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Welcome to Inside Politics. It has been a great week in the health system. Nobody in its top echelons has quit this week. But hey, it is only Thursday.
It would be hard to argue that the health crisis has not deepened this year. The Director-General of Health quit last week, as did the Director of Public Health, and the chief executive of Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora quit the week before. The Minister of Health was replaced about two weeks before that.
And now the Opposition is wondering aloud how long Health Commissioner Lester Levy will last. He was made commissioner in August last year after the rest of the board was sacked. He was charged with coming up with a turnaround plan to get the restructured system back in order and into the black.
It was revealed by NZ Doctor this week that Levy’s plan is being reviewed by a taskforce ordered by new Health Minister Simeon Brown within the offices of the Public Service Commission.
The taskforce is accountable to Brown, not to the Public Service Commissioner. It is headed by Hamiora Bowkett, a former PwC partner who has also held senior positions at Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Health and was on the board of Capital Coast Health. But the job that no doubt gave him the closest contact with Simeon Brown was in local government. He played a major role in Internal Affairs dismantling the Three Waters policy of the previous Government.
The other members are from across the public sector, but neither the PSC nor Brown’s office would name names.
Brown confirmed the role of the taskforce yesterday during Question Time. It is called the Health Assurance Unit and will give him advice for three months – during the crucial period of making Budget-related decisions.
“I would also note that in 2020, the last Government established the Health Transition Unit housed within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to design and advise on the health system reforms,” Brown said.
On the question of its role, the PSC said it was “to drive delivery of the Government’s health priorities and targets”.
“Any queries on the work of the unit should be referred to the Minister of Health,” the PSC said.
When I asked the minister’s office who else was on the unit, the reply was: “I have asked the PSC to respond to your query as it’s in the PSC that the Health Assurance Unit exists.”
Before departing on his first overseas trip this year, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has spelled out what he thinks the next steps should be in the contretemps with the Cook Islands. He wants to see a “reset” of the relationship, meaning he wants the parameters of the relationship to be clearer. That is fully justified. If Peters trenchantly believes the Cook Islands were required to consult New Zealand before embarking on a comprehensive partnership with China, and Cooks PM Mark Brown believes he was not, then the rules of engagement urgently need to be clarified. Read more about Peters' trip and the A to Z of this, his third term as Foreign Minister, in the second story below.
While the climate between Government parties and the Green Party remains frosty (the Greens were called Marxists by three MPs yesterday: Chris Bishop, Winston Peters and Nicola Willis), the climate between New Zealand First and the Labour Party is distinctly thawing and giving rise to claims that they are not likely to rule each other out at the next election, as they did in 2023.
When Winston Peters was pointing out in Question Time that the name “Aotearoa” was popularised in the 1880s by a white colonist, Labour leader Chis Hipkins interjected: “He was there!”
Rather than reverting to his default position of taking offence, Peters was amused: “... I’m not going to take too much offence about that, other than to tell him that, like so many Labour leaders, I’ll be around long after he’s gone.”
It was a fair point. Since Peters was first elected in 1979, there have been 11 Labour leaders, almost as many as National (12). Peters' party also made a point of supporting two Opposition MPs' members' bills yesterday, including one by Camilla Belich making it a crime for employers not to pay workers their entitlement.
• Greens co-leader Marama Davidson returned to work and had immediate success in getting her Right to Repair Bill past its first reading and through to select committee. The debate became quite personal when we heard about Glen Bennett’s nana’s Kenwood mixer that sits on his bench and Helen White’s broken scooter that sits in her cupboard.
• Political parties naturally put their spin on their events, but we were astonished to see just how far Act’s description of last week’s headline-hogging antics by leader David Seymour went. To recap, Seymour was criticised – including by the Prime Minister – for writing to police on behalf of constituent Philip Polkinghorne during a murder investigation criticising aspects of their inquiry; and he drove up Parliament’s steps in a Land Rover for a charity event after being told he was not allowed to. He got last week’s brickbat here, of course. But this is how Act’s Free Press described it: “The media went berserk at David Seymour for the crimes of being a committed local MP and using an ancient Land Rover to raise money for heart kids.” You be the judge.
• Relations between Act and the “berserk” media were not enough to call off their pre-planned function last night. Act hosted the Press Gallery in its offices and there was a healthy turnout on both sides.
“This bill has destroyed the trust element of this sensitive relationship and put the hopes of New Zealanders enjoying an honest, uplifting and challenging celebration and commemoration of our 200 years together since the Treaty was signed in 2040 off-course.” – Former Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley in her submission this week on the Treaty Principles Bill.
Who is the Minister of Tourism and who were the previous two ministers? (Answer below.)
Goes to Health Minister Simeon Brown for his press statement this week that $14 million will be spent replacing water pipes at Auckland City Hospital. What next? A new roof in Wellington? A fresh supply of bandages for Christchurch? Let the managers manage the small stuff, minister.
Goes to two South Auckland-based MPs, Marama Davidson and Lemauga Lydia Sosene, who have returned to Parliament after treatment for breast cancer. Great to have you back, ladies.
Cooks-China deal: Foreign Minister Winston Peters has called for a “reset” of New Zealand’s relationship with the Cook Islands.
OPINION – foreign affairs: Winston Peters A to Z – tumultuous times are ahead for the political veteran in his third term as Foreign Minister, writes Audrey Young.
Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill: Onlookers in Parliament’s public gallery wiped away tears and performed haka and waiata to mark the return of a sacred piece of land their ancestors died on during the invasion of Waikato 161 years ago.
‘Xenophobia’ spat: Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March says the Prime Minister needs to step in after NZ First leader Winston Peters made allegedly “xenophobic” comments about him.
Manurewa Marae inquiry: Significant failures in agencies’ protection of personal information are an “unacceptable breach of public trust”, PM Christopher Luxon said in the wake of an inquiry into data security.
OPINION – PM’s leadership: The path PM Christopher Luxon is treading leads to the potential ignominy of a one-term Government – something not seen here in 50 years, writes Simon Wilson.
MP’s health: “I have to say, we have amazing health professionals” – Labour MP Lemauga Lydia Sosene shares her cancer journey.
Teacher-only days: Education Minister Erica Stanford says her associate minister David Seymour was “overstepping the mark” when he announced a crackdown on teacher-only days late last year.
Quiz answer: Louise Upston. Before her, it was National’s Matt Doocey and before him, Labour’s Peeni Henare.
For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.
The Marsden Point refinery in Northland was shut down in 2022.