The staff journalist under investigation over a series of editorial changes, the majority from Reuters and most to add pro-Kremlin language to stories about Ukraine and Russia, has resigned. In an email to staff at the public broadcaster, viewed by The Spinoff, CEO and editor-in-chief Paul Thompson said: “As shared with you last week, RNZ initiated an employment process with one employee. I said I would keep you updated about that. The employee has resigned and has left the organisation.”

An external review of editorial processes at RNZ, sparked by what Thompson has called “a serious breach of standards” including the insertion of “pro-Kremlin garbage”, is ongoing. An audit of stories edited by the individual, meanwhile, has so far identified 36 articles that were “inappropriately edited”.

The secondary teachers’ union has voted to suspend rolling strikes while an arbitration process between secondary teachers and the government is under way. “We hope an independent arbitration panel will review the matters under dispute fairly and objectively and provide recommendations that would form the basis of a new collective agreement,” said PPTA acting president Chris Abercrombie in a statement. “Now that we have agreed on the arbitration process, PPTA Te Wehengarua national executive is calling off all industrial action immediately. There will be no further industrial action while the arbitration process works through to its conclusion.”

He added: “We have agreed to immediately withdraw strike action as a gesture of our commitment to this process, however given the timing of this we acknowledge that schools may need time to implement the change. We really hope this process will allow teachers to return to a settled environment for the long term and that it will produce a fair and reasonable outcome for PPTA members.”

The three members of the arbitration panel will be announced in the coming days.

Michael Wood has apologised to the prime minister and the public for failing to manage a potential conflict of interest effectively.

The Mount Roskill MP resigned from cabinet today after further issues relating to his shareholding came to light.

In a statement, Wood denied any actual conflict of interest, but said it was incumbent on ministers “to manage not just the reality, but also the perception of any conflicts”.

“I am a true believer in politics and that we are all here to serve the public. There has not been a second of my political career where any of my financial interests have influenced my actions or even crossed my mind. In some respects my de-prioritisation of my personal financial affairs has led to this situation,” he said.

Wood said he has spent time going through all of his records to ensure any possible interests were identified, which is how he was reminded of the additional shares. “These were historic holdings from before I was a trustee and I have paid limited attention to them. At all times I have provided information about shares in the trust to the cabinet office that I have believed was correct, but in this case my understanding was incorrect,” Wood said.

Being a minister had been an enormous privilege, said Wood, who thanked his staff and colleagues. He will now be taking some personal time before returning to work in his electorate.

Chris Hipkins has gone straight from announcing Michael Wood’s resignation to being grilled over it by the opposition.

In question time today, National’s Christopher Luxon asked whether recent issues involving former ministers Stuart Nash and Michael Wood were a broader sign of government issues – or if they were really just “bad eggs”. Hipkins said he didn’t believe they were bad eggs, but said they had suffered the consequences for their actions.

In the case of Wood, the prime minister said: “I have to rely on the information I am given at the time, the information I was given was incorrect and there has been a consequence for that.”

Hipkins said he took action “almost immediately” after being informed of issues with Wood’s shares, but that “someone is entitled to a period of natural justice”.

It was ridiculous to be asked whether there would be any other ministers sacked before the election, said Hipkins, but he had faith in the cabinet office to find any other issues if they arise.

Michael Wood has resigned as a minister following additional revelations about his shareholdings and possible conflicts of interest.

Speaking at an unexpected press conference, prime minister Chris Hipkins said he was both “angry and frustrated” after Wood had not previously divulged this new information. He was first informed about it yesterday lunchtime.

“These new shareholdings raise significant concerns around Michael not identifying and managing potential and real conflicts of interest. In particular, the trust holds shares in Chorus, Spark and the National Australia Bank,” said Hipkins.

The banking shares were worth the “tens of thousands”, said Hipkins, and the other shares were less a smaller amount than this.

It posed potential conflicts of interest about Wood’s role as a minister. “As minister of immigration, Michael made the decision to include telecommunications technicians on the immigration green list. This followed representations from the telecommunications industry, including Chorus, seeking those changes to the green list. Michael also has a shareholding in the National Australia Bank, the parent company of the Bank of New Zealand.

“That was not disclosed in any of the conversations cabinet had around a market study into banking or other relevant cabinet conversations.”

Despite “repeated requests” to manage his shareholdings, Wood had repeatedly failed to identify, disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest, said Hipkins. “When I stood Michael down as transport minister, I asked him if there was any other relevant information I should know about and he indicated there was not.

“It has become evident, therefore, that not adequately managing the airport shares was not an isolated incident and it is not appropriate for Michael to continue as a minister.” Hipkins said he met with Wood this morning and suggested to him that his position as a minister was untenable.

“I don’t believe that Michael has wilfully…[sigh] this is still an issue that I still don’t quite understand,” said Hipkins. “I believe Michael to be an honest and decent person who has been a conscientious and hardworking minister. I still don’t understand how after all of this time over two years with the cabinet office asking him to attend to these matters, we’re still in this position now. In the last few weeks, the fact that more information has come to light as those events have unfolded is still something I don’t understand. I’m very, very disappointed.”

His explanation was that they had been in the trust for a long time and that he wasn’t aware of them. “I don’t accept that,” said Hipkins.

It was possible Wood could continue to have a political career, said Hipkins, but this was a question to be directed at him. “He has let himself down, he’s let me down, he’s let the government down, he’s let the people of New Zealand down.”

One of the priorities for Wood right now has to be to “tidy up this part of his life” which he clearly hasn’t given sufficient attention to, the prime minister said. “I think it’s fair to say he’s pretty crushed,” said Hipkins.

Changes to disclosure process announced

In light of the new revelations, Hipkins said he had made five changes to tighten up the disclosure regime for ministers. It includes quarterly reporting of conflicts of interest to the prime minister, along with in-personal annual reviews. “At the moment the annual review of ministers’ interests is conducted by way of a letter at the end of the financial year. An in-person meeting will ensure that any issues can be more directly addressed and resolved.”

Each minister will also nominate a dedicated person in their office to support with the conflict of interest process. And conflict disclosures will become a standing item at the start of cabinet meetings.

Replacement ministers announced

A number of senior ministers would take on Wood’s portfolios. Hipkins said that four months out from an election wasn’t the time to bring in new ministers.

Carmel Sepuloni will become minister for workplace relations and safety and minister for Auckland. Andrew Little will become minister of immigration and David Parker will become minister of transport. Kiri Allan will become associate finance minister.

Remember Michael Wood and his airport shares? Well you should, because prime minister Chris Hipkins will be talking all about it in just 15 minutes time.

A spokesperson for the prime minister just announced Hipkins will be holding a snap press conference at 1.30pm to discuss “Michael Wood’s future”. Is it a future in which he becomes transport minister again? Or a future in which his dreams of being transport minister again are dashed? Or a future where he’s not even in parliament? We will find out more in a moment.

An investigation is under way after a pair of allegations were made against Oranga Tamariki, regarding staff acting inappropriately towards young people at residences. The allegations involve inappropriate sexual behaviour, with at least five children impacted. The allegations were first raised by Oranga Tamariki staff and are understood to be isolated.

Chappie Te Kani, the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki, said he was made aware of the allegations over the past week. Two staff members have been removed from Oranga Tamariki residences and two investigations have commenced to determine the exact nature and extent of the alleged offending. The alleged offending happened in youth justice and care protection facilities.

Police were brought in immediately and have active investigations which are ongoing. In addition, Oranga Tamariki is conducting its own internal investigations. 

As a result of the allegations, Te Kani has brought in former police commissioner Mike Bush to take on leadership of all youth residences. “In addition to the day-to-day leadership, he will lead a rapid review across all our residences including our Oranga Tamariki community-based homes,” said Te Kani.

“I made the decision that I was not prepared to wait for the outcome of any investigation.  Whilst these are currently individual and isolated incidents, one is one too many.”

Te Kani said around five children were impacted. The incidents were isolated. He hoped the investigation would be completed within two months.

“I am not prepared to compromise on the welfare of our tamariki. Children and young people in our care must be cared for. Young people in our facilities must be safe,” he said.

“It is non-negotiable that every young person who is taken into Oranga Tamariki care and facilities will be safe at all times.  There is no room in this organisation for any young person to be put at risk by the behaviour of staff.”

The concerns about these incidents were raised by staff, Te Kani said.

Bush will be assisted by Whaea Shannon Pakura, former chief social worker, and currently a member of the Government Ministerial Advisory Board to the minister for children.

Bush said his priority was to ensure that all the young people in the residence and all of the staff were safe. He plans to first do an in-depth review to understand if there were further or underlying issues.

 

Local Government NZ has welcomed a new report looking at potential changes to councils, and says it takes a “common-sense approach” to the issue.

The Future for Local Government report was released this morning, proposing terms be extended to four years, that the Electoral Commission run local government elections and that the voting age for local government elections be 16. If you missed it or want an excellent rundown, check out this morning’s edition of The Bulletin.

Stuart Crosby, the president of Local Government NZ, said New Zealand was out of step with the rest of the world and the suggested changes would help bring us into line.

“Central government cannot solve the issues communities face on its own.  If we look at the big issues such as climate change, dealing with regional inequalities, building social cohesion, and planning for growth, local government is best placed to take a leadership role,” he said.

“Many of the recommendations made by the panel have been in the mix in the past. Not every single council will agree with every recommendation, but local government is united in the need for change.”

It’s time to face the future, said Crosby. “With a roadmap to a brighter, more sustainable future now delivered by the panel, it is time for local government to pick up the mantle.”

Today’s report follows recent recommendations on our broader electoral system, including similar suggestions to lower the vote age and potential extend the electoral term.

Taylor Swift’s record-busting Eras Tour won’t be visiting New Zealand, it’s been announced this morning.

The pop star has dashed the hopes of the nation’s Swifties after revealing she’ll be visiting Australia for a handful of stadium dates in February. A spokesperson for Frontier Touring confirmed to me that no New Zealand dates are on the cards.

I have nothing more to say on the matter.

“The series of compounding crises we are experiencing are unlikely to abate… All of these challenges are felt at place and will only intensify over the next 30 years.” These very relaxing phrases are why I watch a lot of very stupid television these days but also come from the full and final report from the Future for Local Government review panel which was charged with ascertaining whether local government in New Zealand is fit for purpose.

No wonder then that the panel has seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and recommended almost a complete re-tooling of local democracy, built from the grassroots up. Central to the panel’s findings, after two years of consultation, is the conclusion that the relationship between local and central government needs a reset, with the report describing a marginalisation of local government by successive governments. It’s not the most frequent word used throughout the report but “devolution” comes up several times, the panel emphasising that local government not only has a larger role to play in building “local solutions for national-level problems” but in the reform process as well. Ultimately the report concludes the current local government system is not set up for future success.

Want to read The Bulletin in full? Click here to subscribe and join over 38,000 New Zealanders who start each weekday with the biggest stories in politics, business, media and culture.  

Te Pāti Māori’s new Tukituki candidate blindsided her party yesterday when she pulled the plug on her new campaign.

Heather Te Au Skipworth announced she wouldn’t be standing in the seat after all, just weeks after she was revealed as the electorate’s candidate. She’d previously been the party’s hopeful MP for Ikaroa Rāwhiti, but stood aside when ex-Labour minister Meka Whaitiri defected to Te Pāti Māori.

When the news of Te Au Skipworth’s sudden resignation was announced in the media yesterday, the co-leaders of Te Pāti Māori said they weren’t aware. “As far as I know she’s standing in Tukituki… We haven’t heard anything official”.

Speaking to RNZ this morning, Te Au Skipworth said she’d taken a lot of factors into account when deciding to quit. But, she just wanted to focus on her new business.

“I’ve loved doing everything that I have with Te Pāti Māori, I’ve learnt lots,” she said. “It’s no secret that it was a very hard decision to stand aside for my cousin Meka, [but] I have no regrets.”

She said she had gained a lot of “personal growth” during her time with the party, and said it had been reciprocal. “I’m leaving with the focus I’m not out of politics, I’ve just closed a chapter.”

Asked whether she’d been poached to be Labour’s new candidate for the electorate, Te Au Skipworth laughed and said no. “At the moment I’m not entertaining standing for any other party. I’m not an aspiring politician, I aspire to do what’s right for our people.”

The cost of rental prices has continued to rise again, with a record high median of $610 a week across the country in May.

According to new Trade Me statistics, it means tenants are paying an extra $35 a week when compared with 2022.

“It appears that after the large pay increases we saw throughout 2022, landlords are still feeling confident to ask for more,” said Trade Me’s director of property sales Gavin Lloyd. “But we expect rents to taper off later in the year as landlords respond to stalling wages and tenants lack of disposable income. Until then, renters’ wallets will feel the pain.”

Auckland’s been hit hardest in the wake of severe weather earlier in the year. It’s the region with the highest median weekly rental price, rising $60 a week on average to $660 in May. That’s been driven by demand – up 55% – while the actual supply of rentals has dropped by 35% from last year.

“After the widespread damage caused by the flooding earlier this year, we expected that prices would rise as the region battled with supply issues,” Lloyd said.

Apartments, townhouses and units in Auckland all hit new records as well, which Lloyd said often happened when property prices surged. “People look to cheaper places they can live in, and that’s usually smaller places like the urban properties.”