Point of Order: More policies are stopped or slowed to help save $1bn for bread-and-butter spending.....

...but RMA “reforms” escape the cull

It was a big day for the stopping or slowing of a second tranche of government programmes, an exercise which Beehive publicists are pitching as measures to allow the Government to focus more time, energy and resources on “the bread and butter issues” facing New Zealanders.

This affirms, of course, that since the 2020 general election, the bread- and-butter issues facing New Zealanders had been lowered (or forgotten?) in the Government’s priorities.

Hence the Government’s popularity had wilted, its poll support had shrunk and Jacinda Ardern – remember her ? – had bailed out as Prime Minister when it looked like the Nats and ACT were on course to win the election this year.

But her successor, Chris Hipkins, has not thrown all the rubbish overboard – or swept it under the carpet until after election day. He is persisting with one programme which the state-subsidised mainstream media have not too well explained to the public – the legislation that will replace the Resource Management Act.

A strong hint that it deserves much more critical analysis can be found in an article by New Zealand Initiative chairman Roger Partridge headed Submissions expose horrors of David Parker’s RMS reform proposals.

He wrote:

The Environment Select Committee has only just begun hearing submissions on the reform proposals. But it is already clear Parker’s package of reforms is fatally flawed.

Partridge noted Federated Farmers warning that Parker’s proposals will see “the RMA dog become an even bigger monster” while the Nera economic consulting firm says the Bill contains “no consistent framework for decisions by local or central government.”

The warnings are not wrong. Parker’s proposals may be the most incoherent, unworkable and productivity-harming reforms ever conceived by a New Zealand government.

Rather than resolving the problems that have beset the RMA, the new laws will amplify them.

Hipkins has not been alerted to the ominous implications of that legislation, it seems.

But he has highlighted a raft of other points in his bid to curry favour with the electorate:

• $1 billion in savings which will be reallocated to support New Zealanders with the cost of living
• A range of transport programmes deferred so Waka Kotahi can focus on post Cyclone road recovery
• Speed limit reduction programme significantly narrowed to focus on the most dangerous one per cent of state highways
• Second part of alcohol reform that relates to issues such as sponsorship, advertising and pricing deferred
• Not introducing legislation to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections. Instead, we will shift focus to lowering the age for voting in local body elections, which has stronger support in Parliament
• Auckland transport solutions to reduce emissions and congestion will be rolled out in stages.
• A second tranche of government programmes is being stopped or delayed to allow the Government to focus more time, energy and resources on the bread and butter issues facing New Zealanders, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced today.

For good measure, Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni, the Deputy PM and Minister for Social Development, announced boosts in the outcomes of welfare beneficiaries (and a commensurate lift in Government spending without generating savings from other policies) .

The announcements can be found on the Beehive website along with announcements from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Emergency Management.

Foreign Affairs Minister to reaffirm our close relationship with Fiji

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta will hold bilateral meetings with Fiji this week.

New legislation to streamline Cyclone recovery

The Government is introducing the Severe Weather Emergency Legislation Bill to ensure the recovery and rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle is streamlined and efficient with unnecessary red tape removed.

Cost of living package: More bread and butter support for Kiwi families

Pensioners, students, children and parents, and those on main benefits will all see a boost to their income from next month, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced today.

Freeing up more government bandwidth and money to focus on the cost of living

A second tranche of government programmes is being stopped or delayed to allow the Government to focus more time, energy and resources on the bread and butter issues facing New Zealanders.

We have a sneaking regard for the way this “freeing up more government bandwidth” stuff is being spun as cost-cutting:

“I want New Zealanders to know the Government is doing its bit and is cutting its cloth to suit the times we are in,” Chris Hipkins said.

“Some of these things we’re delaying or stopping mean a lot to us. But we’re taking the hard decisions because we know Kiwis are also making some tough calls.

“It will give Ministers and wider government more bandwidth to deal with cost of living issues and the cyclone recovery.

The two lots of reprioritisation would save about $1 billion, to be reallocated to support New Zealanders with the cost of living, Hipkins said.

This was in addition to more than $700 million in savings that has been reallocated to fund the petrol excise cut and half-price public transport extension through to the end of June.

The programmes that are being reprioritised include:

• Saving $568 million by stopping the clean car upgrade scheme, where households can scrap their old cars in return for a grant for a cleaner vehicle or to pay for public transport.
• Refocusing our goal of increasing and improving public transport as an alternative to driving to the five main centres of Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.
• Significantly narrowing the speed reduction programme to focus on the most dangerous one per cent of state highways, and ensuring Waka Kotahi are consulting meaningfully with affected communities.

That means speed limits will reduce in the places where there are the highest numbers of deaths and injuries and where local communities support change.

The Government will continue to make targeted reductions in the areas immediately around schools and marae and in small townships that a state highway runs through.

And then there’s this:

• Stopping the social leasing car scheme. The scheme was to provide leasing arrangements to low income families for clean cars but was proving difficult to implement. And several of the communities where it was to be trialled have been affected by the recent weather.
• Deferring advice on the second part of legislation looking at alcohol reform that relate to pricing, sponsorship and advertising. This will now be pushed back to April 2024, rather than come to Ministers in March this year.

Hipkins described these as areas that need time to investigate properly and ensure there are no unintended consequences. For example, when community groups are doing it tough, the Government doesn’t want to see any restrictions on sponsorship increasing costs for community sports teams.

But wait – there’s more:

• Not introducing legislation to lower the voting age to 16 for general elections. Instead, we will shift focus to lowering the age for voting in local body elections.
• Deferring work on the container return scheme that would see small refunds for returning containers. It’s estimated it will add a small cost to the average household and we don’t want to be imposing additional costs on families at this time.
• Deferring public consultation on a new test to determine who is a contractor and who is an employee. A recent Employment Court ruling has significant implications on the legal definition of a contractor, so rather than pushing ahead with our proposed consultation on changes we will put our work on hold until all appeals of the case are heard.

He concluded:

“Today’s announcement doesn’t mean there won’t be more areas we will look at. My expectation is that Ministers will continue to prioritise their own work programmes, including by re-scoping plans and amending policy where necessary.”

Let’s hope we hear of a critical reconsideration of those RMA reforms.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton