The Insider: Start your engines

Harald Krueger, CEO of german car manufacturer BMW, Photo / AP

It's rumoured that BMW has all but sewn up the Government's VIP limousine fleet contract once again, although Lexus is said to be still in the frame. This week the Government named the seven companies which have won the right to sell vehicles to its departments and agencies for the next five years. It's big business: agencies spent $128 million on new wheels in the 12 months to March. Negotiations continue with the preferred supplier for the VIP fleet. Perhaps they are waiting to road test the new BMW 7 series.

Hero worship

This may or may not be another sign from Phil Goff about his intention to run for the Auckland mayoralty, but he has begun asking questions in the House about the city's transport system. This has caused much delight in National Party ranks, with ministers saying they look forward to working with "His Worship" should he succeed Len Brown.

Still on the benefit

Yes, it's an old joke, but it seems Paula Bennett just can't shake off her past role as Social Development Minister. Her successor, Anne Tolley, has once again called her "Paula Benefit" while speaking to a select committee.

Real estate rules

This week's Productivity Commission report on freeing up land for housing is a hefty document - 360 pages - with something to upset almost every vested interest. Case in point: the commission has doubts about new-subdivision covenants which increasingly control everything from the design of a home's letterbox to how long you can let the grass grow. The commission is keen to hear views on limiting these covenants, or maybe allowing councils to override them. There's also something to upset the Government: the commission can't see why it doesn't pay rates on Crown land used for things such as schools and recommends an investigation into whether this long-standing exemption is past its use-by date.

Photo / NZME.

Mired in the maze

The more cynical members of officialdom must be taking bets on whether the latest attempt to reform Maori land law is set to fall apart before it really gets started. Almost every Maori Development Minister over the decades has bravely set out into the complex maze, paved with political traps, that is land law change. Te Ururoa Flavell is no different, and in the face of concerns he has already had to extend submissions on the draft Te Ture Whenua Maori Bill by five weeks, to August 7. The whole thing is a hornets' nest of issues, tying up hundreds of millions of dollars of potentially productive land, but no one ever seems able to find a way to deal with joint ownership issues without infuriating some of those involved. The fact that a bill is already struggling before making it into Parliament is a sign of the troubles ahead.

Dare to be brave

A few people in the state sector, and MPs as well, are becoming worried about the growing tendency for senior civil servants to voice their opinions on policy. Treasury head Gabriel Makhlouf has again been opining on controversial policy areas, such as the benefits of developing new organisms, including the use of genetic modification. It's not the first time a Treasury Secretary has voiced personal views, but it is becoming more common lately. This is partly driven by a desire for informed policy debate, and also by Finance Minister Bill English's dictum that the state sector should be "brave" and challenging. Laudable aims, but governments come and governments go, and civil servants must be able serve them all. No one doubts Makhlouf's professionalism, but how would his comments be viewed by a Labour minister, or even a Green one?

Treasury Secretary Gabriel Makhlouf. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Hard act to follow

Our man in Washington, Mike Moore, is said to be recovering well from his stroke, but there is no indication when he might be returning to work. In the meantime, one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's more experienced diplomats, Carl Worker, is serving in Moore's place as charge d'affaires. He will need every bit of his experience to deal with testing issues such as the TPP talks being torn in many directions and United States angst at New Zealand working with China on its new development bank.