But check out Tuku Morgan’s new job in the Three Waters business
Point of Order was braced for something about co-governance on the Beehive website this morning. But no – it wasn’t there.
Our expectation had been raised by:
* The PM mentioning it in a TV interview at the weekend. We were alerted to this by an ACT press statement which said she had told Newshub Nation co-governance is not the biggest issue for New Zealanders (this “shows how out of touch she is with the electorate,” ACT Leader David Seymour rejoined).
* A report by highly regarded political commentator Richard Harman on Politik that Environment Minister David Parker has rejected a call from the Maori Council and a number of big iwi to introduce co-governance into the new resource management system. He is expected to introduce the legislation to set up the system, the Natural and Built Environments Bill, into Parliament this week.
* The appointment of Waikato-Tainui’s Tukoroirangi Morgan to lead the northern Three Waters iwi body (an appointment which Thomas Cranmer points out is raising fresh concerns about governance and how conflicts are managed).
But when we went looking for something about these happenings on The Beehive website, we drew a blank.
The PM – according to our somewhat quick check – has never mentioned “co-governance” in statements posted there in her name.
There was nothing from Local Government Nanaia Mahuta on the appointment of Morgan.
Nor did we find anything fresh from Parker on the Natural and Built Environments Bill, but – as Harman noted in his report – the Minister had mentioned co-governance in a speech on September 6,
He had said then:
The new legislation will set up Regional Planning Committees which will make decisions on the Regional Spatial Strategies and NBA Plans for each region. The committees will include regional representatives from all local authorities and representatives of Māori groups. The Government is not proposing 50-50 co-governance.
Harman observes in his article:
His decision is in stark contrast to the approach taken by the Government over the Three Waters legislation. POLITIK understands he faced resistance from Minister Nanaia Mahuta and members of the Maori caucus, but he prevailed within the Cabinet and overall caucus in what may be seen as a defining move by the Government, which has been under fire over the Three Waters co-governance proposals.
Under those proposals, fifty per cent of the four Regional Water Organisation boards’ membership would be Maori.
Parker’s decision applies to 15 Regional Planning Committees, which will be set up more or less on regional council boundaries and will draw up the main planning document.
But while Parker is eschewing co-governance, he will be making significant concessions to Maori, according to Harman.
Among other things, the legislation looks likely to require those exercising functions and powers under it to give effect to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, rather than take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi as the current law requires.
A new National Māori Entity is expected to be set up as an Independent Statutory Authority to influence the National Planning Framework and monitor what happens and a Te Ao Maori perspective will be adopted on resource management.
So – no mention of co-governance in Beehive statements since Friday.
But the website does tell us our hard-working ministers have been …
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said New Zealand has requested the establishment of a panel to hear its dispute against Canada regarding the administration of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Canada was not living up to the commitments it made under CPTPP to allow dairy products into Canada, he said.
“This is impacting New Zealand exporters, who remain effectively locked out of the Canadian market, and Canadian consumers, who are missing out on the increased consumer choice that CPTPP promises.”
New Zealand initiated the dispute on 12 May by requesting formal consultations with Canada to address those concerns. Consultations in June did not resolve matters.
Updated information on this dispute will be published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
Associate Education Minister Jan Tinetti has wished students well ahead of NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams, which begin this morning.
After saying students have worked hard over the course of the year, Tinetti proceeded to remind these future voters:
“The Government has taken steps to help offset the disruption COVID-19 has caused with the reintroduction of Learning Recognition Credits and adjustments to Certificate Endorsements and University Entrance. These measures are designed to help provide a fair opportunity for students to attain NCEA and progress to further study or work.
“The Government has also put additional support in place to address lost teaching and learning opportunities.”
Exams end on 2 December, by which time around 142,000 students will have participated in 134 NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exam sessions.
More than 65,000 students from around 380 schools are entered to sit some NCEA or NZ Scholarship exams online.
Information for students, including resources to help manage exam pressure, can be found at www.nzqa.govt.nz/exams
This one was the big headline winner from the PM at the Labour Party conference at the weekend.
The bullet points at the top of the press statement from Jacinda Ardern and Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni were:
* 54 per cent of all New Zealand families with children will now be eligible for subsidised childcare assistance.
* Over 10,000 additional children will be eligible for support.
* Nearly every sole parent in New Zealand will be eligible for childcare assistance
* Higher income thresholds increases both the number of families eligible and the amount for many already getting it.
* The policy reverses a freeze on income thresholds for childcare eligibility which National put in place in 2010
* From April 2023, the Family Tax Credit will increase by $9 a week for the eldest child to $136 a week, and by $7 a week for subsequent children to $111 a week. Best Start too will lift by $4 a week to $69 a week.
The text of the statement reiterates that this policy in the Government’s package of cost of living measures
“… reverses a freeze on the income threshold for childcare eligibility that National put in place in 2010. By playing catch-up and indexing the income threshold to wage growth over 10,000 additional children are estimated to receive support.”
The Nats imposed the freeze 12 years ago, of course – and Ardern’s Government has been in office since 2017.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor advised us from Paris that New Zealand has agreed a declaration along with other members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that commits members to working together to boost sustainable agriculture and food systems,
The ‘Declaration on transformative solutions for sustainable agriculture and food systems’ was adopted at the OECD Committee for Agriculture on 4 November. The meeting was co-chaired by O’Connor and Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie-Claude Bibeau.
“The OECD Committee for Agriculture is an important forum where New Zealand is helping lead a vital transition to sustainable agriculture,” Damien O’Connor said.
“The Declaration will see OECD countries identify opportunities and challenges facing food production and share ways to tackle them.
“It includes ensuring food security and nutrition for a growing global population, along with addressing environmental challenges in an inclusive manner.
“With adverse events becoming more frequent, unpredictable and severe, we know as a group that to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss, farmers and growers need to be supported to boost their resilience.”
But doesn’t his government intend making farmers pay for farm emissions under a policy calculated to reduce livestock numbers, which means reducing food supplies?
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
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