Get ready for the pre-Christmas push, writes The Bulletin’s Stewart Sowman-Lund.

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The last push

Welcome back and, good news, we’re in the home stretch. It’s the last week of The Bulletin for 2024, and so too is it the final sitting week of parliament before a long-awaited summer break. While some of us may be winding down already, politicians will have no such chance for a relaxed farewell to a busy year. As The Post’s Thomas Manch looks at this morning, parliament is currently expected to wind up on Wednesday afternoon following a spree of urgent lawmaking. The government said it doesn’t intend to use urgency this week, though the Labour Party has suggested debate could drag on longer than currently planned.

There’s still a lot on the order paper to try and get tidied up this side of Christmas in an effort to check off the prime minister’s final quarterly plan of the year. That includes resource management amendments, a water reforms bill, and an amendment bill that will allow advertisements on television on Sunday mornings.

On the edge

RNZ’s The House programme took a look at what was tackled before the weekend during a mammoth sitting week for the parliament. Seven bits of legislation were added to the agenda last Monday followed by a few more the next day – 11 in total were given the urgency treatment, either being read for a first time or quickly passing through all stages. Among those that we didn’t talk about last week, an update to tenancy laws that will bring back the ability for renters to be evicted with no cause and brings in “pet bonds” for animal owners. Disposable vapes will also be banned as part of the government’s rejigged plan to tackle smoking. And the Therapeutic Products Act Repeal Bill was also passed, dumping a law only introduced by the former Labour government in 2023.

In short, there’s been a lot. Newsroom’s Laura Walters, in an evocative piece over the weekend, explained why parliament appears to be “teetering on the edge”.

“The high volume of proposed laws being put before parliament by this coalition government, paired with the introduction of significant amendments to some controversial legislation, overlaid with a busy year, difficult economic times, and some historic moments, have created a perfect storm,” wrote Walters. Toby Manhire delved into some of this in last Friday’s Bulletin.

The bad news to come

This week won’t only see the government attempt to tidy up a wave of legislation, it will also see the finance minister prime us for what’s to come when it comes to the economy in 2025 and beyond. On Tuesday, the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update – or Hyefu (pick whatever pronunciation works for you) – will be released. It’s unlikely to bring much in the way of good news, as The Post’s Tom Pullar-Strecker explained, though the government will likely look to signal areas of economic growth for the year ahead and foreshadow next year’s budget.

It’s widely touted the Hyefu will see the government announce a further 12-month delay to its plan of returning the books to surplus, bumping it out to the 2028/29 financial year. Winston Peters, in a recent interview with The Post, was one of those highlighting the lack of impact the government’s tax cuts had had on economic growth. None of this will be too embarrassing for Nicola Willis given the goalposts have been pushed out several times already. But, as Liam Dann pointed out in the Herald (paywalled), it will come just 48 hours before the latest round of GDP data is expected to show we’re back in recession (albeit very slimly). The data is historic and, as David Hargreaves wrote for Interest, will do little to change the fact it feels like we’ve been in recession for at least two years. Nevertheless, whatever political narrative is adopted by the governing parties, the pre-Christmas news is likely to be anything but cheery.

Sexual violence funding to be reviewed

Meanwhile, on a very different note, the government yesterday announced it will review $1.3 billion of family and sexual violence funding as part of a 25-year plan to eliminate family and sexual violence. This is the second Te Aorerekura Action Plan that has been unveiled as part of the broader strategy. “This plan is focused on government prioritising fewer things and doing them well,” minister Karen Chhour said. But the Labour Party has criticised the announcement, reported RNZ, with spokesperson Ginny Andersen questioning why there had been no update on deliverables from the first action plan. “There is language that says they want to improve on prevention, and there are some programmes listed there that were already being delivered,” Andersen said. “But there is no further detail on how they intend to further expand prevention programmes.”