Podcasts about ayesha verrall

The Prime Minister's deputy press secretary Michael Forbes has resigned after allegations he recorded audio of sessions with sex workers, and captured photos of women in compromising positions. But despite complaints being investigated by police in July last year, Luxon was never informed. Should he have been told? Also, there have been 63 Kainga Ora tenancies terminated in the last ten months after complaints of unruly behaviour. But those properties were the homes of 52 children - has enough consideration been given to the welfare of these kids? To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There seems to be increasing reportage, based around some new research, that our dream of being smokefree is up in smoke. 2025 is the year when we were aiming to be smokefree. By smokefree, it would have been reduced to 5% left smoking. To meet that goal, the research says about 80,000 more people need to quit. They won't. As always, the fact they haven't, or won't, is somehow the Government's fault, who haven't done enough. Or worse, this particular Government, who they say have been shocking, led by New Zealand First and Casey Costello who is a devil and in the pocket of the tobacco companies – or some such gibberish those like the Labour Party spend a lot of time trying to suggest. Where it went wrong was twofold. The first was the belief, and this was classic Labour under Helen Clark, that you could force people to do something they didn't want to, and there were always going to be people who didn't want to. Where it worked, and we can be grateful, was in the public space part of it. No longer are you forced to inhale if you don't want to, or smell like a smoker, or stand in a group, or be trapped by it. But beyond that, once the hardcores were on the footpath, some were never giving up. The second thing that went wrong was vaping, a shocking miscalculation that it was a cessation tool, when what it really was a gateway for kids. A whole new generation got easy access, and the slippery slope was never going to get stopped. Governments could have nipped it in the bud but didn't. They could have made vapes script only like Australia, but didn't. The Labour Party under Ayesha Verrall, a medical professional from the party who invented smokefree, hurled their best wet bus ticket at the vaping market. So nothing happened. History will show they were out of the gates, Clark-style, with gusto. There was early progress on public spaces and a general change in attitude to the habit, followed by the predictable malaise and hardcore resistance, leaving us 25 years on with a change in society but well short of what was envisioned. Good crack, failed on the follow through. I'd give it 7 out of 10. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is today unvelining it's budget - and its hotly anticipated. What can we expect? Also, Winston Peters says he wouldn't mind if a member of the public who heckled him earlier this week lost his job. Is this reasonable? To answer those questions, Transport Minister and Hutt South MP Chris Bishop and Labour's Health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a fiery day in Parliament yesterday, with Workplace Relations minister Brooke van Velden quoting a controversial opinion piece and dropping the c-word in Parliament. Was this acceptable? Also, the Greens have released their alternative budget, promising $88 billion in new taxes. Is this lunacy or realistic? To answer those questions, Transport minister and Hutt South MP Chris Bishop and Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Ayesha Verrall says tobacco's unique harm is why industry links to Government need tighter checks. She's put forward a Members' Bill designed to ban any linked people working on tobacco policy. Labour hopes it'll have cross-party support. Verrall says other products, like vaping, don't need such strong restrictions - but tobacco's incredibly deadly. "It kills half the people that use it - we don't have other products like that. So that's why we need this specific focus on tobacco." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government has completely revamped the law surrounding pay equity - a move the opposition says was designed to save money. Was it? Also, is it okay for Ministers to conduct official business via their personal email accounts? Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he is "relaxed" about it. To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government has announced $12 billion of funding for the Defence Force as part of it's new capability plan - but where will the money come from? Also, a new report from a the Ministerial advisory group says NZ is losing the fight against organised crime, with Customs "swimming against the tide" as meth use doubles. How do we better fight organised crime? To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's what US President Donald Trump is calling Liberation Day in the US today; dishing out tariffs on almost every nation on earth. New Zealand exporters will now face 10% tariffs on everything imported into the United States. How should the government respond? Also, Rail Minister Winston Peters has announced his plans for the Interisland ferry replacements. He's decided they'll be 200m long and rail enabled - but no contracts have yet been signed. Was this an underwhelming announcement? To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest Taxpayers Union Curia Poll shows Labour ahead of National and Chris Hipkins is now marginally more popular than Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. What does this poll result tell us, and will Labour's support hold? Also New Zealand First have introduced a members bill to take 'woke' diversity equity and inclusion practices out of the public service. Currently the public service has to “promote a diverse workforce”. Is this bill the answer to a serious issue, or is this just culture war politics? To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr has resigned suddenly - but why aren't we being told why he's moved on so swiftly? Also, what's his legacy in the role? And the stories keep coming on the government's cheaper free lunch in schools programme. Are these lunches up to scratch, and was the Prime Minister right to say unhappy parents can send their kids to school with a marmite sandwich and an apple? Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's health spokesperson says the government's decision to cut jobs and freeze recruitment of health care workers is hurting frontline services and harming patients. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to Alexa Cook.

A new unit set up to scrutinise Health NZ will run for four months and report directly to the Health Minister. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

An investigation into Census data provided to third-party organisations has found there weren't enough safeguards around the data - and now there are fears it will impact Kiwis trust in the Census. Will it? Also, there are calls for a review of Destiny Church's charitable status after a protest against a Rainbow story time event in Auckland over the weekend. Is it time for a wide-ranging review of charity settings, and should the church have charity status? To answer those questions, Labour's Health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Raw Politics podcast: what voters want on climate change policy, will ministers ditch the foreshore repeal, plus Ayesha Verrall's faux pasClimate change is hard and changing New Zealanders' attitudes and behaviour seems harder still for this Government and its predecessors. Should the coalition accept that's the reality and go slow and low in its ambitions for change?The Raw Politics podcast looks at the coalition's latest report on methane from farm animals – a dense scientific fig leaf that could allow ministers to let NZ do less to cut emissions.Newsroom political editor Laura Walters, senior political reporter Marc Daalder and co-editor Tim Murphy ask if the national and international mood on dealing with climate change is enabling National, Act and NZ First to give up, even if just a little, on our national targets.For our second topic, Murphy recaps the short history of the foreshore, seabed Māori customary rights and the Marine and Coastal Areas Act. And he explains the Government's latest options to either withdraw its urgent repeal Bill or stay staunch and restrict Māori from winning claims in the courts.Would the ruling coalition get egg on its face if it backs down, or would that act to lower tensions that exist in Crown relations with Māori over other controversial measures like the Treaty Principles Bill?The panel asks if Labour's Ayesha Verrall went too far in her personal comments against Health NZ chair Lester Levy – and whether that took the focus off the actual scandal of the health commissioners trying to game their annual budgets.--------------------This week's recommendations:Tim: Jonathan Milne's scoop revealing Health NZ and Lester Levy were stopped by the auditor-general from shifting costs from this year into last, in what could have been embarrassing for the last, Labour governmentMarc: RNZ's story on the oil and gas lobby asking the Government to underwrite fossil fuel explorationLaura: A piece by Tom Hunt from The Post on the Vision for Wellington lobby group and their communications with the PM and other senior Government ministers --------------------Raw Politics will be available every Friday here on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube too.Read more on Newsroom - https://newsroom.co.nz

Today on Politics Friday, National's Matt Doocey and Labour's Megan Woods joined John MacDonald to dig into this week's political news. Electricity prices are still rising – would ensuring businesses get a lower rate keep them from going out of business? Will National actually miss their police force target, or is it achievable in the 12 months remaining? And how about Ayesha Verrall's ‘cooking the books' comment against Health Commissioner Lester Levy? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Its scruity week in Parliament - and Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is under fire for telling Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy that he has "a reputation for cooking the books". Was she out of line? Also, some government departments aren't holding Christmas parties this year, citing the "current fiscal environment." Is this just a bit miserable? To answer those questions, Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and National's Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's Ayesha Verrall has stepped up to defend her accusations against Health Commissioner Lester Levy. Levy - who was brought in to replace the agency's board after financial concerns were raised - is being grilled by MPs for the organisation's Annual Review. Verrall accused Levy of having 'a reputation of cooking the books' - citing examples of past roles. She says recent accounts have been presented in a 'non-conventional' way. "That's exactly what I'm saying - this is pretty fishy. You have this process that is being used to justify health cuts where the Auditor-General says the accounting treatment is not right." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast for Wednesday, 4 December 2024, Tingjun Cao has been found guilty of murdering Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao. Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is refusing to apologise for accusing Health Commissioner Lester Levy of "cooking the books". Levy is considering defamation action. The science community is outraged after the Government decided that the Marsden Fund will no longer support research in the humanities and social sciences. Plus, the Huddle debates whether Kainga Ora should make a u-turn and consider wool carpets rather than nylon.Get the Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive Full Show Podcast every weekday evening on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Huddle, broadcaster Mark Sainsbury and Early Edition host Ryan Bridge joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day - and more! Labour's Ayesha Verrall raised a few eyebrows after she accused Health Commissioner Lester Levy of 'cooking the books' in his previous DHB rules. Should we take these accusations seriously? Kāinga Ora has ruled out putting wool carpets in its houses - because it's more expensive than nylon alternatives. There's plenty of disappointment from the Government - what do we make of this? Public sector Christmas parties seem like they'll be a sad affair this time round - with some requiring staff to bring their own food or alcohol. Is this the right move? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Health Commissioner Professor Lester Levy has been accused of “cooking the books” at Health NZ-Te Whatu Ora to justify cuts to health services. Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall highlighted Levy's past record at three district health boards, where she claimed that he produced surpluses which turned to deficits when he left. Levy had a “reputation for cooking the books”, she said. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has sold another investment property - potentially making a significant tax-free capital gain. The Reserve Bank Governor stands by his decisions during and after Covid-19, saying the economy could have turned out far worse, while also criticising investors who had taken advantage of cheap lending to buy more property. Thirteen thousand more people in New Zealand are severely housing deprived compared to the previous Census. As a percentage of the population, it's an estimated increase of 0.2 percent, but there are large disparities between ethnicities, abilities, and postcodes ================================= Come support the work we're doing by becoming a Patron of ⁠⁠#BHN⁠⁠ www.patreon.com/BigHairyNews⁠ ================================= Merch available at www.BHNShop.nz Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter. @patbrittenden @Chewie_NZ

Scrutiny Week is underway with annual reviews of government entities with multi-billion dollar budgets. Also underway are political games you would never dare try in your own performance review. Exhibit A is Shane Reti facing Ayesha Verrall in the Health Committee. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Here's a question for you this morning - How much will ever be enough to spend on health? The answer is there will never be enough, so you got to make do with what you got. At least that is what Health New Zealand is trying to do. At the moment, we spend $30 billion bucks a year, that's just taxpayer money on health. It is middle of the road for the OECD in terms of percentage of GDP comparisons. According to Health New Zealand we're ahead of the likes of the UK, Canada and Sweden, but we're behind France, Switzerland and Germany. I mean, really, what does all this mean? Whether that spending is any good or not is another matter. Ask a hundred people about their experience in the health system and you'll get 100 different answers. One answer though, that we should be getting a bit more right, is exactly how much we're spending or planning to spend on health because how can you know what you're doing unless you know what you're spending and on what? Health New Zealand revised down its deficit for 24/25 from $1.7 billion to $1.1. What does that mean? It means as recently as October, they told us they'd need $500 million more dollars to run the health system than they did yesterday. That's half a billion bucks difference in less than two months. Why? They thought they'd have to pay more for redundancy payments and making up for holiday pay. It seems extraordinary, doesn't it, that you could have such a vast difference in such a short space of time? How does this keep happening? It comes after the target surplus for this year, $54 million, somehow morphed into a deficit of $700 million. Shane Reti and Ayesha Verrall are predictably fighting over whose fault this is, as you would expect from politicians. But if we could be a little clearer on the diagnosis, the dollars and the cents being spent, we'd at least be clearer on exactly what it is we're fighting about. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill will have its first reading in Parliament today, where National will support it. But with National refusing to support it further, is the entire exercise a waste of time? Also, the government has apologised to victims of abuse suffered while in state care - but what is the plan for redress? Labour's Health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and National's Otaki MP joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump has won the United States presidential election by a surprising margin — but what will a second Trump presidency mean for New Zealand? Also, David Seymour's Treaty principles bill has been introduced to Parliament today, earlier than originally scheduled. Is this just a waste of time, and will we see "hikois from hell"? National MP and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Labour's health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ministry of Health is under fire for failing to declare a conflict of interest. It recently came to light that one of the officials advising Minister Casey Costello on tobacco reforms was the sister-in-law of Labour's health spokesperson, Ayesha Verrall. Verrall is a vocal opponent of Costello's policies. Senior Political Reporter Barry Soper told Heather du Plessis-Allan that it's a disgrace. He says that even though the Director General of Health says the Ministry adhered strictly to the rules of conflict of interest, they failed to pass that particular conflict on to Costello. Soper says they've fallen well short, as multiple people were well aware of the conflict and failed to report it. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Health Ministry has apologised to the Smokefree minister Casey Costello for failing to inform her that one of its officials had a conflict of interest. It comes after NZ First leader Winston Peters used Parliamentary privilege to accuse the official of attending meetings with Ms Costello and advising her on tobacco reform without telling her she was the sister-in-law of Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall, deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Ministry of Health has apologised to the Associate Health Minister Casey Costello for failing to tell her that one of her advisors on tobacco reforms was the sister-in-law of Labour's Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. Here's our political reporter Giles Dexter.

The government will appoint a Crown observer to oversee Wellington City Council - but will the advice that led to the decision be released?Also, should Andrew Bayly remain a Minister after accusations of bullying a worker during a business visit? To answer those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall and National's Wairarapa MP joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour has asked the Auditor-General to investigate a government decision to slash tax on heated tobacco products, claiming there are signs of "industry influence". Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall has asked Controller and Auditor General John Ryan for an urgent investigation under the Public Audit Act. Guyon Espiner spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Labour has asked the Auditor-General to investigate a government decision to slash tax on heated tobacco products, claiming there are signs of "industry influence". Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall has called for an urgent investigation under the Public Audit Act, and says there are several indications of tobacco industry influence that must be investigated to maintain trust in government. Both Health Minister Shane Reti and Associate Casey Costallo have declined to comment. Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau met with local government minister Simeon Brown this morning as he awaits advice on whether he should intervene at Wellington City Council. But is the council actually at the point where intervention is needed? Also, ACC is facing a $7.2 billion deficit. How did it get to this point, and are increased levies the only answer? To face those questions, Labour's health and Wellington issues spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and National's MP for Otaki Tim Costley joined Nick Mills for Politics Thursday. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are some dumb games being played at the moment in the very serious business of health. Health NZ is in the red to the tune of $1.7b - that's for the year. They are over budget by $1.7b. That's why Lester Levy got to be Commissioner and all the others were let go. Game one is the Labour Party, who have of course zero credibility when it comes to money, who are claiming the $1.7b is because Health NZ is underfunded. I have seen the budget-on-budget comparisons. They are not underfunded. Ayesha Verrall is playing with numbers in a "Ginny Andersen-have-you-see-how-many-cops-are-on-the-beat" kind of way. Dumb game number two comes from the unions, also with zero credibility around economics. They argue their equity pay claim, this was when we gave nurses a massive pay rise of $400m, should not be part of the $1.7b because they were told it was coming from "another pot". Sadly other pots aren't real. What's real is what it costs to run the health system and what it costs is more than they have, hence they are in the red to the tune of $1.7b and part of the cost is what we pay nurses. The culmination of Labour and the unions' dumb game is that, allegedly, the Government are manufacturing a crisis. The trouble with numbers, generally speaking, is they are what they are. We deal with this daily with our bank balances. If we are overdrawn we are, generally, not manufacturing a crisis or we haven't been underfunded, we are just overdrawn and we need to live within our means. The unions and the Labour Party have never really had any trouble living beyond their means and that is why, more broadly speaking economically, we have had three recessions in two years. We have not, and still don't, pay our way. If there's any good news it's that at $1.7b a year, surely there is a lot of waste in there? If Erica Stanford can find $100m on a Māori language course that was producing little if anything, Lord only knows what you can find in the $30b of health money. But the most valuable skill we can bring to such matters at the moment is realism. Economic realism. We are broke. We are overspending. And fudging numbers and playing dumb games doesn't help. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour is again calling for the Associate Health Minister to be sacked, after she released documents showing the weak evidence she relied on get a tax cut for heated tobacco products. Labour's Ayesha Verrall told our political reporter Russell Palmer it shows the Minister can't be trusted.

Labour has called the government's new health targets ripe for 'game-ification'. Health Minister Shane Reti this week said the earlier announced targets of reducing ED waiting times and improving access to cancer treatment will be made possible by expanding the number of hospital beds and expanding the capacities of private health providers. Labour Party health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

It's been revealed nearly 70 Te Whatu Ora staff have signed non-disclosure agreements since the end of November and 38 within the Ministry for the Environment. It's prompted a complaint to the Public Service Commission from Labour. Its health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said the NDAs stifle internal debate and legitimate scrutiny. Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa said agreements were for staff involved in addressing recent financial pressures and dealing with Budget-sensitive information. Employment law expert Barbara Buckett spoke to Lisa Owen.

The Labour Party says the government's reasons to justify cost-cutting at Te Whatu Ora are just spin. Labour's Ayesha Verrall spoke to RNZ's Ruth Hill.

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall is calling the move to replace Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora's board with a commissioner "political spin". Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

With Mark Mitchell and Ayesha Verrall

The Labour Party says the government's efforts to cut costs will block the recruitment of more clinicians. Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to ingrid Hipkiss.

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey appeared blindsided by news that the Suicide Prevention Office was closing. Doocey insisted the office would remain open despite Deputy-Director General of Health announcing the office would merge into a wider directorate.  Labour health spokesperson Ayesa Verall weighed in that the closure was at the behest of the Government.   LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Labour party is describing the latest round of job cuts as reckless. Part of the proposal was to look at closing the Suicide Prevention Office and merging two of the main roles into a wider team. Now the Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has stepped in, saying he has told the Director-General of Health he expects the office to stay open. Doocey declined a request to talk to us Friday morning. Labour's Public Service spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

Ministers, including the Prime Minister, repeatedly insisted that the Labour government's smoke free legislation would increase tobacco-related crime, despite officials telling them it could have the opposite effect. The laws, which were passed by the previous government and scrapped last month, would have slashed the number of tobacco retailers, removed most of the nicotine from cigarettes and banned tobacco sales to anyone born in 2009 or later. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Health Minister Shane Reti have repeatedly told reporters that the legislation would drive up ram raids and grow the tobacco black market. But emails obtained by shadow health minister Ayesha Verrall show those claims were at odds with some of the advice provided by officials to ministers' offices. Reporter Kate Newton spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

I'm completely puzzled about something, I'm really stumped by this. And that is- why two Governments in a row now are pussy-footing around the vaping problem instead of just going hard and properly putting them out of the reach of kids. The associate Health Minister, Casey Costello, has today announced a so-called crackdown on vaping, which includes banning disposal vapes. Yes, that does sound familiar. And that would be because Ayesha Verrall already banned them last year. But she stuffed up her definition of a disposable vape, so they're basically still on the market for about $8 bucks. Go and look at the Vapo sign out front if you don't believe me. And mark my words, Casey Costello is about to do exactly the same thing. Because what's happening is these guys are getting hung up on banning certain types of vapes and whether their batteries are removable or not, thereby defining them as disposable or not. When the solution to stopping 14 and 15-year-olds getting hooked on vapes is simple, because it's the same solution we used for the ciggies. Force the price up. The problem with vapes is that they're cheap. As I said, go to Vapo. They're selling a fully compliant vape with a removable battery for $8 right now. That's the kind of thing kids are buying, cause they can afford it. If you force the price up, the kids won't be able to. And at some point- like where we're at with the ciggies where a pack costs $45 bucks or whatever, only the hard-core addicts will be left. We need to take this seriously. This is what I don't understand about these Governments- why aren't they taking this seriously? As many as 10 percent of our 14 to 15-year-olds vape daily. Nearly 2000 primary and intermediate school students were stood down for vaping or smoking last year. We don't really know the impact this will have on these kids, or their lungs, but getting hooked on anything at 14 is surely not a good idea. And I just do not understand why, when the solution is staring consecutive ministers in the face and parents and teachers and principals and health experts are begging them to do something, they dick around with banning this thing or that thing and failing at it instead of just going hard. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An RNZ investigation has revealed the Associate Health Minister Casey Costello rejected official's urges to retain parts of the smokefree laws she is planning to repeal. The current law was set to slash the number of tobacco retailers from 6000 to 600, take 95 percent of the nicotine out of cigarettes and ban sales to anyone born after 2009. Compromises that were rejected include increasing the cap on the numbers of stores selling cigarettes, and cutting a smaller amount of nicotine in cigarettes. Casey Costello declined our request for an interview. Labour party health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking she did not ask to remove the excise tax on tobacco. However, she conceded there was a line in a document from last year about removing it for three years.  Costello declined an invitation to go on TVNZ's Breakfast this morning but has fronted up over her denial she specifically sought advice on freezing the tobacco excise tax.  “It's just a broad document,” she said.  “There's no involvement from big tobacco, this is just nonsense.”  Costello confirmed she had links to the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union, but has no association or involvement with the tobacco industry.  “I have sympathy [for smokers], I'm getting messaging from people who know they should stop smoking, but they're addicted.”  She said prohibition doesn't cure addiction, and they want to look at a range of things to help people quit.  Documents show Costello asked for advice on freezing the excise, despite denying in an interview with RNZ that she had specifically sought the advice.  But when speaking during Question Time on Thursday, Costello doubled down, maintaining she had not specifically asked for the advice, and she had not written the documents she sent to officials.  “The documentation is a range of historical policy positions and notes that were held in New Zealand First policy positions. Some of it relates to things that were passed in the legislation when New Zealand First was in Government. This is a range of points and positions and it's about five pages long.”  She said her actions had been distorted by the media.  “The fact is, I was asked a question about whether I had sought specific advice. I had not sought specific advice, which was the question I answered. I referred to a range of advice I had sought from officials,” she said.  Costello said she was unsure who wrote the documents.  Labour's health spokeswoman, Dr Ayesha Verrall, said the minister was still responsible for the documents she presented, and the Prime Minister should relieve Costello of her duties.  “When a minister gives documents to officials, if that is done or collated by her office it is still her responsibility. Her office acts on her behalf, she needs to take responsibility for it.”  Senior National Party minister Chris Bishop said that while ministers were responsible for things they gave officials, there was a question over whether they were responsible for the generation of that material.  “I would argue they cannot be, in the same way that if, for example, a Labour Party minister gave a document to the Ministry of Education, that was the NZEI or the PPTA or the CTU, for example, they cannot be questioned about the CTU in Parliament.  “They can be questioned about the handling of that document and what's in the document, but the generation of that document I think would fall outside the scope of ministerial responsibility.”  Speaking to media after Question Time, he said the matter of the authorship of New Zealand First's policies was for Costello to answer, but he had certainly presented party policy to officials.  He said talking to a range of groups was how the country gets good policy.  “People have easy access to ministers and MPs in New Zealand. All political parties work with a range of groups when it comes to developing policy.”  Standing in for the Prime Minister in the House, Act leader David Seymour said he had had assurances from all coalition partners they had had no funding from the tobacco industry.  “I am confident that there has been no undue influence on the policies of this Government by the tobacco industry.”  Seymour told reporters it was possible Costello had misinterpreted RNZ's questioning, and RNZ had misinterpreted her answers, which had caused confusion.  “I think that she was being open to the best of her ability. The other thing I just say is this: We say we want people in our democracy to stand up, run for office, and become ministers, and actually go and listen, take the best advice, and make the best policy. She's done all that stuff and people are jumping all over her.”  - NZ Herald with RNZ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Labour's public service spokesperson says New Zealanders could lose frontline services as the finance minister looks for public sector funding cuts. Treasury confirmed last week that department chiefs could suggest cuts to both departmental and non-departmental funding. Ayesha Verrall says the latter extends to the likes of Te Whatu Ora and housing providers. Finance Minister Nicola Willis declined to come on Morning Report but said in a statement she expects the chief executives to use "good judgement" when proposing where savings could be made. Verrall spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says the new government is misleading the public to justify repealing smokefree laws and she wants them to "debate" the issue. On Sunday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon admitted he was wrong to claim Labour's smokefree laws would see just one shop in Northland selling tobacco. Official documents published by the director-general of health stated there would instead have been 35. Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

Labour is demanding answers over a move by the new coalition government to defer decisions on proposed changes to international health regulations as part of its coalition deal with New Zealand First. New Zealand First has demanded there has to be a national interest test first before any amendments are accepted. The new Health Minister, Shane Reti, was not available to speak to Morning Report, but his spokesperson said New Zealand needs more time to consider the changes. Labour's health spokesperson, Ayesha Verrall, says the move is troubling. Verrall spoke to Corin Dann.

There are a few new faces in Labour's new Shadow Cabinet.  The top 10 has six women and four men, and prioritises portfolios like climate change, child poverty, and social development.  Most former ministers are staying on in their roles, including Grant Robertson, Ayesha Verrall and Ginny Andersen, but Damien O'Connor has lost the agriculture portfolio to Jo Luxton.  Former Labour Cabinet Minister Iain Lees-Galloway told Mike Hosking that the line-up seems to be based on talent and future prospects.  He says no one can be particularly upset with their position, and Chris Hipkins has done a good job distributing the portfolios to people who will do well in them.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Önationen införde nyligen som första land i världen en lag om att dagens unga aldrig ska få köpa tobak. Dessutom ska nikotinet minska drastiskt i cigaretter. Vi har mött forskarna bakom lagen. Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play. Det är bra, tycker 16-åriga Janek och Naomi, om den nya lagstiftningen som ska göra Nya Zeeland i princip rökfritt. Och folkhälsoprofessorn Chris Bullen som är expert på rökavvänjning, tycker att lagen är det bästa tänkbara resultat som hans forskning kan få. Men andra varnar för att smugglingen kan öka, och att e-cigaretterna, som ses som en hjälp att lämna tobaken, ska öka för mycket. Medverkande: Chris Bullen, läkare och professor folkhälsovetenskap, universitetet i Auckland; Andrew Waa, docent i folkhälsa, universitetet i Otago; Ayesha Verrall, hälsominister Nya Zeeland; Janek, Naomi och Lucy, tonåriga Aucklandbor; Helen Clark, tidigare premiärminister Nya Zeeland; Vikram, e-cigarettförsäljare.Reporter: Sara Heyman, global hälsokorrespondentsara.heyman@sr.seProducent: Björn Gunérbjorn.guner@sr.se