Prime Minister Christopher Luxon referred to Labour leader Chris Hipkins as "frickin Hipkins". Photo / Mark Mitchell
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Welcome to Inside Politics. Homelessness is becoming not just a festering problem for those experiencing it but for the Government as well. And it is time that Housing Minister Chris Bishop took greater control of the issue.
Until now, Associate Minister Tama Potaka has handled emergency and transitional housing. But it is becoming clear that he does not have the political expertise to handle it well. He had a trainwreck of an interview on Sunday with Jack Tame on Q&A in which he could not or would not answer many questions. And his response to yesterday’s Homelessness Insights Report (see Julia Gabel’s report) was less than reassuring. Of course, homelessness cannot be solved quickly. But there needs to be a better plan to address it and, in particular, the incidence of rough sleeping, which any council will tell you, is on the rise. Time to step up Chris Bishop.
Lobbying by Waikato University paid off and, after convincing National to promise a third medical school last election, specialising in general practice, it has not only been confirmed by Cabinet but at a cost of $200 million less to the Crown than originally estimated.
The savings are said to come from ditching previous plans to build regional outposts for the medical school and to use existing facilities instead. We won’t know where and how many, even after the business plan is released this week.
A couple of dozen options are being considered, it is understood, and they will be reduced to about a dozen outposts after discussions with the regions. One could assume, however, that places being considered for outposts would include regions such as Northland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Manawatū and possibly several regions in the South Island.
While the medical school will have a bias towards producing GPs, because much of its coursework is going to be in the regions, it will need to have clinical leadership in those regions and getting that tied down will be a major hurdle before it is due to take its first intake in 2028.
The big danger for such a small country is that medical expertise will be spread more thinly across three medical schools. Kate MacNamara has done a piece on how much consultants have been paid on the project since the Government came to power.
What looked like a Kumbaya story this week has turned a little discordant. An initiative by Ethnic Communities Minister Mark Mitchell to establish the foundations for ongoing co-operation between Muslim and Jewish groups has been criticised for not being inclusive.
The NZ Harmony Accord was signed by the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand and several Jewish organisations on Tuesday at Government House in Auckland.
But a group of 20 Islamic organisations and 18 Imams and Islamic scholars issued a statement rejecting the Accord, saying there had been a lack of consultation by both the Government and the Federation of Islamic Associations. The statement also said they were disappointed the Accord made no mention of the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which leading humanitarian groups said constituted war crimes and acts of genocide.
On the same day, New Zealand joined 27 other countries to call on the war to end now. They were responding to horrifying scenes in Gaza, of starvation and of civilians having been killed as they sought food.
“Israel’s military response to the events of October 7 2023 [when Hamas killed 1200 Israelis] long ago ceased to be proportionate, reasonable or moral,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters told Parliament.
You can tell the Prime Minister has felt the heat this week because he has been a little sweary. First, he referred to Labour leader Chris Hipkins as “frickin Hipkins,” and then he accused him of asking a “smart-arse” question.
“Frickin” is what is known as a “minced oath” or a milder way of using a more offensive word. It’s the PM’s way of meaning “f***ing” but not saying it. And in this case, Luxon was responding to criticism that only 153 families were receiving the full rebate in the Family Boost policy.
“I’m not taking any lectures from frickin’ Chris Hipkins or the Labour Party,” Luxon said. “They have no idea what to do. They put us in this mess.”
Luxon was probably right about the “smart-arse” question. Hipkins said: “How many blocks of butter can he buy for the $60 a week he claims to spend on groceries?” The reference to $60 comes from the final election debate between the two in which Luxon said he spent that amount in a week, before clarifying it was only for three breakfasts and one other meal.
Pity poor Mark Patterson, however, who also thought he could get away with saying “arse” in the House, but was upbraided by Assistant Speaker Barbara Kuriger. “Do you think that the farmers, the exporters, the foresters give a rat’s arse about Greek philosophy?” Patterson said, after a Green MP mentioned the freedom of expression beginning as a Greek concept. Patterson modified his language to “rat’s derriere”.
“I’ve been very surprised at the almost breathless excitement of the blow by blow of what happened in that meeting.” Finance Minister Nicola Willis plays down her meeting with Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell about the price of butter, inter alia.
Who is Labour’s housing spokesperson? (Answer at the bottom of this article.)
Goes to Foreign Minister Winston Peters for refusing to answer a question in Parliament yesterday about the UN Oceans conference he attended in France because the Green MP asking it referred to “Aotearoa New Zealand”. Quel disgrace.
Goes to Act leader David Seymour for keeping the Government’s feet to the fire over the Waikato University Medical School, its need and its costs.
Price of butter: Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell discuss butter prices with no immediate relief.
Police numbers: The Government’s 500 police target it delayed again as an Australia poaching campaign is considered.
Foreign buyers ban: Winston Peters says change is likely to be announced this year, but denies NZ First is “softening”.
NZ Harmony Accord: Mark Mitchell says Muslim and Jewish leaders are sending a powerful message in the signing of a new agreement.
Policy stoush: Christopher Luxon mouths off at “frickin” Chris Hipkins over cost of living policy stoush.
Conflict of interest: University of Waikato vice-chancellor Neil Quigley denies any conflict of interest exists in balancing his role as Reserve Bank chairman and his university receiving $82 million from the Government.
Orr’s resignation: RBNZ chairman Neil Quigley apologised for Adrian Orr losing his cool in the lead-up to his shock resignation.
FamilyBoost: Just 153 families are getting the maximum $75 weekly childcare tax credit.
NCEA: A Government briefing has raised significant concerns about the credibility of NCEA.
Quiz answer: Kieran McAnulty