The prime minister’s standing by his party’s decision to vote against a paid parental leave bill put up by National’s deputy leader Nicola Willis – and said he’ll have more to say on the issue ahead of October’s election.

Last week, Labour opted to vote down Willis’ bill that would have allowed spouses and partners to split the paid parental leave. It prompted backlash from across the House, including from the Greens.

Speaking at parliament, Chris Hipkins said the official advice on the bill was that it was “unimplementable” and it was therefore a responsible decision to vote against it. However, as a father, he said he knew that families wanted more flexibility around paid parental leave. “We’ve worked hard to give them extra resource – so the extension to six months of paid parent leave is something I am very proud of,” he said.

“I acknowledge some of the issues that were raised last week around the desire for… two parents to have leave concurrently and you’ll see us say a few more things around that shortly.”

A future announcement – from the Labour Party, not the government – on paid parental leave would be unveiled in due course, Hipkins said. “Where we can give parents more options to spend more time at home with their babies… that’s a positive development.”

Read more: Why did Labour vote against the parental leave bill?

The government’s fast tracking New Zealand’s shift to green energy, announcing new wind farms and solar power projects, using a process implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A trio of new wind farms, proposed for Manawatu, near Auckland and in Southland, would generate about 419 megawatts of electricity at peak output.

Energy minister Megan Woods said New Zealand was “incredibly well-positioned” to harness wind power. “When it comes to offshore generation, our location matters. The least-windy sites in Zealand are considered to have better wind energy potential than the windiest site in Australia,” she said.

Meanwhile, nine solar panel projects, comprising nearly 1.9 million panels, have also been referred for fast track approval. These would add 1,147 megawatts of power to the national grid at peak output, almost three times the output of the Clyde Dam.

“Delivery of fast-track referral has been a key part of the government’s strategy to accelerate economic recovery and boost jobs, while reducing emissions. If approved, these nine renewable solar projects could create up to 2,300 construction jobs,” Woods said.

The ability to have projects like this fast-tracked was originally a temporary measure as part of our recovery from Covid-19. But David Parker, the environment minister said its success meant it would soon become a permanent feature. “The Natural and Built Environment Bill, to be passed this term, will provide a fast-track pathway for infrastructure and regionally significant housing projects,” he said.

“These projects can proceed faster, provided they meet the normal environmental tests as determined by expert consenting panels.”

Speaking at his post-cabinet press conference, prime minister Chris Hipkins said fast tracking projects was part of the government’s ongoing economic recovery from the pandemic. “At a time when the cost of power was eating into people’s budgets, the benefits of maximising renewable energy will flow through to cheaper bills for households and businesses – not just for one month, or one year.”

While these projects had previously flagged, Hipkins said today’s announcement was around the speed at which they could be delivered. “[It] shaves about 18 months off the overall process… it’s a significant advance,” he said. Some of the solar power fast tracked projects had already been made public, Hipkins admitted, describing this afternoon’s announcement as a “summary” of recent government decisions on fast tracking.

A planned strike on Wednesday by nurses won’t go ahead after the latest government pay offer was accepted.

It includes a standard salary increase for all roles covered by the agreement of $4,000, backdated to the start of April, followed by a further salary increase in April 2024. There will also be an additional increase for certain senior roles and an additional lump sum payment.

“Under this latest deal senior nurses will now earn between $114,025 and $162,802 a year, plus penal rates, and registered nurses between $75,773 and $106,739, plus penal rates,” said health minister Ayesha Verrall said.

“Senior midwives who are NZNO members will be on full-time base salaries of $104,622-$153,180 and registered midwives on $79,261-$103,535. Overtime and penal rates for working unsocial hours will be additional.”

The planned strike was expected to see procedures deferred for about a thousand people.

Anti “co-governance” activist Julian Batchelor is being investigated over the nationwide distribution of 350,000 pamphlets that may be in breach of electoral law, 1 News’ Te Aniwa Hurihanganui reports. “The pamphlets make a number of unfounded claims, including that a group of Māori elites are conspiring to take over the country,” says Hurihanganui, but the Electoral Commission is particularly concerned about a section telling people not to vote for parties that support co-governance. Telling people how to vote makes it an election advertisement, thinks law expert Graeme Edgeler, and any such communication must include a promoter statement – which Batchelor’s pamphlets do not have.

Batchelor says he’s not worried: “The infringement is extremely minor, and it would be hard to prove it in court.”

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The transport minister’s defending the mega $45 billion price tag on the government’s newly announced Waitematā crossing.

As detailed in The Bulletin, the project, which has a proposed start date of 2029 but no completion timeline, includes two tunnels for cars and trucks between central Auckland and Akoranga on the North Shore, plus a separate light rail tunnel between Wynyard Quarter and Albany.

But there remains no business case or detail of how this would be paid for. David Parker told RNZ that it needed to be thought of as a multi-decade investment when considering funding. “So for example, Auckland Harbour Bridge – which let’s not forget was built when the population of Auckland was 450,000 people back in 1959, so if it could be afforded then it’s hard to think we can’t afford something now,” he said.

“But that was paid for largely through tolls, now we are saying these expensive projects, you can’t just put them all through the taxpayer or the taxpayers in other parts of New Zealand, you have to pay for them through tolls.”

Another possible option was congestion charging, which Parker said was a preference of Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. “That’s something that should be considered as well.”

However Brown, who Parker said was consulted on the project, said in a statement that “faster and cheaper” options should be on the table for the Auckland harbour crossing. “Both major parties need to realise that their big transport plans won’t happen unless they work in partnership with Auckland, and that’s not what has happened here,” he said.