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The Regulatory Standards Bill: Neoliberal Shackles Disguised As “Good Law"
Saturday, 31 May 2025, 7:33 pm | Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement
We argue that the bill is not about making regulation “better” or “fairer,” but about handcuffing future lawmakers to an ideology that privileges private property, contract law, and the capitalist “right to profit.” More >>
Worsening Poverty And Social Misery In New Zealand
Saturday, 31 May 2025, 7:31 pm | Socialist Equality Group
The government is seeking to solve the worsening economic crisis by ramping up the exploitation of the working class, while protecting the fortunes of the super-rich. More >>
NZ's Budget For Austerity And War
Saturday, 31 May 2025, 6:31 pm | Socialist Equality Group
The money for war comes at the direct expense of the working class. Notably, the govt expects to “save” $12.8 billion over four years by cancelling 33 separate pay equity negotiations, which were to increase pay for hundreds of thousands of ... More >>
Councils Plead For Bipartisan Resource Management Act Reform
Saturday, 31 May 2025, 4:11 pm | RNZ
Regional councils want greater certainty and bipartisanship on regulations, as they gear up for an expected spate of rule changes. More >>
Christchurch Protesters Confront Finance Minister Nicola Willis Over Pay Equity
Saturday, 31 May 2025, 3:55 pm | RNZ
Budget documents revealed tightening the pay-equity regime would net the government $2.7 billion every year. More >>
“Don't Be Fooled”: Govt's Freshwater Reforms Means More Pollution In Your Water & Commercial Control Of Public Resources
Friday, 30 May 2025, 7:30 pm | Choose Clean Water
Choose Clean Water says it’s important for the public to make submissions on the changes (these can be made until 27 July 2025) but it’s just as important for the public to contact MPs and Ministers directly to voice their opposition. More >>
NZCTU Release Detailed Budget 2025 Analysis
Friday, 30 May 2025, 1:16 pm | NZCTU
This Budget is funded above all by the gutting of the pay equity system, the halving of the government’s contribution to people’s Kiwisaver accounts, and other cuts that will disproportionality impact women, welfare recipients, and working households, ... More >>
Deputy PM Handover: Seymour Vows Straight Talk, Peters Fires Up Campaign
Friday, 30 May 2025, 12:46 pm | RNZ
But ACT's leader has vowed to keep speaking freely as he takes over as deputy prime minister. More >>
National Campaigned On This Bonding Scheme, So Why Has No Work Been Done On It?
Friday, 30 May 2025, 12:35 pm | RNZ
The Health Minister has repeatedly avoided answering direct questions about the bonding scheme. More >>
Te Whatanui Leka Skipwith Announces Candidacy For Māori Ward In Rotorua Local Body Elections Rotorua, Aotearoa
Friday, 30 May 2025, 7:10 am | Reanga Taketake
“The ongoing fight to protect Rotokākahi has shown me how broken the system can be when mana whenua are not properly consulted,” said Skipwith. “This isn’t just about the environment – it’s about justice, equity, and honouring Te Tiriti ... More >>
Luxon And Hipkins Talk Coalition Dynamics, People Skills And Direction For The 2026 Election
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 6:26 pm | RNZ
And Chris Hipkins questions Te Pāti Māori's priorities, as RNZ sits down with Labour and National to reflect on 18 months. More >>
Government's Health Boost Less Than Claimed, Expert Says
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 5:58 pm | RNZ
A leading health systems expert is questioning the government's claim of a "record investment". More >>
Luxon Government To Favour Dairy Pollution At The Expense Of Drinking Water
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 2:18 pm | Greenpeace
Greenpeace Aotearoa freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says, "Safe drinking water requires healthy freshwater ecosystems, and that should always be the priority. But today’s decision will drive more water contamination, especially in rural communities." More >>
EDS Has Concerns Over Sweeping Review Of National Direction Under The RMA
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 2:07 pm | EDS
This review is being driven more by political expediency and ad hoc coalition agreements than sound policy logic. More >>
Govt Squeeze Forces Waka Kotahi To Cut Women's Jobs
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 1:17 pm | PSA
The change proposal revealed today proposes a net loss of 18 out of 110 roles among team administrators, personal assistants, and office support people, with 85% of the affected roles filled by women. More >>
Goodbye Budget Vibes, Hello Real-World Value
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 10:46 am | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
Loneliness, housing quality, and happiness all matter, but trying to legislate for ‘the vibe’ was never going to work. Real wellbeing comes from more opportunities in an economy with low inflation, stable debt, and rising incomes that let Kiwis ... More >>
SAFE: Proposed Welfare Code Betrays Animals And The Law
Thursday, 29 May 2025, 8:08 am | SAFE For Animals
The animal rights organisation says the code legitimises inherently harmful practices - including mud farming, feedlots, and painful procedures like castration and tail docking without pain relief - while continuing to allow animals to suffer without ... More >>
Inaugural Keith Locke Memorial Debate
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 8:45 pm | Keith Locke
‘We are encouraging people who wish to remember Keith to attend, as well as those who have an interest in the topic regardless of their views or place on the political spectrum,’ said his sister Maire Leadbeater. More >>
How Many Public Sector Jobs Have Really Been Axed?
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 6:50 pm | RNZ
Thousands of jobs have been cut as part of government cost-saving. But exactly how many have gone depends on who you ask. More >>
FIANZ Condemns Genocidal Killing Of Palestinians In Gaza, Calls On NZ Govt To Uphold ICJ Ruling And End Complicity
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 6:16 pm | FIANZ
As a signatory to the Genocide Convention and a long-standing advocate for human rights, New Zealand must now act decisively and with integrity. More >>
Youth Homelessness Advocate Says Budget Fails Most Vulnerable
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 3:24 pm | RNZ
The head of a group that helps the homeless fears proposed changes could push some young people into harm's way. More >>
PSA Calls On Te Roopu Taurima To Abide By ERA Recommendations
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 1:53 pm | PSA
Kaitaataki and Poutaataki continue to be subject to a lockout of additional hours, despite how this can affect tangata, kaiawhina (support workers they lead) and their own whānau, says Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National ... More >>
Kāhui Ako Decision Insults Teachers
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 1:14 pm | PPTA
Defunding Kāhui Ako is an insult to the professionalism of teachers and their aspirations to be more effective and to have careers as outstanding classroom teachers and mentors of colleagues for classroom teachers. More >>
‘Forgotten Where They All Came From’: Councilor Lashes Out Over Pay Equity
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 8:10 pm | Matthew Rosenberg - Local Democracy Reporter
The new committee is spearheaded by former National MP Dame Marilyn Waring, with its members all volunteering their time. More >>
Govt Funding Squeeze Sees DOC Propose Cutting 84 Roles
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 7:47 pm | PSA
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says more than 90 per cent of the staff facing redundancy are women, based on the PSA membership data, which includes 90 affected workers. More >>
EPA Says Law Changes Will Streamline Applications For New Chemicals
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 2:13 pm | Environmental Protection Authority
"The EPA has worked closely with other agencies to develop the proposed improvements to the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 (HSNO Act) which were given the green light by Cabinet yesterday. More >>
Sensible Sentencing Trust Slams Police For Dangerous Shift In Shoplifting Investigations
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 2:03 pm | Sensible Sentencing Trust
Sensible Sentencing Trust spokesperson Louise Parsons condemned the directive as "an outrageous and dangerous move," saying it sends the wrong message at a time when retailers are struggling under rising crime rates and financial pressure. More >>
Health Ministry Losing Count Of Euthanasia Deaths
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 1:56 pm | Family First New Zealand
“This raises significant concerns about the upcoming review of the law and whether it will be based on actual quantifiable and credible evidence,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First. More >>
Have We Never Been Woke? American Sociologist And Author, Musa Al-Gharbi, To Tour With Free Speech Union
Tuesday, 27 May 2025, 1:20 pm | Free Speech Union
“Musa al-Gharbi is an American author, sociologist, and assistant professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism in New York. We are thrilled to tour New Zealand with him in July to promote his new book. More >>
Jobseeker Sanctions: 'Forcing People To Volunteer Is A Contradiction In Terms'
Monday, 26 May 2025, 4:13 pm | RNZ
The government is better off using its resources to help people find work, rather than punishing those who can not, says the Salvation Army. More >>
New 'Non-Financial' Benefit Sanctions Begin Today
Monday, 26 May 2025, 4:08 pm | RNZ
A money management sanction putting the benefit on a card for approved spending, and a volunteer work requirement, could be put in place for four weeks. More >>
Formerly Secret Spy Data Centre To Open Soon In West Auckland
Monday, 26 May 2025, 4:06 pm | RNZ
A tailor-made data centre for the country's most secret and sensitive public sector information is expected to open soon in West Auckland. More >>
Denniston Should Be Scientific Reserve, Not Fast-tracked Coal Mine
Monday, 26 May 2025, 2:18 pm | Forest And Bird
“Public conservation land should be for nature. Aotearoa New Zealand needs habitat for kiwi, not opencast coal mines,” says Richard Capie, General Manager for Advocacy. More >>
Submissions Are Now Open On The Regulatory Standards Bill
Monday, 26 May 2025, 1:50 pm | The Finance and Expenditure Committee
The bill aims to support Parliament’s scrutiny of legislation, and its oversight and control of the use of delegated powers to make legislation. The bill would achieve these objectives in four ways. More >>
Greyhound Racing NZ Starts Judicial Review Proceedings
Monday, 26 May 2025, 1:18 pm | Greyhound Racing New Zealand
The statement of claim made to the Court says the decision broke fundamental rules of law, being inadequately informed, prepared and consulted on. More >>
Former MPs Announce People’s Select Committee On Pay Equity
Monday, 26 May 2025, 10:21 am | NZCTU
In the absence of a select committee process, we have taken it upon ourselves to call for submissions from the public so that experts, organisations, and affected employers and workers can give evidence that should have been before parliament when ... More >>
PSA Supports Peoples’ Select Committee On Undemocratic Pay Equity Changes
Monday, 26 May 2025, 9:47 am | PSA
Women, unions and employers have spent hours and thousands of dollars working on the detailed hard graft of pay equity claims, and this work should be recognised by having their say in a proper select committee process. More >>
Mediawatch: How A Budget Is Covered
Sunday, 25 May 2025, 2:25 pm | RNZ
The media make a drama out of Budget day every year, even though the big plot twists have been revealed in advance and bits of the backstory are no longer in the script. More >>
Budget 2025: The Teenagers Feeling Ignored By Government's Decisions
Saturday, 24 May 2025, 2:21 pm | RNZ
A group of youths grappling with some of the decisions made by the government expressed their concerns at a post-Budget chat hosted by the Child Poverty Action Group. More >>
Rabbits, Switch-Ups And Highway Robbery: Politicians, Economists React To Budget 25
Saturday, 24 May 2025, 2:18 pm | RNZ
Every politician, economist and their dog had their own nickname for the document dubbed the 'Growth Budget' by the government. More >>
Regulatory Standards Bill Inflicts ACT's Far-Right Principles On Aotearoa
Friday, 23 May 2025, 3:51 pm | Greenpeace
"The Regulatory Standards Bill tries to make all future lawmakers in government follow a rigid set of the ACT Party’s far-right principles - prioritising corporate interests over people, nature, and Te Tiriti," says Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop. More >>
Pay Equity Setback: ECE Sector Leaders Respond To Government Stealth Move
Friday, 23 May 2025, 2:51 pm | ECNZ
ECE employers, teachers, and sector organisations invested four and a half years of time and unfunded resource into this process because they believed in its value and the importance of achieving a just and evidence-based outcome. More >>
Grand Theft Academia: Government Continues To Rob Young People Of Their Futures
Friday, 23 May 2025, 2:13 pm | VUWSA
Inflation adjusted, Budget 2025 has only made room for a measly 3% increase in student allowance funding and has also made it harder for young people to access the Jobseeker Benefit by introducing means testing. More >>
Budget 2025: More Money For Journalists, Less For RNZ
Friday, 23 May 2025, 12:03 pm | RNZ
The government is putting more money into hiring local journalists, but cutting Radio New Zealand's budget. More >>
Protest At Takutai Square During Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s Post-Budget Address
Friday, 23 May 2025, 11:44 am | Olivia Coote
"This government must not be complicit in atrocities through silence and inaction," the spokesperson added. "The people of Aotearoa New Zealand demand leadership as the world watches a genocide unfold in real time." More >>
Government Abandons Māori And Pacific Whānau Through Kāinga Ora Cuts
Friday, 23 May 2025, 7:09 am | PSA
Te Kaihautū Māori of the PSA Janice Panoho says many of the workers losing their jobs are Māori and Pacific, whose cultural competence and lived experience are essential to connecting with communities in a way that upholds mana. More >>
Children And Families In Poverty Let Down By Today’s Budget
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 7:15 pm | Mana Mokopuna
“Looking at Budget 2025, I don’t see the investment that’s needed to significantly reduce, and ultimately pave the way to ending child poverty," says Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad. More >>
Not The Growth We Need: Budget 2025 Delivers Growing Energy Bills And Energy Insecurity
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 6:06 pm | NZGBC
Investing in a sustainable energy system and energy efficiency would have been a huge win – not only because it supports New Zealand households and business to keep electricity bills down, but it’s the cheapest way of improving supply. More >>
“Unreliably” Managed Defence Spending Gets A 25% Funding Boost As Essential Public Services And Pay Equity Are Cut
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 6:00 pm | Just Defence
The Budget includes over $1 billion of new capital investment for Defence, plus an additional $1.6 billion from Budget 2026. The government plans to increase total defence spending by more than $12 billion over the next 4 years. More >>
Statement On 2025 Budget By Lawyers For Climate Action
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:45 pm | Lawyers for Climate Action
The budget does not make the investments required to meet our 2030 Paris Agreement target. The government has accepted that there is an 84 million tonne CO2-e gap between what our domestic emissions reductions will achieve and what our 2030 target requires. More >>
Budget ‘25 Cuts To Foreign Aid And Climate Finance A Short-Sighted Move
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:33 pm | World Vision New Zealand
The Finance Minister Hon. Nicola Willis’ Budget ’25 has cut foreign aid and climate finance by more than 11% to less than one quarter of one percent (just 0.24%) of Gross National Income. The biggest cut is to the government’s commitment to climate ... More >>
Budget 2025: Militaristic Fantasies Fuel Spending Surge
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:24 pm | Peace Movement Aotearoa
Combat capability cannot stop the rising tides, or protect us from catastrophic climate change: military activity is the ultimate in damaging unsustainability, with military emissions estimated to be at least 5.5% of the global total. More >>
Budget 2025: Invest In Our Children And Whānau - The Foundation Of Our Future
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:18 pm | Social Service Providers Aotearoa
The challenge for the government is to match its investment rhetoric by being brave to invest comprehensively in the services that our sector has consistently shown improves lives. Community must have a revitalised role with services devolved to ... More >>
Climate Org Labels Budget 2025 "A Backwards, Scorched-Earth Agenda"
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 5:11 pm | 350 Aotearoa
This government is choosing to throw away $200m into a gas subsidy, which we know will become a stranded asset. They’re choosing to defund the independent climate commission. But what’s most alarming about this Budget is what it leaves out” ... More >>
Budget 2025 A Betrayal Of Working People
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 4:54 pm | E Tu
The Government has slashed nearly $13 billion that would have gone to pay equity claims, gutting the mechanism that ensures fair pay for women in undervalued, female-dominated sectors like care and support. These cuts will pay for their Budget which includes ... More >>
Reverse Robin Hood Budget Steals From Working People
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 4:34 pm | NZCTU
The figures released today also showed that the number of people on Jobseekers Support is rising, and higher than forecast just last year. Real wage growth is lower than forecast last year – the Treasury itself says the Budget “lowers wage growth”. More >>
Whanganui Politician Crosses Boundaries To Stop Seabed Mine
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 4:14 pm | Craig Ashworth - Local Democracy Reporting
Whanganui District Councillor Charlotte Melser presented her 3000-signature Concerned Communities petition to New Plymouth District Council on Tuesday, saying many locals had signed. More >>
Scorched Earth Budget - Tax Cuts For Polluters And Investing In Fossil Fuels
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 3:58 pm | Greenpeace
Greenpeace warns that "balancing the books" will only get harder if the Government pushes ahead with the Regulatory Standards Bill and RMA reforms. Greenpeace says this Budget is part of a pattern of slashing money for environmental and climate ... More >>
Progressive Campaigning Organisation Calls Governments Latest Budget ‘A Budget For Billionaires’
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 3:06 pm | ActionStation
The Government has made a decision to bring in more means testing to access income support for those already struggling, and at the same time giving tax breaks to multinational corporations through allowing them to deduct 20% of the cost of new assets or used ... More >>
‘We’re Going To Need A Bigger Debt Clock’ – No Plan For Tackling Runaway Debt
Thursday, 22 May 2025, 3:02 pm | New Zealand Taxpayers' Union
“Grant Robertson’s last Budget had debt peak at 39.3 percent of the economy – Nicola Willis will now see it reach 46.0 percent. This is in the danger zone for a small trade-exposed country like New Zealand”, Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman James ... More >>
