One of 2023’s biggest musical comeback stories is making its way to New Zealand. Dubstep pioneer Skrillex has been confirmed as the headliner for Auckland’s Listen In music festival, and he’s bringing a swag bag of big name friends with him, including Lil Uzi Vert, Ice Spice, Four Tet and JPEGMAFIA.

Also on the bill for the October 1 festival, being held at Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, is hip-hop superproducer Metro Boomin, unhinged choose-your-own-adventure DJ Mark Rebillet, and rising Boston rapper Coi Leray. More acts are promised to be announced in the months leading up to the festival. The full line-up is listed in the official poster:

Skrillex – real name Sonny Moore – is undergoing a reinvention of sorts after five years away. In February he released two albums and began hosting extended DJ parties with Four Tet and Fred Again, with the trio stepping to replace Frank Ocean on the closing Sunday night of Coachella’s second weekend in April. The loud, harsh and triumphant set received almost universal praise.

Other Coachella stand outs will also be making the trip, with Marc Rebillet making headlines for stripping, getting lost in the crowd and trashing his Palm Springs stage while making up all lyrics and music on the spot, and Metro Boomin bringing out high profile guests Future and The Weeknd.

Rappers Lil Uzi Vert, JPEGMAFIA, Coi Leray and Ice Spice, with her inescapable hit ‘In Ha Mood,’ are also likely to be major drawcards. Organisers promise a new layout and extended festival hours of 2-10pm. Tickets go on sale from midday this Thursday.

The knife-edge leadup to October’s election is reinforced in new polling which puts Labour back ahead of National, with the left-leaning bloc a whisker ahead of their counterparts.

The result from the latest Talbot Mills omnibus survey, as published by the Herald, has Labour up three points on 36%, with National down onw to 35%. Act is up one to 11, the Greens down two to 7% and Te Pāti Māori down by half a point to 3.6%. New Zealand First is also down by half a percentage point, to 2.9%.

The poll was completed on June 6, meaning most of the controversy around Michael Wood’s Auckland airport shares played out subsequently. Nevertheless, the numbers reinforce Christopher Luxon’s struggle to appeal. He was down three points in the preferred prime minister stakes on 22%, while Chris Hipkins went the other way, rising by six points to 38%. David Seymour was unchanged on 12%.

The polling snapshot, which casts across the latest published polls, underlines how close it looks with less than four months remaining to polling day. If we extrapolate those averages to seats in parliament, there would be a dead heat, in more ways than one. Both Labour and National would win 45 seats apiece, while each would have a potential of 15 MPs, in National's case the Act Party, and in Labour's the Greens (11) and TPM (4) as likely collaborators.

Act’s Simon Court has been referred to the privileges committee – the second MP this year to face scrutiny over their actions in parliament.

According to the Herald, Court breached the strict confidentiality requirements in a select committee. This was complained about by Green MP Eugenie Sage and Court will now be hauled before the privileges committee to explain.

An Act spokesperson told The Spinoff that Court had revealed details of a committee decision not to include  a definition of Mātauranga Māori in the Natural and Built Environments Bill. “As the committee had voted against including a definition, Mr Court believed that specific matter was closed and was therefore able to be discussed publicly,” the spokesperson said.

“His only motivation in this case was to be transparent with voters about decisions made on their behalf in parliament.”

Earlier this month, Labour minister Jan Tinetti faced a similar fate after concern she had misled parliament over comments about education data.

Before that, the last time an MP was referred to the privileges committee was in 2008, when NZ First leader Winston Peters failed to disclose a large donation from billionaire Owen Glenn. The committee recommended that parliament censure him.

Act said that Court respected the rules of parliament and would fully cooperate with the privileges committee process.

Updated at 2.55pm with Act Party comment.

PPTA Te Wehengarua, the union representing secondary school teachers currently engaged in a series of rolling strikes, says it is willing to enter an independent arbitration process and suspend industrial action, on the condition that the government publicly commits to the outcome. It follows the recommendation of a facilitator between the union and the Ministry of Education that the parties move to independent arbitration and halt strike action.

In a statement, the PPTA acting president, Chris Abercrombie, said: “We believe arbitration is the best step towards resolution of this dispute. The sooner teachers can return to a settled environment and concentrate on teaching and learning, the better for everyone. However, we do not see much point in going down this path unless there is a commitment from both parties to the arbitrator’s decision. To this end PPTA executive has agreed to recommend the outcome of arbitration to our members.”

Abercrombie said the rolling strikes, which sees different year groups miss as many of two days’ teaching per week, would continue until a terms of reference agreement was developed and approved by the national executive. He said: “We have asked the government for a public commitment to the arbitration outcome, and we are ready to meet with the Ministry of Education as soon as possible – hopefully today – to develop a ToR agreement. Once the ToR agreement is approved by the executive all industrial action in support of the secondary and area school teachers’ negotiations will be called off.”

As anticipated, the government’s this afternoon confirmed a new market study will investigate competition within the banking sector.

It will, said finance minister Grant Robertson, consider whether the market was working well for New Zealanders and help ensure people they could trust their bank.

“There have been long standing concerns that the market is not working well for New Zealanders. Banks have consistently made high profits over a number of years and their returns have outperformed their peers in other countries,” said Robertson.

A survey from Consumer NZ found last month that trust in banks was on the decline, with 39% of New Zealanders saying they don’t confidence in them. At the time, Robertson told The Spinoff he personally did trust banks, but acknowledged there was a debate to be had about the way in which an individual consumer might have an experience with a bank.

“New Zealand’s banking sector is dominated by a small number of big players,” said Robertson today. “Four major banks make up around 85% of the mortgage and other lending market, and hold a 90% share of total bank deposits. Loans by smaller lenders are growing but remain small in comparison.

“There has not been an in-depth look into competition issues in New Zealand’s banking for some time, and New Zealand lags other countries such as Australia and the UK into doing a detailed analysis into banking services.”

The Commerce Commission will focus on examining barriers to new competitors entering or expanding in the market, added consumer minister Duncan Webb. As part of the study, the commission will also examine banks’ profitability and other financial measures to assess competition in the sector.

“The study will be completed by the end of August 2024 and will determine any actions needed to make sure competition is working for bank customers.”

In the interim, the commission will release a preliminary paper this August that will “describe the structure of the industry and provide early indications on the nature of competition”, added Webb. “Separately, we are getting on with our work on open banking and establishing a consumer data rights regime by releasing a draft Bill for consultation this week.”

Sports minister Grant Robertson has thrown his support behind the New Zealand men’s football team refusal to play the second half of a match against Qatar following the use of a racist slur against Michael Boxall. “I support the team in standing up to racism,” he told media. “It’s what we should all do.”

Towards the end of the first half of a friendly international between the sides played early this morning in Austria, the racial abuse was used following an altercation between the players. According to a statement from NZ Football, the slur “was heard by several New Zealand players, including Boxall, a defender for the All Whites and Minnesota United in US Major League Soccer. The players reported the incident, but no official action was taken.” In the absence of any action from the referee, “the team collectively agreed that they would not continue with the match.” The New Zealand side was leading 1-0 at the time.

Andrew Pragnell, CEO of NZ Football, said in a statement: “We fully support the action of our players, who agreed collectively this course of action. We never want to see a match abandoned but some issues are bigger than football and it is important to make a stand. There is no room for racism in football.”

The co-leader of te Pāti Māori, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, added her voice:

The Qatar manager, Carlos Queiroz manager, told media it was “just an argument between two players”, adding: “We support the statement of our player and they decided to abandon the game with no witnesses.”

An under-21 game between Ireland and Kuwait was also abandoned earlier today after “a racist remark was made by a Kuwaiti player towards one of our substitutes”, according to the Football Association of Ireland.

In the first episode of 2 Cents 2 Much, Janaye Henry dives back into her reo journey. The revitalisation of te reo Māori is well underway and more and more New Zealanders are (re)learning the language. But resources for more intensive learning are limited, so how can we ensure that the right people are learning the language?

Janaye speaks to her kaiako Jordyn with a Why and asks if Māori language classes should prioritise Māori applicants over Pākehā and tauiwi. And is Jordyn mad that Janaye dropped out of her own classes? Featuring an original revitalisation song from Janaye and Jordyn with a Why.

Labour minister Nanaia Mahuta’s political future lies with the electorate of Hauraki-Waikato. Stuff has reported that Mahuta won’t run on the Labour Party list for the upcoming election, meaning she’ll be relying on voters in her own electorate to return her to parliament.

Mahuta has been in parliament since 1996, initially as a list-only MP before winning a number of Māori electorates in the years since.

“There’s a lot at stake. And I’m prepared to go to the electorate and seek their support,” Mahuta said today.

Te Pāti Māori still hasn’t announced a candidate for Hauraki-Waikato, and it’s possible Labour was concerned about a potential vote split should Mahuta have remained on the list.

The crew answer the hottest questions in politics this week: Will the technical recession cost Labour the election? Is National’s gang policy out of touch? Is Fieldays just Matatini for Pakeha?

Follow Gone By Lunchtime on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

The country’s media watchdog has issued new guidance for outlets reporting on gender issues, and said complaints that rely on “transphobic tropes” or about the use of “inclusive language” are unlikely to succeed.

Recent events in New Zealand, such as the visit by anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, also known as Posie Parker, have prompted an unpleasant debate about the way issues of gender identity should be covered in the media. Complaints were laid with both the Broadcasting Standards Authority and the Media Council about how media outlets reported on this.

In a statement, the BSA said it acknowledged the right to freedom of speech as well as the need to balance this against the right of vulnerable communities.

“The right to freedom of expression is not unlimited and our role in this context is to consider where limits may be justified in light of harm potentially caused to already vulnerable communities,” said BSA acting chief executive Helen Cruse.

“We issue our new guidance in a context where gender identity issues are generating considerable discussion and media coverage. It highlights key matters recognised and determined in recent BSA decisions which may assist broadcasters and members of the public considering these issues.

Under the new guidance, the BSA concluded that transpeople were a recognised “section of the community” protected from discrimination and denigration. “Complaints referring to, or relying on, transphobic stereotypes are unlikely to succeed and the BSA may decline to determine them,” said the authority. “It acknowledges the evidence behind a number of tropes cited in complaints is ‘strongly disputed’ and reliance on these is ‘capable of embedding long-standing prejudice’. Most commonly, these have involved a variation of the trope that gender identity is a mechanism to exploit women.”

Inclusive language – such as using the terminology “people with cervixes” – was also found to be accurate and not denigrating of women.

“Consistent with Human Rights Commission and United Nations guidance, the BSA acknowledges trans and non-binary people are vulnerable to harm by being referred to with a name or pronoun that does not accurately reflect their gender. Broadcasters are encouraged to stay alert to changing audience expectations around such language,” the authority added.

The government’s met its quota of resettling 1,500 refugees over the past year.

Today is World Refugee Day, and immigration minister Michael Wood said this was the first year since the quota was upped in 2020 that we’ve been able to meet the number.

“This is a proud moment for the government and New Zealand, and an opportunity to recognise the immense contribution former refugees make to Aotearoa New Zealand. They bring their experiences, resilience, culture, skills, and knowledge with them, and make us a richer society in all aspects,” Wood said.

“This year we have welcomed refugees from all corners of the world including Lebanon, Jordan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.”

The refugees have been settled across eight regions, including Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. In the past two years, smaller regions like Levin and Masterton have also started accepting refugees.

“New Zealand and Australia have also agreed to resettle 450 refugees over three years under the Refugee Quota Programme,” Michael Wood said. “The first people arrived from Nauru under this arrangement in November 2022 and we continue to receive arrivals from both Nauru and Australia.”

As Newsroom’s Jo Moir writes (paywalled), evidenced by reporting in 2020, the concept of adding ethnicity to this mix is not new. Māori and Pasifika people are less likely to be referred or accepted for treatment in the first place, and once in the system generally get less treatment. That was exacerbated by Covid which is why DHBs looked at the criteria in 2020. The new tool is a refinement of the original criteria which were deemed too blunt by clinicians.

Speaking on behalf of the team that developed the algorithm for a new equity adjustor score, Duncan Bliss told Newsroom he can’t stress enough that clinical need “always takes precedence and the equity adjustor doesn’t interfere with that”. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons supports the equity adjustor score with associate professor Andrew MacCormick saying “It’s not a zero-sum game. Elevating those groups that have been less well-served by the health system is a benefit to everyone. It means improved health across the population and the targeting of healthcare to those individuals who need it most.”

Dr Vanessa Blair of the Association of General Surgeons said the tool is “a little bit simplistic for what is a very complex problem with many underlying contributing factors.”

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A new market study led by the Commerce Commission is expected to be announced today, this time into the banking sector.

Banks, and particularly their profits, have been in the spotlight as the country continued to battle rising living costs over the past couple of years.

Calls for an inquiry have been made in the past, such as when it was revealed BNZ’s after-tax profit for the six months ending March was a whopping $805 million.

Between the four big banks of BNZ, ASB, ANZ and Westpac (all Australian owned despite their market share in NZ), there was a combined profit of $6 billion in the last financial year. Consumer NZ said in March that it supported an inquiry. “This is a big issue, these are the four most profitable companies in New Zealand, they’re an essential part of our financial system,” said chief executive Jon Duffy.

“To do something that wasn’t robust and a deep analysis of their profitability and why they’re able to extract such high profits from New Zealanders, I think would be a missed opportunity.”

Political parties including National and the Greens have also argued for an investigation.

Prime minister Chris Hipkins wouldn’t be drawn this morning on the details of the inquiry, but confirmed a new market study would be announced later today. Asked by Newshub’s Ryan Bridge whether it was just an election year bribe, Hipkins said no. “Where there is evidence that there has been significant profits being made, and a lack of competition… then those are the sorts of areas we would look at for a market study.”

He said turning around a lack of competition in the sector won’t happen overnight, but told Newstalk ZB that a market study can help inform future policy-making.