Bob Edlin: You would read more with Seymour – about anti-money laundering legislation, at least

ACT leader David Seymour and news media editors obviously have strongly differing ideas of which happenings should be headlined.

On RNZ’s Midday Report yesterday, Seymour played down the dispute between the PM and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters over the release of emails which flushed into the open the urge by Christopher Luxon to support the United States after it and Israel had attacked Iran.

He said:

“The coalition has had a joined up and consistent approach throughout this, I know what you want to talk about but people have discussions behind closed doors before we come to a position. I’d be much more worried if there wasn’t a discussion.”

Then he set about steering the interview away from questions about Luxon wanting to express explicit support for the war.

“I think the most important thing that’s happening in New Zealand today as far as the government goes is anti-money laundering legislation … I don’t even understand what your question’s about, most people won’t understand it or care, but actually this government is fixing what matters.”

The reporting of the spat between Luxon and Peters, Seymour said, was “one person’s view of another person’s view of something that happened months ago, and the government had a united support position on it.

A few hours later, in Parliament, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee moved that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (Supervisor, Levy, and Other Matters) Amendment Bill be read a third time.

Hansard records her as saying:

These bills are about making it easier for New Zealanders to get on with building businesses, creating jobs, and growing their incomes. And while we’re at it, we’re making it harder for criminals to exploit our financial system. For too long, our anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime has asked too much of the wrong people and not enough of the right ones. It has burdened legitimate businesses with excessive compliance, while struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated criminal activity. These bills fix that. They shift the system back to first principles: focus on risk, target harm, and get out of the way of productive activity. Because every hour that a small business spends ticking boxes is an hour not spent hiring staff, investing in new ideas, or growing their businesses. That matters, because growth is not some abstract economic idea. Growth means more jobs, it means higher wages, and more opportunities for New Zealanders.

And how many headlines did that generate?

PoO won’t be too emphatic with its answer, but it looks like not many.

We typed the words “Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill” into our Google searching gadgetry.

Then we looked for responses under “News”.

We drew a blank.

Maybe we would do better under “All” responses.

Nope.  Nothing.

Lest Google missed it, we went to the Beehive website and searched McKee’s press statements.

She hasn’t posted one since April 9, when she announced:

Last call on red tape: Alcohol Bill open for submissions

The Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Improving Alcohol Regulation) Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last week and is now open for submissions at the Justice Select Committee.

Where have the editors been focusing their reportage and commentary?

The Democracy Project website’s daily News Briefing gives us a clue:

GOVERNMENT
Isaac Davison (Stuff): Three years, many feuds: Tracking the decline of the National-NZ First partnership
Jenna Lynch (Stuff): Make no mistake, Winston Peters’ email release embarrassing PM was not a mistake at all
Toby Manhire (Spinoff): ‘Dumb on so many levels’: unpacking the Peters v Luxon inferno over Iran emails
Lillian Hanly and Russell Palmer (RNZ): National insists coalition is stable, even as cracks begin to show
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Newstalk ZB): Is the coalition really in crisis?
Richard Harman: It’s me, not the PM, who is in charge says Peters (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Cracks in the coalition – Nicola Willis accuses Winston Peters of being ‘very, very confused’ over Iran email release (paywalled)
Anneke Smith (Post): Winston Peters exposes Luxon’s Iran misspeak for the amateur hour that it was (paywalled)
Anneke Smith and Henry Cooke (Post): Iran war: PM pushed for stronger support of US strikes, emails released by Winston Peters reveal (paywalled)
Stuff: ‘They’re eating each other’: Luxon and Peters in ‘quite extraordinary’ clash over Iran war
RNZ: Winston Peters’ release of Iran war emails ‘no mistake’, former Foreign Minister Phil Goff
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Winston Peters ‘very confused’ over handling of Iran war emails
Emma Ricketts (Stuff): Willis accuses Peters’ office of acting ‘in bad faith’ and breaching coalition agreement
Adam Pearse (Herald): National deputy leader Nicola Willis lashes out at ‘confused’ Winston Peters, suggests coalition breach after Iran war emails released
RNZ: Winston Peters didn’t release Iran war stance emails to embarrass PM – Helen Clark
Dubby Henry, Thomas Coughlan, Tom Rose (Herald): Former PM Helen Clark unsure if coalition Govt will survive until election
1News: Clark wonders if coalition will ‘last much beyond the Budget’ amid Iran spat
Geoff Fischer: The Peters/Luxon Spat – Evidence of a fracturing alliance
No Right Turn: Terrible instincts
ODT: Editorial – Shooting and side shows (paywalled)
Ryan Bridge (Herald): Coalition crisis is a problem for Luxon, not for Peters (paywalled)
Matthew Hooton (Herald): New Zealand coalition Government enters crucial month for survival (paywalled)

Do any editors fancy hiring Seymour for guidance on how to build their audiences and restore public trust?

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.