Podcasts about deputy prime minister winston peters

Has the House of Representatives devolved into a House of Chaos? That's the charge from the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters - who's decrying flagrant rule-breaking and recent explicit language in the debating chamber. It comes as Te Pati Maori MPs brace for a potentially unprecedented punishment - the prospect of being barred from Parliament for up to three weeks. But it's not locked in yet. Deputy political editor Craig McCulloch reports.

Well, what a to-do. The image of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters slumped in the House, head in his hands, summed it up really. Brooke van Velden dropped the C-bomb in the house, quoting a Stuff article whose author used the word in criticising the government's decision to amend the pay equity legislation. The coalition's female MPs are angry that Labour MPs, particularly the female MPs, have not condemned the journalist's use of the word, which was used as a derogatory in the article. Judith Collins, head of the Privileges Committee, was on with Mike Hosking this morning, ostensibly to talk about the suspension of three Te Pati Māori MPs for their haka in the House, but during the chat she deplored the decline of standards in the House. “There's a lack of civility now and it's not acceptable, and I feel that the comments of the print journalist in the Sunday Star Times this last Sunday was one of the lowest points I think I've seen in 23 years. That and what happened on the 14th of November in Parliament. It's just the sort of behaviour towards each other that is despicable. So I'd say to Brooke, you know I wouldn't use the word myself, but I did feel that she at least stood up for herself and for all the rest of us, and I am waiting for someone of the left persuasion in our Parliament, one MP, just one, to come out and say it's not okay to attack people just because you don't agree with what they do.” I think she'll be waiting a while. Karen Chhour has been consistently attacked by Labour MPs and Te Pati Māori MPs, really for just for being a Māori woman who has the temerity to be an ACT Party MP. And to be fair, when Jacinda Ardern and her preschool daughter were receiving violent threats —violent sexual threats, some of them very real and credible threats— there wasn't a universal condemnation of the abuse from National and ACT. Certainly Judith Collins, when she was the opposition leader, said she did not want to see Jacinda Ardern threatened when she visited Auckland in 2021 after the three-month lockdown. She said I don't want to see anything happen to the Prime Minister or have her threatened in any way. I think it's not good for our democracy and also it is not right for people to do that to each other, which is true, and good on her for saying that. But at the same time, it's hardly a universal, strident condemnation of the threats that the Prime Minister of the time was getting. We were discussing this before the show, one of our colleagues said politicians need to be better otherwise people will just give up. They'll look at the carry on, they'll read the stories and think I'm not going to vote. I argued that there are House of Representatives – they are us, to borrow a phrase. Abuse of MPs on every level increased in 2022, 98% of them reported receiving some kind of harassment. Women were considerably more likely to face abuse on most counts than male politicians. Abuse increased across 11 of the 12 different mediums, with social media overtaking emails, faxes and letters as the most prominent. That came from us. That's men and women, normally erstwhile, law-abiding, God-fearing people who suddenly became more strident. It was a result of societal factors, of lockdowns, of decisions made that had an enormous impact on people's lives and livelihoods and families. And there will be people who will never forget what happened. It can't be undone. But that all resulted in extremes, in the use of language and the vehemence of our opinions and our tribalism. I had a public Facebook page for years. I think in the in the seven or eight years I had it before Covid, I blocked two people. Once Covid started, I just got rid of it because it's why would you be a sitting duck? When I first heard about the death threats against Jacinda Ardern, I thought, well, who hasn't had them? You know that is not normal. That's not a normal response. The days of Socratic discourse are long gone. So does that mean we have to give up, my colleague asked, that we have no expectations of our MPs? No. But I think before we ask anything of our MPs, we look at ourselves. I was thinking about that this morning. Can I call out the Principles Federation representative and say before you start looking at the government, how about you call out the poor parents who send their kids to school unable to hold a pen and not toilet trained? Whose fault is that? That is the parents. Can I say that? Absolutely I can. Should I mimic her voice while I'm saying that? No, I shouldn't. Talkback's a robust forum. It's a bit like Parliament, people get heat up. We're allowed to have opinions. We should have differing opinions, but before I'm going to ask anything of our MPs, before I ask anything of my fellow journalists, I'll have a look in the mirror and check myself out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's episode, the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon responds to comments from Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters criticising the PM for calling Trump's tariffs a trade war, the government is proposing changes to driver's licence tests, a 13-year-old girl was trafficked into slavery in New Zealand, the Blues women have created history by winning back to back Super Rugby Aupiki titles, and we cross the Tasman to get the latest from Kerry-Anne Walsh.

Green MP Benjamin Doyle has conceded it was naïve to not delete old social media posts with sexually suggestive captions, as suggested by the party. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters spearheaded criticism of the private Instagram posts - escalating a barrage of extreme, violent threats against Doyle. Doyle has returned to Parliament - after taking leave since the onslaught. Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacks today's statements. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A war of words has erupted between the Green Party and NZ First this week. It comes after photos circulated on social from a private Instagram account belonging to Green MP Benjamin Doyle. The account, named ‘biblebeltbussy’, also featured photos of their child, including one with ‘bussy’ in the caption. The term originated as a euphuism for a man’s anus, and can be used colloquially by some in the gay community, but Doyle’s usage of it has sparked accusations of vulgarity and being inappropriate. That was amplified by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who said on social media that Doyle should answer for the posts and that if “Police want to investigate, they can”. The Green Party has said that Doyle has received death threats as a result and have called for the Prime Minister to intervene. So does this suggest a changing battleground for politics, with family issues and social media activists taking centre stage? Today on The Front Page, we’re joined by Victoria University of Wellington politics professor Lara Greaves to discuss a different type of political scandal. Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer: Richard MartinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has taken aim at Ricardo Menendez March in parliament again - this time because the Green MP referred to the country as "Aotearoa." Menéndez March's migrant heritage is becoming a frequent attack line for New Zealand First - and he's calling on the Prime Minister to show some leadership. Peters is unrepentant - and has even indicated he wants to update Standing Orders to stop MPs using Aotearoa. Political reporter Giles Dexter spoke to Lisa Owen.

Simon Wilson joins us to talk about his article which speaks to "Christopher Luxon's long, slow walk to oblivion"The Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has taken aim at Ricardo Menendez March in parliament again - this time because the Green MP referred to the country as "Aotearoa."The Electoral Commission has lost so many IT experts, that if an election was called today, they wouldn't have the ability to even run one.Fourteen months after the Government promised to deliver 500 extra police officers, there are fewer cops in the country, with just nine months remaining to meet the target.=================================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 Facebookwww.facebook.com/BigHairyNews Follow us on Twitter.@patbrittenden @Chewie_NZFollow us on BlueskyPat @patbrittenden.bsky.socialChewie @chewienz.bsky.socialEmily @iamprettyawesome.bsky.socialMagenta @xkaosmagex.bsky.social

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is the latest to suggest New Zealand should back out of the Paris Climate Accord. He joined The Country's Jamie Mackay to explain that other nations have already pulled out - and he's encouraging new Zealanders to reflect on the costs of staying in the agreement. Jamie Mackay explains whether or not this could lead to friction within the coalition. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kiribati could lose out on more than $100 million in aid after leaving Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters high and dry. Peters spoke to Corin Dann.

On today's episode, economists are critical of the government's plans for economic growth by focusing on tourism, Kiribati could lose out on more than $100 million in aid after leaving Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters high and dry, New Zealand's shores could be looking very inviting for Californians in the wake of devastating wildfires, as our government loosens visa rules for "digital nomads", and US President Donald Trump has dropped plans for tariffs on Colombia after it agreed to accept deported migrants without restrictions.

One of New Zealand's largest performing arts events has been forced to scale back. Polyfest organisers say they were promised a boost in funding from Pacific Peoples Minister Shane Reti, and given assurances the money would come through from Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. When the time came, the boost was just $5000 – which Polyfest Trust Chair Steven Hargreaves tells Tim Beveridge is not an influential amount for an event that costs $2 million to put on. “It's an investment in the youth. The Government have talked a lot this year about school attendance, school engagement, achievement, literacy and numeracy. Polyfest can deliver on all of those fronts.” Last year's event drew 80,000 visitors with 8000 students performing. This year's event will see a stage dropped to scale back on cost. The Ministry says "The Ministry remains committed to supporting Polyfest alongside other government agencies and encourages other sponsors to get behind this important event for the Pacific community in Auckland." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anyone who thought the ferry debate was over for summer was very wrong. The weekend papers were full of reckons and I reckon it's because it's a bigger piece of infrastructure than many realise. Sure a lot of tourists and locals travel on it, heading on adventures or heading home, but $30 billion dollars worth of freight between the North and South Island depends on it too. So the reckons were about who screwed it up more. Nicola Willis, Grant Robertson or KiwiRail itself. Then there was debate over Winston's hijacking of the job and whether this will play out well or badly for him. The conversation about rail enabled or rail capable rumbled on and whether just letting Bluebridge have the whole job was a good idea, since their boats don't seem to break down or run aground. Steven Joyce commented on the nostalgic choice of Kaiwharawhara for the ferry port, a very earthquake prone reclamation. But if not there then where Steven? Relocating the port to a seismically more stable location could be even more expensive. It was all politically tinged, and that to me is the big problem. The best thing I saw was a comment by the political commentator Liam Hehir, who noted that when Grant Robertson first saw the plans KiwiRail had he told them to go back and try again. Then he failed to put the expenditure into the pre election financial update. That means one of two things. They were going to hide it, but $3 to $4 billion is really too big to hide. Or, more likely, they hated the idea too. In other words no one a year ago knew what to do and no one liked the idea on the table. How refreshing might it have been if that was said openly a year ago. Then we could have had a properly informed debate and made a grown up decision, instead we've had posturing and virtue signalling about who's right or wrong, left or right, while a $$30 billion dollar trade route slowly falls apart. This whole thing is another example of how the best infrastructure decisions are made without politicians. Because they play games that mask the real issues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand should not apologise to Samoa for the environmental impact from the HMNZS Manawanui sinking and ongoing fuel leaks. Mr Peters made the comments in the capital Apia, where he has just arrived for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting - or CHOGM. Questions surrounding Winston Peters' attack on a public servant have followed him all the way to Samoa, political reporter Russell Palmer spoke to Lisa Owen from Apia.

It seems that when one political scandal ends, another one rises to take its place.  This week, the Green Party ended the saga that has dominated 2024 for them, with MP Darleen Tana formally removed as an MP in the first usage of the Waka Jumping Bill.   As Chloe Swarbrick and her party look to the future, it's now National's turn to deal with an unneeded diversion, after Minister Andrew Bayly was accused of abusing a member of the public at a business event.  And at the same, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has engaged in a war of words with Te Pati Māori and the Labour Party.   So, to make sense of the latest political ups and downs, today on The Front Page, we're joined by Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent, Barry Soper.   Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Chelsea DanielsSound Engineer: Dan GoodwinProducer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has made a case against ACT's controversial Treaty Principles Bill. Peters claimed he wouldn't support the Bill beyond the first reading - and outlined an alternative approach. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper unpacks Winston's arguments. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After spending 114 days, more than half her Parliamentary career, suspended, Darleen Tana was defiant after she left the Green Party over the weekend, jumping before she was pushed.   She remains as an MP for now, unless she heeds the plea of Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick to “please resign” from Parliament altogether, or the Greens decide to invoke the waka-jumping bill, controversial among party members – and which the Greens had tried to repeal as recently as three years ago.   After going to ground, Tana released a statement on Monday evening, saying she did “not accept” the findings of an independent report into allegations involving her connections to alleged migrant exploitation at her husband's bike company. Tana said she was “deeply concerned” by the way the Greens had summarised its findings.  “The report does not say that migrant exploitation has occurred, let alone that I am responsible for it in any capacity,” Tana said.  Tana said she did not have “natural justice” and the party had a “pre-determined view” of what it wanted to do with her. Tana quit the party after a long caucus meeting on Sunday at which she was given the chance to respond to the conclusions of the report. Swarbrick said the report showed Tana's conduct fell “far short of the expectations” set for Green MPs.  Tana then left the meeting to allow the caucus to debate and decide on her fate. Before the caucus could decide, Tana quit.  Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told Newstalk ZB's Andrew Dickens that the scandal was a “disgrace”.  He said he thought she “probably won't” leave parliament, and would instead join the Te Pāti Māori.  “She's still there, and she should not be there, in the sense that everybody should be accountable and she's not.”  Peters claimed the Greens were “not doing everything they can” to ensure she leaves Parliament.  ”They could expel her… they could make it very clear that she is no longer a member of their party.”  Christopher Luxon is making a crucial visit to the United States, during a crucial time for the world.  The Prime Minister is due to touch down in Washington DC this afternoon.  On his agenda are meetings with Nato leaders and influential Republican law maker Ted Cruz.  Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told Dickens the visit comes during a time of huge uncertainty for the western world.  He says the escalating war in Ukraine will be of huge concern for Nato countries, and the US, French and UK elections have all been going through pivotal elections.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters doesn't feel the Greens are doing all they can in regard to Darleen Tana.  The Green Party's asked Tana to resign from parliament after receiving the investigation into alleged migrant exploitation at her husband's business.  Tana doesn't accept the findings, claiming it substantially misrepresents her level of involvement in the business.  She's resigned from the party, but not yet Parliament.  Peters says they could expel Tana, utilising the waka-jumping legislation and forcing her to step down as MP.  Senior Political Correspondent Barry Soper told Kerre Woodham that the Greens should "eat humble pie" and get rid of her through the legislation they're vehemently opposed to.  He said that there's no way that she's going to make one iota of difference to the votes in parliament.  Soper said that if Darleen Tana stays on, it shows that the money is of more interest to her than what is democracy.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The invoking of the Agree to Disagree clause doesn't indicate a cracking coalition, the Police Minister says.  Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has invoked the first Coalition Agree to Disagree over the second phase of the Covid-19 inquiry.  Mark Mitchell told Mike Hosking that the coalition agreement has that clause so that the things parties don't agree on can be dealt with in an adult way.  He said that it's a strong coalition and thinks that all the ministers are enjoying working inside it.  Disagreements are normal in any part of life, Mitchell said, but the reality is that every party recognises the perilous state the country is in, and they have to be united and have a strong government that is focused on delivering.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You do not have to go back very far to find a news story about a New Zealand Prime Minister having his or her trip disrupted by a shonky 757. The Prime Minister's trip to Japan, with an accompanying trade delegation, was disrupted over the weekend after the Air Force 757 broke down, again. And it was this time last year, to within a week, that the plane ferrying Chris Hipkins to China set off on its flight with a backup plane flying in reserve, in case the first one broke down. Remember that? ACT leader David Seymour said, at the time, the extra emissions were the equivalent of driving a Ford Ranger the distance of a trip to the moon three times. I don't know if that's accurate, might have been hyperbole, but knowing David Seymour, he would have crunched the numbers and done the sums. But it was literally this time last year that Chris Hipkins set off to China with a backup plane. Which was needed. Former prime ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern, Sir John Key - they've also become stuck when they were flying around the world after 757's and the Hercules aircraft broke down. In 2022, Ardern was left stranded in Antarctica overnight after the Herc broke down and she managed to hitchhike home on an Italian plane from McMurdo Sound travelling to Christchurch. A 757 broke down on Ardern's official visit to the US in June 2023, while she also took a commercial flight home from Melbourne in 2019 after another engineering issue. The then Defence Minister Peeni Henare and a 30 strong delegation were stuck in the Solomons in August 2022. In 2019, former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters needed that second RNZAF plane to pick him up after breaking down in Vanuatu. And a trade mission to India, headed by Key in 2016, was cut short after a 757 was grounded in Townsville, forcing the Prime Minister and his entourage to stay the night in far North Queensland while they waited for the AA or the aviation equivalent of the AA. “We've broken down. We're stuck on the side of the road. Can you come and get us? Sure. Give us 24. We'll be there.” I mean, seriously. The miracle is that anybody gets into the bloody things. Would you? I mean, bless the RNZAF engineers for getting the dear old girls up off the ground and into the air again. But holy heck, it's all bound together with gaffer tape and rubber bands and #8 wire and the like. When Chris Luxon was opposition leader, he criticised Chris Hipkins' use of a backup plane on environmental grounds - and also said it speaks to concerns about the reliability of those aircraft breaking down as we've seen in past times.  Well he might be singing another song entirely after this. And this was after saying to Mike only last Tuesday: ‘ Oh, no, I've got every confidence, every confidence.' Wrong. So back in 2023, when we were talking about Hipkins' trip to China and taking two planes just in case, Chris Hipkins office came back to us last year and said using RNZAF aircraft is cheaper than a commercial charter and has other benefits such as security assurance, and the ability to travel point to point to reduce time away from home and additional costs such as hotels which would be required if there were stopovers. Well, I think we can pretty much rule out the cost factor, can't we? Using an RNZAF charter does not appear to be cheaper - and there have been numerous instances where it hasn't been cheaper, where they've needed either two planes to fly or they've needed to get in commercial charters or you've had to say to your Italian mates - 'can I please get a lift back to New Zealand?' I mean, how embarrassing. So I think we can rule out the cost factor. Let's just take a chartered aircraft that can get from point A to point B. I'm just stunned anyone gets on them. The other point they made was that the 757s are around 30 years old and nearing the end of their economic lives and due for replacement between 2028 and 2030. Bring it forward. They've got to be replaced anyway. I get that no Government wants to be the one that signs the cheque for a new aircraft, but if it's an Air Force aircraft that's going to be used for humanitarian work, if it's going to be used to police our economic zone, if it's going to be ferrying trade delegations, do you really have a problem with us moving forward the purchase date of an aircraft that we're going to have to buy anyway? It's not like it's going to be Air Force One kitted out only for the President with whale scrotum skin bar stools and like Aristotle Onassis had on his yacht. We're not talking plush Penthouse for Daddy kind of fit out, are we? We're talking about a utilitarian aircraft that comes under the auspices of the RNZAF, that the Prime Minister can then get into with a trade delegation and safely go from point A to B point B. I don't think that's unreasonable. Yeah, they're due to be replaced between ‘28 and ‘30. It's 2024. Bring it forward a bit, because it is not cost effective flying in a lemon. It's unsafe flying in a lemon. You don't want to be budging on your mates when you're stuck in Antarctica or Australia. These trips are important. God, no wonder Nanaia Mahuta stayed home. Looking at this aircraft - would you really want to park your buns on that and buckle-up? Not really, no. Just bite the bullet. We're just going to have to do it. It's a necessary expense. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A senior King's Counsel has filed a complaint to the Government's Regulations Review Committee over incoming compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students.    Gary Judd KC told the Herald he did so because up until now the curriculum for lawyers has been made up of what he described as “proper law subjects”, such as criminal law and the law of torts.  “Tikanga is a system of beliefs, a system which indicates the way the Māori people who subscribe to tikanga consider is the right way of doing things. So it is quite different,” Judd said.  Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters also weighed into the debate by supporting Judd's complaint in a statement and social media post.  “Tikanga is not law. It is cultural indoctrination,” Peters said.  “Law students should not be force-fed this kind of woke indoctrination from some culture warrior's slanted version of what tikanga means.”  But emeritus professor of law at University of Auckland Jane Kelsey told the Herald she disagrees with Judd's complaint, saying New Zealand is lucky to have a curriculum which reflects the country's history.  “Mr Judd is about the same vintage as me. The Treaty warranted one class in my entire law degree, and that was the English version. Thankfully, we now have a more informed curriculum that reflects our history, colonial and Māori, which has fed through into a more informed jurisprudence,” Kelsey said.  Kelsey said she found students embraced learning about the Māori ethical and spiritual relationships encompassed in tikanga and it provided valuable perspective.  “I found my students embraced the richness of that approach. It is now reflected in our courts as well, recognising that tikanga is not just another system of law but one that Te Tiriti said would continue to operate alongside the common law.”  Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington describes tikanga as Māori customary practices or behaviours.  “The concept is derived from the Māori word ‘tika' which means ‘right' or ‘correct' so, in Māori terms, to act in accordance with tikanga is to behave in a way that is culturally proper or appropriate,” the university states.  Yet in Judd's complaint, he argued the new requirement was “symptomatic of a dangerous trend” where those with the power to do so seek to impose the beliefs and values of one section of society upon the community as a whole.  “They do so in this instance by pretending that tikanga is law and therefore it is fitting to compel law students to learn about it,” he wrote.  Judd felt it was inappropriate for the New Zealand Council of Legal Education to compel all law students to engage in something which he said was not law at all.  He told Mike Hosking that he believes a small group of people imposing their beliefs on the population are responsible.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters appears undeterred by legal threats, doubling down on his criticism of former Australian senator, Bob Carr. Political Editor Jo Moir reports.

Sunday, March 31st, marked international transgender day of visibility, a day meant to highlight the achievements of transgender individuals and communities around the world and highlight the many legal struggles still affecting them.  Wire host Castor talked to James about what the government has to offer our trans rangatahi, especially given policies promoted by New Zealand First Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters before the election. They also spoke about the Fast Track Approvals Bill and the possible environmental consequences. 

Erica Stanford and Willie Jackson responded to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters comparing a cultural space at Auckland University to apartheid and the KKK. Chris Bishop and Kieran McAnulty spoke about the upcoming tax cuts, but at what cost? Oliver 'Karen' Plunket compared dolphins that were "the down syndrome kids of marine mammals, they're cross bred and they deserve to die' then had to come out and apologise...we'll take a look at the fallout in the right-wing space. ================================================ 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

The government still 'intends' to deliver tax cuts by July, but won't lock them in until they've got them past their coalition partners. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has agreed with reports the government has a 5.6 billion dollar fiscal hole. A cornerstone promise in National's election campaign was to deliver tax cuts to the tune of around 14 billion dollars over four years. Former Reserve Bank economist Michael Reddell was one of three experts who reviewed National's foreign buyer tax policy prior to the election and raised serious concerns about the party's revenue projections. That policy ended up being dumped during coalition negoations. Michael Reddell speaks to Lisa Owen.

The Prime Minister says the Government is calling for action over the 20% of Kāinga Ora houses left vacant for a month or more.   The Government's issued a Letter of Expectation to Kāinga Ora outlining a series of areas where it needs improvement.   Luxon says there's a whole bunch of homes not ready to let because they need repairs or need to be rebuilt.   But, he told Hosking, he's concerned it's taking too long to get people into the about 600 homes that are currently available.   He says one of the things in the letter was directing Kāinga Ora to turn homes around faster and get people into them.  The Prime Minister also says there won't be any new taxes in the Budget, and tax relief will happen.  The Government will unveil its first Budget in May.   Finance Minister Nicola Willis has pushed out surplus expectations.  Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has warned of a multi-billion-dollar gap between what was promised and what can be delivered in the budget.  Christopher Luxon told Mike Hosking that they're determined to deliver low and middle income working New Zealanders tax relief.   He says he'd love it to be effective this July, they just have to go through a cabinet decision making process to ensure they can do it.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He mentioned 'bulldust' academia, promised to rid the public service of 'co-governance', and accused the previous Government of holding 'contempt for democracy'. Today, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters gave his state of the Nation Speech, and he joined  the Weekend Collective for an in-depth interview to unpack it all. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After six years of being mismanaged on so many fronts, New Zealand requires firm direction. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, opens up on our relationship with the U.S., the Middle East, China and Russia. We discuss the Covid inquiry, the WHO, the state of the world and New Zealand's place in it. And we visit the first (very full) Mailroom of the year with Mrs Producer. File your comments and complaints at Leighton@newstalkzb.co.nz Haven't listened to a podcast before? Check out our simple how-to guide. Listen here on iHeartRadio Leighton Smith's podcast also available on iTunes:To subscribe via iTunes click here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Coalition came face-to-face with its opponents in Maoridom today, in a spectacular clash of world views , with neither side budging. The Government was welcomed to the Treaty Grounds with a powhiri, but the welcome came with a warning, don't touch Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Boos and jeers were aimed at Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who was told "e noho" - or sit down. ACT leader David Seymour also faced fury from protesters, who sang over him while he spoke on the marae. Deputy Political Editor Craig McCulloch reports. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6346258750112

ACT leader David Seymour says the overwhelming majority of people at Waitangi were respectful during his address. The National Trust chair has apologised to Seymour, MP Nicole McKee and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. All three were drowned out by jeers - and Pita Tipene says more effort should have been made to ensure they could express their views. Seymour says many were listening politely. "Unfortunately, it's one of those things where a small number of people ruined it for everyone. And it's really important to recognise this isn't all Māori who were doing this, this was a very small minority of people who don't represent much." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Prime Minister says he's up for the challenge of defending his Government's policies, even in the absence of a coalition partner. Chris Luxon addressed the annual Rātana celebrations, as did Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. But the architect of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill - ACT's David Seymour - did not front to face questions from Māori. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Seymour's absence was disappointing. "You should have the courage of your convictions. Seymour usually does, he should have got up there and said what he really meant." LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is expected to face some heat at Ratana today.  Chris Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are both expected to attend the celebrations near Whanganui.   Political commentator Brigitte Morten told Tim Dower that there will be no hiding from the debate for the Prime Minister, but it will be done respectfully.   She says celebrations around Waitangi Day tend to feature more protests and stunts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new Government is only a week in but there have already been some fiery exchanges.   National's Christopher Luxon and Labour's Chris Hipkins crossed swords in parliament and we've already seen Kiwis take to the streets in protest.   Te Pati Māori, holding its largest-ever caucus, has promised that this only the start and that there will be further protests to come.   Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has made a number of controversial comments that have left the Luxon red-faced.   So where does this leave National-led coalition? How divisive are the Government's policies? And how stable is the partnership between National, Act and NZ first.     Today, NZ Herald political report Michael Neilson gives us a breakdown of what has been an eventful and somewhat chaotic first week for the new Government.    Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network. Host: Damien VenutoProducer: Paddy FoxExecutive Producer: Ethan SillsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new government's first week in office saw it get straight to work, setting high expectations and unveiling its 100-day plan - but it's not exactly been smooth sailing.  Fixing the economy and making a material difference for New Zealanders is a hefty workload for a Cabinet which has so far been dogged by distractions - driven partly by new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.  In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Katie Scotcher looks back at the coalition's first week in power and the distractions that dogged it.

The 100 Day plan is void of new ideas and policy from National, it's full of undoing what Labour put in place, or was slated to start...and going backwards to old failed National policy of yesteryear. The 100-day plan announcement, shallow that it was, was still overshadowed by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters as the media explain to NZ what the PIJF was, and who benefitted from it. ================================================ 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

The former chair of the health agency Te Whatu Ora, Rob Campbell, says it is ludicrous to expect board members to keep political opinions to themselves. New Zealand on Air board member, Andrew Shaw, resigned on Tuesday after criticising the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. On social media, Shaw described Peters as malicious and untruthful. He apologised on tuesday and resigned with immediate effect. New Zealand on Air says Shaw accepts it was wrong to publish his personal political views. Earlier this year Rob Campbell was sacked for a similar breach of conduct when he criticised the National Party's Three Waters policy. Campbell spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

New Zealand On Air board member, Andrew Shaw, resigned on Tuesday after criticising the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. On social media, Shaw described Peters as malicious and untruthful. He apologised and resigned with immediate effect on Tuesday. New Zealand On Air says Shaw accepts it was wrong to publish his personal political views. Andrew Shaw, Winston Peters and NZ On Air all declined our invitation to come on Morning Report. Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Tonight on the Huddle, Jordan Williams from the Taxpayers' Union and Jack Tame from ZB's Saturday Mornings and Q&A joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  Winston Peters is under fire for attacking the media and making inaccurate statements about public funding on the new Government's first-ever Cabinet meeting session. Does Winston have a point? How does this reflect on the Government? An NZ On Air board member has resigned after making a social media post calling out new Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters' attack on media independence. Is this the right call? LISTEN ABOVE    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has questioned the independence of state broadcasters RNZ and TVNZ, saying the outgoing government bribed the media. That $55 million Peters referred to there was the contestable Public Interest Journalism Fund, introduced by Labour Government in 2020 and administered by New Zealand On Air. The fund came to an end in June this year. Winston Peters hasn't responded to our request for an interview - neither has his deputy Shane Jones. RNZ's charter requires the broadcaster to be independent, including providing "reliable, independent, and freely accessible news and information". Willie Jackson was the broadcasting minister for the previous government. Jackson spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam wants an apology after being wrongly implicated in the Northland Covid-19 lockdown. A police investigation has found the Covid-infected women who triggered the October lockdown weren't sex workers or connected to gangs as implied at the time. It's also cleared Harry Tam of any involvement, after former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters claimed Tam helped the women travel to Northland. Tam says officials could have cleared his name earlier. Peters has since issued a correction and apologised for making the allegations about Tam. Katie Scotcher has the story.

Before I join the calls from various people, organisations, and political parties for the Government to apologise for the unnecessary 11-day lockdown of Northland, I would like to apologise to the two women who were at the centre of this latest stuff up that's been revealed. The two women who were accused of using illegal documents to travel across the Auckland border into Northland, and who it was insinuated, were sex workers working for the gangs. The women were publicly vilified for crossing the border, with then Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins accusing them of using false information to travel. The case also saw reporters asking Ardern whether the women were prostitutes, and former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was forced to apologise for falsely claiming the pair were helped by Harry Tam, the Hawkes Bay based Mongrel Mob leader.   The police inquiry summary said the police investigation found no evidence to suggest the woman had any connection to Harry Tam, or the Mongrel Mob, or that they were involved in prostitution. I wasn't able to find my opener for the day that the news was revealed, the reason why we've gone into lockdown, but I have absolutely no doubt I would have gone and boots and all. So for the unfair comments about the women's character that I undoubtedly made, I do unreservedly apologise. And the Government departments should be apologising too – MBIE and Social Development - on behalf of the nameless bureaucrat who knew three days before Northland was locked down that the women were not in fact gangster's moles, that they had a legitimate business.   It just reinforces what I've said all along,  if faceless bureaucrats cannot be held responsible for the decisions they made during that dreadful year around who could travel, who could not; if they cannot be held responsible for denying the father of a child the right to support his partner in hospital. For denying parents the right to be by the bedside of sick children. For denying children the right to be with their dying parents. Then the respective heads of MBIE and the ministers responsible should be held accountable.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following NZ First leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters' 2-year trespass from parliament, constitutional law expert Professor Andrew Geddis from University of Otago weighs up the possible remedies.

COMMENTSo after 14 days at 2.5 in Auckland, the news was not great yesterday was it?It's all about the cluster, and its tail. The Government needs to see that peter out.. it doesn't want to rush.No, no, God forbid we rush.So based on the advice from director general of health Ashley Bloomfield, which was of course "cautious", Aucklanders will keep languishing in level 2.5, the rest of the country remains in level 2.If all goes well, the rest of the country may get to transition back to level 1 on Monday, September 21. Aucklanders will also hear that Monday if gathering limits can be increased.Any changes would come into effect that Wednesday, September 23. Whether that means we get to level 1 or not at that point remains to be seen.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern justified remaining in level 2 as a "safety barrier," she said, just in case cases move out of Auckland.She did however, choose to throw Air New Zealand a bone, which will come as a huge relief to the national carrier. Physical distancing rules are going to be eased, not just on planes, but also buses and trains.Masks continue to be compulsory obviously, but there'll be no more gaps between seats or capping on numbers of passengers. Good to hear, that's a massive relief for our beleaguered national airline.I'm not sure what's different between now and three weeks ago to make that possible, but there you go.The most remarkable statement made by Ardern, I thought, yesterday though, was that this has all been great for the economy.She cited data which showed economic activity had bounced back to alert level 1 figures, which she said shows we are still shopping to keep our economy moving.Are we?All we're hearing anecdotally is how tough this is for businesses, how many can't make ends meet, how many are facing closure.But our Covid strategy remains the same - elimination. Ardern's doubling down on that. In doing so, she reminded us again of her favourite catchphrases - this is a global pandemic... we need to be cautious... we need the time to execute this strategy.While this conservatism and cautiousness may be swallowed up by the fearful and the faithful, it certainly wasn't something Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters was having a bar of. He invoked the Coalition Agreement's "Agree to Disagree" provisions.Not that it made any difference, Cabinet had a majority anyway.But we can see NZ First's behaviour for what it is, can't we? Blatant electioneering. They've done their chips, they're the ones who put this Government together in the first place, so it's all a bit late to rail against it now.So level 2 for another week, we are buying more time.The question is, what will this fixation on elimination end up costing our economy?

The next six weeks until the General Election are expected to see campaigning like never before.The election was pushed back to October 17 from its mid-September date, after Auckland was put into Alert Level 3 during August because of Covid-19 community transmission.Herald political reporter Jason Walls says the pandemic will make very visible changes to how parties and politicians campaign.He told Francesca Rudkin Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed it would be much more scaled back."I think it's going to be a lot more online, so you are going to see a lot more Facebook Lives from politicians and things like that."Walls says he hopes online campaigning doesn't become the norm.Ardern will be spending the first weekend of the rebooted election campaign hit the hustings. from the comforts of her family home.The Labour Party leader is basing herself in her hometown of Morrinsville for the next week, staying with her parents.She'll be visiting a strong of regional centres, which are not strong areas of support for Labour.The party holds just two North Island seats outside Auckland and Wellington.National Party leader Judith Collins is starting her week in Hawke's Bay, with a policy or two up her sleeve to unveil.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is riding the New Zealand First black-coated bus marked with "Back Your Future" and will head to Dunedin on Monday.

If we want assurance that Brenton Tarrant does his time, we need to suck up the cost.There are calls for the Christchurch mosque gunman to serve his life sentence back home in Australia.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is calling for the "depraved" mosque gunman to be extradited back to Australia to avoid this country having to pay to keep him locked up for life.But barrister Philip Morgan QC disagrees, saying there's no guarantee Australia wouldn't release him from prison early.He told Mike Hosking it's a necessity to keep Tarrant here."The cost is ridiculous,  but now he's a serving prisoner, I doubt it will be anything like the millions being bandied about by Corrections."LISTEN ABOVE 

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has never shied away from robust speech, so when he sat down on the FSC Podcast we wanted to get to the bottom of his position on the line between free speech and hate speech, what should be done about Universities which don't uphold their duty to academic freedom, and where Andrew Little's hate speech legislation has gotten to.Support the show (https://www.freespeechcoalition.nz/donate)

With both National’s Andrew Falloon, and former Immigration & Workplace Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway gone in the same week, we look back at an incredible few days in politics. We also discuss allegations made under privilege by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and how his tone is changing as the election gets closer. Produced & Edited by Adam Simpson Engineered by Brian Holloway Shot by Cameron Murray & Andrew Dalton A TVNZ Production

Jacinda Ardern says a transtasman bubble is on "the horizon and real".Prime Minister is live on Newstalk ZB for an hour this morning, talking about a turbulent week in politics including David Clark's resignation and allegations of fraud by America's Cup officials.The fallout from the America's Cup yesterday saw the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment suspend further payment of monies towards the campaign after allegations of a "reclassified" $3 million loan and claims of fraud involving a Hungarian bank account.Health Minister David Clark also tendered his resignation yesterday, while the number of Covid-19 cases rose again.Opening bordersWhen asked about how we can host a successful America's Cup with our borders closed, Ardern told McIvor they wanted a world class event and it wasn't just about visitor numbers.As for the axing of Apec hosting the world's leaders, Ardern said it was easier to have a virtual event given the instability around Covid-19 and borders.As for re-opening the country's borders, Ardern said there was not a lot of clarity around that situation and the country needed to think about the future and the Government was doing that thinking and working in earnest of that happening along with a transtasman bubble.The great unknown for countries with a high presence of Covid-19 is what it would look like with a vaccine and other measures."I think the world will be very different in a few months' time," Ardern said.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters yesterday outlined what he saw as the requirements for the borders to re-open.With Australia, Kiwis could travel to certain states while we could also travel to some Pacific Islands, including the Cook Islands and Niue.But for other, major countries the challenge was much bigger.Countries would have to have a clean record, Peters told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking - zero community transmission cases, like New Zealand has had since April 28.Creating jobsIn response to a question from a caller about tourists already in the country, Ardern said she had been asked to give them a visitor's residency to contribute to the country's growth.She said there were a chunk of people who were in the country and had decided to go home, but for others the Government was looking at re-deployment including the horticulture sector.Speaking generally, Ardern said that for tourism they needed to find opportunities which were a good fit and offered a good wage.Some could work in tourism in Rotorua or Queenstown or eco-tourism.When asked about the sector's survival, Ardern said there were plenty of Kiwis visiting those towns.As for the Government's economic plan, Ardern said it was about "jobs, jobs, jobs".Training also had to be part of it, she said."Jobs will continue to be our focus."On "shovel-ready" projects, Ardern accepted they weren't shovel ready but some work, including a project in Queenstown, would be ready to start in three months which she said was a quick turn around. Many others were six to 12 months. She said shovel-ready meant there was planning that had already done.Asked by McIvor about where to find that money, and borrowing it, Ardern said people who travelled offshore "spent billions" which would now be spent here.Another caller, in the tourism industry, asked about the wage subsidy finishing next month and having to still run a business. Ardern said discussions have been held and accepted there wasn't any revenue coming in. She knew it needed to be worked through.The caller said it was something they were having to deal with daily and were worried what the future held. Ardern said there was a period of uncertainty ahead and that a transtasman bubble was on "the horizon and real".Asked by McIvor about where to find that money, and borrowing it, Ardern said people who travelled offshore "spent billions" which would now be spent here.Spending on infrastructure would also have future pay-offs.The country had to think about...

New Zealand has just recorded its 16th consecutive day of no new Covid-19 cases, and the rumblings around a drop to alert level one looks more and more likely.The Government will decide tomorrow whether the country will move out of level two.Morgan Godfrey told Andrew Dickens hopes the country does make the drop."I think it's about the right time to."We haven't just flattened the virus, possibly totally eliminated it from the country so with that in mind, I don't see any reason to stay in level two and I think the Government will probably look at it the same way."Irene Gardiner said New Zealand's medical result has been better than people anticipated, which has led to the public already relaxing into a level one mentality.Meanwhile, National leader Todd Muller has come out calling the current coalition Government dysfunctional.Muller noted the disagreements within Government, highlighted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters having different takes on when we should come out of level two.Ms Gardiner does not buy into it."A little bit rich coming from the leader of the National Party who has different opinions within his one party that he has to manage, whereas this is an actual coalition where I think it is normal for there to be different opinions." 

COMMENTTodd Muller said he wouldn't bark at every passing car, and that he wanted to be a more measured opposition. But really? Is this it? Is invisible the goal?A very obvious and easy hit this week was the blatant breach of Level 2 with the protest marches around the country, and the hypocrisy of the government turning a blind eye.But who was left to point that out?Act's David Seymour.Who chimed in behind him?Well, no, not as you'd expect, Todd Muller, but Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.The PM's very own wingman, inside her very own Cabinet, speaking out against the slackness of the Government in allowing protests to go ahead - despite churches, funerals and weddings still being limited. While livelihoods are being lost, businesses struggling, people obeying to the letter every rule laid out for us under these levels. Only to have it all flung back in our face and flouted, while the Government produced nothing more than deafening silence.And as for the PM's cheerleading squad of Siouxsie Wiles and Co suggesting that everyone who marched go self isolate for 14 days - you are kidding, that's never going to happen.The PM, when asked about whether she condoned the marches, muffled a barely audible "no" by way of reply.That's a very skilled technique of a communicator who knows how to avoid a soundbite. One-word answers are not usable, barely audible ones especially so. There are no headlines to be gained from one-word answers. Her hope in answering that way is that the story dies and goes away. Because God forbid she get offside. She's into popularity and has been enjoying a swathe of it; this all looked a bit shabby and hypocritical so she tried to hose it down as a non-issue.But it was an obvious issue and a glaring example of why we need to be at Level 1, something the opposition should be championing from the rooftops, especially given Muller is the self proclaimed voice of small business.So why is he silent then?Worse than that. He's indecisive.He said he "would not be drawn on whether New Zealand should move to Level 1" he wanted to "see advice first". Sound familiar?His one job right now surely, is to expose the weakness of this Government - a government more interested in being popular and getting re-elected than it is in getting us to Level 1.Todd Muller needs to wake up.He may not want to bark at every passing car, but this was a double decker bus driving right past him.

Thousands turned out in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch yesterday to protest against the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But the large gatherings have angered some politicians. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says the flouting of the Alert Level 2 rules at the marches has to be addressed by Cabinet today. He says the breaching of mass gathering and social distancing rules should have resulted in prosecution for the organisers. Peters has already publicised his difference of opinion with his Cabinet colleagues over the speed in which the country is moving alert levels. He told political reporter Jo Moir that if police aren't going to enforce the rules then the country should move to Alert Level 1.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says he is frustrated at the speed at which a trans-Tasman travel bubble is emerging, saying it should have been up and running already. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is urging patience and says a group of government and business representatives are working hard to deliver a blueprint for action. The Trans-Tasman Safe Border Group has been coordinated by the Australia New Zealand leadership forum and has involved representatives from both sides of the ditch. Scott Tasker, from Auckland Airport, is the group's co-chair.

The Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters is keeping tight lipped on who leaked his pension details, instead waiting until the matter goes to court. Peters is appealing the High Court decision, after his claim failed because the Judge could not establish that any of the defendants were responsible for the leak. The New Zealand First leader is now claiming he knows who the leaker is. He spoke to political reporter Jo Moir about why the appeal matters.

Maori are not hongiing because of Covid-19 but are unlikely to give it up for good.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says Maori should permanently stop using it.He was defending the limit of 10 people attending funerals and tangi and says Covid-19 is a lesson cultures need to adapt or die.Former politician Merepeka Raukawa-Tait told Kate Hawkesby the hongi is especially important for older people.“My late husband would have never thought about going up to any older person and not hongiing with them.” Raukawa-Tait says it's what they know and believe in, and won't go away anytime soon.LISTEN ABOVE

Life may look very different if the country moves to Alert Level 2 next week, but not all of the changes flagged by the Prime Minister may happen all at once. Jacinda Ardern says with such a big change there could be a phased approach, with riskier activities delayed a bit longer. Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says the phasing of Level 2 will be kept to a minimum. Paul Goldsmith is the National Party spokesperson for finance. He speaks to Kim Hill.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says there is "no value" in trying to save people who have coronavirus if it means greater social damage is caused.We need to save our economy as fast as we can before further damage is caused, Peters told Newstalk ZB's The Weekend Collective.The decision on whether New Zealand will move down to alert level 3 will be announced at 4pm today."The secret is that we keep a sense of balance," Peters said."In other words it would be of no value if we save a lot of Covid people in our approach - and yet during it we've got all sorts of things like depression, suicide, breakdowns and a whole lot of other social things having far greater social damage."In the end the only thing that's going to save lives, isn't just medical expertise - but an economy that's capable of providing the utilities to face the crisis."He also hit back at those who say alert level 3 isn't much different to level 4.Recently National's Judith Collins said level 3 is just like level 4 but with KFC.Peters said level 3 has changed since the alert level system was introduced 30 days ago, arguing we know more now from watching the pandemic unfold both domestically and internationally.He said level 3 means 500,000 more people can go back to work."It's sad people have to get political in times like this," he said."If you can't help then get out of the way of people who are trying to help".There were nine new confirmed or probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand announced on Sunday, taking the total of confirmed and probable cases to 1431.There was one new death since Saturday, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield announced at the 1pm Government update.The death brings the total toll to 12 and was of a man who died in his Invercargill homeand who was linked to the Bluff wedding cluster. It is the first coronavirus death in the community.The man, aged in his 70s, died in his Kingswell home on Tuesday evening. The Bluff wedding cluster has been connected to more than 90 cases, including the death of the groom's father.Bloomfield said it was important to get a good understanding of the death so a post-mortem was ordered - leading to the delay in confirmation that it was Covid-related.The new cases are made up of four confirmed cases and five probable cases.They are all linked to confirmed cases.Of the 1431 confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand, 912 people have recovered - an increase of 45 from Saturday.There are 18 people in hospital, including one each in ICU at Middlemore, Dunedin and North Shore hospitals; two are in a critical condition.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says there is "no value" in trying to save people who have coronavirus if it means greater social damage is caused.We need to save our economy as fast as we can before further damage is caused, Peters told Newstalk ZB's The Weekend Collective.The decision on whether New Zealand will move down to alert level 3 will be announced at 4pm today."The secret is that we keep a sense of balance," Peters said."In other words it would be of no value if we save a lot of Covid people in our approach - and yet during it we've got all sorts of things like depression, suicide, breakdowns and a whole lot of other social things having far greater social damage."In the end the only thing that's going to save lives, isn't just medical expertise - but an economy that's capable of providing the utilities to face the crisis."He also hit back at those who say alert level 3 isn't much different to level 4.Recently National's Judith Collins said level 3 is just like level 4 but with KFC.Peters said level 3 has changed since the alert level system was introduced 30 days ago, arguing we know more now from watching the pandemic unfold both domestically and internationally.He said level 3 means 500,000 more people can go back to work."It's sad people have to get political in times like this," he said."If you can't help then get out of the way of people who are trying to help".There were nine new confirmed or probable cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand announced on Sunday, taking the total of confirmed and probable cases to 1431.There was one new death since Saturday, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield announced at the 1pm Government update.The death brings the total toll to 12 and was of a man who died in his Invercargill homeand who was linked to the Bluff wedding cluster. It is the first coronavirus death in the community.The man, aged in his 70s, died in his Kingswell home on Tuesday evening. The Bluff wedding cluster has been connected to more than 90 cases, including the death of the groom's father.Bloomfield said it was important to get a good understanding of the death so a post-mortem was ordered - leading to the delay in confirmation that it was Covid-related.The new cases are made up of four confirmed cases and five probable cases.They are all linked to confirmed cases.Of the 1431 confirmed and probable cases in New Zealand, 912 people have recovered - an increase of 45 from Saturday.There are 18 people in hospital, including one each in ICU at Middlemore, Dunedin and North Shore hospitals; two are in a critical condition.

In this episode I start by looking at the success of New Zealand's four week lockdown as the number of new cases continues to drop. During this segment I highlight the increasingly vocal tensions of the business community asking for a little certainty on what a move to Level 3 or Level 2 will mean specifically for them and their ability to resume some form of operations. Ramping up our contact tracing capability will be critical to getting back a little normalcy but it is important that we maintain effective checks on what will potentially amount to the mass collection of population data. I'm then joined by John Ballingall - an economist with Sense. Partners based here in Wellington.  John has worked on some of the biggest policy and business issues in New Zealand over the past two decades, as an economist and Deputy Chief Executive at NZIER (a economic consultancy) and as Deputy Director of the Economic Division of New Zealand's foreign ministry.We talk about the local and global economy, where are the glimmers of hope - the sources of optimism - in amongst all the hurt and pain, how will firms actually build resilience into their supply chains, and then we look to the future and how COVID-19 might present an opportunity to shape globalisation to address the ills and become more people-centred. Guest bios: John Ballingall: http://www.sense.partners/bio-john-ballingall For comments and feedback: Email: thefridaydownload@nzuscouncil.org Facebook: facebook.com/nzuscouncil Twitter: twitter.com/nzuscouncil Website: nzuscouncil.org Podcast website: www.fridaydownload.nz Links mentioned during the podcast:   Clip of Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters talking to Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB: https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/winston-peters-on-balancing-the-health-of-kiwis-while-saving-the-economy/ WTO trade report: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/covid19_e.htm Sense. Partners daily economic tracker: http://www.sense.partners/views/2020/4/7/8zy6u29qem0ph2a2334ous6sbgk2lj Credits – opening and closing music:Happy Boy Theme Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/About the NZUS CouncilEstablished in 2001, we are a non-partisan, non-government organisation focused on advancing New Zealand's interests in a stronger bilateral relationship with the United States. 

The National Party claims that the Government will announce this week that they are buying back Ihumātao.The heritage site was sold to Fletcher Building as a housing development site, but the site has become a tense battleground, with protesters demanding the site be returned to the iwi as it is sacred to them.The Government asked Fletchers last year to halt plans to begin construction and has sought to find a solution to the problem.National leader Simon Bridges has now claimed a deal has been sorted – but it will be announced this week while both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are out of the country.Deputy leader Paula Bennett told The Weekend Collective that this is so neither one of them will have to answer questions about the deal.“It's not going to reflect well on them. It's just looking like protesters can do what you do and the Government will end up paying more, I would imagine.”However, Bennett cannot confirm that there will be public money, but she understands that will be the case.Bridges says the Crown will buy the land and put it into a trust for heritage purposes.He says Auckland Council won't be involved.Last week, Fletchers announced its first-half results for the financial year, and in it criticised the delay.Newstalk ZB understands a decision over the contested land is close - but not imminent.

The National Party claims that the Government will announce this week that they are buying back Ihumātao.The heritage site was sold to Fletcher Building as a housing development site, but the site has become a tense battleground, with protesters demanding the site be returned to the iwi as it is sacred to them.The Government asked Fletchers last year to halt plans to begin construction and has sought to find a solution to the problem.National leader Simon Bridges has now claimed a deal has been sorted – but it will be announced this week while both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are out of the country.Deputy leader Paula Bennett told The Weekend Collective that this is so neither one of them will have to answer questions about the deal.“It's not going to reflect well on them. It's just looking like protesters can do what you do and the Government will end up paying more, I would imagine.”However, Bennett cannot confirm that there will be public money, but she understands that will be the case.Bridges says the Crown will buy the land and put it into a trust for heritage purposes.He says Auckland Council won't be involved.Last week, Fletchers announced its first-half results for the financial year, and in it criticised the delay.Newstalk ZB understands a decision over the contested land is close - but not imminent.

The National Party claims that the Government will announce this week that they are buying back Ihumātao.The heritage site was sold to Fletcher Building as a housing development site, but the site has become a tense battleground, with protesters demanding the site be returned to the iwi as it is sacred to them.The Government asked Fletchers last year to halt plans to begin construction and has sought to find a solution to the problem.National leader Simon Bridges has now claimed a deal has been sorted – but it will be announced this week while both Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters are out of the country.Deputy leader Paula Bennett told The Weekend Collective that this is so neither one of them will have to answer questions about the deal.“It’s not going to reflect well on them. It’s just looking like protesters can do what you do and the Government will end up paying more, I would imagine.”However, Bennett cannot confirm that there will be public money, but she understands that will be the case.Bridges says the Crown will buy the land and put it into a trust for heritage purposes.He says Auckland Council won't be involved.Last week, Fletchers announced its first-half results for the financial year, and in it criticised the delay.Newstalk ZB understands a decision over the contested land is close - but not imminent.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters joined Simon and Phil for our last Six and a Song for 2019.We had a jovial chat about his plans over Christmas, fishing, rugby, wins and losses of the year, his favourite Parliamentarians, and of course his favourite song.LISTEN ABOVE

There are set to be fireworks this week, not just in the night sky, but the court room.More than two years after it was revealed he'd been overpaid superannuation, lawyers for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters say they're set to explain how the error happened.Peters will tomorrow take the stand to give evidence in a privacy lawsuit he's bringing against former National Government ministers Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett, the Ministry of Social Development, the chief of the public sector watchdog, and a top civil servant.Since 2017, the New Zealand First leader's argued he was the victim of dirty politics when media were told he'd paid back seven years of superannuation overpayments.National has consistently denied being behind the leaks, as has the Public Service.Otago University electoral law expert Professor Andrew Geddis told the Weekend Collective there's no doubt Peter's annoyed."Basically he's going after everyone he could possible do in the hope he will finally get someone."He says that there may be some public good out of the legal action. "Why it might actually matter is that the Government holds a huge information. If that information can be fed on to ministers and used whenever ministers find it politically useful to do so, that's a little bit worrying."Over the next three weeks, politicians, officials and journalists will front the High Court to figure out whether Peters was wronged - and if so by whom.

There are set to be fireworks this week, not just in the night sky, but the court room.More than two years after it was revealed he'd been overpaid superannuation, lawyers for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters say they're set to explain how the error happened.Peters will tomorrow take the stand to give evidence in a privacy lawsuit he's bringing against former National Government ministers Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett, the Ministry of Social Development, the chief of the public sector watchdog, and a top civil servant.Since 2017, the New Zealand First leader's argued he was the victim of dirty politics when media were told he'd paid back seven years of superannuation overpayments.National has consistently denied being behind the leaks, as has the Public Service.Otago University electoral law expert Professor Andrew Geddis told the Weekend Collective there's no doubt Peter's annoyed."Basically he's going after everyone he could possible do in the hope he will finally get someone."He says that there may be some public good out of the legal action. "Why it might actually matter is that the Government holds a huge information. If that information can be fed on to ministers and used whenever ministers find it politically useful to do so, that's a little bit worrying."Over the next three weeks, politicians, officials and journalists will front the High Court to figure out whether Peters was wronged - and if so by whom.

More than two years after it was publicly revealed he had been overpaid superannuation, lawyers for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters say they're set to explain how the error happened.Peters will tomorrow trade Wellington for Auckland as he takes the stand to give evidence in a privacy lawsuit he is bringing against former National Government ministers Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett, the Ministry of Social Development, the chief of the public sector watchdog, and a top civil servant.Since 2017, the New Zealand First leader has argued he was the victim of dirty politics when media were told he had paid back seven years of superannuation overpayments.National has consistently denied being behind the leaks, as has the public service.Over the next three weeks, politicians, officials and journalists will front the High Court to figure out whether Peters was wronged and by whom.But while the core of the case will largely focus on how the information got to reporters, a remaining question from the saga has been how the overpayments began in the first place.On August 27, 2017 – less than a month out from a general election – Peters issued a statement to media announcing he had given back years of superannuation overpayments to the Ministry of Social Development. It came in response to questions from reporters.Peters had, since 2010, accidentally been receiving a single person's pension, despite living with his long-time partner Jan Trotman. Peters said he had repaid the money immediately after the error was raised with him.It was later reported the payments added up to about $18,000.In preliminary hearings, the court was told by Peters "an error had been made when the form was completed"."The plaintiff's analysis is that the MSD processed an incomplete form and made the mistake so that it was the MSD who made the calculations, not the plaintiff," Chief High Court Justice Geoffrey Venning said in a decision in October.Peters' lawyer, Brian Henry, says when he makes his opening statement on Monday, he intends to explain it was a mistake by ministry staff, not Peters, that led to overpayments.Henry would not elaborate, but said the issue would be canvassed extensively.Lawyers for the government departments are also understood to be calling staff who directly dealt with Peters' case, potentially clarifying the situation.Court documents earlier showed Peters was also sent a letter four years into his seven years of overpayments by officials asking him to confirm if he was "single"."I have no recollection of receiving the same but I do not doubt I would have received it," Peters told the court.But he said because nothing had changed in his living situation from 2010, he would not have thought there was a reason to correct it.Meanwhile, Peters' lawyers are seeking up to $450,000 in damages and declarations his privacy has been breached.They are not, however, pointing the finger at anyone in particular."It's a group of people had the private information, and they were a confined and contained group of people," Henry said.A total of about 40 people are understood to have been made aware of the superannuation issue before ministers were briefed.The Ministry of Social Development is one of the five listed defendants – representing its staff.Other defendants who will take the stand this week are National MP Tolley, who was Social Development Minister when officials discovered the overpayments, and Bennett, who was State Services Minister.Both were briefed by officials about Peters' superannuation payments in 2017 under the "no surprises" rule – a convention that tells public servants to brief ministers urgently on matters of significance to their portfolios.Tolley and Bennett have denied having anything to do with the leak and are expected to tell the court they knew nothing about it.Peters' team will argue the officials breached privacy by telling the ministers.Other defendants to take the stand will be State...

There are set to be fireworks this week, not just in the night sky, but the court room.More than two years after it was revealed he'd been overpaid superannuation, lawyers for Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters say they're set to explain how the error happened.Peters will tomorrow take the stand to give evidence in a privacy lawsuit he's bringing against former National Government ministers Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett, the Ministry of Social Development, the chief of the public sector watchdog, and a top civil servant.Since 2017, the New Zealand First leader's argued he was the victim of dirty politics when media were told he'd paid back seven years of superannuation overpayments.National has consistently denied being behind the leaks, as has the Public Service.Otago University electoral law expert Professor Andrew Geddis told the Weekend Collective there's no doubt Peter's annoyed."Basically he's going after everyone he could possible do in the hope he will finally get someone."He says that there may be some public good out of the legal action. "Why it might actually matter is that the Government holds a huge information. If that information can be fed on to ministers and used whenever ministers find it politically useful to do so, that's a little bit worrying."Over the next three weeks, politicians, officials and journalists will front the High Court to figure out whether Peters was wronged - and if so by whom.

A service of commemoration was held in southern England to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, with a  notable absence.Queen Elizabeth II, U.S. President Donald Trump, other leaders of the wartime Allies such as Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau — as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel — joined some 300 World War II veterans at the seaside ceremony in Portsmouth Wednesday.The service was held to mark 75 years since troops began to embark from Portsmouth on June 5, 1944, landing in Normandy the next morning.The ceremony kicked off with the recollections of those who took part in the landings, broadcast from a giant screen, setting the tone for a ceremony meant to focus on veterans' sacrifices.New Zealand’s Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy attended on behalf of the New Zealand Government, with no appearance from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern or Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.Andrew Dickens asked why neither of them had gone to the event, when other world leaders – including Australia’s Scott Morrison – had attended.Dickens noted that, as far as he could see, Ardern had not attended a D-Day events in New Zealand, which left him "surprised and horrified". "I want to find out what she thinks is so important on the 75th anniversary of D-Day that she should be in Marlborough talking about her budget and not at the National War Memorial. It seems like the call is getting worse." Callers in response agreed with his calls, with one saying that it was "appalling" that she was not there." 

COMMENTI just don't understand how the gangs can go from doing haka outside mosques (enjoying some high profile publicity) to a few weeks later refusing to hand over their guns.Standing in solidarity with Muslims outside the mosques after the shootings, offering condolences and doing media interviews about their support - but then reverting to type and basically giving the law the middle finger.Legislation to change firearms laws is on its way and the Government has given gun owners until September to hand them over.But the Mongrel Mob has said no thanks. Not for them.The president of the Waikato chapter of the Mongrel Mob said mass shootings do not get committed by gang members. That was his argument. He also pointed to their safety. They need their guns to be safe, apparently.I've got an idea that's safe - don't be in a gang.Black Power went one step further on the 'keep our guns' argument, and claimed it's a hunting necessity - to hunt for food for their families.But how many of us are able to source food without a semi-automatic? Probably most.And that's before we get to the legality of where these guns came from and how many there are.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Police Minister Stuart Nash had their serious faces on yesterday as they issued stern warnings to gangs to hand over guns - "or there'll be consequences", they said.Those consequences involve the police following them up. Sending the police in to follow up on the gangs' guns. The very same police force they stood next to in Christchurch, in solidarity with victims of... guns.So I just don't get - or subscribe - to the gangs' arguments to keep their guns.The Government says it's not up for discussion or debate, and that it's not a voluntary exercise, it's compulsory."We intend to enforce the law and it's not a matter of co-operation," Winston Peters said.Stuart Nash hasn't ruled out giving police extra powers to search and seize guns from gang members - he was acutely unimpressed at their blatant refusal to obey the law.But should we be surprised? Probably not.

A political veteran says that Labour were completely unprepared for getting into Government. Former United Future Leader Peter Dunne made the comments while talking with Chris Lynch this morning. The comments come after Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters indicated changes to the MMP electoral system could be back on the table including the controversial coat-tailing provision, The coat-tailing provision allows a party to dispense with the 5 per cent threshold if one of its candidates wins an electorate seat.While discussing MMP and the Labour-led Government, Dunne says that NZ First has the major party by the 'short and curlies' and that the small minority is really running the party. He adds that most of their ministers have revealed themselves to be less than competent. LISTEN TO PETER DUNNE TALK WITH CHRIS LYNCH ABOVE

LISTEN ABOVE AS NEWSTALK ZB POLITICAL EDITOR BARRY SOPER SPEAKS TO ANDREW DICKENSThe Government will lift the annual refugee quota to 1500.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the increase will not take place immediately, but from July 2020.The increase is 500 more than the current quota of 1000, which took effect from July this year.Ardern was joined by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway to make the announcement. The decision was made by the Cabinet committee today, she said.The refugee quota became an issue of contention recently after conflicting comments from Peters and Ardern on whether it would be raised.Winston Peters, Jacinda Ardern and Iain Lees-Galloway at today's announcement.But Peters said he supported today's decision.Ardern said the timing meant that preparations could be made to ensure refugees were well-supported when they arrived."I'm proud that the Coalition Government has today agreed to make such a significant and historic increase to the annual quota of refugees," Ardern said."This is the right thing to do. It fulfils New Zealand's obligation to do our bit and provide a small number of people, displaced by war and disaster each year, a place to call home."Ardern said the policy shift would "change lives"."Refugees become great citizens, who bring valuable skills and experience to New Zealand and help make our country a more diverse and vibrant place."Peters told reporters while in Nauru that NZ First had never made a commitment to double the refugee quota.NZ First had agreed to increase the quota to 1000 but had made no announcement to double it."We've got 50,000 people who are homeless back home, and I can show you parts of the Hokianga and elsewhere, parts of Northland, with people living in degradation."We have to fix their lives up as well before we start taking on new obligations of the level that some people would like."For 30 years New Zealand's refugee quota was 750 people per year.In 2016 the previous National government increased the quota to 1000, which took effect last year.Labour campaigned before the election on increasing that further to 1500 a year in its first term of government.Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said the quota increase was made possible through a funding boost in this year's Budget."This included money to build and operate two new accommodation blocks at the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre to extend the lifespan of the complex, meet the demands of the current intake of 1000 and help enable an increase in the refugee intake."