Audrey Young is the New Zealand Herald’s senior political correspondent. She was named Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2023, 2020 and 2018.
OPINION
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Welcome to the Politics Briefing, in a week in which the temperature of Parliament reached such a boiling point that it demanded the swift attention of Speaker Gerry Brownlee – not least to avoid his office being weaponised.
Yesterday’s boil-over in the House involves three quite different issues, but all involving the Act Party, and each having an element of a clash with Te Pāti Māori. These are the issues – with some free advice to Brownlee.
The most serious issue and one which requires immediate attention is the effect on Act MP and Children’s Minister Karen Chhour of upsetting personal comments made by Te Pāti Māori MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and other Opposition MPs in response to the removal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.
The comments have been of a deeply personal nature regarding Chhour’s own upbringing (Chhour is Māori and spent some time in state care). Kapa-kingi accused her of being a puppet of her party but, because she made the comments in Māori, Chhour didn’t see the translation in Hansard until some time later. As Thomas Coughlan reports, when the comments were raised with Brownlee, Chhour was told to expect an apology. It did not arrive. This backdrop probably heightened the reaction of Act to other events in the House.
Brownlee needs to use any influence he has with Te Pāti Māori to get them to lay off Chhour and apologise. If they have any doubt about that, they should look at Chhour in tears on Stuff’s ThreeNews last night. She’s tough, but even titanium has a breaking point.
The next issue happened last week behind closed doors at the select committee considering the repeal of Section 7AA, which sets out the obligations of Oranga Tamariki’s chief executive to the Treaty of Waitangi.
The chair of the sub-committee considering submissions is Act MP Laura Trask, but, before she was appointed, Kapa-Kingi and Green MP Kahurangi Carter expressed the view that the role should go to a Māori or Pacific MP because most of the submitters would be Māori. Act whip Todd Stephenson complained to Brownlee about whether it was parliamentary to raise the issue of race in such a discussion on the qualification of a committee chair and wanted it referred to the Privileges Committee.
Brownlee apparently hasn’t done much with the complaint. Act leader David Seymour yesterday sought to table the correspondence between Act and Brownlee and, staggeringly, said his response appeared to “give a green light to racial harassment”.
On the face of it, if the private discussion by the select committee was civil, there would be no issue. The only way it would constitute a matter of privilege is if the nature of the debate had been intimidating or threatening in some way. If he hasn’t done so already, Brownlee would be advised to talk to Trask and other members of the committee for a frank assessment of whether it was simply a matter of MPs expressing views Act thinks are unreasonable, or something more serious.
The third issue is about Act MPs wearing their party logos on their lapels. It would not be an issue at all if Act MP Cameron Luxton and National’s James Meager had not objected last week to Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke having a party logo on her laptop. She had to cover it up. When the issue was raised this week at the business committee, it was decided to extend it to all logos – including the Act broaches that can be easily seen on television coverage of Parliament. Former Speaker Trevor Mallard gave Act dispensation a few years ago. Brownlee, as is his right, has decided there should be one rule for all. In this case, Brownlee should do nothing except enforce the rule and allow no member of the Act Party to ask or answer questions until all its MPs comply. Their choice.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has got himself into a bit of a tangle over Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora’s so-called 14 layers of bureaucracy. Last week, after replacing the board with a commissioner, he said there was a bloated bureaucracy and 14 layers of management. Pressed for more on Monday, he said Health Minister Shane Reti had advised him there were 14. Pressed for more, Reti said Health NZ had advised him there were 14. The commissioner said there were 12.
In the House on Tuesday, Luxon explained it like this: “The amazing thing with our health system that we inherited from the previous Government is that a patient interacts with a team member, the team member reports to the team supervisor, who reports to the team leader, the team leader reports to the assistant manager, the assistant manager reports to the manager, who reports to the service manager, who then reports to the general manager. The general manager – you might be asking, ‘Well, who do they report to?’ Well, they report to the group director of operations, and, of course, they report to the regional director, the national director, eventually the chief of staff, then the chief executive, and, of course, they report to the chair and the board.”
Not counting the patient and board chair, it’s 12. Counting the patient and the board chair, that’s 14.
It has been a big week for the number 14. On Wednesday, 14 years after the last tax adjustment, the Government’s tax cuts and cost-of-living relief took effect. Changes were made to tax thresholds, early childhood education subsidies, the in-work tax credit and the independent earner tax credit. According to Finance Minister Nicola Willis, 727,000 households will benefit by at least $75 a fortnight, and 187,000 will benefit by at least $100 a fortnight. On average, she said, households will benefit by $60 a fortnight, and households with children by $78 a fortnight.
“The dark triad are leading an anti-Māori agenda in this House. We are punch-drunk. You have been punching Māori since you took office.” – Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi in the general debate.
“I don’t want any more Green ideological sludge from that side of the House. This is a pure economic development approach. Co-governance is gone; co-investment is in.” – Shane Jones responds to Green interjections as he explains 15 regional summits he is planning.
National has its conference this week: how many of the party’s nine Prime Ministers can you name? (Answer below.)
Goes to Trade Minister Todd McClay for his gratuitous interjection on Mexican-born Green MP Ricardo Menendez March during a complaint to the Speaker that a minister had not addressed the question asked. “We’re not in Mexico – that’s not how we do it here,” McClay said. (Of course it is how it is done in New Zealand, just about every day in Parliament). McClay withdrew the remark and apologised.
Goes to Speaker Gerry Brownlee for ruling that all party logos are banned from display in the debating chamber, including the party logos worn by Act MPs on their lapels that are clearly visible to the television cameras. One rule for all.
Health NZ overhaul: Former board members at Health NZ say they are disappointed at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s personal attacks on their credibility.
Health NZ overhaul: Christopher Luxon says changes to Health NZ’s executive team are “on the table” and are in commissioner Lester Levy’s hands.
Analysis – Act v Speaker: How did the Act party end up having a dramatic tiff with Speaker Gerry Brownlee over - of all things - lapel pins? Thomas Coughlan explains.
Council spending: The coalition Government has urged councils to rein in their spending as ratepayers across the country face big bill hikes.
Māori wards: Parliament has passed a bill changing the rules around how Māori wards are established following a fiery debate in the House.
Treaty legislation: Te Pāti Māori is proposing a new law that would make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown.
Drug-testing legislation: The Government has introduced legislation to Parliament to allow police to drug-test drivers.
Opinion – Greens v Darleen Tana: The Greens won’t vote on whether to expel former Green MP Darleen Tana from Parliament until September 1. Thomas Coughlan explains why the party is taking its time.
Quiz answer: Sir Sidney Holland, Sir Keith Holyoake, Sir Jack Marshall, Sir Robert Muldoon, Jim Bolger, Dame Jenny Shipley, Sir John Key, Sir Bill English, Christopher Luxon.
For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.
MPs literally counted down the final seconds of Parliament.