OPINION:
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Welcome to the Politics Briefing with the Coalition Government’s first 100 days nearly over - and about 1000 more to go.
Whether by intention or not, the policies progressed this week have left voters in no doubt that the centre-right Government is more right than centre. The howls of protest against its moves to crack down on gangs, bring back boot camps for delinquents, build more highways and fast-track consents for significant infrastructure projects have more likely than not delighted the Government. They simply amplify its actions and take attention away from the ongoing deterioration in the books.
Capping off the 100-day plan today is a set of major health targets including wait times and cancer treatment - with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visiting the electorate of Health Minister Shane Reti. Luxon has been finessing his sales pitch and political style with an up-the-guts approach that is likely to become cemented. The rule is: “If in doubt, don’t show it.”
The health targets - always popular with voters - were one of 49 measures announced back in November. The Coalition’s to-do list was much longer than the 17 items on Jacinda Ardern’s 100-day plan after the 2017 election. Derek Cheng has a piece today (see below) setting out each of the current commitments and how they were met.
The bill allowing for ministerial approval of fast-track consents, the Fast-track Approval Bill, will go to to the environment select committee, which is a blessing, but the schedule of projects which will be subject to the new process won’t be known before select committee hearings. The bill has horrified environmentalists, including retiring Green Party co-leader James Shaw, who said in the first reading debate yesterday that it was “one of the most significant assaults on the environment undertaken by any Government in my lifetime ... We’ve gone from unbridled power to unhinged power through the use of this bill.”
Shaw is due to be replaced as leader on Sunday by Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick, and the next person on the Greens list after he leaves Parliament is Francisco Hernandez from Dunedin.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Winston Peters produced his own cracking pace meeting diplomats in Wellington and foreign ministers abroad via teleconference or phone. Barely a day goes by without him announcing a new meeting. It may have been that previous ministers held a similar number of meetings, but Peters is making it visible and that’s a good thing. He issued a press statement yesterday saying that in the first 100 days he had undertaken 86 engagements with representatives of 53 countries, territories, and international organisations. Next week he will travel to India, Indonesia and Singapore. He has already been to Fiji, Australia, Tonga and the Cook Islands.
PS: The chief executive of Parliamentary Service, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, has confirmed that the new office building going up behind Parliament is on schedule to be ready before the 2026 election and is on budget - $257.89 million. Plans for it were scrapped in 2017 as a condition of New Zealand First’s coalition agreement with Labour. At that point, it was estimated to cost at least $100m.
“It is just too hard to do things - too hard to build houses, too hard to build roads, too hard to build public transport, too hard to build geothermal and wind power stations, too hard to build mines for the future, too hard to get aquaculture projects up and running - and this is part of the Government’s process of unclogging that” - Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop introducing a bill drawn up by him and NZ First’s Shane Jones to fast-track consents for significant projects.
”The ghost of Rob Muldoon has inhabited the mind and body of Shane Jones, and he is riding roughshod and exposing [National’s] blue-green caucus to be an absolute Potemkin village of toothless, spineless people who have no say whatsoever in this bill” - outgoing Greens co-leader James Shaw on the same bill.
Chinese-born Green MP Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan was sworn in yesterday to fill the vacancy created by the death of Fa’anana Efeso Collins. He is the third Chinese MP in the current Parliament. Who are the other two? (Answer below.)
Goes to Willie Jackson for failing to recognise the irony of him questioning Broadcasting Minister Melissa Lee about David Seymour’s criticism of TVNZ reporter Benedict Collins when Jackson himself has been in hot water over his own criticisms of TVNZ’s Jack Tame.
Goes to Speaker Gerry Brownlee for his superb stewardship of the House during the highs and lows of the past four-week session. With humour, patience and good judgment.
Analysis - 100-day plan: Today marks the finish line for the coalition Government’s 100-day plan. Derek Cheng tracks its progress.
Spending cuts: Azaria Howell looks at the challenges facing the public sector as departments race to cut spending by 6.5 to 7.5 per cent.
Fast-track consents: Officials have warned the Government that its new fast-track consenting bill will have huge environmental consequences.
Gang patch ban: The Government’s proposed ban on gang patches in public is inconsistent with the Bill of Rights, according to Attorney-General Judith Collins.
Surplus promise: Finance Minister Nicola Willis has again talked down National’s pre-election pledge to get the books back in surplus by the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Opinion - state of the nation: A dilapidated Premier House and broken down NZDF plane perfectly symbolise NZ’s decline since 2008, writes Matthew Hooton.
US Aukus talks: Defence Minister Judith Collins discussed the Aukus submarine deal with her American counterparts in Wellington yesterday.
‘Death cult’ comments: The head of a publicly funded anti-extremism centre says the Government might be a “death cult”, leading to calls from Act for her resignation.
Analysis - transport plan: Thomas Coughlan explains how the Government’s transport budget will usher in big changes to New Zealand’s roads.
Opinion - transport plan: After the release of the Government’s Policy Statement on Land Transport, Simon Wilson has 10 questions for minister Simeon Brown.
House rules: What is the Winston Rule and did Greens co-leader James Shaw just kill it? Thomas Coughlan explains.
Quiz answer: National MPs Carlos Cheung (Mt Roskill) who was born in Hong Kong, and Nancy Lu (list) who was born in China.
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.
For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.
Bayly apologised for his behaviour last month.