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While the nation waits for the next Government to be formed, important events are either underway or coming up and New Zealand risks not having a voice, or at least one that is clear and commanding. The Pacific Islands Forum is happening right now in Rarotonga, and while caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni and National's representative, Gerry Brownlee are there, Sepuloni herself has conceded she doesn't have the discretion to make decisions on the fly. The next big event is APEC next week. World leaders including Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are expected there. Winston Peters says it is 'seriously important' that we are, but the question is, who will go? Executive Director of the New Zealand Business Forum and APEC Business Advisory Council, Stephen Jacobi speaks to Susana Lei'ataua. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6340780043112
The conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on. Israel's death toll has surpassed 1000 people since Hamas' attack, while more than 800 are dead in Gaza following retaliatory strikes. Up to 150 Israelis are being held hostage currently. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni told Kate Hawkesby that they're waiting on the next steps and will provide humanitarian support when the opportunity arises. She says those kinds of measures take time, but New Zealand is always quick to provide support and will do so when possible. US President Joe Biden will address the American people about the conflict shortly. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
You've heard from the sheriffs, now it's the turn of the deputies. National's Deputy leader, Nicola Willis and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni. It's just over a week til the polls close and things have arguably turned a little nasty; with allegations of race baiting and name calling . Chris Hipkins is still locked down with COVID. And latest poll shows Labour's spinning its wheels on 26 percent and unable to form a governement on those numbers. . National's apparently stalled too, but at 36 Percent it does have a path to power but its with Winston Peters. And that's prompted a campaign cameo from a former PM - trying to tidy up some political lose ends. So the Deputies, do they always agree with their Chris or Christopher? What would they give up to be in government and are their policies on point? Carmel Sepuloni is in our Auckland studio and Nicola Willis is in Wellington. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6338437419112
Raw Politics examines how our political leaders responded to the highly public tragedy in central Auckland and how long they will be able to refrain from arguing about blame and recriminations.The Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and party leaders in the House concentrated, correctly, on condolences to those who had lost family in the double killing and shooting of seven others. They explicitly put political arguments over law and order aside for another day.Act's David Seymour couldn't resist setting out what those arguments might be about, but didn't make them, just yet. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni thanked other parties for their "graciousness" in their speeches to the Government's statement in the House on the shooting.This week was already sharply focused on law and order, with the Government outlining three waves of criminal justice measures, mainly aimed at young offenders. The Raw Politics panel this week includes Newsroom political reporter Emma Hatton who reports regularly on justice policy.Later in the podcast we examine who might succeed either Chris Hipkins or Christopher Luxon should they lose the election on October 14, and whether Luxon will ever convince a cohort of National-aligned voters that he is the man for the job.This week's recommendations from the panel include media coverage of the Christchurch murder case involving a mother killing her three children, an in-depth feature on the life and times of Chris Hipkins, and a story revealing smart water meters have over-charged thousands.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians' performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.
This week on the Raw Politics podcast: Two polls show different fortunes for the major parties but still a tight election, and Labour steps away from the ledge on a wealth and capital gains tax.Raw Politics is out a day early for the long Matariki weekend, with in-depth discussion on the latest polling and the impacts on Labour of its half-hearted dalliance with a wealth and capital gains tax.What were they thinking to examine the possible new taxes only to have to reveal that they had been in the pre-Budget musings and then rejected? And why reveal it this week when, again, the Prime Minister is on a diplomatic mission overseas?The panel discusses reaction to two new and slightly discordant polls – by the companies that also do polling for the Labour and National parties – and the ever-greater importance of the smaller parties, including Te Pāti Māori in determining our next government.Our other topic is the relative public performances of the two main parties' deputy leaders: Nicola Willis for National and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Do the deputies matter, do their roles change over the next 90 or so days of campaigning?And our recommended reads include a story on Act's brave or delusional challenge to National in the electorate of Tāmaki, a behind-the-scenes piece on a sweary and angry Joe Biden by, and the damning King's Counsel report into Government and official inaction over dawn raids after the solemn Crown apology.Every Friday, Newsroom editors and political journalists talk through the big issues and scrutinise politicians' performances in a lively 25-minute show aiming to take viewers and listeners inside the actions and motivations of our elected leaders.
Top stories for 27 June 2023 Struggling universities are set to get a multi-million dollar bail out today. We'll speak to Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Yevgeny Prigozhin has broken his silence two days after leading a mutiny against Moscow. The Ruapehu ski season is back on after a 5 million dollar cash injection by the government.
On today's First Up pod - a chaotic year for Labour, we ask Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni how she feels about it; an aircraft detects underwater noises in the search area for the missing Titanic submersible, we talk to an explorer who's visited the site of the wreck twice; what's in the skies at the winter solstice and rower Robbie Manson is back in black and will represent New Zealand again almost three years after retiring. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - Prince Harry finishes his testimony at the High Court in London; Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is with us as pressure mounts on Michael Wood to resign; as schools around the country ditch NCEA level one exams, an Auckland principal tells us why he's bringing it back and the US PGA Tour teams up with the Saudi backed LIV golf circuit - we can't find anyone happy about it. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
Labour have used their recent Wellington Congress to show voters what to expect at the election. Hipkins has promised to make the currently temporary Apprenticeship Boost programme permanent, keep the Winter Energy Payment and ensure the superannuation age stays at 65. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is standing by her party's decision not to raise the superannuation age. "Superannuation is such a tollner for New Zealand. It's universal, it's simple and it is something New Zealanders expect. So it's important that we highlight that we have no plans at all to get rid of it." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jason Walls joins the Weekend Collective from Wellington to unpack the Labour Party election year congress. Later, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni shares how important their apprentice boost policy is, and Chris Bishop details why the Nats backed out of their bi-partisan policy around housing density. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's First Up pod - car maker Ford reverses it's decision to scrap AM radios in their American-built cars; we talk bank for your buck as an iconic Akaroa landmark goes up for sale; Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni on another interest rate hike and selling the budget to the Pacific community and the island dance group from Rotuma - performing to keep their language alive. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - car maker Ford reverses it's decision to scrap AM radios in their American-built cars; we talk bank for your buck as an iconic Akaroa landmark goes up for sale; Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni on another interest rate hike and selling the budget to the Pacific community and the island dance group from Rotuma - performing to keep their language alive. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - the Duke and Duchess of Sussex say they've been involved in an incident in New York; we have an Auckland debt collector who's campaigning for a caring approach to this hardball profession; the Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni joins us and questions around the Loafers Lodge tragedy will be high on the list and outside the burnt out Lodge in Newtown - the full impact is sinking in for survivors. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
A rare series of square-offs between Opposition Leader Chris Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni in her capacity as Acting Prime Minister became repetitive.
No new taxes in the Budget. No new taxes in the Budget. No new taxes in the Budget. Focussed on the cost of living. Focussed on the cost of living. Focussed on the cost of living. I'm reading there from the list of key messages Prime Minister Chris Hipkins left in the bin here in the studio after he dropped by on Friday. OK, I'm making that bit up. But that was what he was saying last week after that IRD tax report came out. There will not be any new taxes in the Budget because we know people are struggling out there and all our attention is going to be helping people deal with the cost of living. That was last week. This week, though, a slightly different story. Because, yes, this is not a new tax - but the changes the Government has announced to its Clean Car Discount scheme is nothing more than a tax increase. You see, what's happened is electric vehicle sales have gone through the roof in New Zealand since the Government started offering subsidies for people buying EVs. And because it promised the scheme would be self-sustaining, the Government has to get more money in the door to pay for the subsidies. Which means for anyone who buys a ute, life is going to get more expensive. Because the ute tax is increasing. For new utes, the maximum fee or tax is going to increase from $5,175 to $6,900. And for second-hand import utes, the fee or tax is going to increase from $2,875 to $3,450. It won't just be utes - it will be any “high emitting vehicles”. And it's not just the tax that's going up, the Government is also lowering the bar in terms of what a “high emitting vehicle” actually is. At the moment, if you buy a vehicle that puffs out more than 146 grams of CO2 per kilometre, you get stung. On the 1st July, that will change, and any vehicle that lets out more than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre will have the ute tax added to the sale price. So they're the numbers. But I think the main issue here is the fact that the Government is going to sting people even more - especially people who have no option at the moment but to buy and use the types of vehicles that Transport Minister Michael Wood doesn't want on our roads. This, at the same time as it's been banging on about no new taxes and being so focused on reducing the impact on people of the cost of living crisis. I see Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni has been saying that it's no big deal because it's not something that's going to cost people on an ongoing basis. They'll just have to pay it when they buy a new ute. And Transport Minister Michael Wood is saying he thinks it's fine that people who can afford to buy a brand new Tesla get a government subsidy because one less petrol guzzler on the road is a good thing. On top of all that, who was the guy making all the noise last week about no new taxes and being so focussed on the cost of living crisis? Who was that? It was the Prime Minister. And where's he, as this increased tax is being announced? He's uncontactable. Because he's 42,000 feet up in the air flying to London for the King's Coronation. And then, once he gets there, he'll be so busy with his bi-laterals and tri-laterals and getting the morning suit all lined up that any questions about the ute tax will be referred back to the guy in charge of that - Transport Minister Michael Woods. Am I being unkind here? Do you think it is just coincidence that the PM is up in the clouds as this thing's being announced? It couldn't possibly be delayed until Chris Hipkins gets back from London next week. Urgent announcement. Something happening two months from now. Best get it out ASAP. Oh, Chippy's not going to be here? Didn't think about that. Best we announce it though. Urgent. Only two months away. Couldn't possibly wait until next week.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is in the Solomons as she begins a five-day Pacific mission, which also includes Tonga and Fiji. It's the first Pacific mission post Covid ... and climate change is top of the agenda, with the Minister also viewing the visit as a chance to reconnect face to face with our Pacific whanau. Also likely to be on the agenda is the relationship with China, which has close ties with all three countries - at a time when our western allies view China as a key threat. Carmel Sepuloni spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss from Honiara.
It's shaping up to be a tight race to the seats of power, and both main parties say they're focused on the next six months. A new Taxpayers' Union Curia Poll puts Labour up 1.4 points on last month, to 36.9 percent, and National just behind on 36.5. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says there's still a long way to go. She says the new Prime Minister has been warmly received by the public, various polls have them ahead or even, and they'll be working hard on the ground to engage with communities. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's First Up pod - Former US President Donald Trump lays the blame on everyone but himself after pleading not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying his business records; we ask the Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni how we can retain the thousands of nurses heading to Australia for better pay and we're in Northland where businesses say the Easter Weekend could be make or break. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - Peter McIlwiane in for Nathan today - Stuart Nash may have gone as a Cabinet Minister - has there been a cover up? Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni joins the programme; Coromandel residents still largely cut off from the rest of the country now face a big rates rise. Mayor Len Salt explains and everything you need to know about the new Covid vaccine available from Saturday. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
If we don't watch out, we are going to end up in a situation, if we haven't already, where we make the gap between getting the dole and getting paid for work become so small, that it again ends up being a smart move to just stay at home and collect free money rather than work for a living. Right now, the Government is considering a change to Working for Families that will only exacerbate this problem. Working for Families is money that is paid to families who work; the clue is in the name. But now the Government's considering also giving the in-work tax credit to families who don't work, families on the dole. Because a review on the desk of the Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni says anti-poverty groups argue this tax credit “should be paid to all families and not just those who are in paid work”. They argue the "payment was discriminatory or unfair, particularly given children were unable to choose whether their parents were working." That's true. But there are other ways to support those children, like food in schools. This though, is bastardising the system. Because the whole point of Working for Families was to widen the gap between the dole and earning a crust. It got too close and Helen Clark's Government wanted to give these people an incentive to get off the dole, so they bumped up their pay with Government money. So it'll be completely pointless if this Government now decides to give it to just anyone with kids. We'll be right back at 2004 with people on the dole not wanting to work because they wouldn't get that much more anyway. This is already a significant and growing problem. Chris Hipkins already made this worse just over a week ago when he indexed benefits to inflation. Which means as long as inflation stays at 7 percent, the dole will keep going up by 7 percent every year. Hands up, who else gets a 7 percent pay rise every single year? Nope. Just them. We already have more than 300,000 people on a benefit. That's 1 in 10 of every one of us working age Kiwis, that's too many people. And anything that makes that number grow should not even be considered, extending Working for Families to beneficiaries included. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's First Up pod - Stuart Nash has resigned as police minister, Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni explains why; it's WOMAD this weekend - brought to you by big oil - and not everyone's happy; Fijia Drua put the 'super' in Super Rugby last weekend against the champion Crusaders has the nation stopped celebrating yet? And as teachers strike today, some say it's because they've been forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - at least 36 people have been killed in a train collision in Greece, we'll have the latest from Europe; we ask Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni about crime in cyclone-hit regions and if a buy-out of affected properties is on the cards and residents from a part of Hawke's Bay that's still almost totally cut off gathered last night to figure out how on earth they're going to reunite with the rest of the world. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
On today's First Up pod - At least four people dead and thousands homeless across Tairawhiti, Hawke's Bay, Northland, Auckland and the Coromandel; Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni joins us in the aftermath of the most catastrophic weather event in living memory; we're in the Coromandel town of Tairua where some residents will spend a fifth day without power and an animal charity builds a greyhound kingdom to provide temporary shelter to Auckland pooches displaced by the cyclone. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!
There's been a mood of celebration and a message of unity at this weekend's commemorations at Waitangi. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is among thousands of people who have been braving the rain to attend a dawn service and flag raising ceremony on the Treaty Grounds. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is spending today at West Auckland's Hoani Waititi Marae, after spending the weekend at Waitangi. Carmel Sepuloni observed that Chris Hipkins' speech from this morning was well-received and genuine. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Two people remain unaccounted for after Auckland was clobbered by torrential rain. A man is missing after being swept away in floodwaters just after 10pm in Onewhero -- a second person is missing after a landslide bought down a house in Remuera. Meanwhile Police say two bodies were found on the North Shore overnight. One man was found dead in a flooded culvert in Wairau Valley, the other in a flooded carpark on Link Drive. Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is at the Kelston evacuation centre, where are 60 people have sought help. She told Tim Beveridge the flooding in her electorate of Kelston is horrendous. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's First Up pod - Germany is to send tanks to Ukraine - we'll have the latest from the UK and Europe; Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni joins us for her first interview since being officially sworn in yesterday; new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins spends his first official day in the job in Auckland visiting businesses today.. we speak to one that he visited last year when he was our Police Minister and find out if anything has changed and flies.. you tell us what you're doing to get rid of them and we tell you why they're not going away anytime soon. First Up - Voice of the Nathan!