated a four-year rural graduate programme similar to Waikato University's proposal. "This assumption enables the government to claim that Waikato University will train medical students 'cheaper' because Waikato is assumed to have a four-year programme," he said. The government had also assumed Waikato University was more likely to produce GPs "even though Otago and Auckland could have also done a rural graduate programme". "Fundamentally, these flawed assumptions stem from the government's failure to run a transparent tender process from the start," Mr Hernandez said. "Rather than putting out an open tender to every university in New Zealand, they gave Waikato University a sweetheart deal." He called for the government to "be up front and honest about the actual costs" of the project and release the full agreement with Waikato University with all relevant advice. "The government's failure to rule out further handouts or to release the actual agreement raises questions on whether there were further sweetheart deals negotiated behind closed doors in the agreement that might end up with the taxpayer bailing out Waikato University."
