James Shaw resigns from Green Party co-leadership
The Green Party’s James Shaw says he will resign from his role as co-leader next month after nearly nine years in the job.
“It has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve as New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister for the last six years and as Green Party co-leader for nearly nine.
Shaw had long been expected to retire from politics once the Greens lost power and were no longer in government, which happened following the election last October. When he campaigned for the leadership in 2015, Shaw said he wanted to lead the party into government and safely out the other side. Prior to Shaw’s leadership, the party had never been in government nor had any ministers, though it had signed lower-level agreements with parties of government.
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Bailey Brannon
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello was grilled by Labour's Dr Ayesha Verrall over whether she requested advice on the potential of freezing excise tax on smoked tobacco products.
Luxon said earlier today media reporting suggested Costello might have gotten confused when she said she hadn't received such advice when a leaked document indicated she had.
Costello claimed she was being truthful and noted how being offered something and asking for something were two different things.
Verrall quickly followed up by asking whether she thought Luxon's earlier comments were wrong. Costello said she would never say the Prime Minister was wrong.
Bailey Brannon
Greens co-leader Marama Davidson continued this line of questioning, asking if Luxon had confidence Seymour would engage well with hāpu and iwi about the Treaty Principles Bill.
Luxon replied by saying Cabinet was yet to see a draft bill. Luxon also wasn't concerned when asked about Seymour's absence at Rātana and the Māori King's nationwide hui where the bill was debated.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters took the opportunity to ask Luxon whether anyone in the House had ever talked about getting rid of the Treaty. Luxon said no.
Labour's Willie Jackson then questioned Māori/Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka on the contrasting comments made by Luxon and David Seymour regarding whether the Treaty was a partnership or not.
Potaka advised New Zealanders to do their own research into the Treaty and come to their own views.
Hipkins questions Luxon on scrapping of smokefree legislation
Bailey Brannon
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has kicked off the first Question Time for 2024 by interrogating Prime Minister Christopher Luxon about the Government's scrapping of Labour's smoking legislation.
Luxon restated his commitment to continue lowering smoking rates and defended the decision to ditch the smoke-free generation legislation.
Hipkins then asked whether he would consider any donation from the tobacco industry to New Zealand First a conflict of interest.
Luxon said he was not aware of any such donations. After further questioning, Luxon said he expected all ministers to abide by the Cabinet Manual's conflict rules and reporting requirements.
Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp followed the Labour leader and focused on the Treaty of Waitangi, asking Luxon for his response to a leaked Ministry of Justice document which reportedly said the Treaty Principles Bill was not aligned with the spirit or the text of the Treaty.
Luxon said his Government was against changing the Treaty or any finalised settlements while reiterating his party's position that National had not indicated its support for the Treaty Principles Bill following the select committee stage.
PM reacts to resignation of James Shaw
Bailey Brannon
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he had not yet given any thought as to whether Shaw would be a good climate change commissioner, but said he considered Shaw a friend and respected him and what he had achieved.
"James Shaw is one of the Opposition MPs I really respect. I got to know James outside of coming to politics myself, and I've obviously become good friends with him over the last three years as well, I've really respected James and what he's achieved.
I think he leaves this place having left in place something that's pretty enduring in the net zero legislation."
He said he admired the way Shaw had involved politicians from all sides of the political spectrum, as well as those outside of Parliament.
"I just, you know, genuinely want to say thank you to James, I consider him a good friend and I consider it a great legacy he leaves behind him,"
Asked what it would mean for the Green Party, he said it would be a "sad day" for them "because they've lost probably one of their last true great environmentalists."
He would not speculate on who might replace Shaw as co-leader, saying it was a matter for the Greens.
Luxon said he was "very confident" that the bipartisan support for the Zero Carbon Act would hold without Shaw in Parliament.
"The National Party is deeply committed to delivering on those commitments. I think that is genuinely something that will stay enshrined and endure long, long beyond James and all of us, frankly."
Bailey Brannon
Green co-leader Marama Davidson accuses the deployment of "escalating" the level of violence in the Middle East.
Davidson asks a long question probing whether the Red Sea attacks are a greater threat to stability than Israel's invasion of Gaza.
"I would like to remind the member that New Zealand has been involved in matters around the Red Sea since 2013," Collins said.
"This is the right decision. New Zealand is not a freeloader" Collins said.
"We do not support piracy, we do support New Zealanders' freedom of navigation," Collins said.
"We all love world peace, we'd just like to see a bit more of it," Collins said.
Hipkins: Sorry to see Shaw go
Bailey Brannon
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said James Shaw had been an “unrelenting” advocate on climate change and he was sorry to see him step down but also understood it.
“He was very persistent, very persuasive and very passionate in his advocacy and I think the results speak for themselves. I mean, we’ve made huge progress on climate change over the last six years – still a lot more to do, but I think the work he did set up a really good framework for continuing that.”
On what it meant for the left in politics, Hipkins said it was the nature of politics.
“People come and people go. No one is ever irreplaceable. But I think James, as he steps down as co-leader, can reflect on his tenure in that role with a huge amount of pride.”
Judith Collins makes ministerial statement on deployment to Red sea
Bailey Brannon
Defence Minister Judith Collins is making a ministerial statement on the deployment of NZ Defence Force personnel to the Red Sea.
Collins said the deployment was an "inevitable" response to the Houthis ignoring international warnings to cease attacking international shipping. "Freedom of navigation is an integral part of New Zealand’s national security," Collins said.
Labour's Defence Spokesman has urged the Government not to turn their back on the need for humanitarian support in the Middle East.
"We have to be very mindful about getting involved in such conflicts and I don't believe the Government has made a clear case for it," Henare said. "We wish them safety and all the best in their deployments," Henare said.
Responding to questions from Henare, Collins said that the deployment would conclude by 31 July this year. She said the cost would be $500,000, which would be funded through existing baselines.
Judith Collins said there were two options presented to her for the deployment. One was to deliver "a number" of personnel, though she did not divulge the number.
The other option was to deploy six personnel, which is what the Government decided.
Bailey Brannon
NZ First MP Shane Jones - a frequent critic of the Green Party - has responded to Green Party co-leader James Shaw's resignation by having another go at the Greens.
"I can understand why James has left, because the juveniles with no life experience [are] currently ruining the Green Party, but that's their problem. All my dealings with James were very professional - we just agree to disagree."
"I think he's got a stellar career in front of him and the sooner he gets away from the current crowd, the better for his mental health."
Bailey Brannon
Shaw said he has not begun to dwell on the knocks, laughing at the fact that some were literal, physical knocks, but said at times it was hard to "weigh up the costs" and stick around as co-leader.
"You have to remember that everything that happened, happened on my watch," Shaw said proudly, careful not to take all the credit.
He said it was "pretty easy" to decision to leave today with a chuckle. "It was a question of when rather than if," Shaw said.
"Now is the best time for me to stand out and handover to a new co-leader," Shaw said.
He said he was not going to give a personal endorsement for Swarbrick, despite mentoring her for many years.
He said she will have to put her hand up like everyone else and she will go through the same process and would not get special treatment.
Bailey Brannon
Marama Davidson spoke as well, saying she will continue to fight against the "dominant systems of power" and said she is looking forward to the next co-leader.
"We will be very clear to not interrupt the fair process to elect the next co-leader," Davidson said.
She would not commit to standing as co-leader at the next election. She said she had known about Shaw's intention to leave for "a long time".
"He has given blood, he has given his mahi, and I am now happy he gets to go the beach."
He said the Golriz accusations were not a factor in his decision and would not linger on the question, answering with a swift and stern "no".
Bailey Brannon
He said he was the most anxious about the National statement on indigenous biodiversity, where he did a lot of work.
"I would have liked the opportunity to work a bit more on that and I am a bit anxious about the interests that represent the current government," Shaw said.
"Like I said in my maiden speech, I said I want to make a difference to the nature rights in New Zealand," Shaw said when asked about why he is staying on to sheppard in his final bill.
On his family, he said he "has asked a lot from them" and thanked them again for their unwavering support.
He laughed at questions regarding if he had been pushed to leaving sooner, saying "everyday, but like I have said before, the work is too important."
James Shaw resigns as Green Party co-leader
Bailey Brannon
"I am very, very proud of what the Green party has achieved on my watch," Shaw said
He spoke at length of his achievements since 2017, including his extensive climate change wins.
"I would like to especially like to thank my wife, kids and friends for having my back no matter what," Shaw said.
When asked why he was leaving, he said he has served almost nine years, which is about the average for co-leaders of the Green Party.
"I feel as though the time is right," Shaw said.
He would not let slip on any front runners for the new co-leader. "The clue is in the title there, they are private conversations," Shaw said.
He said anyone can apply for the role, as the only requirements are one Maori and one woman, which Marama Davidson makes up entirely.
He said he has some regrets but does not "keep a list". "I guess I am standing down because I think my time and work here is done, and I am really satisfied with it," Shaw said.
"All of the challenge made me better at my job in the long run," Shaw said.
On how long he had been mulling this decision over, he said the election was a main factor. "I felt my job was to assist us into getting us into government and then safely out the other side," Shaw said.
He said the Green Party was "more stable than ever" and he is really confident in the place they are in currently.
Bailey Brannon
Bailey Brannon
On Wellington’s water infrastructure, Hipkins said the current infrastructure wasn’t sufficient but the Govt’s approach wouldn’t advance things.
Local councils didn’t have the necessary funding to address it and Hipkins urged the Govt to front up on its solution after scrapping Labour’s Three Waters reform.
Asked whether he was expecting any more Labour resignations, Hipkins said his caucus have reflected over the summer but wouldn’t announce anything on people’s behalf.
He confirmed he would be the Labour Party leader into 2025.
Bailey Brannon
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said now was a “terrible time” for the Govt to be reviewing funding to UNRWA.
On the Treaty, Hipkins said there was a “legitimate debate” that could take place but trying to remove the principles altogether wasn’t the way forward.
He believed the first discussion should be about how the discussion should take place, noting how Māori should be involved in that.
Hipkins thought the whole basis of the Treaty Principles Bill was wrong and believed the Government’s position on the Treaty was “confused”.
Hipkins said not a day had gone past that he was proven wrong that Peters and Seymour would run rings around Luxon in Government.
“It has to be a very inclusive conversation.”
Asked how he would approach Waitangi, Hipkins hoped it would be an opportunity to show unity and solidarity, but also to reflect on how things could improve.
On the potential for unrest in Waitangi, Hipkins said the celebrations always included heightened security but felt the people’s response to the Government would be dictated by the message Luxon and ministers send.
“I think they need to be very careful in that regard,” Hipkins said of NZ First’s plans to limit the scope of the Waitangi Tribunal. He said the discussion around the constitution of New Zealand should be had.
Alanah Eriksen
In other Wellington news, the council has decided to replace its parking meter system at a cost it will not disclose, despite paying $1.5 million to install a new sensor network as recently as 2016.
The meters also offer the choice of English or te reo Māori instructions, which the council says supports its commitment to Pōneke becoming a bilingual city.
Alanah Eriksen
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said he had not asked for the work on the Treaty Principles Bill to be delegated to Act leader David Seymour, but it "made sense" because the bill was an Act measure in the coalition agreements.
Last week, Seymour was appointed as associate minister of justice to take over the work on the controversial bill, which attempts to define the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi - and has sparked protests and criticism of the Government from Māori.
Goldsmith said that had been a decision of the Prime Minister.
"It just made sense, David Seymour is the one who brought that particular bill and it makes sense for him to argue it."
National has so far said it will support the bill only at the first reading, to allow it to go through to the select committee - leaving it to Seymour to convince them to support it beyond that point.
Asked if he would have had trouble as the minister advocating for the bill in Cabinet or in public, Goldsmith said it was his role to do what was in the coalition agreements.
"I'm happy to do that, but it made more sense for David Seymour to be the one doing it."
Goldsmith said he would be taking responsibility - alongside Maori Development Minister Tama Potaka - for the broader work on reviewing the Treaty principles, which was in the NZ First agreement.
Read more about the bill here:
Alanah Eriksen
Defence Minister Judith Collins said she had not reconsidered the decision to send six NZ Defence Force personnel into the Middle East following news of three United States service members being killed and more than 30 injured in a drone strike on a base in Jordan.
She had received no further advice on the deployment, set to last until July, and was not concerned New Zealand would be dragged into other issues in the region aside from the Houthi's threat to supply chains, which had the potential to drive up the price of goods for Kiwis if ships were delayed because they couldn't get through the Red Sea safely.
Ahead of her impending trip to Australia alongside Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Collins said there had been "no pressure whatsoever" from the United States or Australia to join AUKUS, the security pact between the US, UK and Australia.
She repeated National's long-held view that there could be value in New Zealand joining what's known as "Pillar Two" of the pact as it could allow access to advances in technology.
Collins suspected the second pillar would be appealing for countries like New Zealand, Canada and other "like-minded parties", however, she noted how Pillar Two was still being formed so a decision could not yet be made.
Alanah Eriksen
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaking to media at Parliament this morning. Photo by Mark Mitchell.
Alanah Eriksen
Finance Minister Nicola Willis is standing by the Government's request to departments to cut spending - as well as her promise that frontline services would not be affected.
Asked if she was expecting too much from some by requesting cuts of 6.5 per cent or 7.5 per cent, Willis said thus far she had asked department heads to provide to her their best proposals for spending cuts.
"And I don't think that's too much to ask. In the case of education and health and others it's our expectation we will be investing more in frontline services. That doesn't mean they're exempt from the exercise of looking in their back pockets, where in many cases there have been huge increases in headcount and consulting and contractor spending, to make sure they've run the ruler over it to see, could we be doing things more efficiently."
The Government was yet to impose the cap on contractors and consultants that it proposed during the campaign, which Willis said was because the first step was asking government departments to include that spending in their wider reviews.
She said tax cuts would go ahead this year and the "huge increase" in spending over recent years was not matched by services.
"From there. we'll set them targets in the future."
The Defence Force has to find savings of 7.5 per cent, but Defence Minister Judith Collins has said more investment was needed to get the Defence Force up to standard.
Willis said it was clear that more would have to be spent on Defence in the coming years "so it's our expectation savings we can get [within Defence] will then be available for those cost pressures."
Willis said she had asked Defence to look for savings "in the knowledge we will continue to invest in the Defence Force over time."
She said the final decisions on that would be in the Budget.
"I've spoken to Minister Collins and she tells me she has found a Defence Force where morale is low and their experience of the last government is that it didn't make the investments they expected. I understand that, so we need to take a really hard look at what the capability needs to be, what investments are needed."
However, she said that didn't mean they also shouldn't be exempt from an overall spending check.
On spending on other things, she said she had committed to keeping the previous government's boost of funding for the kapa haka festival, Te Matatini. Last year, Te Matatini’s budget was boosted to $34 million over two years, up from $2.9m per year.
However, she would not make the same promise for others, such as ballet or the NZ Symphony Orchestra. She said decisions on those would be in the Budget and she did not want to start "this list game."
Alanah Eriksen
Asked whether she anticipated visiting China and the United States this year in an official capacity, Defence Minister Judith Collins said she didn’t expect to travel to China as it didn’t align with her portfolios.
However she hoped to attend a conference in Colorado in April in relation to her role as Space Minister to further NZ’s “burgeoning” space industry.
Alanah Eriksen
Brown said he wanted assurances from Wellington City Council and Upper Hutt City Council that everything is being done to avoid a water emergency in Wellington.
"I'm focused on making sure that those councils are doing everything they can to stop the water leaking and to ensure that this potential emergency is averted if possible."
Read more about Wellington's water woes here:
Alanah Eriksen
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said they were hoping to repeal the Three Waters legislation in February.
"We wrote to councils prior to Christmas with the policy decisions which will be part of that bill, which is the repealing of it, some flexibility around setting their long-term plans and the time frames and flexibility around the consultation requirements and also the auditing requirements and then in terms of what they need to do for their long term plans."
Alanah Eriksen
National’s long-term goal was to get defence spending to two per cent of GDP. Luxon said that would happen “over time” but he said the Labour government had left the country in a state that required considered fiscal decisions.
When asked if Associate Health Minister Casey Costello was not being accurate on whether she asked for advice on capping excise tax on cigarettes, Luxon said: “I don’t think that’s the way I’d characterise it.”
He accepted it was possible Costello had gotten it wrong, noting that she was a new minister.
Alanah Eriksen
Luxon was confident the cuts to the public service would help fund his promised tax cuts, saying it was progressing well.
He wouldn’t say whether defence funding would be exempt from the cuts.
Alanah Eriksen
On funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Luxon said the allegations of staff being involved in the Hamas attack were "incredibly serious" and it was important they were "properly understood and investigated".
"We won't be making any further contributions until the Foreign Minister says it's good to do so."
When asked how long that might take, Luxon replied: "It'll take as long as it takes."
He noted New Zealand's annual contribution to UNRWA totalled about $1 million and New Zealand had already offered about $10m for humanitarian aid between Red Cross and the World Food Programme.
Allegations emerged last week that 12 of the UNRWA's staff were involved in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 last year:
Alanah Eriksen
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has told media this morning the decision to make David Seymour an associate justice minister on Friday was so he could lead the Treaty Principles Bill, which Luxon said was appropriate.
Asked why he didn’t do it from the start, Luxon said it had taken time to decide all the associate ministerial delegations.
Luxon said Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith hadn’tasked him to put Seymour in charge of the bill. He couldn’t say when the public might first see the bill. He said the treaty was “akin to a partnership” when asked how he viewed the treaty.
He would directly address questions about how his view was different to Seymour.
Read about Friday's minor reshuffle here:
Alanah Eriksen
Luxon tweeted about one of the new Government's education policies yesterday.
Read more about the policy here:
Alanah Eriksen
The Prime Minister marked the anniversary of the Auckland floods yesterday.
Alanah Eriksen
Yesterday, Coughlan reported that the Government is not rushing to join the likes of Australia, Canada, the UK and the US in suspending funding for a United Nations agency after allegations several employees who worked for the agency were involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
Alanah Eriksen
Ahead of Question Time there will be a debate on the Government’s decision to deploy six troops to the Red Sea to aid the United States in its strikes against Houthi rebels.
The Government announced the deployment last week. Neither Labour nor the Greens support it. Members from those parties will have the opportunity to ask the Government questions about the deployment.
Read deputy political editor Thomas Coughlan's story from last week about Labour and the Greens' warnings about the decision:
Alanah Eriksen
Today's schedule is packed.
Party caucuses meet in the morning and Question Time begins at 2pm.
Each of those events present opportunities for MPs to be stopped by media, meaning some MPs will be in the limelight from the time of the first major party caucus meeting at 9am, until Christopher Luxon wraps up his Cabinet meeting to head back into the debating chamber.
Alanah Eriksen
Today is known as "Super Tuesday" - a Tuesday during Parliamentary sitting when the Monday has been a national public holiday, or Wellington or Auckland anniversary day.
Alanah Eriksen
Read this morning's opinion piece from Herald journalist Simon Wilson.
Will Christopher Luxon rescue his Government at Waitangi?
Alanah Eriksen
After a long summer hiatus, Parliament returns today.
Stay with us throughout the day for updates.
Parliament returns
Alanah Eriksen
STORY CONTINUES
“I’m very proud of what the Green Party has achieved over the last eight years. I would like to thank Green Party members and supporters for their incredible hard work and support over that time,” Shaw said.
“In 2017, the Greens became a party of government, with ministers, for the first time. We also made political history by increasing our support at the end of each of our two terms - a feat no other government support partner had achieved,” he said.
“In Government, we passed the landmark Zero Carbon Act with unanimous support across Parliament, becoming one of the first countries in the world to place the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C target in national legislation.”
Shaw also said he was proud of last year’s historic election result, when the party won its largest-ever share of the vote and its largest caucus.
“Returning to Opposition, the Green Party now has the largest caucus of MPs we’ve ever had, including three electorates for the first time,” he said.
“It has taken many thousands of people, in all walks of life, to achieve what we have over the near-decade I’ve been co-leader, and I would like to thank every single one of you.”
Shaw said he would stay in Parliament for the time being, while his Member’s Bill, which would amend the Bill of Rights to include a right to a sustainable environment, was being debated. He is likely to leave Parliament after the bill is debated and either passes or fails.
The Greens will now kick off a leadership contest to replace Shaw. It will be the first contest since 2018, and the first contest to be held under new rules that allow someone of any gender to contest the current vacancy. Prior to the rule change, Shaw’s role would have been filled by a man. The favourite to win the contest is Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick, although any Green member, not just an MP, can run. Nominations open tomorrow and close on Wednesday, February 14.