A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to tell us he has it
It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments official website.
A statement from Police Minister Mark Mitchell says …
The opening sentence informs us:
Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
Ah – but does he have confidence in the commissioner?
From Climate Change Minister Simon Watts, we learned in the nutshell of a headline…
The statement began:
New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future.
Well, who would have guessed it?
But readers who click on the link to learn more will get a better grip on the hard news:
New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.
The statements are recorded here:
Latest from the Beehive
7 DECEMBER 2023
The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.
6 DECEMBER 2023
Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future.
But let’s hear more from the Minister of Police.
RNZ interviewed him this morning and – on the strength of what was said – could provide its audience with the hard news:
Police Minister Mark Mitchell has finally declared his full confidence in Police Commissioner Andrew Coster, after repeatedly dodging the question.
RNZ proceeded to explain that Mitchell has set his expectations of Coster, laying out the government’s direction and priorities in a letter.
The pair agreed to the terms when they met yesterday.
Then, some background and a bit more of the news:
The minister has openly criticised the direction the organisation’s taken over the past six years.
In the letter, released by the public service commissioner, Mitchell told police he wants a more visible police presence and new legislation used to crack down on gangs.
He told Morning Report it was obvious he released the letter so he could have full confidence in the commissioner: “Which I do.”
“I wanted to have full confidence in the police commissioner that he would implement our policies and legislation and so that’s why I sort of engaged with this process through the Public Services Commission, which is exactly what it’s there for.”
The word “confidence” was missing from the minister’s press statement.
He did say he expects the Police Commissioner to focus on core policing with a back-to-basics approach.
“I want people to feel safe on their streets, in their homes, and in their workplaces.
“Gangs have become more violent and more present in our communities, intimidating the public and taking over public roads and spaces. This needs to stop.
“I expect Police will use the powers provided to them in legislation to ensure gangs will not take over towns, public roads, or spaces. Law abiding members of the public are entitled to have their rights to safety and freedoms protected.
“We will support Police through new legislation to disrupt and stop this harmful gang activity.
- ”The letter of expectations can be found here.
And what was happening in the climate change domain?
Interest.co.nz reported,
A year’s worth of carbon credits will be erased and the Government will miss out on $900 million of revenue after the final Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction of 2023 failed on Wednesday.
Fifteen million New Zealand emission units were made available in 2023 but have remained unsold in successive quarterly auctions. Units are rolled over to the next auction but not into the next year.
The unsold units would be worth $900m at the floor price of $60, or about $1.3 billion at the market price of $75.25 at the time of the auction.
In its report on the auction, RNZ explained that the Emissions Trading Scheme is a crucial part of the government’s plans to reduce emissions, holding quarterly auctions for companies to buy the permission to pollute.
The idea is for prices to rise over time incentivising firms to innovate and pollute less.
The likely main driver for the most recent failed auction is that the government is reviewing the ETS’s settings, RNZ said
ANZ agricultural economist Susan Kilsby said the outcome of the review could change the scheme “quite considerably”.
“While that’s happening people haven’t got confidence to trade in the market because we don’t really know where those rules are going to end up,” she said.
The review is looking at ways to put more emphasis on actually reducing gross emission rather than just planting trees. A draft version of the the review is expected sometime this year.
The RNZ report then said:
This is a win for the climate as fewer credits available means less damaging gases emitted. At the least, it eats away at the surplus units out there.
Analysts told RNZ it was better to get the ETS working robustly than relying on failed auctions to reduce emissions.
In his ministerial press statement, Simon Watts noted that at yesterday’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each representing one metric tonne of carbon dioxide – were for sale, including more than 13 million unsold NZUs carried over from the three previous 2023 auctions.
There were also an additional 8 million NZUs within the cost containment reserve. All NZUs from 2023 will now be cancelled.
“Our government has immediately stopped work on the ETS Review carried out by the previous Labour Government which was driving uncertainty and was a factor in the failed auctions,” Mr Watts says.
“The market has been suffering from a degree of volatility and as a result we’ve seen the carbon price fluctuate over time.
“It’s important to have market stability – and give businesses certainty and confidence.
“Our Government is committed to restoring credibility in the ETS as it remains the Government’s key tool to reduce emissions.”
In her statement, Erica Stanford took a second bite at the the 2022 PISA results released this week
This time she focussed on the finding that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted by digital devices, with around half of students reporting they become distracted in most or every lesson.
“These results reinforce our government’s focus on removing distractions like cellphone use in the classroom to ensure young people receive the quality education they deserve that lets them live the life that they want.
“There is clear evidence that removing distractions like cellphone use has a positive impact on student achievement and wellbeing, and the Government is wasting no time.
“In our first 100 days, we will ban cellphone use during the school day for all students so they can focus on their learning.
But we knew that already, didn’t we?
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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