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.
This is a transcript of Audrey Young’s politics newsletter. To sign up for this newsletter or Friday’s subscriber-only Premium Politics Briefing,click here, choose your preferences and save. For a step-by-step guide, click here.
Welcome to the Politics Briefing in yet another week of pre-Budget speeches. Wake me up for the actual Budget on May 30, please. How many pre-Budget speeches can a single budget sustain? Nicola Willis gave one in the Hutt about two weeks ago and has another one in Auckland later this week.
It included more of her back story - having been raised by a solo father after her mother died when Edmonds was 5. It included more of her work history in insurance and tax law as part of building her credentials to take on Willis, who is not yet a formidable Finance Minister but is definitely a formidable politician.
It is an important part of the job for Edmonds. She is known universally as an extremely nice woman but she needs a lot more than that. Edmonds aligned herself with the values of the late Sir Michael Cullen. He was initially viewed with suspicion by the Labour left but came to be much admired by them, not least for spending his surpluses on social policies such as Working for Families and KiwiSaver and resisting tax cuts until his last year in office.
She set out Cullen’s four criteria for tax cuts: they must not require borrowing; services should not be cut to fund them; they should not exacerbate inflationary pressures; and they should not lead to greater inequalities. Needless to say, on May 30 Edmonds will pronounce a fail on all four measures. She ended it by saying: “I do not have a a juicy soundbite on wealth tax or capital gains tax.”
“China has always respected the sovereignty of other countries, which naturally includes the making of their foreign policies. However, it is one thing for a country to develop relationships with countries that are not alike or even don’t like each other; it is quite another to join a military alliance openly targeting other countries. From the painful lessons of human history, military alliances are better at winning wars than keeping the peace.
“By binding others or even entire regions to the war chariot of countries seeking hegemony, military alliances tend to exacerbate confrontation and trigger, escalate and expand conflicts, rather than the contrary.”
“These past few days are a reminder that while we often disagree, Parliament is itself a community of colleagues trying to find ways to make tomorrow better than today, and that starts with family, empathy, and humanity” – Act MP Mark Cameron thanks MPs across the House for their condolences on the death of his son, Brody.
Micro quiz
Who has just been appointed to chair the board of Kāinga Ora? (Answer below.)
Brickbat
Actor Will Alexander.
Goes to former Shortland Street actor Will Alexander, who says his hunger strike in protest against the Israel-Hamas war is a cause worth dying for. Not that way, it isn’t. How about getting out of bed, doing some fundraising and sending money to one of the aid agencies feeding genuinely starving people in Gaza?
Bouquet
Hāngi master Rewi Spraggon and chef Simon Peacock next to Government's House's new
pit. Photo / Visa Wellington On a Plate
