Podcasts about iain lees galloway

Yesterday Andrew Bayly, the former Commerce and ACC Minister, revealed he had resigned from his ministerial portfolios on Friday night after grabbing a staffers upper arm during a discussion that's been described as “lively”. It comes after a messy public relations failure in October, when it was revealed Bayly had repeatedly called a worker a loser during a visit to a South Island business. He apologised and kept the job, but this was one step too far. The Prime Minister told Mike Hosking he relied on Andrew Bayly to do the right thing, and he did: “Look, honestly, he was doing a very good job making good contributions in two very technical portfolios. I'm sure Scott Simpson will carry that on. But look, the reality is you've got to have some standards, Mike. And you know, I watched the last lot go through a series of Ministers and it wasn't either clear... It was clear in this case and, and importantly, he recognised that he had met his own standards and that's his decision, so I respect that.” There's a lot of people complaining that Andrew Bailey shouldn't have had to go, shouldn't have felt that he had to go, but I can't imagine a situation where I would be touched by my boss during a lively discussion – and we have plenty of them. I cannot imagine him grabbing my arm and saying listen, you're wrong. We have very lively discussions with lots of argy bargy and neither of us hold back, none of us within the conversation hold back. I just can't imagine a situation where I would be held by the arm as a way of stressing the importance of the point that I was making. If my boss ever did, I can't imagine calling for his head. I'd say ‘get your bloody hands off me' or something like that. But if the employee didn't like Bayly and found them difficult to work with, then the former minister gave him an absolute sitter of an opportunity to get rid of him. So Bayly's gone from cabinet, but not from his electoral seat. The leader of the opposition is crowing. Chris Hipkins has accused the Pime Minister of handling the situation poorly, sitting on the information for two days before doing anything about it. Then, having Andrew Bayly himself resigned, not telling the public about it for several more days, then sneaking out before jumping on a plane to escape overseas. Chris Hipkins own words. He added “I think people will see that for what it is”. Nicola Willis, on the other hand, says it's about showing humanity, allowing Bayly to tell his family and come to terms with his professional demise before it became the public fodder it has become. Look, it's just politics. National certainly uses the departure of successive Labour ministers to point to Labour's lack of credentials to govern. There were a lot of them. Iain Lees-Galloway and on we went. Stuart Nash, Meka Whaitiri resigned to go to Te Pati Māori, Kiri Allan – there were a lot of ministers whose careers ended up being in the toilet. So what's good for the goose is good for the gander and all that. If National can make hay whilst in opposition as Labour ministers came and went, then when they're in opposition, they can do the same when National ministers are doing much the same. I really think the hoo-ha about a couple of days is neither here nor there. I don't know what the fuss is about that. Darleen Tana was suspended from Parliament on the 14th of March. She was finally got rid of on the 22nd of October, all while drawing her parliamentary salary. Two or three days I can live with, but Andrew Bayly, I'm sorry, did have to go. Parliament has had a history of being a toxic workplace and you can't have a minister being a part of that if you want to change the culture. For those complaining it's a sign of wokeness and an overreaction, really? I don't recall anybody saying that when Labour ministers were in strife. And I really don't think laying hands on staffers is considered acceptable business practice in this day and age. He had to go, and he has. End of story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From politician to food insecurity for the nation, this was a great chance to understand what advocacy looks and sounds like, talking with Iain Lees-Galloway.

Food waste affects our growers, sellers and our wallets. It affects our farmers who try to grow food that meets strict beauty standards. It affects our shrinking household budgets where wasted food is as good as money down the drain.It affects our environment where wasted food decomposing in landfill contributes to our greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.All of this while food insecurity is becoming a problem for more and more families in New ZealandJoining me on this episode of Revolving Door Syndrome are my two guests Kaitlin Dawson and Iain Lees-Galloway. Through New Zealand Food Waste Champions, Kaitlin helps businesses achieve both environmental and economic sustainability through reducing over-production of food. Iain heads Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance, a network of food rescue organisations taking this extra food and distributing to communities and families who can better use it than our landfills.

We know that about a third of food is wasted. If global food waste was a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind only China and the USA. No one believes it's a good idea. So why does it keep happening? And who's in charge of this madness? It's turns out, it's no one. Those numbers are mere guesses and gaps in the system remain unsolved. Someone needs to do something. Kaitlin Dawson is making a start. Kaitlin is head of Foodwaste Champions 12.3 and is seeking a systemic solution. Iain Lees-Galloway is interim General Manager of Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance which represents 35 community organisations, who are feeding 5500 Kiwis with rescued food everyday. They join me today on the show.

Now, what on Earth is going on within immigration New Zealand? Ever since the days of the late, unlamented Iain Lees-Galloway, the department has been struggling. A pause was placed on the processing of grandparents' visas, that was before Covid. Migrant workers are still being exploited by unscrupulous employers, despite a number of reviews under former Immigration Ministers. Last year it was revealed that there were nearly 200 employers who had had their licenses to hire migrants revoked because they were not delivering on what the law requires and on what was promised. Immigration New Zealand are investigating 167 more businesses. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford accepts that there were a number of pressures on Immigration New Zealand staff. The reopening of borders after Covid-19,  unprecedented demand for workers, and new staff in the department did result in visas and applications being processed one per week instead of one per day, which really slows things up. But then if you're asking staff who are new to the department for extra checks and to be super scrupulous, there's going to be a lag. There was also the merging of six visas into one, and a new IT system that's not fully operational. We knew about that, still not fully operational.  At the same time, we have unprecedented numbers of people flocking to New Zealand. But are they the people we need to make New Zealand a better, stronger, more resilient society and economy and in turn, are they getting what they're being promised?  It's a huge commitment to leave your family, to leave your home country, to take your own family, to pick up everything you own and come to a brand new country, a brand new culture. And the expectation is that your skills will be recognised and you'll have a place here, that you will belong here.  Are we in turn giving migrant workers what they're expecting? Look at the nurses. We have nurses coming here spending tens of thousands of dollars to do so, just on their applications. That's before you even take into account airfares, rent and the like. And yet they're being told that their skill sets are not what hospitals are looking for. Canterbury Hospital in its ‘situations vacant', they had a need for nurses in maternity, oncology, acute general surgery, that sort of thing. But in their ‘sits vac' they said applications from nurses who had recently completed their competency assessment programs would not be accepted. So basically saying, if you're new to New Zealand, you've just done your competency as assessment, don't bother applying. There has been a huge influx of internationally qualified nurses coming to New Zealand since our borders opened.  Of the newly registered nurses in the October to December quarter, 63% were trained overseas. To be fair to Andrew Little, the former health minister, he did say there were a lot of nurses wanting to come to New Zealand, and finally they're here. Despite being trained, despite completing their competency, the rejections just keep coming for them. At Gore Hospital 80, international nurses applied for a job, none of them had the necessary qualifications or experience. So where do we need to fix things?  I'm not going to say where does the blame lie, where do we need to fix things? Do the health authorities need to be clearer with immigration?  That the sort of nurses they're after are experienced nurses that won't require wrap-around care for the first couple of years to get them up to the speed of the positions that are available. Do the recruiters need to be much clearer? What if you're a brand shiny new nurse, keen and eager and desperate to start your career in a new country, your language is fine, you've done the cultural competency, but you just don't have the experience and that you understand that?  You can understand Gore Hospital if you've got a sole charge nurse, it's not fair on the hospital, the patients or the nurse herself or himself to put a nurse in charge of the entire hospital. So where do we need to make changes so nurses aren't disappointed and hospitals are getting the staff they need?  How functional is Immigration New Zealand at the moment? If it's taking a week to do a job that it used to take a day to do, so we need more staff in there? Do we need to put a cap on the number of applications that can be taken in any given month?  You've got international tourists wanting to come here waiting for visitors visas, a huge backlog of those. 36,000 last year were waiting for visitor visas to come here. When it comes to trying to get family over, if you've tried to do that yourself, you know the absolute administrative nightmare it is trying to get that to happen.  And then the hurry up and wait. The new technology was supposed to speed things up, and that's not fully operational yet. Are you confident that once the IT is doing what it should the job will be made easier for those within the department, and life will be easier for those who have to use it?  You know it's  great that people want to come here. Our forebears all wanted to come here. We all came from somewhere to come to New Zealand. And there's undoubtedly a shortage, across the board in so many, many areas, but are we falling back into the bad old habits of just taking all comers who are undercutting New Zealand workers because they can, because they're willing to live 16 to a three bedroom house? Are we offering false hope to qualified people like the nurse, like teachers saying, you're very welcome and then ultimately pulling the welcome mat out from under them?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A former Labour Minister says the Party's Caucus has made the right move in re-selecting Chris Hipkins as its leader this morning. Hipkins says he plans to stay on as leader until the next election. Former Cabinet Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says Hipkins is the right choice, for now. "Labour needs to spend the time taking stock of the election results- and how they got there." Lees-Galloway says Hipkins has 18 months to prove he's the right man, or someone else will need to step up. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We waste an astonishing amount food in New Zealand each year. What are the causes, implications and effects of this, and what can we do about it? Iain Lees-Galloway is from The Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance, a network of 33 food rescue organizations who work tirelessly to rescue food and get it to those in need. What needs to be done at a government, business and, perhaps most importantly, personal level to combat this growing and wide-reaching issue. --------- EPISODE CHAPTERS --------- (0:00:09) - Living Costs and Weekend Adventures(0:10:36) - Food Waste in New Zealand(0:24:18) - Solutions(0:33:59) - Letters to the EditorSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former cabinet Minister, Iain Lees Galloway says Jacinda Ardern was one of a kind, and it will take time for the country to adjust to a change in leadership.  He says her legacy is huge and her successor will have big shoes to fill. He spoke to Guyon Espiner.  

The bad news keeps coming for Labour.  Monday night's 1 News Kantar public poll puts National and ACT in a position to easily form a government. National's up to 38 percent, Labour's down to 33, ACT is up 2 points to 11 and the Greens unchanged at 9.  Stalking his way back to Parliament bit by bit… Winston Peters and New Zealand First are on 4 percent tantalisingly close to that 5 percent threshold - Te Pati Māori are on 2. On Tuesday morning Tova O'Brien spoke to two former ministers, National's Paula Bennett and Labour's Iain Lees-Galloway to break down the latest poll.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I see Trevor Mallard's started his back channel PR campaign to try to convince everyone he's really a good sort after all.He's told the NZ Herald he fought to have a clause included in the agreement he made with the man he wrongly labelled a rapist which allowed him to still be accountable to parliamentary processes like select committees and written questions. What a hero! Would've obviously been better if he fought his own urge to accuse someone of a crime they didn't commit.Anyway, I guess what we're all fascinated by now is whether he will survive in his job. And I suspect he will because he's got the backing of the Prime Minister.That could change. He might stuff up tomorrow's select committee appearance badly and lose her backing. National might have some real damaging information tomorrow - I doubt that, but if they did, that would change things. And maybe over summer she could lean on him to resign.But my gut says she's going to keep protecting him, based solely on the fact that that is what she always does. She always protects her mates longer than she should.She protected Clare Curran for ages, Phil Twyford, David Clark, Iain Lees-Galloway, the guys at Labour Party headquarters after they kept the Labour summer sex scandal from her. And then only got rid of people when it became absolutely untenable to keep protecting them.And if past behaviour is anything to by she'll protect Trevor Mallard longer than she should, until he basically starts costing them political points, which I think is almost certain given that the opposition will target him next year.The weirdest thing is that the Prime Minister absolutely refuses to use her political capital to make progressive and structural changes that are good for New Zealand, but is happy to burn it on protecting her mates when she shouldn't.  

I see Trevor Mallard's started his back channel PR campaign to try to convince everyone he's really a good sort after all.He's told the NZ Herald he fought to have a clause included in the agreement he made with the man he wrongly labelled a rapist which allowed him to still be accountable to parliamentary processes like select committees and written questions. What a hero! Would've obviously been better if he fought his own urge to accuse someone of a crime they didn't commit.Anyway, I guess what we're all fascinated by now is whether he will survive in his job. And I suspect he will because he's got the backing of the Prime Minister.That could change. He might stuff up tomorrow's select committee appearance badly and lose her backing. National might have some real damaging information tomorrow - I doubt that, but if they did, that would change things. And maybe over summer she could lean on him to resign.But my gut says she's going to keep protecting him, based solely on the fact that that is what she always does. She always protects her mates longer than she should.She protected Clare Curran for ages, Phil Twyford, David Clark, Iain Lees-Galloway, the guys at Labour Party headquarters after they kept the Labour summer sex scandal from her. And then only got rid of people when it became absolutely untenable to keep protecting them.And if past behaviour is anything to by she'll protect Trevor Mallard longer than she should, until he basically starts costing them political points, which I think is almost certain given that the opposition will target him next year.The weirdest thing is that the Prime Minister absolutely refuses to use her political capital to make progressive and structural changes that are good for New Zealand, but is happy to burn it on protecting her mates when she shouldn't.  

A special launch of #sustainablevoting with a role model democracy coming from New Zealand, to inspire an exciting global series.

Tangi Utikere's father was born in Aitutaki with links to Nikaupara Village.  First elected to the Palmerston North City Council in 2010, and appointed Deputy Mayor in 2016, Tangi Utikere is believed to be the city’s first elected councillor of Pasifika descent.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Triple Major in History, Political Science and Social Policy, along with a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) from Massey University.  His professional background is in Education, where he held the position of Head of School at Freyberg High School, until he took up full-time Council duties in 2016.  Tangi replaced Iain Lees-Galloway as the Labour candidate in Palmerston North and successfully won the seat by more than 10,000 votes at the General Election to become the MP for Palmerston North. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leader of the oppoisition Judith Collins wants Prime Minister Jacindar Ardern to give her a briefing on the accessing of the data of prominent New Zealanders. Simon Bridges, Max Key, Jacinda Ardern's father, Iain Lees Galloway's daughter, Pita Sharples' wife along with other politicians, judges, diplomats, community leaders and senior public servants are all on a database amassed by a company believed to be used by China's intelligence service. In total 800 New Zealanders have been found on the leaked data set. Collins was not included in the set, nor was her family, but she said she wants to hear from the Prime Minister about any important information about the incident. "She needs to let me know if she's got any information to provide to me," she told Morning Report. Collins said the incident was concerning. "I've always felt that we do not live in the benign strategic environment that Helen Clark told us we did."

Disgraced former Minister Iain Lees-Galloway is adamant he didn't spend public money to keep up the affair that later got him sacked. The outgoing MP returned to Parliament last night to give his final speech in the debating chamber, drawing his 12-year political career to a close. A number of outgoing MPs gave their valedictory speeches at Parliament last night and RNZ's political reporter Katie Scotcher was there.

Disgraced former minister Iain Lees-Galloway has returned to Parliament for the first time since he was sacked for having an affair with a former staffer. The Palmerston North MP announced he would retire at the election after being stripped of his Ministerial portfolios because of the inappropriate relationship. He used his final speech in the debating chamber to describe the "traumatic" events of the past few weeks and said he is ready and happy to be leaving Parliament. Iain Lees-Galloway spoke to RNZ's political reporters Yvette McCullough and Katie Scotcher following his valedictory and told them coming back to face Parliament wasn't that difficult.

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas dust off the bazookas scattered around New Zealand politics in this week's Gone By Lunchtime. A new Newshub poll has put Judith Collins' National Party on 25.1%, Jacinda Ardern's Labour on 60.9%, and many jaws on the floor. Gerry Brownlee has dismissed it as a "rogue poll".Annabelle, Ben and Toby impersonate Nate Silver and assess the veracity of the thing, and ask: is this the result of the disarray in National or Ardern's performance through the Covid crisis?Plus: Was the Iain Lees-Galloway appropriately handled or a dirty politics throwback? Marama Davidson and James Shaw launch the Green campaign. Winston Peters lashes out (again). And is the political marriage of Jami-Lee Ross and Billy Te Kahika Jr a serious prospect or a sideshow?Either download now, subscribe through Apple Podcasts, or visit Gone By Lunchtime on Acast or Spotify See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to another episode of "Let's get politiCOOL" where, when we see fit, we breakdown wtf is going on, politically.Today we tackle the Andrew Falloon and Iain Lees-Galloway saga's before deep-diving into the culture of politics these days, how it enables the abuse of power, the prevalence of sexual misconduct, and how mental health is being used as a political tool.It's a big one, so buckle up.This episode of The Shit Show was brought to you by Lucy Blakiston and Ruby Edwards.And as always you can find us on instagram at @shityoushouldcareabout or come hang out in our Facebook group "Shit You Should Care About Squad" here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2653704428049497Big shout out to Roar Collective for powering The Shit Show! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's just under two months until the election and the political scandals just keep coming. Lockdown misdeeds, leaks of private patient information, and unsolicited pornography have cut careers short. Yesterday it was Labour's Iain Lees-Galloway, sacked after admitting to having an affair with a staff member and announcing he would not be standing for parliament again in September. The Prime Minister says he has lacked the judgement expected of a minister. Voters in his Palmerston North electorate had a mixed reaction to yesterday's events. Jane Patterson is RNZ's Political Editor.

It's just over two months until the election and the political scandals just keep coming. Lockdown misdeeds, leaks of private patient information, and unsolicited pornography have cut careers short. Yesterday it was Labour's Iain Lees-Galloway who was sacked after admitting to having an affair with a staff member.  He won't be standing for parliament again in September. We sent a reporter to Palmerston North to garner local reaction.

The Minister of Immigration is under increasing pressure to decide what to do about thousands of temporary work visas which will expire over the next few months.

The Minister of Immigration is under increasing pressure to decide what to do about thousands of temporary work visas which will expire over the next few months.

The Minister of Immigration is under increasing pressure to decide what to do about thousands of temporary work visas which will expire over the next few months. At least 3000 low paid temporary workers who have been here for the past three years will have to leave the country at the end of August - unless their employers can pay them more. RNZ's Nona Pelletier reports.

COMMENTI wonder whether Health Minister David Clark thinks he should've just ridden that mountain bike off into the sunset - chosen the peace and quiet of a leafy bicycle trail over the current hot mess his ministry is in.Where to begin?Him not knowing about the teenagers who'd gone absent without leave at the funeral after being given special dispensation from quarantine rules to attend? Director general of health Ashley Bloomfield made that particular news public yesterday afternoon but, by 5 o'clock last night, the minister himself still didn't know about it. How on Earth not? Does no one speak to anyone in this ministry?Does he not follow the news? Does no one in his office go, 'hey David, guess what?'I mean how is it possible you can be so removed from your own ministry's business?And he wasn't even out biking, he was busy hosing down his other problem: The two new Covid cases from the travellers who got out of quarantine without being tested. Not only did they get out, they headed away on a good long roadie all the way from Auckland to Wellington – allegedly not stopping once. No petrol? No water? No snacks? No toilet stop? Eight hours, no stops, incredible.So two new cases wiping the giant collective grin off the country's team of 5 million, who were - prior to this - positively gloating about our Covid- free status. The envy of the world, the over-achievers.To be fair to the Government and it's trusty soldier, Ashley Bloomfield, they did warn us all along that cases would come back. They probably didn't anticipate it'd be through incompetence. "Our expectations were not met," the Prime Minister said, in the understatement of the year.Two new cases, but the real crime is the authorities that've cocked this up; The system that doesn't work; The officials that can't follow rules.We either have a system in place for the borders or we don't. Being "disappointed" doesn't change the fact the system didn't work.So is controlling the borders this Government's weakness? It is after all where it all began.Do the slip ups and whoopsidaisies at the border speak to an even bigger issue with how this is being managed? What about the Health Minister? Doesn't the buck stop with him?Is the Prime Minister regretting keeping him on?Do her words -just two days ago - about what a proficient job he's done, now sound hollow? Does she still hold this view? Does he still enjoy her confidence?Knowing the Labour Party's track record on delivery, and ministers who cock things up, he can probably expect a promotion after this.If Phil Twyford and Iain Lees-Galloway are anything to go by, jumping up the list rankings while delivering nothing but flops, then Clark is probably safe as houses.But what a fiasco for a ministry that already got delivered a dire report card yesterday on how it is run.Houston, we have a problem. Will they fix it? Who knows? 

Dereck Picking with Iain Lees-Galloway

The National Party is raising further questions about whether refugee journalist Behrouz Boochani should have been allowed into New Zealand in the first place. Boochani, who spent six years in detention on Manus island, has been in the country since November and is believed to have applied for asylum. National immigration spokesperson Stuart Smith told RNZ reporter Gill Bonnett Boochani appears to have been excluded from Australia, making him ineligible to come to New Zealand without a special direction. In a statement, Immigration New Zealand says the immigration minister was made aware of Boochani's visitor visa application but as this was an operational decision the Minister was not involved in the decision. It says its staff assess whether applicants truly intend a temporary stay, but would not comment further for legal and privacy reasons. RNZ has contacted the immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, whose office said he was not involved in the decision. The Australian Department of Home Affairs confirmed it is the Australian Government's policy that anyone who attempts to come to Australia illegally by boat will never settle there.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says work is underway to update the Government's systems, but it will take a while. He told Morning Report work is underway to move the system to a less paper-based one and automate some processing. It comes as the government grants itself sweeping powers to manage visas in a bill that was introduced to parliament this week. Lees-Galloway says the amendments will mean they can be more flexible and responsive to the challenges posed by Covid-19. One of the challenges is to quickly manage visa changes for large numbers of migrants who are unable to leave New Zealand due to the pandemic. The changes will also stop people making visa applications from overseas while border restrictions are in place, and provide a means to refuse entry to people who are deemed to hold a visa.

Dereck speaks to our Local MP and Govt Minster, Mr Iain Lees-Galloway, on fair pay agreements and employment updates.

I said last Friday that Kris Faafoi would not offer to resign, that the PM would neither sack nor censure him. I’m not any kind of wise soothsayer, it was the most obvious prediction ever.I don’t even know why the media bothered putting up the obviously ridiculous questions of “will she sack him?” and “will he resign?” Don’t waste your breath. The answer is of course not.Why? Well, look at the pattern, look at the form. Look at the precedents set.Iain Lees Galloway, Clare Curran (who in the end sacked herself given the PM wouldn’t), Meka Whaitiri, Phil Twyford, Shane Jones, Winston Peters. Any number of ministers in her cabinet who’ve breached protocols, behaved dodgy, skirted around conflicts of interest, interfered where they shouldn’t have.  Or in Twyford’s case, just been incompetent.It really doesn’t matter what the offence, this is not a ‘hold them to account’ leadership.  It’s not an accountable government.It’s self-proclaimed year of delivery delivered us plenty of headlines and scandals, just not much substance.So it doesn’t matter that Kris Faafoi who now says he “did a dumb thing” trying to help a mate with an immigration case: “bro, bro, you’re whanau bro”, no that’s all bye the bye. It was dumb, nothing to see here, let’s all move on.And in the blink of an eye, the media has.Nick Smith was not so lucky back in 2012 when under John Key he faced intense pressure to resign after he intervened for a friend in an ACC claim. He had to go, and did.But this is a new world order, this is a new and different government with a new approach.Mistakes can be made and wrists will be slapped, wet bus tickets issued. Pats on the head, and “aren’t you a naughty boy then?” seem to suffice.No wonder there is a long line of cabinet ministers in this government behaving, shall we say, ‘loosely’.  Why not when there are no consequences?  If you run a loose ship, don’t be surprised when all the sailors are drunk.They seem to line up outside the PM’s office for a quick, or should I say ‘stern’, if we can believe that, telling off, and back to business as usual.Here's my question: Is anyone in this government taking anything seriously?  Just wondering, because it is after all a country we’re running here.I’d hazard a guess that things might tighten up a bit next year, being election year and all, because if not, how can any of us be expected to take seriously a government who won’t even take itself seriously?

Three months ago New Zealand changed.You remember that morning after the massacre? I don’t think many of us had enjoyed a great sleep on that Friday night. That Saturday morning, the people of Christchurch lay flowers at the Police cordon of the Al-Noor Mosque. We weren’t sure then about a lot of things. How many people had died, how many were injured, if there were maybe still some ongoing security concerns, or what would happen next. Three months ago New Zealand changed.And it’s actually the anniversary of another less-documented change in New Zealand.Since 2009, New Zealand has had a policy which explicitly singles out refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Unless refugees from those parts of the World already have family members in Aotearoa, they’re not welcome here.The National government introduced the law because of what officials called additional security concerns. That’s despite the fact they couldn’t tell us explicetly what those concerns were and despite the fact that all refugees, regardless of where they come from, go through a strict vetting process before they’re allowed into the country. The same standards don’t apply to refugees coming here from Asia and the Pacific. They don’t apply to refugees from Latin America.I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know this was our policy until recently. There have been a few scattered reports on it over the years, but my colleagues at Sunday highlighted it a few weeks ago and challenged the Government as to why, 18 months into their time in charge, the family link policy still hasn’t been dropped.I should point out that in 2016, official advice to scrap it was ignored. I interviewed the immigration minister this week and for the first time, he admitted he hasn’t received any advice suggesting people from the Middle East and Africa pose more of a security risk than other refugees. Again, all refugees go through a huge vetting process. Is the policy racist? I asked Iain Lees Galloway. ‘I have a view’, he replied. But he wouldn’t share it. What’s interesting to me is that Kiwis don’t appear all that upset by this. For all the talk after Christchurch – You Are Us – there aren’t many people kicking up much of a fuss. Why is that? Why don’t we care that we’re blocking some of the World’s most vulnerable people from setting up a life in New Zealand, even when there are no security concerns at play?I’ll just say it, shall I? We don’t care because a lot of refugees coming from Africa and the Middle East have the wrong coloured skin, or come from Muslim majority countries? What other reason could there possibly be?I find hypocrisy maybe the least attractive of all human qualities. We’re all guilty of it, of course.  I’m as much of a hypocrite as the next person.But it’s for the big stuff, the really big questions, these moments of collective reckoning, where we should step back and check our collective hypocrisy. We should forget our words. You Are Us. And we should reflect upon our actions, instead.Actions reveal true character. We’re happy to claim the victims of the Christchurch attacks. You Are Us.But we’re not happy to claim many of their fellow Muslims. Three months ago New Zealand changed. Or maybe it didn’t.

The country's lowest paid workers will tomorrow see a boost to their paycheck from tomorrow. The minimum wage will increase up a $1.20 to $17.70 tomorrow.It will lead to an extra $48 a week for those on the lowest income bracket, which Workplace Relations Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says will significantly benefit them. He told The Weekend Collective economic growth has not been matched by wage growth."Speak to any economist you like, and they will say that wage growth is what has been missing in the recovery since the Global Financial Crisis." The Government wants to reach $20 an hour by 2021, which Lees-Galloway says is a significant increase. The increase will put pressure on smaller businesses, but the Minister says that they have signalled this early to give them time to prepare. "I have absolute confidence in our small businesses. They are resilient, they are agile, and I think they'd be able to adapt to this. I think what they will find is that it leads to improvement to productivity, and profitability overall."  He denies that the increase is a replacement for failures in the social welfare system. Lees-Galloway says that both the public and private sector have a role in the distribution of income."Good wages encourage a more productive economy, and that's something we need to focus on more in New Zealand." Wages for those on the lowest tiers have stagnated over the last 20 years, Lees-Galloway says, and something needs to change. 

COMMENT:The Labour caucus retreat was in Martinborough yesterday, you may've seen it on the news, but here's what I found weird about it: Why was Trevor Mallard there?Isn't Parliament's Speaker supposed to be neutral?And why did he turn up in a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts, no less. I know we're having a heatwave, but that was a crime against fashion.I just don't get how the Speaker of the House is hanging out with the Labour Party over drinks and nibbles, like he's one of the family - yes he is a Labour MP, but he's not supposed to look like he is.He's supposed to be impartial. So that was weird.Sartorial elegance was in 'short' supply at yesterday's retreat.Also weird was Iain Lees-Galloway - most famed for botching the Karel Sroubek affair and causing ongoing embarrassment, headlines and headaches for the Government. He turns up wearing a slogan T-shirt saying, "I'm the boss guy".For a man widely presumed to be a bit arrogant and suffering delusions of grandeur around himself, that was a bit off.Not Melania Trump's infamous "I really don't care" jacket, but close.Slogan T-shirts are for teenagers attending music festivals, or one-year-olds. Ones that say, "I'm the boss guy" are really only for under the thumb dads at Christmas, as a joke gift from the kids.But for an embattled Immigration Minister who was seemingly at war with his own department over who was responsible for the Sroubek mess? No.Jacinda Ardern's baby Neve was also there - I don't know why, I'm not sure if other people's kids were there, but let's not call that weird because we'll be lynched.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson at the caucus retreat in Martinborough.So the Labour caucus retreat kicked off with a supposed-to-be-impartial speaker in a Hawaiian shirt, an Immigration Minister known only for his bungles wearing an 'I'm the Boss' T-shirt, and a baby.Nothing to see here.When it came to the business end of things, Ardern proclaimed this is the year of delivery - and clearly she didn't have KiwiBuild at the top of mind when she promised that.The many reports ignited last year are going to be looked at and acted upon.. most notably tax.But also mental health, child wellbeing (remember 'wellbeing' is the catch word for this Government this year) and focus on the zero carbon law.So a lot of promises made around delivery, which sets the course for actually... having to deliver.Which will be a true test for this Government this year. Especially given what we've seen already with KiwiBuild.So they're in 'delivery mode' as Ardern put it, and in a critical year for her Government. I'd grab the popcorn now if I was you, it'll be an interesting watch.

So this morning I listened to the Prime Minister’s last Tuesday morning slot with our breakfast show, today hosted by Mike Yardley. And I was under-impressed, to be honest. Now I know we’re all a little bit over it this week and it’s been a massive year for her, but I felt the fairy dust had fallen off. Princess Jacinda was absent. There was no echo of Jacindamania.It wasn’t that anything she was saying was particularly wrong, it was more that, she was just saying nothing at all.It started with questions about the Le Roux petition being presented to parliament. A petition complaining about overly lenient sentencing. Her answer was a long-winded conversation about the processes of lawmaking and how there needs to be an absence of political influence on the judicial system. It made me feel like she was talking to us like we were children.At the time of the interview, 134,000 New Zealanders had expressed a very real concern about the sentencing and she didn’t talk to those people at all. She didn’t empathise with those concerns. She didn’t say she’d pass those concerns onto the judiciary, perhaps at her next meeting with the new Chief Justice Helen Winkelmann. It was the sound of a bureaucrat flapping her gums, offending no-one.It reminded me of the strange ambivalence and lack of leadership she displayed through the Karol Sroubeck case. When the only person in the country supporting the bizarre decision was Richie Hardcore it would have been a simple step to say Iain Lees-Galloway screwed up so we’ll give the immigration job to someone else. In politics, it’s important to be seen to be doing something and she seemed inert.This morning’s interview then careered into the Global Compact on Migration, due to be signed today. For some reason known only to the PM, she refuses to confirm or deny our signing. She pointed out how the compact is not legally binding and how she will not surrender sovereignty. She also pointed out that our current policy setting is already compliant with the compacts aims. Yet at the same time gave the impression that she doesn’t even know if we’re going to sign it or not.How we yearned for a passionate statement that there is no way on Earth that the UN will ever dictate our migrant policy or numbers. If they do sign it the Prime Minister has shown no ability to lead us to an understanding or acceptance of the gesture.The suspicion that she’s not in control extends to other areas of foreign policy. This year Winston Peters has railed against China and re-exerted our influence in the Pacific. In Georgetown, USA, this weekend he urged America to get more involved in the Pacific.But when asked this week if the Foreign Minister’s speech indicates the Government is moving towards America, Jacinda Ardern said no. Absolutely not. It made people like Matthew Hooten wonder if she really knows what’s going on.Now before you say this is a National Party hit job, I should add that I could say just the same about Simon Bridges, who has been saying some remarkable dog-whistle things that appeared designed to appeal to only a 60-year-old conservative.As we come to the end of this first year of this term, I feel we have a new generation of political leaders on all sides who are underdone. Who have not got the trick yet of how to be grown ups and responsible and yet show clear and insightful leadership.To be honest it feels like we have an entire House of Representatives that is still on training wheels.

The news is like buses. There’s nothing for ages and then the stories all come at once and yesterday was incredible so quick notes on three stories.Firstly, Iain Lees-Galloway. Mr Onceover-Lightly, what could possibly go wrong and if it does, it’s not my fault.It’s always the Minister’s fault, Minister. That’s the point about Ministerial oversight and responsibility. But here’s a thing; listening to his reasoning at 1pm yesterday, I was struck by his final comments. He said he’d review his and the IMS procedures and then added, on his own volition, an example. He said he’d start reading the files before the meetings! Hello! You think? Bully for you!Which gives credence to the belief that Iain Lees-Galloway swanned in, had a look at the notes provided, and made a decision. Which raises some red flags to me. He was very possibly blindly following the advice of his bureaucrats who were pointing out the issues. So the so-called professionals are not without blame. Advice to all politicians. If you want to get it right, read all the guff, prepare, and don’t trust the bureaucrats.Now, on the spies deciding Spark should not use Huawei to build the 5G network. This came after American pressure last week on its allies not to use the Chinese company. You can see why. After all, would China use an American company to build its telecommunications infrastructure? Of course not. And we are part of the Five Eyes spying programmes with the States.We’ve already reported that New Zealand is caught betwixt and between two trade warring superpowers and we’d eventually have to choose. We upset China with our investment in the Pacific. We did it again with some forthright statements from our Foreign Minister. And now we’ve chosen America again. No wonder Jacinda Ardern’s visit to China has been postponed and the chances of an improved FTA just took a step backwards. It’s going to be a frosty time with China in the short term.And then to Sir Michael Cullen and a possible Capital Gains Tax. Silver-tongued Cullen almost made the whole thing sound logical. He argues with an ageing population we’re running out of taxpayers. The Labour based revenue will decrease and so we need to supplement it with capital taxation and revenue. He claims there’ll be no more tax gathered. That the whole thing could be fiscally neutral.But that’s not wholly true. The next generation of taxpayers will be hit on their labour and their capital. I doubt very much whether they’ll not end out paying more tax than their elders and they’re not going to take that.After all, turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

There’s times I start wondering why anybody tries to do anything to help people these days when it seems that people are no longer able to help themselves.So this morning I’m reading about the nations before school check programme.When every child in the country turns four they are offered a check up which can help identify health, behavioural, social or developmental issues, such as a hearing problem, which could affect learning. The aim is to help those children access health and learning support.About 55,000 children will be covered this year at a cost of more than $10 million.That sounds good.  But after a review called Welcome to School, there are concerns that the programme isn’t working and in fact making things worse.So how on earth can anyone stuff up a health check. One example given was the eye test. There had been a misunderstanding about what checks covered. Schools thought that the test was a comprehensive one but in fact it was just checking for lazy eye.  So then we have kids at school with vision problems but the schools and the parents thought everything was tickety-boo because the before school check had passed the kid.Now this is not the tests fault.  This is from the old once over lightly, Iain Lees Galloway school of incompetence. The schools haven’t even read and comprehended what was being done. Honestly the amount of stuff ups we have these days due to laziness, assumption and lack of research is astounding.But this is a minor quibble.  The review found that the before school check actually increases iniquity. The rich, intelligent and healthy catch the problems early while the poor, less qualified and unhealthy get worse.Part of the check is a questionnaire filled out by parents. 25 questions relating to emotions, peer relationships, hyperactivity, socialisation and development goals. Better off parents answer diligently and honestly while parents from the bottom end of the rung either hide the truths or because of their own background fail to recognise unsociable or destructive behaviour.Apparently a lot of the worse off parents don’t like the questionnaire because they view it as labelling.  And yes it is but the way to process that is to rename it identifying and then get on with making things better for your kids.Well off parents know that labels can be shaken off and changed.  Worse off parents think a label is forever.The upshot is the kids of the better off get prompt attention early while the less privileged kids get nothing.  Generation by generation getting worse.It’s always deeply depressing when you hear of programmes designed to help that are being spurned because of either parental bloody mindedness or disinterest.One final point though.  The Welcome to School study Welcome to School research showed the challenge facing low decile schools was bigger than suspected.Many children were starting at a language development age of 3-4 years. More than 30 per cent had a language proficiency in the bottom 2.5 per cent of the population.That’s not good.  We knew it was bad.  Now we know it’s worse than that.

A shock admission from the Immigration Minister over Karel Sroubek's case. Iain Lees-Galloway has confirmed he took about an hour to decide on the convicted drug smuggler's residency, but he didn't read the whole file. Sroubek has also released his own statement today, in response to the Deputy National Leader telling Parliament yesterday, Sroubek was questioned in prison about the burglary of his ex-wife's home. Also today: flooding, slips and wind gusts have forced road closures in the North and South Islands. Over 800 lightning strikes were recorded in Hokitika in a 20-minute period this morning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the PM set to lose another Minister?National's calling for Iain Lees-Galloway to go, after he revealed he didn't read the entire case file, officials gave him on Karel Sroubek before deciding to give him residency.He made the call in just an hour.Jacinda Ardern fronts up to Chris Lynch. 

Toby Manhire is joined by iconic duo Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas to rake the leaves of the JLR saga – and the mini-crises confronting the government, too.The overlord of all successful television in New Zealand, Annabelle Lee, restores equilibrium to the Gone By Lunchtime universe by sitting down with Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire to discuss the Jami-Lee Ross fallout and whether Simon Bridges can survive it, Jacinda Ardern's first Labour Party conference as leader, the pressure on immigration minister Iain Lees-Galloway and the scrap around Phil Twyford's KiwiBuild scheme. Includes sealed section featuring interminable chin-stroking about the US elections.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Minister of Immigration is within his rights to grant residency to a controversial drug dealer.The National Party's Michael Woodhouse has demanded Iain Lees-Galloway explain why he used his power of "absolute discretion" to cancel deportation liability and grant residence to Karel Sroubek, also known as Jan Antolik.Immigration lawyer Richard Mcleod says that we likely will never know why Sroubek was granted residency, but Lees-Galloway is allowed to do it and likely has strong reasons for granting the exemption. He says that there have been strict conditions imposed on the residency."It doesn't seem to be a soft touch there." LISTEN TO RICHARD MCLEOD TALK WITH THE WEEKEND COLLECTIVE ABOVE

So the slow-motion dance between teachers and the Government continued over the weekend with the announcement of 600 extra learning support co-ordinators by 2020.These staff will work alongside teachers and parents to provide individualised support and "free up teachers so all children get more quality classroom time". They will be helping the teachers deal with the kids who need a little more either because of disabilities or learning issues.The 600 staff will mean one or two more for each school and maybe even more for the larger schools.It was announced at the Labour conference and I suppose it has been scheduled as the conference’s lolly scramble for a while. It also adds to the Government’s offer to teachers.It all adds to the feeling that I have that Chris Hipkins is telling the truth. That he has put as much as he can on the table, but as time goes on he will try to make the job easier and better.Rather than fighting to get all the world in one fell swoop I would urge the teachers to take what has been offered and continue to work with this government over the middle term. They are sympathetic but not spendthrift. The strikes will only reduce the sympathy.Meanwhile, the first question you ask yourself is where are these 600 going to come from. Experts have said that existing teachers will probably go for the coordinator positions, further exacerbating the teacher shortage we’re fighting with.So once again we’ll be forced to the overseas well. This is a common theme. Over the weekend the challenges of finding quality staff prompted heavyweights in Auckland's hospitality scene to call for more flexible immigration policies.This puts the government in a pickle. During the last election they blamed immigration for much of our woes and they promised to fix those problems. This is what they said in their election manifesto.“Labour will invest in housing, infrastructure, public services, and in training New Zealanders to fill skills shortages. At the same time, we will take a breather on immigration. We will do this by making sure that work visas are not being abused to fill low-skill, low-paid jobs, while ensuring that businesses can get the skilled workers they need.”It’s a delicate balancing act because to fix the infrastructure they’ll also need to import skills. I think we can all see one year on that there has been no breather in immigrationThe minister in charge of this delicate immigration balancing act is one Iain Lees-Galloway. Interestingly he’s also in charge of our workplace relation rules. A man who so far has not shown a delicate touch.We’re trapped in an immigration swamp. We can’t deal with it and we can’t deal with it, without it. Labour and New Zealand First campaigned against immigration in the last election but so far they’ve remained strangely silent on the issue because Government is much harder than opposition . 

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."

Labour's immigration spokesman Iain Lees-Galloway slams the government for a "U-turn" in its immigration policy. Read more ($): https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/sensible-or-shambolic-government-slammed-and-praised-its-immigration-u-turn-jw-p-205619