Gerry Brownlee off to a solid start as Speaker - Audrey Young

OPINION

This is a transcript of Audrey Young’s subscriber-only Premium Politics newsletter. To sign up, click on your profile at nzherald.co.nz and select ‘Newsletters’. For a step-by-step guide, click here.

Welcome to the Politics Briefing with just two more days of the new Parliament to go.

Speaker Gerry Brownlee has had a superb start to his new role with a judicious use of patience and humour. It has not been trouble-free but he has a commanding presence in the House, such that no one argues with him twice on the same issue. When issues have arisen, such as when Winston Peters refused to answer a question that had been asked in te reo Māori, Brownlee will let people vent even if he has worked out his solution or decision. That’s an important pressure valve. It seemed obvious that Peters hadn’t picked up his earpiece in time to listen to the English translation, so the business committee decided MPs should get about 15 seconds’ warning of a translation.

He appears to have a loose definition of a minister having “addressed” the question, meaning a minister could stand up and almost get away with saying “rhubarb”. But when Brownlee thinks a minister has done that, he allows the Opposition MP to repeat the question or to ask an additional one.

Last week, he even singled out the Prime Minister for failing to address a direct question on when the Government had suspended regulatory impact statements for repeal legislation. “I think you could do a bit better with the answer, Prime Minister,” Brownlee said.

He also gently admonished the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the House on different issues. So far, so good: 9 out of 10 for Brownlee.

PM called out on mixed messages

Luxon has had a challenging time in delivering consistency of message, as Claire Trevett points out in her comment piece - be it his promise in Opposition not to fly with the Air Force, or his implicit criticism last week of expenditure in the public service on te reo Māori.

He claims now that it was all about bonuses being paid to fluent speakers, but when you look at his quote (see below), it went well beyond that.

That has put the spotlight on his own taxpayer-funded lessons in te reo in an unfortunate way because, as he himself acknowledged, having some knowledge of it can only enhance his performance and standing as Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo / Marty Melville

I remember the great celebration on the lawn at Parliament and across the country last September to mark 50 years since the te reo Māori petition was presented to Parliament. The stark contrast to the current climate is just plain awful. Luxon has allowed the issue to get out of hand in a way he never would have intended. His visit to Waitangi might be a good place to acknowledge that and apologise.

Luxon is off to Australia tomorrow and will miss the mini-Budget to be delivered by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.

Quote unquote

“In the real world outside of Wellington and outside the bubble of Parliament, people who want to learn te reo or want to learn any other education actually pay for it themselves” - Christopher Luxon’s quote from last week did not age well.

Micro quiz

Can you give the English names for the following government agencies: Waka Kotahi, Kāinga Ora, and Te Pūkenga? (Answer below.)

Brickbat

Goes to the Taxpayers’ Union for seriously suggesting Christopher Luxon should pay back the cost of his te reo Māori lessons to the National leaders’ budget, which is a bulk fund for discretionary spending. Get a grip.

Bouquet

National's Chris Bishop. Photo / Marty Melville

Goes to Chris Bishop – whether it’s as Leader of the House, Minister of Infrastructure, Minister of RMA Reform or Minister of Housing, he’s everywhere at present and just soaks up the pressure.

Latest political news and views

Opinion - mixed messages: Christopher Luxon has been caught not once but thrice by his previous utterances from the freedom of Opposition, writes Claire Trevett.

Te reo Māori: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has defended his use of public funds on te reo Māori lessons, saying they represented good value for money.

Opinion - infrastructure: Point-scoring over strategic infrastructure undermines the national interest and no government should be doing it, writes Simon Wilson.

Spying: The use of a group warrant to spy on individuals suspected of plotting a terrorist attack may not have been lawful, according to NZ’s security watchdog.

Opinion - mini-Budget: Those hoping for early Christmas presents in Nicola Willis’ mini-Budget shouldn’t get their hopes up, writes Jenée Tibshraeny.

Opinion - Govt books: Thomas Coughlan has spent the past fortnight poring over Government papers in search of “fiscal cliffs”. Here’s what he found.

Analysis - gang policy: The coalition Government is wasting no time with new anti-gang initiatives in its 100-day plan. Here’s what’s proposed.

Transport: The new Government and Wellington’s city and regional councils have agreed to axe the city’s beleaguered Let’s Get Wellington Moving plan.

Opinion - Politician of the Year: It’s fair to say there has been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on deciding the victor this year, writes Claire Trevett.

Quiz answer: NZ Transport Agency, Homes and Communities, and NZ Institute of Skills and Technology.

Audrey Young is the New Zealand Herald’s senior political correspondent. She was named Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2023, 2020 and 2018.

For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.