Chris Hipkins said he has been in “regular” contact with minister Kiri Allan after it came to light she’s taken leave for “mental health” struggles. But he said her decision to take time away from the Beehive was unrelated to claims there were issues about the working environment in her office.

“I’ve been in regular contact with her,” the prime minister told media from China. “I want to acknowledge that the Beehive can be a high pressure environment and as a result of that relationships can be strained.”

Hipkins said he was told about a week ago that Allan wanted “a little bit of space”. He said he respected that and actually preferred when ministers made it clear they needed time off rather than trying to “box on”.

“What’s important is that relationships are managed respectfully and with clear expectations,” said Hipkins. “What I’ve said in every ministerial office there will be periods where there are more tensions.”

Any details regarding Allan’s decision to step away from her work would be questions for her, said Hipkins. “We have had a conversation about it but I’m not going to share the details.”

Cabinet minister Kiri Allan is on leave from parliament for “mental health” struggles amid reports over “concerns” regarding staff in her office.

Stuff’s Andrea Vance has claimed that a staffer seconded to work with Allan chose to leave early because of issues related to “working relationships” in the office.

But a spokesperson for the prime minister, who is currently in China and set to address media in about 45 minutes, said there have been no “formal complaints made by departmental or ministerial staff about minister Allan”.

It’s yet another headache for the government related to a minister – and the second ministerial drama to happen while Hipkins isn’t even in the country. Former minister Meka Whaitiri’s defection played out while Hipkins was in London for the coronation of King Charles.

According to the Stuff report, senior public servants including from Civil Defence and MBIE have voiced issues about how staff were treated in Allan’s office. Department of Conservation chief executive Penny Nelson took her concerns over Allan’s office to the Department of Internal Affairs, saying: “I became aware that concerns had been raised about the working relationships with the Minister in the office, and that it was not running as smoothly as it might.”

She added: “One person chose to end their secondment early due to the working relationships in the office. Accordingly, I had discussions with my colleagues, including from Internal Affairs which manages Ministerial Services, regarding support in the office.

The prime minister’s spokesperson said “some issues” had been raised about how to improve working relations in the minister’s office. “Work was done to improve the situation and no further issues were raised. Parliament is a high-pressure environment and minister Allan is passionate about her work, however this has never led to any formal complaints and past issues have been resolved without the need for significant escalation.”

We’ll keep an eye on the PM’s press conference, set down for about 5.30pm tonight, and have the latest for you after that.

Following the lifting of name suppression surrounding Sir James Wallace, the philanthropist and businessperson convicted of sexually abusing three young men, the acting prime minister, Carmel Sepuloni, has confirmed that she has commenced the formal process of honours forfeiture.

“That process includes affording Sir James Wallace an opportunity to respond with any comments that he considers should be taken into account,” said a spokesperson for the acting prime minister. “There will be no further comment until that process has reached its conclusion.”

Wallace, the former rich-lister who managed to keep his identity suppressed since his first court appearance in 2019, was knighted for his services to the arts in 2011.

In 2021, businessperson Ron Brierley resigned his status as a knight after then prime minister Jacinda Ardern launched the forfeiture process. That followed his guilty plea to charges in Australia of possessing child abuse material.

Mad Chapman in China: 

Following his meeting with president Xi Jinping yesterday, Chris Hipkins is back at the Great Hall of the People today for a formal welcome and bilateral meeting with premier Li Qiang, China’s prime minister.

Li took office just three months ago, and has a close relationship with Xi. He’s regarded as being intensely focused on China’s economic recovery post-Covid, aligning well with Hipkins’ trade focus this week.

The pair will speak formally then hold a working lunch to finalise a range of trade agreements between New Zealand and China.

But first, the welcome. More than 200 soldiers marched into the entry room (a cute term for what is a 2,500sqm area) and stood in silence awaiting the two leaders. Every soldier is the exact same height (very tall). The full New Zealand delegation stood at the other end of the room. One woman in the delegation is wearing a full red suit, a bold choice in this setting where she is blending into the carpet.

After a full 10 minutes of surprisingly comfortable silence, Hipkins and Li entered, and the brass band played both countries’ anthems as the pair stood side by side, unmoving. They then walked a loop of the red carpet together before leaving the way they came to discuss the growing of the Sino-New Zealand trade relationship.

Hipkins specifies Māori in talk with Chinese PM after failing to mention in Xi Jinping meeting

Chris Hipkins has appeared to correct his line of communication today by specifically mentioning Māori in his opening remarks to the Chinese prime minister Li Qiang. After yesterday’s meeting with Xi Jinping, Hipkins conceded that he had not spoken about Māori or Māori tourism specifically with the president, telling media that “in terms of the Māori to China relationship, that’s not something we spoke about particularly”.

The omission was surprising given the presence of 16 members of Te-Whānau-ā-Apanui, 2023 Te Matatini champions, in the New Zealand delegation. Today, the script has perhaps been updated, with Hipkins telling Li, “I bring with me senior Māori representatives from New Zealand. This signifies the importance of Māori to our bilateral connections, through trade, through culture and through people to people links. I also have with me our champion winning kapa haka group which further illustrates the importance of New Zealand indigenous culture to the relationship with China.”

Media were then made to leave the room and it’s as yet unknown if Māori connections were discussed further in the closed-door meeting.

Five years after charges were first laid, it’s been revealed that the “prominent businessman” who sexually abused three young men was Sir James Wallace.

The 85-year-old was found guilty in 2021 of assaulting the three men at his home on different occasions over a 16 year period.

According to Stuff, Wallace’s name had been hidden until now after he lodged appeals and was given name suppression. Both Stuff and the Herald had successfully revoked his name suppression in 2019, but continued appeals prevented it from being made public. But that appeal process has now been ended by the country’s highest court.

Read more here

It was a strange anomaly buried deep within the Napier City Council website. There, on a page outlining the region’s Fire Rules and Restrictions, was something odd. An eagle-eyed resident spotted it and immediately messaged – who else? – The Spinoff.

He had a silly question about something potentially serious: why was Napier’s governing body enforcing a ban on all RPGs – aka, rocket-propelled grenade launchers?

Up until this morning, this rule was still there. Residents were being asked to adhere to a lengthy list of guidelines when doing anything involved with “bonfires, hāngi, burn-offs and fireworks,” including many of the obvious fire safety measures: reading bylaws, applying for permits, having a hose handy and not leaving open fires unattended.

Near the bottom of this list was something out of place. Under the heading marked ‘Fireworks’, the council also had this to say: “RPG-style fireworks are prohibited under all circumstances.” The letters ‘RPG’ linked to a Wikipedia entry for rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the military-style weapons usually used in battlefield warfare.

Another word for an RPG is a ‘bazooka’.

“I thought, ‘Surely they don’t mean what I think they mean,'” says local Neill Gordon. Clearly confounded, he wondered if there had been a major problem with grenade launchers in region, bringing about the ban. “It does make you wonder why and when they brought in the rule,” says Gordon. “RPGs aren’t really a problem in my neighbourhood but maybe they’re a nuisance in Taradale?”

What makes it doubly weird is that Aotearoa’s official stance on rocket-propelled grenade launchers is very clear. Under the Arms Order 1984, they are most definitely a restricted item, meaning permits sand licenses are required to own them, and usually only for collecting or for the purpose of shooting a film.

So what was going on? There was only one thing to do and contact the council. “I’ll see what I can find out,” said Kate Penny, the council communication specialist. For two days, there was silence, and then she returned with some news. She’d found the problem: an errant Wikipedia link. The ban didn’t mean to refer to rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Instead, it was for a very specific kind of firework, one called an “RPG”.

According to the website for Alamo Fireworks, an RPG firework is a “high-flying performer” capable of shooting “six shots of multi-coloured dahlias, strobes, chrysanthemums, and stars” into the sky. An accompanying YouTube video shows it gives impressive bang for your buck.

As for why the council was linking to the Wikipedia page for RPGs, Penny says they “clearly made a mistake and this has been removed”. As for Gordon, his disappointment is obvious. “I was thinking of attaching an RPG to my pushbike for a boost up the hill but I’ll just have to pedal a bit harder.”

It’s been revealed that Michael Wood, the embattled Labour MP and former minister, went against official advice when he decided to toll an upcoming new highway.

The Herald’s reported that Wood was advised not to introduce a toll for the forthcoming Mahurangi Penlink road north of Auckland, but decided to do so. Public consultation also showed 60% were against tolls, with just 20% supportive.

It was revealed earlier this year that Penlink, which is not due to open until 2026, would cost $3 per vehicle during peak hours and $2 at other times. Heavy vehicles would be charged twice as much.

Documents show that the Ministry of Transport told Wood the case for tolling was weak and that the evidence in Waka Kotahi’s tolling scheme and business case “suggests that society would be worse off if Penlink were tolled”. Waka Kotahi, in contrast, reportedly both proposed and supported tolling Penlink to pay for maintenance and infrastructure costs.

National has said it will consider reversing the decision to toll the route if elected in October.

National’s candidate in the Maungakiekie electorate found himself in a spot of bother yesterday after his party-branded car ended up being towed.

A photo shared to a local community Facebook group showed the car, decked out with Greg Fleming’s face and the National Party logo, hooked up to a classic pink and green tow truck.

I asked Fleming whether he’d simply broken down or been caught out for over-parking. “I parked at the back of a line of cars on Waiohua Road in Greenlane while at a lunch on Great South Road,” he said. “When I returned an hour later the whole line of cars was gone so for a while I thought I must have been in the wrong street.”

But then: “I noticed the sign saying no parking between 9 and 5 on weekdays.”

New board members have been appointed to both RNZ and TVNZ, the broadcasting minister Willie Jackson announced this morning. It comes in the wake of the canned merger of TVNZ and RNZ which was originally meant to be in place this year.

Jim Mather (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe) has been reappointed as chair of the RNZ Board, alongside Irene Gardiner, Michael O’Donnell and Jane Wrightson, while broadcaster Jason Ake (Ngāti Ranginui) and Sina Wendt join for the first time.

At TVNZ, Alastair Carruthers will take up the role of chair, with Ripeka Evans (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu, Te Aupouri and Ngāti Porou) joining him as deputy. Meg Matthews (Ngāi Tahu) and Aliesha Staples have been reappointed as directors of TVNZ and will be joined on the board by lawyer and former broadcaster Linda Clark and John Quirk.

Clark, interestingly, is currently on the board of NZ On Air, while Carruthers is also board chair of the film commission.

“The boards of RNZ and TVNZ have an incredibly important role in shaping the direction of public media in Aotearoa,” said Jackson.

“We are excited to have selected a range of talented individuals to take up these vital leadership roles. The line-up includes some familiar faces and a wide range of expertise across public media, governance, marketing, finance, law and cultural development.

“I am especially pleased to see the mix of commercial and public media experience, alongside a good balance of fresh faces and institutional knowledge.”

TVNZ has recently entered a major restructure, reported The Spinoff’s Duncan Greive earlier in the month. It’s said to impact as many as 13 roles across three different digital teams, and is seen by some as part of the continuing fallout from the Kamahl Santamaria crisis. RNZ, meanwhile, remains under scrutiny over the recent scandal involving a (now former) digital journalist altering news stories to insert pro-Kremlin views. There have now been 44 stories caught up in an ongoing audit of the website.

Research published this morning by the University of Otago has found no evidence that vaping helps smokers quit smoking cigarettes. Instead, it found that vaping can act as a gateway to smoking. The three-year study did find that the prevalence of those smoking had decreased but there was a lack of evidence that vaping helped play a part. The decrease was instead likely due to marketing campaigns pointing out health risks and the increased cost of cigarettes.

One of the study’s leaders Andre Mason said “Contrary to the desired hope, vaping appears to have emerged as just another smoking-related behaviour rather than a substitute for smoking that primarily helps people quit.” Concerningly “vaping appeared to be equally as likely to increase the uptake of cigarette smoking as it was to have a cessation effect,” Mason said.

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China has hailed the visit of prime minister Chris Hipkins as a success. Hipkins met with his Chinese counterpart, president Xi Jinping, last night in Beijing.

Xi described New Zealand as a “friend and partner”, though Hipkins himself opted not to reciprocate that exact description when pushed by media.

It’s also been reported that while Hipkins himself did not raise it, the decision by the prime minister not to label Xi a dictator did come up during the 40-minute meeting between the two leaders. It was, according to Newsroom’s Jo Moir, “noticed” by Beijing.

China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told local media that New Zealand was an important partner. “We are ready to work with New Zealand on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit, step up exchanges and cooperation in economy, trade and other fields and further grow bilateral ties,” she said.

Speaking to RNZ this morning, opposition leader Christopher Luxon welcomed Hipkins’ approach to the trip and described the visit as constructive. “I think we have a relationship that is built on mutual respect and successive prime ministers of successive parties have maintained that,” he said.