Covid inquiry 2, fiscal holes set for re-run, TVNZ bias check
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Scoop
9 hours ago
- Scoop
Mediawatch: Pandemic Probe Media Focus Flipped To Politicians
, Mediawatch Presenter "It's the big one. The inquiry into the Covid response kicks off this morning. It looks at lockdowns. It looks at all of the things you hated most," Ryan Bridge told viewers of NZME's streaming show Herald Now last Monday morning. But the public hearings which ran all week turned out not to be such a 'big one' for the media. "I saw the Covid inquiry in the news this morning and I just thought: how long does this have to go on for?" an exasperated Lara Greaves - an associate professor in politics - told Bridge later in the same show. She's not the only one who feels that way. But the hearings were barely in the news after they got under way on Monday. On Tuesday the inquiry was well down the running order in morning and evening news shows, long after coverage of the mushroom poisoning trial in Australia. On Wednesday the possibility of moa being regenerated with the backing of Sir Peter Jackson was a bigger story for most outlets. There was a little more coverage on Thursday when anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown groups appeared, ahead of anti-conspiracy theory group FACT and immunologist Professor Graeme LeGros later on. But by the time they wrapped up on Friday the hearings had virtually vanished from bulletins. And what was said over the five days generated less coverage than questions about whether politicians would appear at hearings in future. As for "the things you hated most" - people hated different things. Asthmatic Annie Collins told the inquiry on the first day she thought lockdowns worked and saved lives, and vaccine misinformation online was the real problem. "I think that was a major flaw in our system. All those social media streams should have been blocked. They were disgusting and they were basically lies," she said. Shutting down social media channels was out of scope for this inquiry, but the chairman Grant Illingworth KC told Ryan Bridge on Monday the big decisions made at the time were certainly not. Putting the heat on the decision-makers When the Herald Now host pressed the chairman about getting the big political decision-makers in front of the inquiry he said they would be invited to come and give evidence at a second set of hearings next month. When asked if former PM Jacinda Ardern would be one of them, Illingworth replied: "There are issues in relation to our powers when people are out of the country. If she's in the country, we will consider her position." He would not reveal details of specific communications, but he did say "those things are being worked through" and that "we will be fair, open and transparent at the appropriate time." That response was misinterpreted by many in the media as meaning Jacinda Ardern had been asked to attend - and either had not yet responded or that the chair would not say if she had or not. RNZ amended its reporting to make it clear the Commission said no decision had yet been made about who would appear at the August hearings. But Ryan Bridge continued to press for Ardern's appearance on Herald Now and Newstalk ZB. David Seymour - appearing as the acting PM - told Ryan Bridge the former PM should front up to answer questions about "the most significant political and economic event of this century so far." But Seymour was also at pains to point out that the inquiry is independent, and would make its own decision. That was the reason Labour leader Chris Hipkins - health minister during the period covered by the inquiry - gave on Morning Report the next day for not giving a view on Ardern's attendance. Hipkins also dodged a question about whether he'd discussed the issue with Jacinda Ardern herself. On Herald Now on Tuesday, Chris Hipkins confirmed he was cooperating with the inquiry, but equivocated on whether he himself would appear before it in August. He also made it clear he really didn't fancy what he thought had become a political process. "The terms of reference specifically exclude decisions made when New Zealand First were part of the government. So I think that the terms of reference have been deliberately constructed to achieve a particular outcome, particularly around providing a platform for those who have conspiracy theorists' views," he said. NZ First demanded the inquiry when forming the coalition government in 2023. The party even invoked 'agree to disagree' provisions in that agreement when National persisted with the first Royal Commission the Labour government had already launched. The second phase opened this week with new commissioners and expanded terms of reference, which meant that fringe voices opposed to the vaccine mandates, and in some cases the vaccine itself, would be heard this time and heard but not cross examined. "It seems to have been specifically written into the terms of reference that they get maximum airtime," Hipkins told Herald Now, adding that some of those given a platform had inspired the occupation of Parliament in 2022, where platforms for gallows were built - including one with his own name on it. One of the groups that prompted the occupation was the anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown group Voices for Freedom. The group's Facebook page was taken offline in 2021 for what the platform said was "misinformation that could cause physical harm." "You seriously expect the people of New Zealand to accept that deaths being reported internationally (in 2020) were not genuinely from Covid?" Grant Illingworth KC asked them on Thursday. "We're not disputing that there were deaths. We're simply saying that it gets very complex, especially when people are being funded in order to tick a box to say that a death was caused by Covid," VFF co-founder Claire Deeks replied. Voices for Freedom is also promoting a Face the Music campaign pressing the inquiry's commissioners to summon Jacinda Ardern and others and "hold them accountable for their COVID abuse." Their online petition depicts Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Sir Ashley Bloomfield all shoulder-to-shoulder in a courtroom dock. It's not exactly in tune with the evidence-gathering and non-adversarial approach of this Royal Commission's mandate. But others in the media weighed in behind the idea. "It is actually bizarre that we are having a Covid inquiry without Dame Jacinda's participation. She owes it to Kiwis to front up," Stuff's 'good news' correspondent Patrick Gower declared on Wednesday. That was triggered by Sir Ian Taylor's open letter to Jacinda Ardern last weekend - also published by Stuff - accusing Ardern of turning her back on the nation of five million for "a waka for one." But the same day The Post had reported a spokesperson for Dame Jacinda Ardern said she would provide evidence to the Covid-19 inquiry if asked - and "discussions were ongoing about the best way for it to occur." "Fact: Ardern has agreed to give evidence to phase two of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Government's response to Covid-19," The Herald's Fran O'Sullivan stated bluntly this weekend. "There is room to examine all of this dispassionately - not try to (figuratively) hang her again as the more deranged attempted when they wheeled out their noose on Parliament's grounds." For all the urging in the media, the story has actually been the same since March when the inquiry issued a minute, making it clear it could not take a legalistic or adversarial approach. "The commissioners expect that individuals will be prepared to attend interviews with them and or officers of the inquiry on a voluntary basis," the minute stated, regarding interviews with decision makers. "The interviews may be conducted online or in person, recorded and may be transcribed for the public record." In the end opinions about a point that was mostly moot overshadowed the coverage of what the commissioners were actually told in five days of public, livestreamed hearings.
Scoop
10 hours ago
- Scoop
New Caledonia's Political Parties Commit To 'Historic' Deal In France
, Correspondent French Pacific Desk New Caledonia's pro-and-anti-independence parties committed on Saturday to a 'historic' deal regarding the future political status of the French Pacific territory, which is set to become, for the first time, a "State' within the French realm. The 13-page agreement, officially entitled "Agreement Project of the Future of New Caledonia", is the result of a solid 10 days of harsh negotiations between both pro and anti-independence parties who have stayed, under closed doors, at a hotel in the small city of Bougival, in the outskirts of Paris. The talks were convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, after an earlier series of talks, held between February and May 2025, failed to yield an agreement. After opening the talks on 2 July 2025, Macron handed over them to his Minister for Overseas, Manuel Valls, to oversee. Valls managed to bring together all parties around the same table earlier this year. In his opening speech earlier this month, Macron insisted on the need to restore New Caledonia's economy, which was brought to its knees following destructive and deadly riots that erupted in May 2024. He said France was ready to study any solution, including an "associated State" for New Caledonia. During the following days, all political players exchanged views, under the seal of strict confidentiality. While the pro-independence movement, and its Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), remained adamant they would settle for no less than "full sovereignty", the pro-France parties were mostly arguing that three referendums, held between 2018 and 2021, had already concluded that most New Caledonians wanted New Caledonia to remain part of France. Those results, they said, dictated that the democratic result of the three consultations was to be respected. With this confrontational context, which resulted in an increasingly radicalised background in New Caledonia, that eventually led to the 2024 riots, the Bougival summit was dubbed the "summit of last chance." In the early hours of Saturday just before 7 a.m. (Paris time, 5 p.m. NZ time), after a sleepless night, the secret surrounding the Bougival talks finally ended with an announcement from Valls, who wrote in a release that all partners taking part in the talks had signed and "committed to present and defend the (agreement's) text, as it stands, on New Caledonia's future." Valls said this was a "major commitment resulting from a long work of negotiations during which New Caledonia's partners made the choice of courage and responsibility." The released document signed by almost 20 politicians, details what the deal would imply for New Caledonia's future. In its preamble, the fresh deal underlines that New Caledonia was "once again betting on trust, dialogue and peace", through "a new political organisation, a more widely shared sovereignty and an economic and social refoundation" for a "reinvented common destiny." New Caledonia's population will be called to approve the agreement in February 2026. If approved, the text would be the centrepiece of a "special organic law" voted by the local Congress. It would later have to be endorsed by the French Parliament and enshrined in a dedicated article of the French Constitution. What does the agreement contain? One of the most notable developments in terms of future status for New Caledonia is the notion of a "State of New Caledonia", under a regime that would maintain it a part of France, but with a dual citizenship (France, New Caledonia). Another formulation used for the change of status is the often-used "sui generis", which in legal Latin, describes a unique evolution, comparable to no other. This would be formalised through a fundamental law to be endorsed by New Caledonia's Congress (Parliament) by a required majority of three-fifths. The number of MPs in the Congress would be 56. The text also envisages a gradual transfer of key powers currently held by France (such as international relations), but would not include portfolios such as defence, currency or justice. In diplomacy, New Caledonia would be empowered to conduct its own affairs, but "in respect of France's international commitments and vital interests." On defence matters, even though this would remain under France's powers, it is envisaged that New Caledonia would be "strongly" associated, consulted and kept informed, regarding strategy, goals and actions led by France in the Pacific region. On police and public order matters, New Caledonia would be entitled to create its own provincial and traditional security forces, in addition to national French law enforcement agencies. New Caledonia's sensitive electoral roll The sensitive issue of New Caledonia's electoral roll and conditions of eligibility to vote at local elections (including for the three Provincial Assemblies) is also mentioned in the agreement. It was this very issue that was perceived as the main trigger for the May 2024 riots, the pro-independence movement feared at the time that changing the conditions to vote would gradually place the indigenous Kanak community in a position of minority. It is now agreed that the electoral roll would be partly opened to those people of New Caledonia who were born after 1998. The roll was frozen in 2007 and restricted to people born before 1998, which is the date the previous major autonomy agreement of Nouméa was signed. Under the new proposed conditions to access New Caledonia's "citizenship", those entitled would include people who already can vote at local elections, but also their children or any person who has resided in New Caledonia for an uninterrupted ten years or who has been married or lived in a civil de facto partnership with a qualified citizen for at least five years. Provincial elections once again postponed One of the first deadlines on the electoral calendar, the provincial elections, was to take place no later than 30 November 2025. It will be moved once again (for the third time) to May-June 2026. A significant part of the political deal is also dedicated to New Caledonia's economic "refoundation", with a high priority for the young generations, who have felt left out of the system and disenfranchised for too long. One of the main goals was to bring New Caledonia's public debts to a level of sustainability. In 2024, following the riots, France granted, in the form of loans, over one billion Euros for New Caledonia's key institutions to remain afloat. But some components of the political chessboard criticised the measure, saying this was placing the French territory in a state of excessive and long-term debt. Strategic nickel A major topic, on the macro-economic side, concerns New Caledonia's nickel mining industry, after years of decline that has left it (even before 2024) in a state of near-collapse. Nickel is regarded as the backbone of New Caledonia's economy. A nickel "strategic plan" would aim at re-starting New Caledonia nickel's processing plants, especially in the Northern province, but at the same time facilitating the export of raw nickel. There was also a will to ensure that all mining sites (many of which have been blocked and its installations damaged since the May 2024 riots) became accessible again. Meanwhile, France would push the European Union to include New Caledonia's nickel in its list of strategic resources. New Caledonia's nickel industry's woes are also caused by its lack of competitiveness on the world market (especially compared to Indonesia's recent rise in prominence in nickel production), because of the high cost of energy. Swift reactions, mostly positive The announcement, on Saturday, was followed by quick reactions, from all sides of New Caledonia's political spectrum, but also from mainland France's political leaders. French Prime Minister François Bayrou expressed "pride" to see an agreement, "on par with history", emerge. "Bravo also to the work and patience of Manuel Valls" and "the decisive implication of Emmanuel Macron", he wrote on X-Twitter. From the ranks of New Caledonia's political players, pro-France Nicolas Metzdorf said he perceived as one of the deal's main benefits the fact that "we will at last be able to project ourselves in the future, in economic, social and societal reconstruction without any deadline." Metzdorf admitted that reaching an agreement required concessions and compromise from both sides. "But the fact that we are no longer faced with referendums and to reinforce the powers of our provinces, this was our mandate", he told public broadcaster Outre-mer la 1ère. "We've had to accept this change from New Caledonia citizenship to New Caledonian nationality, which remains to be defined by New Caledonia's Congress. We have also created a completely new status as part of the French Republic, a sui generis State", he noted. He said the innovative status kept New Caledonia within France, without going as far as an "associated State" mooted earlier. "At least, what we have arrived at is that New Caledonians remain French", pro-France Le Rassemblement-LR prominent leader Virginie Ruffenach commented. "And those who want to contribute to New Caledonia's development will be able to do so through a minimum stay of residence, the right to vote and to become citizens and later New Caledonia nationals" "I'm aware that some could be wary of the concessions we made, but let's face it: New Caledonia Nationality does not make New Caledonia an independent State (...) It does not take away anything from us, neither of us belonging to the French Republic nor our French nationality", Southern Province pro-France President Sonia Backès wrote on social networks. In a joint release, the two main pro-France parties, Les Loyalistes and Rassemblement-LR, said the deal was no less than "historic" and "perennial" for New Caledonia as a whole, to "offer New Caledonia a future of peace, stability and prosperity" while at the same time considering France's Indo-Pacific strategy. From the pro-independence side, one of the negotiators, Victor Tutugoro -UNI-UPM (Progressist Union in Melanesia)- said what mattered is that "All of us have placed our bets on intelligence, beyond our respective beliefs, our positions, our postures." "We put all of these aside for the good of the country." "Of course, by definition, a compromise cannot satisfy anyone 100 percent. But it's a balanced compromise for everyone," he said. "And it allows us to look ahead, to build New Caledonia together, a citizenship and this common destiny everyone's been talking about for many years." Before politicians fly back to New Caledonia to present the deal to their respective bases, President Macron received all delegation members Saturday evening (Paris time) to congratulate them on their achievements. During the Presidential meeting at the Elysée palace, FLNKS chief negotiator Emmanuel Tjibaou (whose father Jean-Marie Tjibaou also struck a historic agreement and shook hands with pro-France leader Jacques Lafleur, in 1988), stressed the agreement was one step along the path and it allows to envisage new perspectives for the Kanak people. A sign of the changing times, but in a striking parallel: 37 years after his father's historic handshake with Lafleur, Emmanuel Tjibaou (whose father was shot dead in 1989 by a radical pro-independence partisan who felt the independence cause had been betrayed), did not shake hands, but instead fist pumped with pro-France's Metzdorf. In a brief message on social networks, the French Head of State hailed the conclusive talks, which he labelled "A State of New Caledonia within the (French) Republic," a win for a "bet on trust." "Now is the time for respect, for stability and for the sum of good wills to build a shared future."
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
ACT sets out plan to party faithful: "Keep the government and make it better"
ACT is holding their annual rally in Auckland on Sunday. Shown: ACT leader David Seymour at the 2023 party rally. Photo: RNZ / Mohammad Alafeshat ACT has unveiled its pitch to lure a new supermarket player into New Zealand through a new fast-track approval process. It's part of the party's bid to focus on "problem solving" rather than "finger-pointing" as it looks toward the next election, to "keep the government" and make it "better". Leader David Seymour made the announcement at the party's annual rally on Sunday, in Auckland, where it considered its half-time "report card" of its performance in government . Seymour outlined the party's wins through the past year and a half - including in efforts on law and order and reducing co-governance - while signalling to the campaign ahead and the voters he wanted to claim. A key focus of Seymour's speech were the voters who he said had been treated as a "scapegoat" by the previous government. He suggested Labour chose landlords as a scapegoat for the issue of high rents. He said Labour did this because of "politics." "There are three million voters and only 120,000 are landlords so there's 23 other voters per landlord. They say the most important skill in politics is the ability to count." Along with landlords, Seymour said firearm owners, farmers and employers were affected by policies Labour put in place, as well as groups of people he said Labour had left out in the cold. "Blaming someone might feel good. We think that building something feels better," he said. "Whether you rent or own, farm or teach, build or tend, your future depends on solving the same problems, not blaming different people." His coalition partners weren't left unscathed tough, as he pointed to efforts to target big corporations as a way of making things easier for New Zealand, and targeting the cost of living. "You can understand people wanting to go after the banks or the supermarkets or the power companies. "It would be the easiest thing in the world for me to give a speech saying they're crooked and need to be punished somehow. "They should be taxed somehow, have their businesses broken up, or be watched over by even toothier watchdogs. It's the curse of zero sum thinking." His solution to the "biggest challenge we face" - the cost of living - was to loosen up what Seymour called "outdated planning and consenting rules", which were the biggest barriers to international supermarket players setting up shop in the country. "With the cost of living, the solution is not regulation but competition. Business should fear competition, not their own government." A new ACT party proposal - rather than government policy - would introduce a fast-track approval process that would streamline rezoning, consenting and investment approvals to build new supermarkets at scale. Seymour said this would allow new entrants or smaller grocers to get approval within months, not years. There was no mention in the speech of a specific player who had shown interest in setting up in New Zealand, but Seymour said he hoped it would bring a "serious extra chain to retail in New Zealand.' "Even if it doesn't, just the possibility of a new competitor can help keep competitive pressure on the incumbents," he said. "If it doesn't work, we'll know that either our market is more competitive than we thought, or we have some other problem." Ultimately, he told the audience, "if you're looking for finger pointing, don't look here. We are interested in problem solving." "If you want to find a scapegoat, you can, but it still won't work. We tried it with landlords, we tried it with oil and gas, we tried it with farmers, employers, and licensed firearm owners. "Every time government goes after a group in society, the problem gets worse." As part of his speech he also acknowledged the failure of the Treaty Principles Bill to pass into law. "Our partners abandoned us defining the Treaty Principles, so we lost the vote. "That's a shame, but there's something more important than winning the vote. We won the argument." It's a key policy that differentiates ACT from its coalition partners, and the party has indicated it will continue to try and pass it in some form. "It is now a matter of time before the Treaty Principles Bill or something like it passes," Seymour told the gathering. At the half-way mark of this term in government, Seymour said the party's focus from here would be "campaigning to keep the government and keep making it better." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
