Focus on Politics

The coalition has ticked off another objective - repealing the troubled Three Waters programme - but in doing so may have just delayed the bigger problem for another day.

"This is what councils across the country said they wanted" - Simeon Brown

The coalition has ticked off another objective - repealing the troubled Three Waters programme - but in doing so may have just delayed the bigger problem for another day.

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Three Waters has a turbulent history, going back to mid-2017 when the then-National government launched a review of the Havelock North water crisis.

After the election, the new Labour-led coalition began circulating its proposed response: taking control of water away from councils and giving it instead to four separate mega-entities. The idea was the new entities would be large enough and far enough removed from the councils' debts that they could borrow more and at a cheaper rate than the councils could do alone.

But by the time the details were fully unveiled in late-2021, a rump of opposition had built - with accusations of asset theft and concerns about the co-governance model requiring iwi involvement. It set the stage for a prolonged messy debate driven by furious councils.

The depth of feeling was such that Labour pivoted in March last year: rebranding to "Affordable Water Reform". The Minister in charge - Nanaia Mahuta - was replaced by Kieran McAnulty, the timeline was pushed back, and the four entities became 10, but the changes failed to end the furore.

Labour's opponents doubled down: pledging to repeal and replace, and - now in government - those parties achieved step one of that promise, using urgency to push through legislation consigning the Three Waters programme to the scrap heap.

Read more:

Minister points to 'backstops' if councils refuse Three Waters amalgamations

Councils 'don't have the capacity' to pay for water upgrades - Hipkins

Parliament repeals Three Waters programme under urgency

Three Waters repeal: 'It's going to be councils and mayors that cop it'

Government sets up advisory group ahead of Three Waters repeal

The coalition's new plan - championed by new Local Government Minister Simeon Brown - still has a lot of detail to be worked out, prompting the government to gather a technical advisory group…

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This year's record-breaking Waitangi celebrations drew 80,000 people to the Treaty grounds over four days, half that on Waitangi Day alone.

"They can feel a movement happening and they want to be part of it" - Shannon Haunui-Thompson

This year's record-breaking Waitangi celebrations drew 80,000 people to the Treaty grounds over four days, half that on Waitangi Day alone.

With the dust settling on the event's biggest turnout in decades, the sense of unity and anger among many Māori will linger long after the Treaty Principles legislation is gone.

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The message of kotahitanga, unity, was sounded with the Kiingitanga's call for a national hui to take place at Turangawaewae, with discussions continuing into the annual Rātana celebrations and on to Waitangi.

RNZ's Tumu Māori Shannon Haunui-Thompson (Ngāpuhi) grew up coming to Waitangi every year and remembers the free train rides, swimming at the beach and the many hikoi across the bridge - people carrying flags and placards.

A hikoi arrives at the Treaty Grounds in Waitangi for the 2024 celebrations.

She says while that hasn't changed, she has never seen the like of what was on show at this year's Waitangi as a response to the coalition government, which is perceived as being anti-Māori.

"When someone kind of threatens to change something that is fundamentally a founding document not just of our country but of our people, there was a true movement - I can feel and see it, physically see it, when our leaders are leading us - and you can see people want to be part of that," she says.

"When leaders like Kiingi Tuuheitia, the Rātana tumuaki, iwi leaders, are all physically standing in line together like a strong, united front, why wouldn't you follow that?

"Accommodation's full. All the camping grounds are full. So people have literally come because they want to be here, be part of this movement, be part of this kotahitanga and support that movement - so they're sleeping in their cars on the side of the road."

Waitangi Day traffic at this year's commemorations…

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Green Party co-leader James Shaw talks about his decision to step down, his time in the role, and the message he has for whoever succeeds him.

James Shaw this week announced he was stepping down after nine years as Green Party co-leader.

"Know why you are here... be really clear about what the difference is that you want to make with your time and the role" - James Shaw

It was one of Parliament's worst kept secrets, and on Tuesday morning it was made official.

After nine years co-captaining the Green ship, James Shaw is stepping down.

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His time as co-leader was, at times, tumultuous. Having to lead the party into the 2017 election alone, and then spending some time on the sidelines himself in 2022 when members opted to vacate his position.

But he says now, back in opposition, and with a fresh caucus, is the time for new leadership.

The day after his announcement, he told RNZ he had an enormous sense of relief, as well as excitement for what comes next for himself and for the Greens.

"I've been reading a lot of political obituaries about myself in the last 24 hours. By definition it's a reflective moment. The Greens don't change leaders very often," he said.

Shaw will not be leaving Parliament just yet. Becoming co-leader just a few months after entering Parliament means he has spent very little time on the back-benches, which he is looking forward to.

He intends to stay on to work on a members' bill, which would add the right to a sustainable environment into the Bill of Rights Act.

Opposition member's bills do not have a great history of success, but Shaw argued as a Bill of Rights amendment, it should come down to a conscience vote.

"I think I've built enough of a reputation with people across the house to at least have a conversation about what's possible here. And I think that I understand, from my experience here, enough about what other people need in order for them to be able to support something like the bill, that I've got to at least give it a fighting chance."

Chlöe Swarbrick today announced she will run to be the next co-leader of the Green Party.

Shaw's oft-repeated commitment was to get the Greens into government, and safely out the other side.

He says the caucus, with three electorate seats and a record number of MPs, and the party, are in good shape to carry on without him…

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Coming hot on the heels of last weekend's Hui-aa-Motu and the Rātana celebrations, Waitangi Day this year promises to be highly emotive and political.

A collage showing Kiingi Tuuheitia, with Winston Peters, Christopher Luxon and Shane Jones, superimposed in front of the church at Rātana.

"We will have differences of opinion and that's okay" - Christopher Luxon

Coming hot on the heels of last weekend's Hui-aa-Motu and the Rātana celebrations, Waitangi Day this year promises to be highly emotive and political.

The government's policies have prompted calls for resilience and resistance, and a dramatic show of unity from much of Māoridom.

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On Saturday, some 10,000 people turned up to the hui at Tuurangawaewae Marae at the invitation of the Kiingitanga under a banner of unity and accountability.

The leaders of the three governing parties were notably absent, sending National's Tama Potaka as a government representative to listen and report back on key themes.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon - at his first post-Cabinet media briefing of the year on Tuesday - stated a desire to work with Māori to deliver improved outcomes.

"We are a country that has a diverse set of views," Luxon said. "The day we all think exactly the same, we've got a big big problem in this country."

Read more:

Rātana: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon warned over te Tiriti o Waitangi

In pictures: 2024 Rātana celebrations

Political editors panel: Māori challenge government's approach

The signs of a growing sense of unity across Māoridom

Historic hui at Ngaaruawaahia: 'The wairua brought them'

The next day he - alongside NZ First's Winston Peters and Shane Jones - came face to face with that difference of opinion, forcefully expressed by the speakers at Rātana Pā, the annual celebration of the faith's founder's birthday taking on greater significance this year.

Warned by the hosts that Māori would "not sit idly by" if there was any measure of meddling with Te Tiriti, Luxon offered this assurance: the government had no plans to amend or revise the Treaty or Treaty settlements and would honour the Treaty.

His commitment was somewhat undermined, however, by his equivocation over ACT's Treaty Principles Bill. …

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Three prime ministers, four ministerial scandals, one general election and a three-way coalition: New Zealand's political landscape has been well and truly shaken up in 2023.

"What we have achieved together, I think, is historic" - Christopher Luxon

Three prime ministers, four ministerial scandals, one general election and a three-way coalition: New Zealand's political landscape has been well and truly shaken up in 2023.

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Jacinda Ardern was thinking about work at the beginning of the year as most New Zealanders were taking the time to relax over their summer break. Her resignation announcement in January shocked New Zealanders out of their summer slumber and sent Labour on the hunt for a new leader.

With the most obvious successor Grant Robertson taking himself out of the race, Chris Hipkins was tipped as next most likely. The self-described "boy from the Hutt" soon became New Zealand's 41st prime minister.

His honeymoon period was short-lived, however, with the arrival of a series of summer storms including flooding in Auckland and Northland, and Cyclone Gabrielle, leaving a path of destruction across the upper North Island: towns cut off and uncontactable, critical infrastructure and thousands of homes damaged, hundreds of people displaced.

Fifteen people dead, including a two-year-old. Many communities are still recovering.

It was Hipkins' first challenge as prime minister, leading the country through disaster - but the general election set for 14 October was also looming.

Then-prime minister Chris Hipkins takes a helicopter to cyclone-hit Wairoa.

No government has replaced a prime minister in an election year and gone on to win, so in hopes of defying history he rolled out the policy incinerator, exhausting the phrase "bread and butter" as he sought to eliminate what he saw as Labour's political liabilities and focus on the cost of living crisis.

There were other liabilities lying in wait however, as a series of scandals went on to rock the left in just a few short months.

Stuart Nash, in an extraordinary own goal, lost his beloved Police portfolio after stating on air he had once encouraged the police commissioner to appeal a court decision. He assured Hipkins he had made no other mistakes, so was promptly sacked from Cabinet after it was revealed two weeks later he'd once emailed confidential information to donors. …

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Summary

"The adults are back in charge and New Zealanders say to the last lot good riddance" - Nicola Willis

A host of Labour's policies have been tipped on the scrap heap this week as the new coalition starts passing laws at pace.

The financial fisticuffs have begun opening bouts too ahead of next week's mini-Budget, with the Interislander ferry upgrade in dire straits and new figures pointing to a gloomy economy.

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The week began with a bang: Winston Peters in the hot seat as Acting Prime Minister, with Christopher Luxon in Australia for his daughter's graduation.

Opposition MPs tried to trip up the wily Deputy PM, using his previous policies and utterances against him after his switch from supporting Labour in 2017 to National six years later. He once defended the oil and gas ban and the Reserve Bank's dual mandate - now both on the chopping block.

They also tested his knowledge on things like the current minimum wage, and challenged his new political partnership with ACT's David Seymour - who had said Peters was "just a muppet" and yesterday's man, who could not be trusted.

Some of the attacks were more effective than others, but none of it seemed to rattle Peters, who eagerly returned fire, proving he will continue to be a provocation to the opposition and his coalition partners alike.

Stuff's political editor Luke Malpass told RNZ's Morning Report it was a good reminder that Peters is one of the great parliamentary debaters in New Zealand's history, and showed his party's determination to berate the left.

Read more:

Interislander ferry project to end after government funding denied

Health Minister Shane Reti offers cursory response over smokefree protest

'Bigoted lefty shill': Winston Peters fires up as Acting PM

National, Labour firing broadsides after Cook Strait ferry project founders

It set the stage for a colourful week in the House, sitting under urgency with a major repeal job: dismantling the former government's legacy piece by piece. The dual mandate was first to go, followed by Fair Pay Agreements and the Clean Car Discount as the next items crossed off National's to-don't list.

The coalition has made no apology for sweeping aside Labour's laws - as promised ahead of the election - but it has faced criticism for its processes after a leaked document showed this would not be subject to the usual scrutiny of Regulatory Impact Statements. It turned out a draft RIS had already been prepared on the scrapping of the so-called ute tax, but the minister has refused to release that for now. …

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The resumption of Parliament this week has been underlined by outcry from Māori, soon matched by fury within the debating chamber.

Protesters from the "National Māori Action Day" marched in all corners of the country on Tuesday, the same day MPs were sworn in at the Commission Opening of Parliament.

"This government has opened the floodgates of hatred toward Māori" - Rawiri Waititi

The resumption of Parliament this week has been underlined by outcry from Māori, soon matched by fury within the debating chamber.

With just two weeks before the Christmas break and Waitangi Day fast approaching on the other side, the government will have plenty to work through.

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Politicians arriving to be sworn in as MPs on Tuesday were greeted by hundreds of protesters on Parliament's forecourt objecting to the new government's policies and plans affecting Māori. The march was led by Te Pāti Māori, whose co-leaders were unapologetic, promising this was just the start.

As National's caucus prepared to meet ahead of the Commission Opening, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the protests were unfair, and the government should be given more time to deliver better outcomes for Māori. That held little weight with the protesters, however, railing against his coalition's policies and plans laid out clearly and in detail, rather than the government's record.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

His coalition partners ACT and New Zealand First went further in their dismissal, calling the protests anti-democratic.

Having tripled in size this election, Te Pāti Māori is determined to make its presence known in the halls of power. They continued to test boundaries at the swearing-in, which requires all MPs to pledge allegiance to the King, a practice the party argues is a colonial constraint that contradicts the equal partnership promised by Te Tiriti.

One by one, all six preceded their vow with an oath of their own: to mokopuna, in accordance with tikanga Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The new MP for Te Tai Tonga, Tākuta Ferris, was the first to perform Te Pāti Māori's unconventional oath.

This was followed by the usual oath or affirmation but again with a twist - with some swearing to "Kīngi Harehare", an alternative translation of Charles, which can also be used to mean "scab", or "something objectionable"…

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The new government's first week in office saw it get straight to work, setting high expectations and unveiling its 100-day plan - but it's not exactly been smooth sailing.

The new coalition government unveiled its 100-day plan this week.

"I don't think there's been any previous government that's been as aggressive about getting out of the blocks hard, fast and early" - Christopher Luxon

The new government's first week in office saw it get straight to work, setting high expectations and unveiling its 100-day plan - but it's not exactly been smooth sailing.

Fixing the economy and making a material difference for New Zealanders is a hefty workload for a Cabinet which has so far been dogged by distractions - driven partly by new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.

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It began with the swearing-in ceremony at Government House on Monday, a moment of pageantry marking the official handover of power.

Most of the MPs were beaming, none more so than Christopher Luxon, relishing his new title of Prime Minister.

Christopher Luxon grins at his swearing-in as prime minister.

It's remarkable given just two years earlier he was a mere backbencher in his first term at Parliament: New Zealand's least politically experienced Prime Minister - both an incredible feat - and a potential liability.

Unveiling the plan for the first 100 days of the government at his first post-Cabinet briefing, Luxon on Wednesday set the bar high.

"I'll just say, I think we're going to do more than 100 days than this government did in the last six years. So we're looking forward to getting into work."

The agenda is a mix: Cellphones in schools are out, pseudoephedrine in pharmacies are back in. The clean car discount will be scrapped along with Labour's Three Waters and RMA changes.

Luxon insists the plan will help ease the cost of living, pointing to a return to a single mandate for the Reserve Bank and cutting compliance costs for businesses.

"We are absolutely determined to rebuild the economy, to lower the cost of living, we are determined to actually deal with law and order and we're determined to deliver public services."

Read more:

Luxon in Auckland touts plans for education, local government

Government confirms its 100-day plan…

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When ACT's Brooke van Velden won the Auckland seat of Tamaki at the election, it was a triumph of shrewd campaigning. But it was also a failure for Christian conservatism in mainstream politics. In this bonus episode of Focus on Politics, Susie Ferguson takes a close look at the meaning of Tamaki.

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It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like.

"What we have achieved together, I think, is historic" - Christopher Luxon

It took 40 days and 40 nights - but at long last, the country knows what its new government will look like.

New Zealand's first-ever three-way coalition: National, ACT and New Zealand First finally signing on the dotted line in the ultimate Black Friday deal.

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The three leaders' style - each at their own podium in the Beehive's banquet hall - augurs an unpredictable term ahead. National's Christopher Luxon was corporate and aspirational, ACT's David Seymour earnest and exacting, with Peters fractious and mercurial.

Indeed, asked whether they trusted one another, each had a different response.

Luxon: "Absolutely".

Seymour: "I trust all ministers in our Cabinet, that's how Cabinet collective responsibility works and that's how I'll operate".

Peters: "We don't answer stupid questions. We've shaken hands here to be capable of earning trust. Please understand what real life looks like for adults. We've shaken hands on a commitment to make this government work because this country desperately needs it, make no bones about it."

Read more:

Chris Hipkins: 'This is going to be a government that drives people apart'

Analysis: Winston Peters now second most important person in the government

Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?

Timeline: Three-way coalition government comes together

Coalition details at a glance: What you need to know

The unique dynamic is acknowledged in the documents - with a detailed prescription for the working relationship.

Much interest also centred on the deputy-prime ministership, symbolic of the power tussle between ACT and New Zealand First through the election campaign - the impasse finally resolved with an unorthodox time-share arrangement: Peters for half the term, then Seymour for the rest.

It's either a creative solution or a childish sop - an easy target for mockery by the new government's opponents. …

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