Live stream: PM Luxon gives Cabinet meeting update
Recent developments include:
Labour on Sunday confirmed MP Peeni Henare will contest the by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, competing against Oriini Kaipara, who was named as Te Pāti Māori's candidate on Friday.
Erica Stanford, both Minister of Education and of Immigration, unveiled an ambitious plan to double the economic contribution of New Zealand's international education sector to $7.2 billion by 2034, up from $3.6 billion last year.
A group of industry bodies and independent energy retailers launched a campaign calling for an overhaul of the energy market. Energy Minister Simon Watts responded, saying a review into the market's affordability and reliability was underway and announcements would come "in due course".
ADVERTISEMENT
Founders of the Canterbury Charity Hospital, Dame Sue Bagshaw and Dr Phil Bagshaw, issued a warning that increasing reliance on private healthcare providers for elective surgeries will undermine patient outcomes and move New Zealand towards a American-style system.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
New US assessment finds underground site at the focus of US strikes in Iran badly damaged
Iran most likely still has a stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is just below the level that is usually used in nuclear weapons, US and Israeli officials say. But the officials believe it is buried under rubble, and Israeli officials believe that only the stockpile at Iran's nuclear laboratory at Isfahan is accessible despite the strikes on it. The crucial question of how long the American strikes have set back either the overall Iranian nuclear programme or Iran's ability to use its existing uranium to make a crude bomb continues to be debated within the US Government. The new US assessment was earlier reported by NBC News. The main target of the American bombing was Fordow, which was hit by a dozen GBU-57 bunker-busting bombs. The assessment concludes those explosions wiped out the thousands of delicate nuclear centrifuges buried under the mountain, a finding consistent with statements by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Multiple US officials said it would take at least two years of intensive work before the Fordow facility could be operational again. Other experts say that if Iran seeks to restart its programme, it is likely to do so at other underground sites. In addition to Fordow and Isfahan, the US Air Force dropped two bombs on Iran's older enrichment plant at Natanz, which had facilities above and below ground. A US Navy submarine fired cruise missiles at Isfahan, trying to destroy above-ground facilities there. While the underground facilities at Natanz and tunnels at Isfahan were far less damaged, US officials said that any effort by Iran to repair or gain access to them could be detected. Rebuilding the conversion facilities would also probably be spotted. With much of Iran's air defences destroyed, Israeli or US forces could attack again, stopping any reconstruction efforts, US officials said. An Israeli official repeated last week that the country was prepared to 'mow the lawn', suggesting sites could be reattacked. While US President Donald Trump has declared that all three sites were 'obliterated' and that Iran has given up its nuclear ambitions, US officials do not yet know whether the country is determined to restart the effort, nor whether it will try to move towards a bomb with whatever enriched uranium that remains. Trump and Israeli officials say their willingness to strike again may deter the Iranians from even trying. In the strikes at Fordow, the United States sent some of the bunker-busters down air ventilation shafts that took them closer to the buried control room and the centrifuge halls. That avoided having to blast through hundreds of yards of rock. Even if the bombs did not reach the centrifuge halls, US and Israeli officials say, the blast wave would have wiped out the centrifuges, including some of Iran's most advanced and efficient models. In contrast, Natanz was struck by only two of the Massive Ordnance Penetrators. Those strikes left much of the facility intact, though they probably destroyed the centrifuges and cut off Iran's ability to reach specific parts of the facility. Military planners in US Central Command had proposed multiple plans to the White House that would have utilised multiple waves of strikes against the sites that could have potentially done more damage. Current and former military officials had cautioned before the strike that any effort to destroy the Fordo facility, which is buried more than 75m under a mountain, would probably require waves of airstrikes, with days or even weeks of pounding the same spots. But Trump decided on a more limited single strike on the three sites and then pushed Israel to end its war against Iran. After the strikes, the Defence Intelligence Agency conducted an early assessment that said the Iranian nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months. But soon afterwards, John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, announced that 'a body of credible intelligence' indicated the nuclear programme had been severely damaged. 'Several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years,' Ratcliffe wrote. Ratcliffe's comments reflected growing confidence by US officials that Fordow's nuclear facilities were badly damaged and that the facility at Natanz that was meant to convert uranium into a metal that could be used in weapon was also destroyed. Ratcliffe delivered a more detailed report to lawmakers, saying it would take years to rebuild the metal conversion facility. Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said in a statement that it would take 'years to recover' Iran's nuclear facilities, and reiterated Trump's announcement that Iran's facilities were 'obliterated'. 'There is no doubt about that,' Parnell said. 'Operation Midnight Hammer was a significant blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities.' Some experts have criticised the US focus on just the three sites, arguing that Iran has others that it could use to restart the programme. 'We're too caught up in the stories about the big three sites — Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan — when really Iran's capabilities are much more sprawling and sophisticated, and include many sites that the US and Israel did not bomb,' said Rosemary Kelanic, an expert with Defence Priorities, a think-tank advocating a restrained foreign policy. 'Focusing too much on the big three sites misses the larger point that even if those three sites and their contents — centrifuges, stockpiles — were destroyed, Iran could likely still rebuild quickly.' Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies who has studied commercial satellite imagery of Iran, said he believed that three underground sites in Iran were not struck, one near Natanz, one at the Parchin military complex and a third secret site. He was sceptical that the additional sites could be easily struck, despite the US officials' certainty. 'If it were easy, they would have done it right away,' Lewis said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Julian E. Barnes, David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
New Institute for Advanced Technology announced by government
The government has unveiled a new public research organisation focused on "supercharging" the country's economy through advanced technology. Speaking in Auckland this morning, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the New Zealand Institute for Advanced Technology will be based focus on turning technologies like AI and quantum computing into commercial success. The announcement follows the establishment of three public research institutes focused on Earth Science, Bioeconomy and Health and Forensic Science. The Institute will first be incubated within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) before becoming an independent entity when legislation comes into effect in July 2026. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro Luxon said it will be New Zealand's fourth institute and the cornerstone of government's plan to make a high tech, high-value economy. "I expect it to be forward looking, with the support and advice of the Science Advisory Council, to invest in new areas of science that are reshaping the global economy, where we can develop excellent talent, create high-paying jobs, build new sectors and increase our export earnings," he said. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Shane Reti said the government is committing $231 million over the next four years to the institute, which will be based in Auckland and work with other research centres, universities and industries. "Our first major investment announced in May is already underway at Wellington Robinson Research Institute specialising in future magnetic and materials technologies and cryogenic superconducting further investments will be guided by the Prime Minister's Science Innovation and Technology Advisory Council," he said. Reti speaking at the announcement. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "New Zealand has a proud history of innovation, from agri-tech to clean energy, and these institutes will build on those strengths while unlocking new frontiers. This is not only research, it's about jobs growth and global impact, it's about delivering long term value for New Zealanders." Asked what consideration had been given to ethical AI use, Luxon said managing the negative impacts of AI had to be done in a "multilateral" way, buy working with other countries to build legislative frameworks for it. "There is a lot more upside with AI than there is downside, and this is a country that needs to embrace a lot more AI, quantum computing, synthetic biology, all of those," he said. "We understand the challenges around AI, but we will manage that through global forums, in terms of building out strong legislative frameworks. But the bigger opportunity is for us to get on and embrace it, because it's not coming, it's actually already here." Luxon said New Zealand had a history of producing "incredible" scientists. Reti and Luxon speak to media. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "I don't want this to be a country where we proudly say, 'oh, we invented that', and then someone else around the world commercialised it," he said. "Just look at Denmark, right? Think about the work that they did on pharmaceuticals, around weight loss drugs, Ozempic and other things that have been huge around the world. That is powering that economy. That is a huge focused investment in science and technology." Auckland Business Chamber chief executive Simon Bridges said it's a move that follows clear calls from the business community to supercharge the city's tech future. "This is just the start. We now need to double down on digital skills, commercial investment, and putting our startups on the global map," he said Bridges said the suburb of Newmarket was a natural home for the new institute. "Newmarket offers the full package - advanced R&D, space to scale, and commercial potential. "I certainly hope the institute will be based at Newmarket, it is the right place for it. But regardless of the precise final location, Auckland is the right launchpad for a national push into advanced tech." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
8 hours ago
- Scoop
Greens Call For NZ Govt To Take UK's Lead And Lower Voting Age
The Green Party is calling on the Government to follow the lead of the United Kingdom and lower the voting age to 16. 'We are calling on the New Zealand Government to follow in the footsteps of the United Kingdom and lower the voting age to 16,' says the Green Party's spokesperson for Democracy and Electoral Reform, Celia Wade Brown. 'Young people deserve to have a say in the decisions that affect their future. The choices we make today will determine the burden future generations carry. It is only fair that the voices of these generations have a say. 'Aotearoa was a world leader in being the first country in the world where women gained the vote, but we are falling behind the pack when it comes to giving this right to youth. 'The Supreme Court in Aotearoa has already ruled that denying 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote is a breach of their human rights. 'The Independent Electoral Review into the 2023 General Election recommended lowering the voting age and the Green Party agreed, but the coalition-dominated Select Committee rejected this sensible step. We heard that starting voting at 16 means a higher turnout continues. This is critical for our democracy, for both central and local government elections. 'Just this month, we heard loud and clear from youth MPs that it's time to lower the voting age to 16. Our youth care about our future, they care about this country, and they want to be involved in making New Zealand a better place. 'Christopher Luxon can begin to show he cares about democracy by demonstrating some leadership and lowering the voting age. This is a decision in his Government's hands and one we can make now,' says Celia Wade Brown.
