King's Birthday Honours 2025: Abuse survivor accepts honour, slams Government on redress
Chris Longhurst has been made a companion of the King's Service
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Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
Unleashing Growth On Conservation Land
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister Minister of Conservation Unleashing economic growth on one third of New Zealand's land will create jobs and increase wages across the country, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced at the National Party Conference in Christchurch today. 'The Department of Conservation manages huge tracts of New Zealand, from the most pristine parts of our National Parks and the Great Walks to areas of grassland used for grazing,' Mr Luxon says. 'Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate – from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers. 'But to do any of that, you need a concession – and the concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew and leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo. 'Outdated rules mean we've got examples of modern E-bike users being turned away from potential touring opportunities because they have to be considered as proper vehicles. And tourism on the Routeburn is being held up because the trail crosses artificial boundaries, with different rules and different limits. 'So, in the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth, and higher wages, today I can make two announcements. 'First, we're going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions – like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense. 'At the same time, sites that are truly special to New Zealanders should be protected so we are giving DOC more support by introducing a charge for foreign visitors to access high volume sites,' Mr Luxon says. Tama Potaka says this will initially involve looking at four locations – Cathedral Cove / Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Aoraki Mount Cook – where foreigners often make up 80 per cent of all visitors. 'Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change. But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free. 'It's only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person. 'For the conservation estate that will mean up to $62 million per year in revenue, which will be directly re-invested into those same areas, so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector,' Mr Potaka says. Mr Luxon says, at the same time, there will be no charge for New Zealanders to access the conservation estate. 'It's our collective inheritance and Kiwis shouldn't have to pay to see it. 'If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs, and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way,' Mr Luxon says.
NZ Herald
4 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Ex-National Party president Peter Goodfellow on what threatens 2026 re-election
'Desley, I love you very much,' Goodfellow said, his voice catching in his throat. His final message to the party faithful was his best wishes in the 'fight to win the party vote in 2026'. Former National Party board member Peter Goodfellow (right) speaks at the party's annual conference in Christchurch alongside current party president Sylvia Wood. Photo / Adam Pearse Despite a party vote target in the mid-40s, National hadn't registered above 40% since January last year and hadn't breached 35% since April across several opinion pollsters. It received 38% in the 2023 election. Speaking to the Herald on Sunday, Goodfellow praised National's work while in Government but said the party's chief threat to re-election was the economy. 'I think people have responded really well on education with Erica [Stanford], I think Simeon [Brown] is doing a fantastic job in health, but it's the economy. 'If the economy suffers another shock then I think that the public can get tired of it and want change. 'I'm not seeing that at the moment, but there's a potential for that to happen if there were another series of shocks or a trade war.' Just hours before Goodfellow's farewell, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed Trade Minister Todd McClay would shortly travel to the United States to discuss President Donald Trump's announcement of 15% tariffs on New Zealand goods, an action Luxon described as 'blunt'. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon (front) speaks to media in Christchurch alongside Conservation Minister Tama Potaka (left) and Tourism Minister Louise Upston at the National conference. Photo / Adam Pearse The news was an unwelcome development for the Government, given the potential for further pain for exporters, which would slow any economic recovery. Recent polls affirmed the cost of living as the primary issue for voters, with the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor finding people trusted Labour more than National to lower prices. Goodfellow acknowledged New Zealanders were 'tired' of not seeing meaningful cost-of-living relief. 'My understanding is there'll continue to be relief for that middle New Zealand, but it's almost like they're saying it's not enough, it's almost never going to be enough.' A self-professed early adopter of the 'survive til 25' slogan used in 2024, Goodfellow argued economic growth hadn't been overestimated, but Trump's approach to trade had eroded confidence. 'The issue is, how do you get a bit of momentum and that confidence again?' Former Prime Minister Sir John Key (right) and Peter Goodfellow speak after the latter's selection as party president in 2009. Photo / NZPA Goodfellow stepped down as National president in 2022, but had previously voiced his original intention to resign in 2016. 'John Key and I did discuss at the beginning that we shouldn't leave together,' he said. 'I just thought, 'Well, I don't want to do this role for a huge, long time', but then we lost the election and then we had a period of some stability and coming into the 2020 election, the board wanted me to continue on as the president. 'Then we had a couple of leadership changes which just again meant they wanted that stability and continuity at the party and at the board level and I think that actually worked out pretty well.' Amid a disastrous result in the 2020 election, Goodfellow faced pressure over the party's candidate selection processes when the actions of several standing in 2020 hurt National's chances. He also endured a challenge for the party presidency from former Speaker of the House Sir David Carter, who in 2021 said he had 'zero confidence' in Goodfellow's ability to right the ship. Goodfellow described that period as a 'very unstable time for the party'. 'I never thought I would ever develop such a thick hide,' he said. 'There's a lot of criticism in the world and in politics, but not all of it is justified. 'I knew I was supported by the board and the decisions that we were making and that's why ultimately [Carter's] challenge didn't succeed.' However, Goodfellow acknowledged changes to the party's vetting proved some of the criticism was warranted. 'The vetting was very casual 20 years ago, maybe because people knew who the candidates were, but suddenly, more recently, we have people not known to the party coming in from the outside and we clearly did what we thought was good vetting, but there are some instances of behaviour that you can't pick up, no matter how good you're vetting. 'Many [candidates] are suitable ... but they don't necessarily understand what's going to be involved and what's going to be required. 'The challenge then is, are they telling you everything that's going on and increasingly, we have to be more diligent to make sure that our members are respected by not having candidates put up in front of them that aren't suitable.' Asked to describe his lasting legacy with National, Goodfellow pointed to the various special interest groups within the party and his mission to make the party more inclusive. Those groups included the party's younger and older members' wings, as well as collectives of members from Chinese, Indian, Filipino, rural, Māori and Pasifika communities. 'I know that there was no such inclusion before it, it was very much a traditional-looking party,' Goodfellow said. 'Within the party, it's good for us to have groups that represent that culture, but also share the values and the philosophy of the National Party and want to be engaged in it.' Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald's Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.
NZ Herald
6 hours ago
- NZ Herald
New Zealand sporting bodies unite to fight proposed Online Casino Gambling Bill
Cycling New Zealand chair Martin Snedden is leading the charge against the legislation and told Newstalk ZB it poses a 'massive risk' to grassroots sport. 'This is a crazy move by the Government,' Snedden said. 'Sport has thrived for decades off the back of community gambling grants. It all goes to clubs, not professional sport. 'There had been no consultation with the sport sector, no warning that this was coming. As soon as I saw it, I recognised the extent of the risk to community funding.' Snedden said the timing couldn't be worse, with clubs already struggling amid rising costs, shrinking sponsorship and reduced support from financially stretched local governments. He's urging ministers to revisit the bill's design and reinstate the original intent behind early drafts, which included a requirement for international operators to contribute to community funding. 'The Prime Minister, the Minister of Sport, Mark Mitchell, the Associate Minister of Sport, Chris Bishop, they all love sport dearly,' Snedden said. 'I'm sure they're not going to allow something to go through that is ultimately going to have a dramatic negative impact on the future of community sport. I just can't imagine that they would be prepared to do that and to take that risk. 'The Government should be saying to the international operators, you are going to be contributing if you want to operate in New Zealand. 'Part of the reason you're allowed to do so is that part of your money is going to be going into community and that's a good thing.' After the bill passed its first reading, van Velden said the bill was important to protect New Zealanders. 'New Zealanders can legally access thousands of offshore gambling websites. But the market is unregulated, so there are no player safety standards or oversight of harm minimisation,' she said. 'My intention with this bill is to ensure that online gambling is safer for New Zealanders who wish to gamble online to do so. 'In addition, that companies providing this service contribute to tax revenue and funding the services that treat gambling harm in New Zealand.' Public submissions close in two weeks on August 17.
