Video episode available on my Substack.    

Former Green MP and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage joins Melanie for a deep dive into the Government’s sweeping proposals to “modernise conservation land management" — reforms she believes will dismantle decades of hard-won protections for our public estate.

Framed as streamlining, efficiency, and “unlocking” economic opportunities, the changes would shift DOC’s focus from preservation to enabling economic activity, making it far easier for businesses, infrastructure projects, and tourism ventures to gain access to public conservation land. Decision-making powers currently held by the New Zealand Conservation Authority and conservation boards would be stripped away and centralised with the Minister. The robust statutory safeguards of the General Policy for National Parks and the General Policy for Conservation would be replaced by a single, more generic National Conservation Policy Statement.

Eugenie warns that the proposals go well beyond efficiency tweaks. They open the door to large-scale disposal or exchange of land — including areas deemed “surplus to conservation requirements” or reallocated “to support other government priorities” — potentially covering around 5 million hectares of the estate. Amenity areas could be expanded into development nodes. Concessions could be pre-approved by class, bypassing case-by-case scrutiny and ignoring cumulative impacts. Public participation processes would be curtailed, weakening community voices.

In this conversation, we unpack what these reforms mean for biodiversity, Treaty obligations, climate resilience, DOC’s culture and resourcing, and New Zealand’s international reputation. We explore how these changes intersect with the Government’s fast-track approvals regime and wider deregulatory agenda — and why Eugenie sees them as the most serious weakening of conservation law in decades.

Resources

DOC’s news release on Unleashing growth on conservation land

Factsheet on Modernising Conservation Land Management

Cabinet paper on Modernising Conservation Land Management

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Why the Regulatory Standards Bill would paralyse Parliament, empower unelected overseers, and unravel democratic lawmaking in New Zealand

In this episode of Coherent, Melanie Nelson speaks with former Prime Minister and constitutional law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer about the Regulatory Standards Bill — which he describes as one of the most dangerous and constitutionally incoherent pieces of legislation he’s encountered in his long career.

Sir Geoffrey warns that the Bill would install an unelected oversight board with sweeping powers, reduce ministers to bystanders in their own portfolios, and introduce regulatory principles that are legally unenforceable but politically weaponised. He argues the Bill would produce “regulatory chaos,” subvert ministerial responsibility, and undermine the principle that elected representatives — not economists — are responsible for making law.

We cover:

• Why Clause 24 creates a legal fiction that bypasses the courts
• How the Bill concentrates power in a “super-minister” while silencing other ministers
• The risks to public safety and the environment from an ideologically tilted “property rights” regime
• What’s missing from the Bill’s design — including any reference to the Regulations Review Committee
• How the Bill reflects a global trend toward authoritarian capitalism — and why it must be stopped

Palmer makes the case that the RSB is not just a policy error, but a democratic and constitutional crisis in the making. His call is clear: submit, speak up, and stop this Bill while we still can.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

Video episode available on my Substack.    

In this powerful and far-reaching conversation, Dame Anne Salmond joins Melanie to confront the deeper ideological project behind the Regulatory Standards Bill. With clarity, compassion and a lifetime of scholarly insight, Anne warns that the Bill isn’t just about regulation — it’s a blueprint for hollowing out democracy, elevating corporate interests, and tying government into a narrow ideological approach.

Together, they explore:

• How the RSB advances a global libertarian agenda hostile to public good
• The Bill’s undermining of collective rights, te Tiriti, and environmental protections
• The risks of concentrating oversight power in a single Minister’s hands
• Why the ‘double speak’ of “freedom and democracy” masks a corporate agenda
• The erosion of due process, evidence-based policymaking, and civil political discourse

Anne also issues a clear warning about the danger of small parties imposing fringe philosophies through opaque coalition deals. And she closes with a hopeful call to return to our shared values — grounded in whakapapa, manaakitanga, community, and a fair go — to imagine a democracy worth defending.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

Video episode available on my Substack.   

In this wide-ranging and deeply grounded conversation, I speak with Dr Rebekah Graham — community psychologist, writer, and advocate for disability rights — about the hidden but sweeping risks the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) poses for disabled communities, and for the future of equity and inclusion in New Zealand.

Dr Graham draws on her work with Parents of Vision Impaired and her long-standing research on material hardship and food insecurity to expose how the RSB could entrench colonial ableism and make basic accessibility measures harder to introduce — or defend. From signalised pedestrian crossings to braille on medication, from inclusive education to accessible banking and housing, she explains how the Bill’s libertarian principles would undermine everyday rights and protections, while entrenching systemic disparities.

We discuss:

• How the RSB’s emphasis on property rights, cost-efficiency, and formal equality contradicts both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)
• The chilling effect the Bill could have on accessibility legislation, including universal design, equitable resourcing in schools, and inclusive infrastructure
• How charter schools, under the RSB, could become inaccessible and unaccountable — while being harder to reverse
• The risks of shifting from collectivist, whānau-centred approaches to a narrow, individualised model of rights and value
• The real-world consequences of colonial ableism, and why disabled children and their families are already navigating structural exclusion

Dr Graham also explains why this Bill is not a dry, technical fix — but a sweeping constitutional move that threatens to redefine what “good lawmaking” means in New Zealand. And she makes a powerful call to action: for people to contact their MPs, especially in National and New Zealand First, to reject the RSB and protect the social good.

Follow Dr Bex on Substack for more of her insightful analysis of social issues in Aotearoa.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

Video episode available on my Substack.  

Economist and Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa research fellow Paul Dalziel joins Melanie on Coherent to analyse the Regulatory Standards Bill — and explain why it’s deeply misaligned with the values and aspirations of most New Zealanders.

While the Bill presents itself as a tool for improving transparency and regulatory quality, Paul argues it is not fit for purpose. Drawing on his submission and decades of economic expertise, he unpacks the critical distinction between genuine regulatory standards and the vague principles laid out in the Bill — none of which set enforceable minimums or require compliance. He also reveals how the Government’s own analysis identifies no measurable benefits, despite a projected cost of $20 million per year.

Paul warns that the Bill privileges individual liberties and property rights above all else, distorting democratic decision-making and sidelining long-standing public interest values such as fairness, nature, dignity, and participation. The omission of future generations and te Tiriti o Waitangi from the Bill’s framework is especially troubling — as is its potential to inhibit necessary reforms through subtle pressure and fear of oversight.

This wide-ranging conversation covers:

• The difference between principles and enforceable standards — and why that matters
• What the Public Finance Act includes that the RSB leaves out
• Real-world examples of proportionate regulation in the public good, from clean air in Christchurch to charitable law
• The risk of regulatory chill and the weakening of public service culture
• Why omitting tino rangatiratanga from compensation clauses undermines justice for Māori
• A vision for a wellbeing-centred regulatory system based on international models like Wales’ Future Generations Act

Essential listening for anyone invested in democratic accountability, equity, and the role of government in creating a fair society.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

Video episode available on my Substack.    

What does it mean when a government proposes to put most law through a libertarian filter? In this episode of Coherent, I speak with Dr Carwyn Jones, legal scholar and expert in te Tiriti o Waitangi, about the Regulatory Standards Bill — a proposal that’s quietly but profoundly reshaping the legal foundations of New Zealand.

We explore how the Bill elevates a narrow set of private property and individual liberty principles at the expense of te Tiriti, environmental protections, and the wider public good. Carwyn shares why he sees the RSB as a major constitutional shift — one that replaces the values embedded in our legislative guidelines with a rigid ideological straitjacket.

We discuss:

• How the RSB’s “principles” conflict with te Tiriti and the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act
• The risk of regulatory takings and the expectation of compensation for companies restricted from polluting or profiting
• Why the proposed Regulatory Standards Board may operate like a Waitangi Tribunal for libertarians — with more powers
• How the Bill pressures governments to conform and creates a chilling effect on public interest lawmaking
• What a Te Tiriti-honouring approach to regulation could look like — and how we can support it

Carwyn brings clarity, depth, and a call to action. With the submission deadline looming, this is a must-listen for anyone concerned about the future of our laws, our rights, and our democracy.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

You can also buy me a coffee! 

Video episode available on my Substack.   

In this episode of Coherent, economist and former Productivity Commissioner Dr Bill Rosenberg joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the deep ideological drivers and real-world risks of the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB). Drawing on decades of work in employment law, productivity policy, and public economics, Bill warns that the RSB is less about good regulation and more about embedding a bill of rights for wealth into New Zealand’s legal system.

Together, they explore:

• The origins of the RSB in the extreme property rights ideology of Richard Epstein
• How the Bill privileges vested interests over public wellbeing and democratic lawmaking
• The dangers of the 'regulatory takings' principle — from undermining public health to obstructing pro-competition reforms
• The risks of cost-benefit analysis being weaponised to erode equity, public services, and environmental protections
• How the Bill could reinforce inequality, deregulation, and privatisation — all while masquerading as transparency
• The broader cultural and economic shift the RSB aims to engineer, echoing 1990s-style neoliberalism
• Practical examples of how the RSB could gut workplace safety laws, make pay equity claims harder to pursue, and chill collective action on climate change
• What better regulation could look like — and why enforcement, equity, and te Tiriti o Waitangi must be part of the conversation

This wide-ranging conversation offers a sharp and accessible critique of one of the most sweeping legislative proposals in recent New Zealand history.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

You can also buy me a coffee! 

Video episode available on my Substack.  

Green Party Co-leader Chloe Swarbrick joins Melanie to dissect the Regulatory Standards Bill — a proposal she describes as a “neoliberal sausage machine” for laws and a direct threat to democracy, climate action, and public wellbeing. In this wide-ranging conversation, Chloe reflects on what the Bill signals about the direction of our politics and who benefits when corporate interests are prioritised over collective good.

She breaks down why the Greens are strongly opposed to the Bill, the risks it poses for renters, workers, the environment and tangata whenua, and how it seeks to entrench an ideology that could tie the hands of future governments. From the Board’s unelected power to the sidelining of te Tiriti, Chloe discusses how the Bill fits into a wider cultural project to reshape what New Zealanders value — and who gets a say in the country’s future.

We cover:

• Why the Bill's retrospective powers are “so fundamentally dangerous”
• The real-world implications for climate policy, rent controls, workplace rights, and community decision-making
• How the Green Party is fighting back — and why every submission counts
• Links between the removal of te Tiriti references and corporate agendas
• The risk of replacing democracy with a technocratic, property-first model

This is a bold and energising conversation for anyone concerned about inequality, climate justice, or the direction of our democracy.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

You can also buy me a coffee! 

Video episode available on my Substack.   

What does climate action look like in a legal framework that prioritises present-day costs, private property rights, and minimal state intervention?

In this episode of Coherent, climate consultant and legal academic Dr Melanie Baker Jones joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the wide-reaching implications of the Regulatory Standards Bill for climate policy and environmental governance in New Zealand. Drawing on her background in law, disaster regulation, and climate risk, Melanie brings a practical, grounded lens to the tensions at the heart of the Bill.

The conversation explores how the RSB’s principles — including cost-efficiency, predictability, and limited administrative discretion — could make it harder to justify bold, future-facing climate measures. Together they consider the risk that long-term adaptation work by councils could be delayed or challenged, and the way the Bill might privilege current private interests over intergenerational obligations, Māori worldviews, or the legal rights of ecosystems.

We also look at soft law tools like climate plans, and how these intersect with zoning, LIM reports, infrastructure investment and corporate disclosures. Dr Baker Jones shares international examples of litigation over climate advertising and explores how the Bill’s emphasis on commercial freedoms could affect similar efforts here. From the omission of international obligations to the power given to the Regulatory Standards Board to investigate and make public assessments, this episode raises some big questions about the direction of our climate response — and who gets to shape it.

If you care about the climate and want to understand how behind-the-scenes law changes could shape what is possible in the years to come, this one’s not to miss.

Resources: 

Sector Specific RSB Tool we mentioned: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

You can also buy me a coffee! 

 Video episode available on my Substack.  

In this episode, Melanie speaks with environmental policy expert and regulatory researcher Marie Doole about the rising threat of regulatory capture—when laws and systems designed to protect the public end up serving powerful interests instead. Marie draws on her independent research and professional experience to explain what regulatory capture looks like in New Zealand, how it spreads across the whole policy cycle, and why it’s more urgent than ever to address.

They discuss:

• What regulatory capture is, and why New Zealand’s small size makes it especially vulnerable
• How subtle forms of corporate influence can erode public trust, environmental protections, and democratic safeguards
• The role of framing strategies that cast regulation as a burden and regulators as villains
• How the Regulatory Standards Bill could increase the risk of capture—by privileging vested interests, narrowing who gets to be heard, and undermining environmental and Tiriti-based protections
• Whether the RSB is itself an instrument of regulatory capture
• What real regulatory stewardship could look like—and why we need independent institutions focused on anti-capture and public interest regulation

This conversation is a critical listen for anyone interested in democracy, environmental protection, te Tiriti o Waitangi, or the creeping influence of corporate power in lawmaking.

Resources: 

Navigating Murky Waters: characterising capture in environmental regulatory systems (Marie Doole, Theo Stephens, Geoff Bertram)

Drain the Swamp to Save the Swamp: mitigating capture in environmental regulatory systems (Marie Doole, Theo Stephens) 

Sector Specific RSB Tool we mentioned: https://tinyurl.com/RSBTool

Linktree with a wide range of historic and contemporary information on the RSB, including submission guides and builders.

Subscribe for more
This is part of a series of in-depth conversations with experts across sectors on the real-world impacts of the Regulatory Standards Bill. If you value independent political analysis, subscribe to my Substack for more interviews, writing, and updates. Free subscribers get regular content. Paid subscriptions really help keep this work going.

You can also buy me a coffee!