Focus on Politics

Politicians went head to head on health equity this week, with opposition parties making a concerted effort to paint a waitlist prioritisation tool as discriminatory.

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, and opposition leader Christopher Luxon.

"I think the main issue there is it's an election year and they want to get votes. I mean, the data is clear," - Dr John Mutu-Grigg

Politicians went head to head on health equity this week, with opposition parties making a concerted effort to paint a waitlist prioritisation tool as discriminatory.

With accusations flying from both sides of the House, an expert says the clinician-designed tool is in fact a way of correcting bias in the health system, and politicians are just looking for votes.

Listen to the full podcast

The National and ACT parties seized on a Newstalk ZB article published on Monday with the headline "Auckland surgeons must now consider ethnicity in prioritising patients for operations - some are not happy".

It centred on an algorithm introduced in Auckland in February which helps decide the order in which people receive non-urgent surgery, using five factors: clinical priority, time on the waitlist, geographic location, deprivation level, and ethnicity. "Several surgeons" were upset by it, the article said, quoting one unnamed male who was "disgusted" ethnicity was being considered.

Accounting for ethnicity as a risk factor in healthcare is not new. In fact, the now-contentious algorithm introduced in February was an update to one put in place in Auckland during the lockdowns. The earlier version only had two measures - one of which was ethnicity - so in reality the new one is de-emphasising ethnicity by including other factors.

National Party health spokesperson Shane Reti the next day told reporters he knew a number of clinicians were deeply unhappy with the system, and he shared their concerns.

"For surgical waiting lists, clinical decision-making should only be based on health need. That is the issue I've got, that is the issue clinicians have raised, and I agree with them."

Dr Shane Reti, who was a Northland GP before he got into politics.

He acknowledged, however, that factors like deprivation and time waited seemed reasonable. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson takes a look at the fight for the rural vote, and the politics around the Emissions Trading Scheme.

In this week's Focus on Politics, RNZ Political Editor Jane Patterson takes a look at the fight for the rural vote, and the politics around the Emissions Trading Scheme.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Two senior ministers have this week been under pressure for breaking rules in place to ensure ministerial transparency and accountability. Political reporter Katie Scotcher examines the fall out.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Warnings from those behind artificial intelligence (AI) technology have made lawmakers around the world take notice.

'If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong ... we want to work with the government to prevent that,' - Sam Altman

Warnings from those behind artificial intelligence (AI) technology have made lawmakers around the world take notice.

The tech sector itself is engaged with the government and is considering six cornerstone principles as the basis of a digital strategy, but there appears to be little urgency from ministers - and no sign of concrete action before October's general election.

Listen to the full podcast

As AI technology starts seeping into politics in New Zealand, its rapid rise is prompting calls around the world for greater regulation - notably, even from its creators.

OpenAI is the company behind text generator ChatGPT, and chief executive Sam Altman's submission to the US Senate in May calling for government intervention caught global attention.

"The US government might consider a combination of licencing and testing requirements for development  and release of AI models above a threshold of capabilities," he said. "It's one of my areas of greatest concern, the more general ability of these models to manipulate, the persuade, to provide sort of one on one interactions with this information."

Australian IT expert Toby Walsh, a Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of New South Wales and author of Machines Behaving Badly, says the benefit of AI is it can think faster than we can - but it lacks key human characteristics.

"Whether it be hiring people or making decisions in the judiciary - they don't have our empathy, they don't have our social intelligence, they don't have our adaptability, they don't have our common sense, our creativity."

US Correspondent Toni Waterman says lawmakers there are drawing comparisons with the atomic bomb as a technology with the potential to upend economies, democracies, value systems and security. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' whistlestop trip to Papua New Guinea sends a clear message: superpowers may come and go, but New Zealand is here to stay.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

'PNG is a really really important relationship, but also development needs are really very substantial' - Robert Ayson

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins' whistlestop trip to Papua New Guinea sends a clear message: superpowers may come and go, but New Zealand is here to stay.

The US and PNG signing a security deal is the latest iteration of increasing competition in the region, but strategic studies expert Robert Ayson says New Zealand has ways of staying close to its Pacific neighbours - despite the US-China struggle for influence.

Listen to the full podcast

Hipkins touches down in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby on a muggy Sunday evening, welcomed by a sprawling red carpet, dozens of armed troops and the New Zealand national anthem.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is greeted on arrival in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

He is there in part to meet for the first time with Pacific and international counterparts - including Cook Islands PM Mark Brown, PNG's James Marape, and India's Narendra Modi - but the centrepiece of the summit was the signing of a defence pact between PNG and the United States.

His meeting with Marape over breakfast just a few hours before the signing left Hipkins with "greater clarity" about what PNG wants out of the deal.

Chris Hipkins shakes hands with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape.

He told reporters it was not just about security but included things like electrification: "I would see this more of an extension of an existing relationship," Hipkins said.

But it goes well beyond a deeper bilateral relationship, giving American forces uninhibited access to PNG's territorial land, waters and airspace in exchange for roughly $45 million dollars' worth of development programmes.

University of Technology students in Lae, Papua New Guinea's second-largest city, protest the signing of the defence cooperation deal with the US.

Ayson says it's a significant step for US access in the region. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The 2023 Budget has proven difficult to define: neither the belt-tightening exercise that was promised, nor the blatant bribery sometimes seen in election years.

Grant Robertson with the 2023 Budget

'It is a Budget that does exactly what it says on the tin' - Grant Robertson

The 2023 Budget has proven difficult to define: neither the belt-tightening exercise that was promised, nor the blatant bribery sometimes seen in election years.

Certainly, it is no election clincher, but it has not lost Labour the election either, and backs National into an uncomfortable corner where the opposition must now explain what policies or services it would do without.

Listen to the full podcast

Finance Minister Grant Robertson hailed it as a Budget for the times we're living in, and its title highlighted the two main focuses: Support for Today, Building For Tomorrow.

The first part signalled cost-of-living relief, like extending the free 20-hours a week childcare subsidy to two-year-olds, saving parents about $133 a week. The policy, however, doesn't begin until March - not exactly Support for Today.

Then there's the decision to scrap the $5 fee for prescriptions and make public transport free for under-13s and half price for those aged 13-24. On the other hand, the half-price fares currently offered to everyone else and the fuel excise discount are set to expire from the end of June.

Read more:

RNZ's full Budget 2023 coverage

Budget 2023 at a glance: What you need to know

Cost-of-living Budget centres on cheaper childcare

'Blowout', 'broke', 'Budget for the rich': Opponents take aim at Budget

Economy: Treasury optimistic over recession risk

Climate: Public transport and warmer homes

Health: Prescription fee removed, focus on wait lists

Education: Focus on early childhood, school and tertiary costs

Max Rashbrooke: Smart moves but no transformation for poor

The offerings largely target young families - a demographic courted by both National and Labour - but many "middle" New Zealanders will be asking what's in it for them. Charities and anti-poverty groups, along with the left-leaning Green and Māori parties, were demanding more for the most vulnerable.

At the same time, the right-leaning National and ACT were complaining the Budget contained too much spending. This year's deficit is set to hit $7 billion - much more than expected - and the books stay in the red for a year longer…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Meka Whaiti's defection brings Labour's solid 65-strong majority down to 62, opening it up to accusations of disunity and instability. Lumping in Elizabeth Kerekere's resignation from the Greens, National's Christopher Luxon has been criticising the left as a 'coalition of chaos' - but the story on the right is not straightforward either.

Meka Whaitiri, who quit Labour to join Te Pāti Māori. She technically remains an independent MP in Parliament.

"Maybe we just didn't know her like we thought we knew her" - Willie Jackson

Meka Whaiti's defection brings Labour's solid 65-strong majority down to 62, opening it up to accusations of disunity and instability. Lumping in Elizabeth Kerekere's resignation from the Greens, National's Christopher Luxon has been criticising the left as a 'coalition of chaos' - but the story on the right is not straightforward either.

The shifting of the political sands - in the wake of two MPs quitting their parties - has drawn more definitive battle lines regardless, and Luxon's decision to rule out Te Pāti Māori has given prospective partner ACT more leverage for negotiations.

Listen to the full podcast

Labour Ministers and MPs were caught off guard last week when long-time colleague Meka Whaitiri, the MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti, defected to Te Pāti Māori. It means one fewer vote in Parliament and less funding for Labour, and prompted debate over whether she could even remain an MP under the party-hopping law.

In the end, the Speaker Adrian Rurawhe ruled she would stay, technically as an independent. He says he's unable to release his communications with her; she could, but has not.

So Whaitiri turned up to Parliament on Tuesday, flanked by the Pāti Māori co-leaders, and speaking in vague terms about her reasons.

"Freedom. Liberation, as to talk on those issues that matter to our people and unashamedly without any censoring, and I'm going to do that for the people I represent going forward," she told reporters.

Labour's MPs disputed her claims of being "shackled", and as the political week drew to a close were none the wiser about exactly why she had left their ranks. Many expressed disappointment at Whaitiri's no-contact approach, even after she'd gone public. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Covid-19, flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses are on the rise as we inch towards winter, so Te Whatu Ora launched its winter preparedness plan this week with the aim of easing the pain for already overstretched hospitals.

"I'm determined we'll have the best plan New Zealand's ever had" - Ayesha Verrall

Covid-19, flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses are on the rise as we inch towards winter, so Te Whatu Ora launched its winter preparedness plan this week with the aim of easing the pain for already overstretched hospitals.

The government argues its reforms unifying the 20 DHBs have allowed it to better prepare. The plan promises to bring the health system closer to people - into the home, pharmacies and rest homes - but the opposition and health workers alike worry there's too few frontline workers to staff it.

Listen to the full podcast

A woman died of a brain bleed in Middlemore Hospital's ICU last year, after leaving the emergency department the previous day due to long wait times.

Doctors at the time told RNZ was it symptomatic of the entire health system; last winter was the worst on record for wait times in accident and emergency. That continued, with no city ED meeting treatment targets.

That is the bleak backdrop to the coming winter season and there are early indications the conditions this winter will be tougher. This year's flu season arrived early, and Northland and north Auckland GP Tim Malloy says it will be worse than Covid-19 because less exposure in recent years means lower immunity.

"We are expecting it to be significant, severe, and cause people probably greater harm than the current serotypes of Covid," he says.

Read more:

Doctors, nurses still expect 'slog' for winter despite government plan

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora unveils winter preparedness plan

Flu vaccination: Nearly 600,000 had jab in first four weeks

Nurses sceptical National's bonding scheme will fix shortage

Rest home bed shortage puts pressure on health system, providers say

Staff shortages hit Auckland urgent care: 'Cavalry has not yet arrived'

Taskforce to address health staff gaps failing to deliver, doctors say…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Expectations are being kept very low for the 18 May Budget, so any surprises can have maximum political impact.

Chris Hipkins, David Parker and Christopher Luxon have been grappling with the findings of the IRD's tax report.

"When you're looking at potential changes to the tax system ... you have to have a mandate" - Chris Hipkins

Expectations are being kept very low for the 18 May Budget, so any surprises can have maximum political impact.

With a tight election looming, Labour will want to offer a proverbial carrot to voters - and could yet campaign on changes to the tax system after that milestone.

But staring down the unavoidable cost of recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle and tackling rising living costs, leader Chris Hipkins is touting this year's spend as "no frills" with a sharp focus on infrastructure.

Listen to the full podcast

Tax is fundamental to New Zealanders' lives - affecting people's and businesses earnings, and how much the government can spend on their behalf - and can dramatically impact equality across social strata.

Most New Zealanders' tax burden is relatively easy to define through income taxes - Pay As You Earn (PAYE) - but wages make up a relatively small portion of earnings for the richest New Zealanders, who also earn through property, business, and investments.

In 2020, Revenue Minister David Parker changed the law in 2020 to allow the department to track down earnings information from New Zealand's 311 richest families. Between them they have a collective wealth of $85 billion, and much of that - 67 percent - is tied up in trusts.

Revenue Minister David Parker made a speech highlighting inequity at the release of the IRD report and an accompanying one by Treasury on Wednesday.

The resulting report from Inland Revenue on Wednesday has one major message: the wealthiest New Zealanders pay effective tax of 9.4 percent on earnings, compared to the 20.2 percent of middle New Zealand…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

In Focus on politics, we take a detailed look at the report of the police watchdog into last year's parliamentary occupation.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details