No, NZ will not be moved, but the PM and his deputy are headed for Tonga (with a schedule that does not mention Seymour)
So who and/or what will be left behind?
That’s what we wondered, on learning from the government’s official website: New Zealand heads to Tonga to talk Pacific.
The country is not on the move, of course. But Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Tonga next week to meet with Pacific leaders on priority regional issues.
The occasion is the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Week, which brings together leaders from 18 Pacific countries, including New Zealand.
Pacific Peoples Minister Shane Reti will be going, too.
Peters says New Zealand’s high-level participation in Leaders’ Week reflects the importance the Government places upon deepening its relationships in the region.
“We will be listening and engaging frankly next week on the issues that matter to each Forum member,” Mr Peters says.
“Our collective unity is critical to the region’s efforts to tackle the challenges that confront us, such as climate change mitigation, development needs and regional security.
“We look forward to discussing these issues with our neighbours, as well as the constructive role the Forum can play supporting ongoing peaceful efforts towards a mutually agreeable way forward in New Caledonia.”
Peters and Reti will attend the first half of Leaders’ Week, departing New Zealand on 24 August and returning 27 August. The Prime Minister will attend the second half, departing New Zealand on 27 August and returning on 30 August.
Point of Order supposes this means we won’t be treated to David Seymour acting as Prime Minister, and there’s no news of him today – at least not on the Government official website.
Seymour’s ACT party colleague, Nicole McKee, does pop up with two press releases in which she cheers progress on two bits of legislation for which she is responsible.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop is chuffed about some legislation, too, saying he expects to introduce a second RMA Amendment Bill to Parliament before the end of the year and pass it into law in mid-2025.
Phase Three of the RMA reforms will involve a full replacement of the Resource Management Act with new legislation based on the enjoyment of property rights, to be introduced to Parliament before the end of 2025.
Pacific Peoples Minister Shane Reti will be going, too.
Peters says New Zealand’s high-level participation in Leaders’ Week reflects the importance the Government places upon deepening its relationships in the region.
“We will be listening and engaging frankly next week on the issues that matter to each Forum member,” Mr Peters says.
“Our collective unity is critical to the region’s efforts to tackle the challenges that confront us, such as climate change mitigation, development needs and regional security.
“We look forward to discussing these issues with our neighbours, as well as the constructive role the Forum can play supporting ongoing peaceful efforts towards a mutually agreeable way forward in New Caledonia.”
Peters and Reti will attend the first half of Leaders’ Week, departing New Zealand on 24 August and returning 27 August. The Prime Minister will attend the second half, departing New Zealand on 27 August and returning on 30 August.
Point of Order supposes this means we won’t be treated to David Seymour acting as Prime Minister, and there’s no news of him today – at least not on the Government official website.
Seymour’s ACT party colleague, Nicole McKee, does pop up with two press releases in which she cheers progress on two bits of legislation for which she is responsible.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop is chuffed about some legislation, too, saying he expects to introduce a second RMA Amendment Bill to Parliament before the end of the year and pass it into law in mid-2025.
Phase Three of the RMA reforms will involve a full replacement of the Resource Management Act with new legislation based on the enjoyment of property rights, to be introduced to Parliament before the end of 2025.
Latest from the Beehive
23 August 2024
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Tonga next week to meet with Pacific leaders on priority regional issues, including climate change, security and development.
22 August 2024
Enabling more remote participation in our courts using Audio Visual (AV) technology is an important part of the Coalition Government’s commitment to improving court performance and access to justice.
The Coalition Government is one step closer to delivering on its commitment to keep firearms out of the hands of serious offenders, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.
Speech
Reform of the RMA is fundamental to the coalition Government’s ambitions for a faster growing, more productive economy.
The Government will progress a second Resource Management Act Amendment Bill and a suite of changes to national direction to drive economic growth and productivity, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says.
Edward Ellison ONZM has been appointed chair of the Māori Heritage Council and deputy chair of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says.
As Minister responsible for the Courts, Nicole McKee drew attention to the second reading of the Courts (Remote Participation) Amendment Bill.
One change will give victims of crime the option to observe a criminal trial and sentencing remotely if suitable technology is available and a judicial officer or Court Registrar considers this to be appropriate.
Another allows the use of audio links, such as telephone conference calls for appropriate court proceedings. The use of audio links will increase the number of people able to participate remotely.
A third change makes permanent what was a temporary amendment to the law during the pandemic. That change clarified that remote participation in criminal proceedings, and remote observation by the media and the public are consistent with principle of open justice.
As Associate Minister of Justice, McKee is pushing the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill which aims to give Police greater powers to search gang members for firearms.
The Bill amends the Arms Act 1983, Search and Surveillance Act 2012, and Sentencing Act 2002 to reform the Firearms Prohibition Order (FPO) regime.
The second reading of the Bill recognised submissions made and acknowledged that throughout their process, the Justice Select Committee made several amendments to sharpen the Bill’s focus. These refinements relate to:
- the definition of an “associate of a gang or organised criminal group
- the offences for which an FPO may be issued, and
- the extent of the new search power to ensure compliance with an FPO.
The Natural and Built Environment Act and Spatial Planning Act was repealed before Christmas and the highly contentious one-stop shop Fast-track Bill is currently before Parliament’s Environment Committee.
Earlier this year the first RMA Amendment Bill was introduced, to make urgent changes to give certainty to councils and consent applicants while new legislation to replace the RMA is developed. That Bill is before the Primary Production Committee.
The next step is four packages of reforms to be delivered through a second RMA Amendment Bill, which will be introduced alongside the single largest package of national direction changes in New Zealand’s history: seven new national direction instruments, and amendments to fourteen existing ones.
“The priority in working out these packages was to give effect to coalition commitments, quick wins for simplifying the system even further and cutting red tape, and changes that can transition to the new RMA system once implemented,” Bishop said.
The changes can be grouped into four distinct packages:
Infrastructure and Energy
This package will develop further national direction to enable a range of productivity-boosting energy and infrastructure projects including a new NPS-Infrastructure. It will also provide a consistent approach to quarrying across the Resource Management System, and as signalled earlier this year, will also extend the duration of port coastal permits by a further 20 years. It will also change the NES for Telecommunications Facilities to keep up to date with technological developments and give telcos greater certainty and reduced consenting costs as they upgrade their infrastructure, and give effect to the Government’s Electrify NZ reforms to make it easier to consent renewable energy.
Housing
The housing package will contain reform needed to enable the first pillar of the Government’s Going For Housing Growth policies announced earlier this year. These changes will include requiring councils to demonstrate compliance with the 30-year Housing Growth Targets while providing the flexibility for councils to opt out of the Medium Density Residential Standards. We will also make changes to the National Policy Statement-Urban Development and the National Policy Statement-Highly Productive Land, simplify heritage management, and develop new national direction to enable granny flats and papakāinga housing.
Farming and the Primary Sector
The primary industries package will contain changes to drive primary sector productivity. This package will mainly give effect to National Party Manifesto promises and coalition agreements. Cabinet has agreed to amend the National Policy Statement-Highly Productive Land to make it clear that indoor primary production and greenhouses are permitted on highly productive land, as well as specifying that farmers are also allowed to build new specified infrastructure such as solar farms on that land. These changes will be gazetted soon.
Emergencies and Natural Hazards
This package will provide a comprehensive, nationally consistent framework for addressing the risks posed by natural hazards, including risks from climate change. The previous government began this work but intended to progress it in a two-step process. Feedback from submitters indicated that a single instrument would be more efficient, and this package will provide that efficiency in the form of a new national direction on natural hazards which will provide direction to councils on how to identify natural hazards, assess the risk they pose, and how to respond to that risk through planning controls. The RMA Amendment Bill 2 will also include improved emergency provisions to better enable rapid responses to disasters.
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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