tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/new-zealand-politics-12108/articlesNew Zealand politics – The Conversation2023-04-19T20:08:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2034042023-04-19T20:08:07Z2023-04-19T20:08:07ZLobbying regulations are vital to any well functioning democracy – it’s time NZ got some<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521784/original/file-20230419-24-rr5rkk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C48%2C5363%2C3511&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recently announced <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/04/03/lobbying-in-parliament-new-rules-announced-by-hipkins/">review of New Zealand’s lobbying sector</a> needs to tackle questions of transparency and access if it is to make any real difference to how industries influence decision making. This includes establishing an enforceable register of lobbyists and introducing a cooling off period for former politicians before they can begin lobbying.</p>
<p>The review was announced after revelations former police minister Stuart Nash shared confidential cabinet information with political donors. In the aftermath, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins requested lobbyists’ swipe-card access to Parliament <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/487312/chris-hipkins-lobbyists-swipe-card-access-to-parliament-a-perception-issue">be revoked</a>. He also called on the lobbying industry to develop its own voluntary “code of conduct”. </p>
<p>Unlike many countries, New Zealand does not require lobbyists to register, disclose their clients or funding sources, or adhere to ethical standards.</p>
<p>But our research into <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.15483">alcohol, tobacco and cannabis industry lobbying</a> highlights how corporations wield their influence over public officials and the public to achieve their interests. </p>
<h2>The problems with political lobbying</h2>
<p>On one hand, private sector engagement is often valuable and can lead to better government policies. Businesses have expertise that can help policymakers understand innovation and assess the feasibility of proposed policies.</p>
<p>Yet the political system is not always transparent and equally inclusive. Corporations have considerably more money, expertise and time than everyday citizens to engage with politicians. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/revealed-the-extent-of-job-swapping-between-public-servants-and-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-88695">Revealed: the extent of job-swapping between public servants and fossil fuel lobbyists</a>
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<p>This influence can result in weak and ineffectual responses from government, including decision makers deferring responses with long consultation periods or distant targets. </p>
<p>Tobacco lobbyists, for example, have long <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/jphp.2013.18">pushed back against plain packaging</a> and <a href="https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/22/2/e1.short">tax increases</a> on tobacco products, despite <a href="https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1565951/">evidence of their effectiveness</a> to reduce smoking harm. Instead, lobbyists have also argued that raising tobacco taxes merely contributes to a tobacco black market. </p>
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<h2>The dark art of influencing</h2>
<p>Researchers looking at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24505286/">tobacco</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/add.14216">alcohol</a> lobbying have found corporate influence often involves long-term strategies rather than directly “visible” attempts to influence politicians. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12380">One study in the United Kingdom</a> showed how alcohol interests adopted a long-term strategy to influence policy. Personal contacts with key policymakers were nurtured well before they entered government. </p>
<p>This sort of relationship building can also include gift giving, from small consumables such as rugby tickets and dinner, to speaking roles, international travel, club membership and the promise of future employment.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-businesses-want-the-ear-of-government-and-are-willing-to-pay-for-it-90688">Why businesses want the ear of government and are willing to pay for it</a>
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<p>Social media is also increasingly used in lobbying. Digital platforms offer opportunities to initiate, target and foster contacts between corporations and politicians. They can also be used to persuade the public to put pressure on policy makers, thereby indirectly influencing government decisions. </p>
<p>While direct corporate donations to political parties and candidates are often easy to trace, corporate funding can also be re-channelled through supposedly independent organisations, via non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and “think tanks”. </p>
<p>The alcohol and tobacco industries fund not-for-profit organisations to conduct social campaigns or engage in research. They are often presented as “independent”, despite their industry connections. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03499.x">An Australian study</a> found the alcohol industry used these organisations to promote ineffective responses in policy submissions and to campaign against higher alcohol taxes.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/260691?utm_source=APO-feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=rss-all">“revolving door” phenomenon</a>, where industry personnel enter policy making and vice versa, is another influence pathway. One recent example from the tobacco sector involves an ex-senior official from the World Health Organisation moving to a leadership role in a non-profit funded by one of the biggest tobacco producers in the world. </p>
<p>In New Zealand, <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/lobbying/486382/prime-minister-s-chief-of-staff-andrew-kirton-led-lobbying-firm-that-fought-against-reforms-now-binned-by-chris-hipkins">investigative reporting</a> has highlighted the easy movement between lobbying roles for the alcohol industry and subsequent senior public policy roles. </p>
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<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Key proposals for the long-term regulation of lobbying in New Zealand have focused on establishing a lobbying register and introducing a cooling off period for former ministers before they can enter the lobbying sector. </p>
<p>This is a good start to providing transparency. </p>
<p>According to a 2022 review of <a href="https://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/lobbyists-governments-trust-vol-3-highlights.pdf">lobbying regulations by the OECD</a>, the register needs to be enforceable, and provide enough detail about lobbying activities, to be effective. This includes who is conducting lobbying, their key objectives and targeted politicians.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-a-climate-crisis-how-do-we-treat-businesses-that-profit-from-carbon-pollution-188810">In a climate crisis, how do we treat businesses that profit from carbon pollution?</a>
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<p>In New Zealand, the opposition suggested a 12 month stand-down period for former ministers before they can enter lobbying. In Canada, the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/L-12.4/FullText.html">cooling-off period</a> for designated public officials is five years. </p>
<p>And – as we showed with examples above – there are other political roles beyond ministers that need to be considered, including MPs and local government officials. The hiring of former private corporate employees into the public sector should also be looked at. </p>
<p>Defining who should be covered by the transparency requirements is another challenge. A range of actors beyond professional lobbyists compete for policymakers’ attention. </p>
<p>These include think-tanks, NGOs and even researchers who may receive funding from corporations. The OECD review found those third-party actors are not always covered by transparency requirements and some activities, such as the use of social media as a lobbying tool, are exempt. </p>
<p>Corporations may have legitimate demands to protect market-sensitive information. Yet modern lobbying regulations need to ensure citizens can access key information on all forms of lobbying, including on social media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203404/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marta Rychert receives funding from the Marsden Royal Society Te Apārangi and the NZ Health Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Wilkins receives funding from the NZ Marsden Royal Society Te Apārangi and the NZ Health Research Council. </span></em></p>Lobbyists have long had unfettered access to NZ’s politicians. But recent scandals have highlighted the need for transparency to ensure corporations don’t wild too much influence over our leaders.Marta Rychert, Senior Researcher in Drug Policy, Massey UniversityChris Wilkins, Associate Professor and leader of drug research team, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1981972023-01-20T13:38:40Z2023-01-20T13:38:40ZJacinda Ardern’s resignation shows that women still face an uphill battle in politics – an expert on female leaders answers 5 key questions<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505462/original/file-20230119-22-i0pfzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=273%2C26%2C2541%2C1967&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jacinda Ardern and partner, Clarke Gayford, leave after she announced her resignation in New Zealand. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1457526356/photo/new-zealand-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-resigns.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=_NSemdi9WvrsoQ5HPyK7fJT_0FbznnVzlu96YJcPPmU=">Kerry Marshall/Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-new-zealand-government-covid-jacinda-ardern-0e6d8eedd96f94aab07eeb0c37164591">announced on Jan. 19, 2023, that she will soon</a> resign from office. “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice,” Ardern said.</em></p>
<p><em>Ardern was 37 when she was elected prime minister in 2017, and is the youngest female head of government to have served in any country. During her tenure, Ardern oversaw the country’s strict COVID-19 response and also dealt with other crises like the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/new-zealand-attack/">Christchurch mosque shooting</a> in 2019.</em></p>
<p><em>The prime minister also received unwanted attention that many observers – and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywfaIaY9ogE">Ardern herself</a> – <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/19/jacinda-ardern-resign-sexism-battles/">dubbed sexist</a>. This included questions and comments about Ardern’s plans to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/02/unacceptable-new-zealands-labour-leader-asked-about-baby-plans-six-hours-into-job">have a child</a>, as well as about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/19/jacinda-ardern-pregnant-new-zealand-prime-minister-mother-mum-nz-pm">her eventual pregnancy</a> in office. Ardern herself noted in her <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/world/jacinda-ardern-resignation-prime-minister-new-zealand-speech-b2265319.html">resignation speech</a> that she is looking forward to spending more time with family once she leaves office in February.</em></p>
<p><em>She also addressed her young daughter, saying, “And so to Neve, Mum is looking forward to being there when you start school this year.”</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. spoke with Virginia Tech <a href="https://liberalarts.vt.edu/departments-and-schools/department-of-political-science/faculty/farida-jalalzai.html">political science scholar</a> and women in politics expert <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=V1xQj_0AAAAJ&hl=en">Farida Jalalzai</a> to provide context about the unique challenges facing Ardern and other women in positions of power.</em></p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two young white women wear formal clothing and appear at podiums." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505465/original/file-20230119-16-7uvceq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Jacinda Ardern, right, fended off questions from a reporter in 2022 about whether she was meeting with Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland, because they had so much in common.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1445549087/photo/finlands-pm-marin-meets-nzs-pm-ardern.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=MdgqrVTJT-FMkOH9gSSiWRHAnqJn0eNXBddeynHiMA8=">Dave Rowland/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>1. What does Ardern’s resignation say about the experiences of women in top political jobs?</h2>
<p>Women in leadership positions will get asked certain questions that men do not. New Zealand is obviously a country that has had many women in political positions – Ardern was the <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/gender-inequalities/page-3">third female prime minister</a> there. Still, Ardern, for example, faced questions about her appearance and personal life, like <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/23/ardern-new-zealand-covid-wedding-00000554">her plans for</a> marrying her partner. </p>
<p>Men tend to receive less media coverage about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqz046">their personal lives</a>. People also tend to think of places like New Zealand as countries where women have shattered the glass ceiling, politically speaking. But if this kind of sexist questioning and speculation is what’s happening at the highest levels in the most egalitarian societies like New Zealand, then of course it must be happening in all of these other places where women are facing political violence, for example. </p>
<h2>2. How can having a woman as a political leader impact societies and the way they consider gender?</h2>
<p>When women hold really visible positions worldwide, that sends a signal to the public that politics is more open and that women bring competency to the position. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2018.1441034">Some of my research</a> shows that having women in these political roles has encouraged other women to become more engaged in the political system and to believe that politics is more open to everyone. It has also led men to feel similarly.</p>
<p>There is also power that comes with seeing the first woman rise to a very visible leadership position. Whereas even though Hillary Clinton didn’t clinch the presidential victory in 2016, it certainly seemed to shape people’s views of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/sunday-review/hillary-clinton-feminist-movement.html">what was possible</a>. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that in <a href="https://cawp.rutgers.edu/election-watch/women-percentage-2022-major-party-candidates-and-nominees">the following election</a>, so many more women – and women of diverse backgrounds – threw their hats in the ring, even at local and state levels.</p>
<h2>3. What are the risks, if any, facing women in these high-profile roles?</h2>
<p>I’ve written about, for example, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/americas/brazil-dilma-rousseff-impeached-removed-president.html">2016 impeachment</a> of Brazil’s former president, Dilma Rousseff. She faced <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36303001">overt sexist attacks</a> and was the victim of essentially a witch hunt, where she ultimately did nothing that would have normally led to the corruption <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41170460">charges she faced</a>. What we found in <a href="https://tupress.temple.edu/books/women-s-empowerment-and-disempowerment-in-brazil">a 2021 book</a> I co-authored with Pedro dos Santos was that after Rousseff’s removal, people’s beliefs that women could be competent leaders declined over the short term, for about a year. </p>
<h2>4. What’s the precedent for having a female leader with young kids?</h2>
<p>It’s uncommon for women to give birth in executive office. The other head of state or government <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/19/asia/benazir-bhutto-jacinda-ardern-female-leader-pregnancy-trnd/index.html">who was pregnant</a> during her tenure was Pakistan Prime Minister <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/ardern-and-bhutto-two-different-pregnancies-in-power/M7KUU6G52PTAXAUDXFFFPKWFXQ/">Benazir Bhutto</a> in 1990. There was a deliberate attempt by Bhutto’s opposition to schedule elections for when she was having the baby. But she cleverly lied about the due date so that she could throw the opposition off, because she knew that they were going to try to make it impossible for her to campaign. </p>
<p>Ardern took <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/02/jacinda-ardern-return-work-new-zealand-pm-birth-baby">six weeks off</a> for maternity leave. But cases of women with very young children are still few and far between because women tend to wait until they’re older to become part of the political realm – and then it takes awhile to make it to the top. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with brown skin wears a headscarf and flowing clothing and holds up a small white piece of paper." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505467/original/file-20230119-13-ag3f3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was the first female head of state to give birth in office, in 1990.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/id/561491641/photo/benazir-bhutto.jpg?s=1024x1024&w=gi&k=20&c=8G-eMPcgLL29VGG0FY69T9Yd9Q7Q94kcE4PgT47bGaU=">Derek Hudson/Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>5. Has there been a shift over the last few years in how women in politics address their personal lives?</h2>
<p>It’s becoming more common to not hide that personal side of yourself. In a way, female leaders in politics can control the narrative if they don’t hide the facts, or they could even make that a positive aspect of their tenure. </p>
<p>Michelle Bachelet, who was the president of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and then again from 2014 to 2018, was a <a href="https://www.salon.com/2005/12/10/president_4/">single mom</a>. When she ran for office, she gained a lot of support from single mothers and working mothers, who understood what it’s <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Women-Presidents-of-Latin-America-Beyond-Family-Ties/Jalalzai/p/book/9781138782716">like to be in the same position</a>. </p>
<p>But generally, women in positions of power have to achieve balance in such a way that you don’t want to come across as too hard and too aggressive, because they will get hit for that. If they are conceived of as overly soft and an emotional person, then they are going to get criticized for that, as well. There isn’t an easy way around it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198197/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Farida Jalalzai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Female leaders tend to open people’s perceptions of what is possible for other women in politics – but the job is also still fraught with double standards and unique risks.Farida Jalalzai, Professor of Political Science; Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia TechLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855742022-07-08T00:46:56Z2022-07-08T00:46:56Z‘They’re nice to me, I’m nice to them’: new research sheds light on what motivates political party donors in New Zealand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472916/original/file-20220707-23519-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Proposed changes to New Zealand’s <a href="https://consultations.justice.govt.nz/policy/political-donations/">political donation rules</a> have put the spotlight on donors who give thousands and the motivations they have for their generosity. Our current research into New Zealand’s political donations system aims to shed light on this often obscure process.</p>
<p>Last year, just over <a href="https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/party-donations-and-loans-by-year/">NZ$2.73 million was donated</a> to ten of New Zealand’s 15 registered political parties.</p>
<p>Current rules require the public disclosure of any donations over $15,000. The government has <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/political-donations-national-act-cry-foul-over-government-changes-to-donations-rules-greens-want-a-cap/UAJQC26OGZYIC3EYUR5BWBAWMQ/">proposed dropping</a> this public disclosure threshold to $1,500 (a move opposed by both the National and Act parties).</p>
<p>The proposed reforms to the political donation rules follow Serious Fraud Office investigations into the handling of donations received by the National, Labour and NZ First parties. All three investigations have resulted in court proceedings, with the first case just ended with the judge reserving his decision.</p>
<p>Given the apparent confusion and disputed legal requirements around transparency, a basic question needs to be asked: why do wealthy New Zealanders donate to political parties?</p>
<h2>The motivation for political donations</h2>
<p>As part of our research into political donations, we have interviewed several party donors across the political spectrum. </p>
<p>We asked them why they donate, whether they expect to exert any sort of influence from their donation, and what views they have on other features of the current system, such as the disclosure of their name and the size of their donation. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-businesses-get-in-return-for-their-political-donations-59601">What do businesses get in return for their political donations?</a>
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<p>Our interviewees were not concerned about transparency. Having each given over $30,000, their names were published online within ten days of their donation. </p>
<p>All accepted this transparency as a necessary part of a democratic system. Some even believed it had positive effects, for instance in encouraging others to donate. </p>
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<img alt="New Zealand flag in front of the Beehive" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472678/original/file-20220706-23-t1z57l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Three of New Zealand’s political parties have been the subject of investigations by the Serious Fraud Office.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/new-zealand-flag-and-the-beehive-royalty-free-image/520641718?adppopup=true">P A Thompson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Self-interest or public interest?</h2>
<p>Our interviewees’ reasons for donating varied. Most invoked some desire to “participate”. Participation took different forms – from supporting a party that had similar values to the donor, to just being part of the political process. </p>
<p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, academic research suggests political influence is <a href="https://doras.dcu.ie/608/">expected from donations</a> – although supporting existing policies is also a factor. But the donors we spoke to said they did not gain extra influence as a result of their donation, nor did they seek it. </p>
<p>A couple of cautions are in order, however. The fact they were willing to be interviewed by researchers may suggest our interviewees were more comfortable with their donations than other donors might be.</p>
<p>Second, even while insisting they did not gain extra influence, some made other comments suggesting some level of influence was a consequence of the donation. One noted interactions with multiple prime ministers and party leaders, some of them directly connected to fundraising. Such figures had, for instance, been to the donor’s house for meals. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-politics-how-political-donations-could-be-reformed-to-reduce-potential-influence-105805">New Zealand politics: how political donations could be reformed to reduce potential influence</a>
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<p>Another donor said making a large donation would generate the opportunity to arrange a direct meeting. Even if policy is not explicitly discussed in such contexts, donors and politicians are clearly building close relationships.</p>
<p>These are the conditions in which the interests and beliefs of political leaders may gravitate towards those of donors, especially since ordinary voters do not generally get such privileged access.</p>
<p>Some donors alluded to such closeness. One said, speaking of the party to which they donate, “They are nice to me, and I’m nice to them.” </p>
<p>Another acknowledged that while donations were made in self-interest, “The self-interest is [seen as] public interest.” That is, donors rationalise actions designed to further their own interests by arguing this overlaps perfectly with the public interest, even though such a correlation is far from guaranteed.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Voting sign" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/472680/original/file-20220706-24-xr74f6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Beyond the donation rules there are other electoral reforms being proposed, and review of the Electoral Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/sign-to-direct-voters-to-polling-location-royalty-free-image/1282673607?adppopup=true">Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Do our rules need to be more robust?</h2>
<p>Some would argue the process for regulating donations works, evidenced by the ongoing court cases. However, those cases were <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/428454/exclusive-the-secret-case-of-the-nz-first-foundation">triggered by whistleblowers</a>, not because of regulatory oversight in the first instance. We cannot rely on whistleblowers to report all instances of alleged wrongdoing.</p>
<p>Much electoral reform work is currently taking place, including the contested changes to donation disclosure rules and a wider independent review of the Electoral Act. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/money-makes-world-of-politics-go-round-and-keeping-it-clean-isnt-simple-44888">Money makes world of politics go round, and keeping it clean isn't simple</a>
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<p>With two more <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sfos-national-and-labour-party-donations-cases-to-be-heard-together-high-court-rules/WO4DMJF543DD6XDUIPTCOQHS6Q/">donations-related court cases</a> to come this year, pressure is mounting for changes to the way political parties are funded. </p>
<p>Such reform appears necessary to create greater transparency about donations and ensure that trust in Aotearoa New Zealand’s political funding system is not permanently eroded.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185574/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Max Rashbrooke receives funding from the Gama Foundation Governance and Policy Studies Endowment Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Marriott receives funding from the Gama Foundation Governance and Policy Studies Endowment Fund. </span></em></p>A number of court cases on political donations raises the question as to why wealthy New Zealanders donate thousands to political parties – and why some people try to hide their contribution.Max Rashbrooke, Research Associate, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLisa Marriott, Professor of Taxation, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1552032021-02-15T18:51:53Z2021-02-15T18:51:53ZThe politics of the necktie — ‘colonial noose’, masculine marker or silk status symbol?<p>Neckties made <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55996688">global news</a> last week when Maori MP, Rawiri Waititi, was ejected from the debating chamber of New Zealand Parliament. <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tie-that-binds-unravelling-the-knotty-issue-of-political-sideshows-and-maori-cultural-identity-155109">He refused to wear a tie</a>, evocatively describing it as a “<a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/colonial-noose-m-ori-partys-rawiri-waititi-takes-stand-against-parliament-tie-rules">colonial noose</a>”. </p>
<p>It wasn’t that Mr Waititi eschewed neckwear. Rather, he explained that the traditional <a href="https://www.ancient.eu/article/1659/hei-tiki/#:%7E:text=The%20hei%20tiki%20is%20a,%2C%20stone%2C%20or%20other%20material.">hei tiki</a> — the greenstone pendant he wore instead — represented for him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG_-OhYxpV0">both a necktie and a tie to his people, culture and Maori rights</a>. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/no2tie?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag">intense debate</a> that followed, ideas around acceptable business attire — long based on Western dress codes — were questioned against the expression of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-zealands-parliament-drops-tie-rule-after-maori-lawmaker-rawiri-waititi-ejected-11612963959">Indigenous cultural identity</a>. Ties are now no longer required as part of men’s “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-11/nz-politician-wins-battle-against-wearing-tie-in-parliament/13146388">appropriate business attire</a>” in the NZ Parliament. </p>
<p>In Australia, Members of Parliament were allowed to ditch the necktie <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/Practice6/Practice6HTML?file=Chapter5&section=11&fullscreen=1">in 1977</a> when safari suits were <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/Powers_practice_and_procedure/Practice6/Practice6HTML?file=Chapter5&section=11&fullscreen=1#footnote167">officially considered business attire</a>. Since then, however, Parliament House dress standards have informally shifted, with our male politicians uniformly donning ties in the chamber. </p>
<p>Ties have been tangled up in <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-23/green-when-is-a-blue-tie-more-than-just-a-blue-tie/5214296">controversy</a> here as in New Zealand. This narrow strip of fabric has many meanings for its wearers. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-tie-that-binds-unravelling-the-knotty-issue-of-political-sideshows-and-maori-cultural-identity-155109">The tie that binds: unravelling the knotty issue of political sideshows and Māori cultural identity</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>From throat to groin</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/tasmanian-aboriginal-shell-necklaces">Shells</a>, <a href="http://resources.metmuseum.org/resources/metpublications/pdf/Peruvian_Featherworks_Art_of_the_Precolumbian_Era.pdf">feathers</a>, <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-history-of-jewellery">gold</a> and <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/200-more-terracotta-warriors-excavated-china-180973900/">fabrics</a> have adorned people’s necks for millenia. The origin of the necktie is most commonly traced to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1999/12/08/a-twisted-history-of-neckties/d59c6d2d-5d38-42cf-843e-27abcdc524d7/">17th century</a> Croatian mercenaries who wore cloth around their necks. One purpose was to protect the neck from the sword’s blade. </p>
<p>Cravats, draped or tied in bows, and “stocks” — a stiffened cloth that tied at the back of the neck — were worn in Europe for subsequent centuries, and by Australia’s early colonial administrators. They were made from lace, linen, silk and muslin.</p>
<p>The bow tie and the necktie — in a form recognisable today — were increasingly visible in the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=EEEmuePeDX4C&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=necktie&f=false">19th century</a>. </p>
<p>The tie’s symbolism <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-26841,00.html">attracts especially heated discussion</a> around the styling of the masculine body. While the suit jacket creates a v-shape from the shoulders to the waist, <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Lx7mDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">the tie draws the eye from the throat to the groin</a> — in the same way, some argue, as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2021/feb/08/the-phallic-necktie-is-an-outdated-symbol-of-white-male-rule-in-new-zealands-parliament">codpiece</a> did.</p>
<p>It has been suggested that this “overcompensation” explains former US President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/2017/03/03/trumps-codpiece-whats-those-crazy-ass-long-ties-556284.html">preference for long neckties</a>, with one observer comparing them to the codpiece. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/research-check-do-neckties-reduce-blood-supply-to-the-brain-99939">Research Check: do neckties reduce blood supply to the brain?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Tie-wearing in Australia</h2>
<p>When <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/cook-claims-australia">Captain James Cook</a> landed on Australian shores, he was dressed in uniform with linen tied at his neck — or so many paintings suggest. </p>
<p>Early administrators, too, wore crisp, clean neckwear, while convicts had <a href="https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/convict-sydney/what-clothes-did-convicts-wear">a neckerchief</a> issued as part of their uniform. </p>
<p>Influential Aboriginal people, meanwhile, were sometimes presented with a <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/av/macquarie/indigenous-breastplates/main/">breastplate</a> to be worn around the neck.</p>
<p>Artist <a href="https://www.slv.vic.gov.au/australian-sketchbook-exhibition">S. T. Gill</a> illustrated life on the Victorian goldfields in the 1850s, with some of his <a href="https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE465893&mode=browse">hard-working diggers</a> tying handkerchiefs around their necks. But the wastrels and dandies he drew splurged on flash clothing including <a href="https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE456899&mode=browse">vividly-coloured silk cravats</a> worn with gold pins in the style of gentlemen. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="illustration of men's fashion from the gold fields" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=958&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=958&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384151/original/file-20210215-13-qs3x9z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=958&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">All the trimmings. While diggers in the 1850s goldfields wore neck scarves, some men splurged on cravats with bling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">S. T. Gill/State Library of Victoria</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the early 20th century, as manual workers <a href="https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE1475754&mode=browse">removed their jackets and ties</a>, wearing a three-piece suit and necktie become shorthand for authority and professionalism. </p>
<p>As the business suit became a menswear staple at the turn of the 20th century, the popularity of ties skyrocketed. In 1950, when Sydney’s Sun newspaper published the <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231061922">Everyman’s Ideal Wardrobe</a>, the extensive list recommended 18 ties alone.</p>
<p>However suits and <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21224462">ties were hot</a>, if not oppressive, as Australia’s climate “dress reformers” insisted. When Ray Olson photographed <a href="http://digital.sl.nsw.gov.au/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?embedded=true&toolbar=false&dps_pid=IE9613631&_ga=2.16900607.758592343.1613192232-1326803730.1590024556">David Jones’ new season fashions</a> in 1939, he captured two men in contrasting attire walking along a city street. </p>
<p>One wore a fashionable double-breasted suit, jaunty hat and close-fitting tie. The other was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt — without a necktie — and tailored shorts. Radical for the time, this look was adopted decades later, with South Australian Premier Don Dunstan leading the charge on relaxed dress standards.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two men walk down street in fashion suits of 1930s." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=803&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384149/original/file-20210215-23-1ofqxwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1009&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ray Olson captured two approaches to men’s fashion in 1939.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 1967, The Bulletin described Dunstan’s ensemble of shorts, long socks and a short-sleeved shirt worn without a tie as a “<a href="https://nla.gov.au:443/tarkine/nla.obj-688146835">summertime example</a>” for government and bank employees. </p>
<h2>Skinny, wide, loud or patterned</h2>
<p>As attitudes to ties have transformed across decades, styles have gone in and out of fashion. The skinny tie popularised by bands such as <a href="https://maas.museum/the-beatles-in-australia-essay/">the Beatles in the 1960s</a> was favoured by young Australian mods. </p>
<p>The wide tie, too, has had its moments. In the 1970s, loud, wide patterned ties were the height of fashion. For flamboyant politician Al Grassby, <a href="https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1069845">wearing wide colorful ties</a> signalled a move to “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-04-23/whitlam-govt-minister-grassby-dies/1556960">a new colorful Australia</a>”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-scarf-can-mean-many-things-but-above-all-prestige-39763">A scarf can mean many things – but above all, prestige</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These days politicians might wear certain colours to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/09/tie-colour-kevin-rudd#comments">mark their allegiance</a>: the coalition has a widely commented on preference for <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-stands-by-his-work-uniform-blue-ties-20150215-13f3no.html">blue</a>, for example, though this <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/how-malcolm-turnbull-killed-tony-abbotts-blue-tie-fashion-legacy-20150915-gjngg8.html">isn’t always evident</a>. </p>
<p>Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt often chooses a necktie with an Indigenous design to signal his heritage. </p>
<p>Ties do many things. Though they express identity, they can just as readily act as a “uniform” for their wearers. They give power to some, while taking it from others. Does Rawiri Waititi’s criticism of the “colonial noose” suggest Australia, too, might be heading towards a reckoning with the tie’s place in our history?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/155203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorinda Cramer receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Ties do many things. Though they express identity, they can just as readily act as a ‘uniform’ for their wearers. And they give power to some, while taking it from others.Lorinda Cramer, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1381142020-05-18T20:02:18Z2020-05-18T20:02:18ZAre New Zealand’s new COVID-19 laws and powers really a step towards a police state?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335632/original/file-20200518-138610-1cwe2gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5191%2C4249&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reaction to the New Zealand government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown has ranged from high praise to criticism that its actions were illegal and its management chaotic.</p>
<p>Partly in response to the concerns, and to put the continued containment of the disease on a firmer legal footing, the <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/LMS344134.html?src=qs">COVID-19 Public Health Response Act</a> was passed under urgency on May 14. It was quickly met with another wave of discontent. </p>
<p>National MP Michael Woodhouse likened Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to “<a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/dunedin-mp-slams-ardern-muldoon-slogans">Muldoon with slogans</a>”. Others <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/416752/public-health-response-bill-sparks-concern-in-pacific-community">recalled</a> past abuses of police power such as the “dawn raids” of the 1970s. </p>
<p>Such commentary played on fears the new law was a lurch towards authoritarianism under cover of the pandemic – but how seriously should we take it?</p>
<h2>Making the law fit for purpose</h2>
<p>Although New Zealand’s response to the emergency has been praised at home and abroad, the government was working with a multi-generational legislative framework that needed adapting as the crisis evolved.</p>
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<p>At the core of that framework were the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0033/51.0/DLM149789.html">Civil Defence Emergency Management Act</a>, the <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2006/0085/latest/DLM404459.html">Epidemic Preparedness Act</a> and the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1956/0065/latest/whole.html">Health Act</a>. Despite the relative success of the response, there were clearly ambiguities and weaknesses that could be improved once the emergency was over. </p>
<p>Laws covering public hygiene, vaccination, quarantine and greater integration of local communities (including Maori) in emergency planning <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-new-zealand-herald/20200408/282127818592363">will need refining</a>. Longer term, this will be considered by select committees and may result in amendments to existing laws.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335628/original/file-20200518-138629-2gppyc.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The move to lockdown level 2 required better laws to manage containment or future outbreaks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NZ Parliamentary Services</span></span>
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<p>In the short term, however, the government decided as a matter of urgency to fast-track a new law to improve containment of the coronavirus. While the <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/scl/epidemic-response/">Epidemic Response Committee</a> could have been expected to provide strong oversight, the bill became law without wider scrutiny. </p>
<p>Parliament <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/121529684/coronavirus-parliament-sends-controversial-new-covid19-level-2-law-to-be-reviewed-at-select-committee">later agreed</a> to send the law to a select committee, but too late to stop the accusations of authoritarianism by stealth.</p>
<h2>One COVID-19 law to rule them all</h2>
<p>So what does this new law really do? Essentially, it will govern the country as we deal with all levels of the response to COVID-19. It supports “a public health response to COVID-19” that prevents and limits “the risk of, the outbreak or spread of COVID-19” in a way that is “co-ordinated, orderly, and proportionate” as well as “enforceable”. </p>
<p>Although the government has issued an <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2020/0084/latest/LMS345275.html">alert level 2 order</a>, it could equally issue new orders for level 3 or 4 under the new law if outbreaks return. Parliament has to approve all such orders within a short time, or they lapse.</p>
<p>Such <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/whole.html#LMS344171">orders</a> can come from either the minister of health or the director-general of health. In some areas, the same orders could be given under the current Health Act. But the new law sets this out in easier language specifically tailored to the COVID-19 crisis. </p>
<p>Some provisions (such as those to do with contact tracing) are simplified from existing rules. Others, such as the power to <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/whole.html#LMS344198">direct businesses to close</a> if they are operating in contravention of an order (such as not taking social distancing seriously), have a very contemporary feel.</p>
<p>The new law is particularly good at clearing up uncertainty. For example, it makes clear that orders can be <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/whole.html#LMS344178">applied</a> “generally to all people in New Zealand or to any specified class of people in New Zealand”. This removes an earlier assumption that the law could only be applied piecemeal.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-new-zealands-50-billion-budget-boost-jacinda-arderns-chance-of-being-re-elected-138419">Will New Zealand's $50 billion budget boost Jacinda Ardern's chance of being re-elected?</a>
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<p>Another improvement settles the rules on community checkpoints, one of the most controversial aspects of the recent lockdown. Without reiterating the existing power officials possess to close roads, public places and stop vehicles, the new law emphasises such actions can only be done by “a constable or an enforcement officer acting under the authority of the constable”.</p>
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<h2>Concerns about enforcement powers still valid</h2>
<p>The new law has also trimmed the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1956/0065/latest/whole.html?search=sw_096be8ed819562fd_powers+of_25_se&p=1#DLM307211">powers</a> of a constable (i.e. police) during the COVID-19 period (but these remain very wide under the Health Act). Anyone entering a place to ensure disease control rules are being followed must now report the entry and why it was necessary. </p>
<p>This reporting requirement did not exist before but it would have been better to limit this emergency power to the police alone, or only allow its operation when police are present.</p>
<p>There is a further questionable area: while it makes sense that orders can be issued when the existing Epidemic Preparedness Act or Civil Defence Emergency Management Act are in play, it is less clear why the prime minister can also <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/whole.html#LMS344171">make such orders</a>. Those powers should only exist when an emergency is actually declared or in operation.</p>
<p>These concerns aside, perhaps the best feature of the new law is that it is destined to have a <a href="http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2020/0012/latest/LMS344600.html">short life</a>. It must be renewed every 90 days or it lapses, and it lapses for good after two years. By the time it gets a retrospective grilling from a select committee it will – hopefully like the disease itself – be due to disappear.</p>
<p>Given its context, and the improvements and safeguards the act provides, it’s hard to see it as evidence of the rise of authoritarian government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138114/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander Gillespie has received funding from the NZ Law Foundation; and also support via the Francqui Prize, he was awarded from Belgium.</span></em></p>Fears of looming totalitarianism are unfounded, despite some valid concerns about new COVID-19 laws.Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of WaikatoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1381132020-05-17T19:55:27Z2020-05-17T19:55:27ZExperts are back in fashion – now more than ever we need to question them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335255/original/file-20200515-77276-bjk5vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C0%2C8449%2C3000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com'</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once upon a very different time, British cabinet minister Michael Gove <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jun/09/michael-gove-experts-academics-vote">sneered</a> that “people have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong.” </p>
<p>But that was then and this is now. One or two <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/trump-coronavirus-threat/607825/">obvious exceptions</a> aside, we are all <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/new-zealand-nurse-i-treated-boris-johnson-like-any-other-patient">in love with experts</a> these days. And the New Zealand government’s announcement that for the next two years a small <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/415689/cabinet-approves-fast-tracking-of-shovel-ready-projects">expert consulting panel</a> will take decisions regarding large infrastructure projects – without public or local authority input – confirms that experts are back with a vengeance.</p>
<p>Of course, it is less the experts themselves we are drawn to than their expertise. In times of profound uncertainty, most of us find reassurance and comfort in knowing that policy decisions are based on information and knowledge gained through rigorous, rational and methodical inquiry. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pandemic-budget-is-all-about-saving-and-creating-jobs-now-the-hard-work-begins-138523">New Zealand's pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins</a>
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<p>In Aotearoa New Zealand, if you’re one of those who has bought a t-shirt, <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/lifestyle/2020/04/hand-towel-emblazoned-with-dr-ashley-bloomfield-s-face-for-sale.html">hand towel</a> or tote bag featuring the nation’s director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, what you’ve really done is expressed confidence in the scientific method. </p>
<p>You may also be expressing admiration for Dr Bloomfield as a person, albeit one with <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-epidemic-notice-and-health-act-orders">sweeping emergency powers</a>, but one flows from the other.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A musical tribute to the reassuring face of New Zealand’s COVID-19 health response, Dr Ashley Bloomfield.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Politics is about to take over again</h2>
<p>As we slowly emerge into what many are hoping will be a brave new world, however, the executive arm of government – political and bureaucratic – will play the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/26/government-state-role-pandemic-coronavirus">central role</a> in charting social and economic reconstruction. </p>
<p>Equally, the further away we travel from full lockdown the more frequently we will confront policy challenges that are distributional rather than public health-related in nature. Tackling those in the years ahead is going to require expertise of many stripes: socio-cultural, historical, scientific, economic.</p>
<p>It will also mean that politics will reassert itself. You can see this happening already, with debate around an ill-advised <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-05-2020/covid-19-live-updates-may-8-leaked-pms-office-memo-says-no-need-to-defend-lockdown-decisions/">leaked memo</a> from someone in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office suggesting there was no need to defend lockdown policies due to the government’s popularity. </p>
<p>As the pre-election contest revs up, questions will inevitably be asked of people who have spent the lockdown on a public pedestal. Thus far, questioning experts has risked being dismissed as the sort of person prone to chopping down <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-5g-radiation-doesnt-cause-or-spread-the-coronavirus-saying-it-does-is-destructive-135695">5G cellphone towers</a> or injecting detergent.</p>
<p>But in democratic politics it is in the public interest to ask questions of those in positions of intellectual, economic or political authority. It is one of the ways in which we hold people who exercise influence to account. </p>
<p>It is also part of the process by which we try to ensure that various voices and types of knowledge are heard within public debates about the way ahead. </p>
<p>Probing experts and their expertise in this way long predates the advent of right-wing populism. Most populists simply dismiss science, without which it is fairly hard to have either experts or expertise. The far older practice of democratic scepticism does not do this. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-catch-up-patch-up-health-budget-misses-the-chance-for-a-national-overhaul-138509">New Zealand’s ‘catch up, patch up’ health budget misses the chance for a national overhaul</a>
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<p>Experts and expertise are not the issue. What is up for debate is how we define those things. Which forms of knowledge are recognised as expert and which are not? What methodologies are used in the production of knowledge (and what insights might this leave out)? And how does policy-making work to privilege certain voices but not others? </p>
<p>Those are democratic questions, not populist ones. They encourage us to think about the different types of knowledge that are permissible in policy-making. </p>
<h2>There are many kinds of expert – and not all have degrees</h2>
<p>At times, experts reproduce their expertise within relatively closed communities of interest. It is perfectly reasonable to ask if this devalues the voices of citizens who may lack the formal credentials of experts, but who nonetheless possess <a href="https://theconversation.com/caring-for-community-to-beat-coronavirus-echoes-indigenous-ideas-of-a-good-life-136175">significant knowledge</a> about how issues affect their communities.</p>
<p>Above all, it is eminently sensible to worry that an over-reliance on “objective” evidence can take the politics out of politics. Unless you happen to think that policy-making is simply a <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-05-2020/geoffrey-palmer-hallelujah-new-zealand-government-works/">value-free exericse</a> in solving technical problems, you’re likely to want more politics as we move into an uncertain future, not less. </p>
<p>I am not sure, for instance, that many of us would be comfortable leaving decisions about digital <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/25/contact-apps-wont-end-lockdown-but-they-might-kill-off-democracy">contact tracing</a> or <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/10/immunity-certificates-covid-19-practical-ethical-conundrums/">immunity certificates</a> to tech experts. Or, for that matter, irreversible environmental decisions to a three-person <a href="https://www.sciencemediacentre.co.nz/2020/05/06/fast-tracking-rma-consents-expert-reaction/">expert panel</a>. Fundamentally, these are political issues that we should all be debating.</p>
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<span class="caption">The massive Martha opencast gold mine at Waihi: can crucial environmental decision be left to experts alone?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-covid-19-budget-delivers-on-one-crisis-but-largely-leaves-climate-change-for-another-day-138524">New Zealand's COVID-19 budget delivers on one crisis, but largely leaves climate change for another day</a>
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<p>Listening to and arguing over alternatives is the essence of representative democracy. So as we set about the business of rebuilding, let’s try learn from all of our experts. </p>
<p>Those with expertise in the humanities, social sciences, biophysical sciences, economics and so on have much to offer. But we should also harness the deep knowledge of those who, through these long days of lockdown, have become expert at <a href="http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=127489">keeping people connected</a>, <a href="https://sva.org.nz/">creating social capital</a> or building <a href="https://sosbusiness.nz/">futures markets for local businesses</a>. </p>
<p>These are the people who know their way around the issues in local communities and who have done so much to rejuvenate the village square and the public domain. Let’s make sure we listen to those experts too.</p>
<p><em>Stay in touch with The Conversation’s coverage from New Zealand experts by signing up for our <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/newsletters/new-zealand-weekly-58">weekly NZ newsletter</a> – delivered to you each Wednesday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Shaw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The coronavirus crisis has given experts and specialists worldwide a lot of power. As countries like New Zealand begin to recover, we need to question that power more than ever.Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1385232020-05-14T08:02:30Z2020-05-14T08:02:30ZNew Zealand’s pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334951/original/file-20200514-77239-17hxsyo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4928%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christchurch-dec-04-2015builders-builds-new-350857106">ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Budget 2020’s focus on <a href="https://www.interest.co.nz/news/104993/jacinda-ardern-hints-whats-come-budget-2020-saying-it-will-prioritise-supporting-people">“jobs, jobs and jobs”</a> is understandable, commendable and vital.</p>
<p>COVID-19 poses the largest threat to paid employment since the Great Depression almost 90 years ago. The number of people receiving Job Seeker Support (Work Ready) – the main benefit available for the unemployed – <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/unemployment-rate-at-4-point-2-percent-in-march-quarter">rose</a> almost 50% between February and early May, from about 80,000 to 120,000. </p>
<p>That is a crisis in anyone’s language. Paid employment is not only important economically, it is about social and psychological health. This is reflected in a long-standing cross-party commitment to high employment levels and a high labour market participation rate. Significant and protracted unemployment serves no good purpose.</p>
<p>To combat this, the budget aims to protect existing jobs where possible, generate new jobs through targeted public investments, and ultimately create the conditions for a return to sustainable job growth. </p>
<p>But worse is still to come. Treasury is <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/budget-2020-treasury-expects-unemployment-peak-next-month-9-6-v1">forecasting</a> an unemployment rate of close to 10% before year’s end. Given the unprecedented impact of the pandemic, however, all such forecasts are highly conditional.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-new-zealands-50-billion-budget-boost-jacinda-arderns-chance-of-being-re-elected-138419">Will New Zealand's $50 billion budget boost Jacinda Ardern's chance of being re-elected?</a>
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<p>So can the 2020 budget help avoid mass unemployment? Are the measures announced sufficient to address the scale and distinctive aspects of the current crisis?
A little context helps in answering such questions.</p>
<h2>New Zealand started from a good position</h2>
<p>By OECD standards, New Zealand entered the pandemic with a relatively low unemployment rate. In March 2020 the official unemployment rate was about 4.2%, slightly up on 4.0% in December 2019. This compared with pre-pandemic unemployment rates of around 4.0% in the UK, 5.2% in Australia and 7.4% in the Euro zone.</p>
<p>Fortunately, too, the government’s comprehensive wage subsidy scheme has so far limited the spike in unemployment. By contrast, the US unemployment rate rose dramatically from 4.4% in March to almost 15% in April, with more than 20 million jobs lost in recent weeks. </p>
<p>Goldman Sachs <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhansen/2020/05/13/goldman-sachs-now-says-unemployment-will-peak-at-25-gdp-to-fall-39-in-the-second-quarter/#2c4127a22df9">estimates</a> the US unemployment rate may peak at 25%, comparable to the depths of the Great Depression. The real jobless rate, which includes those who want to work but have given up trying, is forecast to reach 35%.</p>
<p>Of course, the depth and duration of the economic downturn remains highly uncertain. Hence, policy responses must remain flexible and adaptive. Wisely, this budget recognises that. Finance minister Grant Robertson has reserved significant fiscal resources should they be required.</p>
<p>The impacts of this pandemic differ from any previous financial or seismic shock, so it poses distinctive and unusual policy challenges. Specific industries and sectors have been disproportionately affected (tourism, aviation, hospitality, retail, international education, and the arts), as have particular communities (such as those heavily dependent on international tourism).</p>
<p>Targeted and tailored policy interventions are essential, along with more broad-brush responses. </p>
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<p>Again, the budget reflects this. Key policy measures include the targeted extension of the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121506542/budget-2020-government-throws-32b-lifeline-in-budget-to-worst-hit-firms">wage subsidy scheme</a> for a further eight weeks for businesses experiencing more than a 50% reduction in turnover, a $400 million package for the tourist sector, a substantial boost to the infrastructure investment fund, and some additional support for research and development.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-catch-up-patch-up-health-budget-misses-the-chance-for-a-national-overhaul-138509">New Zealand’s ‘catch up, patch up’ health budget misses the chance for a national overhaul</a>
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<h2>Young people need the most support</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, as with previous recessions, COVID-19 will have a disproportionate impact on younger people. Since March, the increase in unemployment has been particularly marked among those aged 20-29. Tertiary students are among the hardest hit by the loss of job opportunities.</p>
<p>Significant and continuing efforts will be needed to minimise these inter-generational effects, and the budget goes some way to addressing these. </p>
<p>It includes a substantial <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/121505783/budget-2020-more-than-2-billion-to-get-kiwis-into-jobs-post-covid19">trades and apprenticeship package</a> (worth $1.6 billion), along with additional subsidised places for tertiary students, a modest increase in per student subsidy rates, extra support for employment services, specific initiatives for Māori and Pasifika students, and a new hardship fund for students. </p>
<p>But more assistance for the university sector will likely be needed over the next few years – not least because of the substantial loss of income from international students. Specific measures could include a strategic tertiary investment fund, an increase in the value of targeted student allowances, and a rise in student loan borrowing limits.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/past-pandemics-show-how-coronavirus-budgets-can-drive-faster-economic-recovery-137775">Past pandemics show how coronavirus budgets can drive faster economic recovery</a>
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<h2>The recovery must be environmentally sustainable too</h2>
<p>Finally, it is vital that the rush to protect and create jobs must not jeopardise future employment opportunities by contributing to poorer environmental outcomes. “Shovel-ready” projects must not be carbon-heavy. </p>
<p>New Zealand needs a genuinely sustainable economic recovery, one that enhances societal resilience, protects ecological values, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>To that end, the $NZ1 billion <a href="https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-releases/2020-media-releases/investment-to-create-11000-environment-jobs-in-our-regions/">environmental jobs package</a> is welcome. It will enhance pest control and ecological restoration, while also improving facilities in the national parks and reserves. </p>
<p>But investments of this kind will be undermined if the <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/05/06/1157212/environmentalists-cautiously-optimistic-on-rma-workaround">planned reforms</a> to the Resource Management Act result in greater urban sprawl, the loss of valuable agricultural land, and higher transport emissions. </p>
<p>Ultimately, sustainable employment requires a sustainable environment.</p>
<p><em>Stay in touch with The Conversation’s coverage from New Zealand experts by signing up for our <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/newsletters/new-zealand-weekly-58">weekly NZ newsletter</a> – delivered to you each Wednesday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138523/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Boston has received various research grants over the years from several public bodies in New Zealand and overseas, mostly recently the US Fulbright Foundation. He is employed by Victoria University of Wellington and serves on the boards of several trusts and non-for profit organizations, the most significant being Oxfam New Zealand.</span></em></p>The 2020 “Rebuilding Together” budget rightly targets a looming unemployment crisis, but just how bad that will be remains uncertain.Jonathan Boston, Professor of Public Policy , Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1385092020-05-14T07:54:56Z2020-05-14T07:54:56ZNew Zealand’s ‘catch up, patch up’ health budget misses the chance for a national overhaul<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334925/original/file-20200514-77263-zovhej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=49%2C24%2C5533%2C3652&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-rendering-surgical-face-masks-new-1718595934">Ronnie Chua/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/index.htm">budget</a> brings a significant funding injection for <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2020/wellbeing/approach/budget-2020-highlights.htm">health and disability services</a>, amounting to around a 9% increase. It is the most substantial increase for the health sector in some time, and in this regard, aligns with the government’s 2019 <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-well-being-budget-how-it-hopes-to-improve-peoples-lives-118052">well-being budget</a>.</p>
<p>Overall, the budget provides an additional NZ$4.3 billion over the next four years. Most of that new investment is a welcome NZ$3.92 billion for the country’s 20 district health boards, many of which have been in perpetual deficit and haven’t received enough funding to cater for the demand on regional hospitals and community health care. </p>
<p>In this sense, the budget provides a long overdue catch up for the health sector, and it patches up the backlog COVID-19 created for elective medical procedures. </p>
<p>But unfortunately it misses the opportunity to make bigger, more systemic changes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the current regional approach to health care isn’t good enough to deal with a nationwide threat. So a more visionary budget would have overhauled the health system by supplementing district health boards with a central, nationwide focus. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pandemic-budget-is-all-about-saving-and-creating-jobs-now-the-hard-work-begins-138523">New Zealand's pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins</a>
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<h2>Key budget health initiatives</h2>
<p>Each district health board is a local health system responsible for planning and funding services within a geographic area, including public hospitals, disability support services, public health and primary care. </p>
<p>The NZ$3.92 billion boost for district health boards is intended to “improve financial sustainability and clinical performance” as well as provide for population ageing and growth, wage increases and inflation. </p>
<p>NZ$282.5 million over the next three years is to provide around 153,000 elective and planned surgeries, radiology scans and specialist appointments that have been delayed by the COVID-19 lockdown. It will also cater for people on waiting lists – a perpetual problem. </p>
<p>NZ$125 million over four years is for other COVID-19 related cost increases – presumably personal protective equipment and additional testing, treatment and contact-tracing. And there’s an additional almost NZ$850 million for disability support to relieve growing pressure on the sector and improve access to services such as home-based care.</p>
<p>Some of the finer detail is yet to be worked out. Firstly, the <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/record-investment-hospitals-and-health-services">finance and health ministers said</a> district health boards will be held to account for their performance with the new spending. This means those with deficits will be expected to improve their financial standing. This implies they will be under close government monitoring. </p>
<p>Clinical services will similarly be expected to show improvements in the number of procedures and patients coming through. In this regard, the budget provides more funds for more of the same. Hopefully this will bring improvements for the thousands of patients who languish on waiting lists or miss out on treatment because their condition has not yet deteriorated enough to be treated in the public sector.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334944/original/file-20200514-77271-ida4tq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A COVID-19 testing station at Greymouth Base Hospital during NZ’s strict level 4 lockdown in April 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/greymouth-new-zealand-april-11-2020-1706677966">Lakeview Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>COVID-19 and what still needs to be fixed</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted shortcomings in New Zealand’s health system, some of which are yet to be addressed.</p>
<p>Initially, medical staff in each region worked to different protocols for COVID-19 contact tracing and testing, and it was difficult to combine the data in a central database. While this has now been fixed as part of the country’s pandemic response, the budget doesn’t tackle any of these deeper issues.</p>
<p>The budget could have been an opportunity to forge ahead with much needed health system changes. I’ve suggested elsewhere that <a href="https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/patient-flow-indictment-system-prof-says">district health boards should be abolished</a> and replaced by 20 hospital managers (preferably qualified health professionals) who work as a team. They would run regional hospitals, but be accountable to the Ministry of Health. </p>
<p>Their job should be working collaboratively and strategically, taking a national approach on any issues, including identifying and disseminating best practice across the sector. At the moment, there is no way of achieving this as the district health boards largely work in silos.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-new-zealands-50-billion-budget-boost-jacinda-arderns-chance-of-being-re-elected-138419">Will New Zealand's $50 billion budget boost Jacinda Ardern's chance of being re-elected?</a>
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<p>Funds should be allocated through a local alliance between primary care practitioners, hospital managers and other providers. This would increase capacity to fund innovations in care, such as investment in virtual consultation technology, which GPs have had to use during the COVID-19 lockdown. The budget was quiet on funding to allow GPs to work in more flexible ways – but the pandemic has highlighted considerable cracks and needs here.</p>
<p>Any such changes should be guided by two initiatives, at relatively low cost. First, investment in “operational excellence”, which research shows leads to <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/09/why-do-we-undervalue-competent-management">higher overall performance</a>. For health, this means better financial performance, quality of care and patient outcomes.</p>
<p>At the moment we continue to invest in a sector that undervalues management development. For this reason, we can expect future budgets to replicate the “catch up, patch up” approach. </p>
<p>Second, we need a national clinical leadership initiative. As with the first point, we have long undervalued the potential for our health professionals to provide leadership. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611003819">Studies show</a> that medical services and hospitals led by health professionals perform better. There have been failed attempts in New Zealand to develop a leadership initiative, but it is time to revisit this and train health professionals to be excellent, both as clinicians and managers. </p>
<p><em>Stay in touch with The Conversation’s coverage from New Zealand experts by signing up for our <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/newsletters/new-zealand-weekly-58">weekly NZ newsletter</a> – delivered to you each Wednesday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robin Gauld has received funding from the Commonwealth Fund, Ministry of Health, Health Quality and Safety Commission and Health Research Council.</span></em></p>NZ$4.3 billion will go some way to patch up long-standing cracks in New Zealand’s health system. But COVID-19 has shown NZ’s regional approach to health isn’t good enough against a nationwide threat.Robin Gauld, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1384192020-05-14T05:32:05Z2020-05-14T05:32:05ZWill New Zealand’s $50 billion budget boost Jacinda Ardern’s chance of being re-elected?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334952/original/file-20200514-77263-1s0kcr5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won global admiration for her personal style. But how will Kiwis judge her government’s performance at the ballot-box in September? </p>
<p>A major factor in that decision will be how well today’s budget is received – and how well it achieves its stated aim of “<a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/responding-recovering-and-rebuilding">responding, recovering and rebuilding</a>” after COVID-19. </p>
<p>If she who was recently judged “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/jacinda-ardern-new-zealand-leadership-coronavirus/610237/">the most effective leader on the planet</a>” gets dumped in the coronavirus fallout, then what are the chances for Donald, Boris or Scott?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334909/original/file-20200514-167776-htxti5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Finance minister Grant Robertson and the 2020 ‘Rebuilding Together’ budget, unlike any budget delivered in living memory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NZ Parliament</span></span>
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<p>Late last year, finance minister Grant Robertson would have been expecting that May 2020 would see an optimistic <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/budget-speech/budget-speech-2019-html">Well-being Budget</a> Mark 2.</p>
<p>Instead, it’s turned into his “<a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/finance-ministers-budget-2020-budget-speech">rainy day budget</a>”, as he abandons a conservative net public debt target of 20% of GDP. Debt is now projected to rise to 53.6% by 2023, as the government borrows to invest in jobs and runs deficits until at least 2024.</p>
<p>But budgets are political, not just technical, documents. With New Zealand’s general election still <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/416429/new-zealand-general-election-at-level-2-or-lower-pm-jacinda-ardern-confirms">scheduled</a> for September 19, the question remains the same: pandemic or no pandemic, will this budget help Labour win a second term in office?</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-catch-up-patch-up-health-budget-misses-the-chance-for-a-national-overhaul-138509">New Zealand’s ‘catch up, patch up’ health budget misses the chance for a national overhaul</a>
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<p>International observers were entranced by Ardern’s leadership after the March 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch. But, while support for her and her party surged, this was <a href="https://theconversation.com/left-leaning-australians-may-look-to-new-zealand-with-envy-but-ardern-still-has-much-work-to-do-128227">only temporary</a>. By December, the centre-right National Party was <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117880219/new-poll-has-nationalled-government">polling</a> at levels that would see them form the next government.</p>
<p>Then the pandemic hit, and New Zealand went into strict lockdown in late March. A <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/415583/leaked-poll-shows-big-jump-for-labour">leaked poll</a> a month later put Labour on 55%, boosted by popular trust in the government’s decisive response to COVID-19. </p>
<p>But, like last year’s post-Christchurch surge, we should not assume this one will last either. </p>
<p>The economic crunch could flatten support for Ardern’s government by the time the election draws near. Budget 2020 is therefore critical to the maintenance of public confidence in the present government’s stewardship at a time of deep uncertainty. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.interest.co.nz/news/104779/full-results-anz-business-outlook-month-april-paint-grim-picture-not-grim-preliminary">Business confidence</a>, which had dropped in late 2017 simply because Labour took office, understandably “plummeted” in April while the country was in lockdown.</p>
<p>It’s harder for governments to win elections when the economy is tanking, even if the cause of the recession has arisen offshore. A sitting government can claim credit for the bounce-back when it comes, if they have led a credible plan. </p>
<p>But the projections are bad – as they would be regardless of who’s in government. Crucially, unemployment is forecast to peak at 9.8% in September this year, right on time for the election.</p>
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<p>So, is Robertson’s fiscal injection going where it’s most needed? New spending targets public health, housing and trades training, and the worst-affected industries and regions reliant on international tourism. But the opposition will attack Labour on its priorities.</p>
<p>Assuming that COVID-19 cases continue to decline, and without a deadly second wave, by the election public attention will have turned from disease control towards the genuine pain caused by unemployment, bankruptcies and reduced incomes.</p>
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<p>Labour will need to maintain New Zealanders’ confidence that it is doing the best for economic recovery, especially in supporting businesses, while also keeping the virus out of the community. Among the electorate, however, there may be two schools of thought about the desirability of change to a centre-right government led by the National Party. </p>
<p>First, there is an old refrain in New Zealand that National is the party of sound economic management, while Labour is a spendthrift. This belief is not consistent with historical evidence. Principles of <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n5314/pdf/ch18.pdf">fiscal discipline</a> are now well embedded in New Zealand. Both major parties are now fiscally conservative, but not inflexibly so. For example, National prudently ran deficits to support recovery after the global financial crisis.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pandemic-budget-is-all-about-saving-and-creating-jobs-now-the-hard-work-begins-138523">New Zealand's pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins</a>
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<p>But this is about political perception, not fiscal performance. National leader Simon Bridges was whistling the party chorus well before budget day. And in his post-budget speech he zeroed in on government borrowing amounting to $NZ80,000 per household, and the burden on future generations to repay it: “That’s equivalent to a second mortgage on every house.” </p>
<p>If such scepticism about Labour’s economic management prevails at the ballot-box, we could see a change of government. </p>
<p>Jacinda Ardern may be first-name-only popular overseas, but under New Zealand’s finely balanced proportional system she only just won a coalition majority at the previous election. </p>
<p>An alternative school of thought is that during economic recovery it’s unwise to dump a sitting government, provided they are doing basically the right things. Don’t change horses in mid-stream – especially when the stream is running rough. In late April, <a href="https://static.colmarbrunton.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/COVID-Times-24-April-2020.pdf">87% of Kiwis approved</a> of the government’s response to the pandemic.</p>
<p>If “the team of five million” gets behind Labour’s economic recovery plan as it did for the disease-control plan, then Ardern could form another government after the election.</p>
<p>But a lot could go wrong in the meantime. Budget 2020 is just one risky step on a rocky political path ahead. </p>
<p><em>Stay in touch with The Conversation’s coverage from New Zealand experts by signing up for our <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/newsletters/new-zealand-weekly-58">weekly NZ newsletter</a> – delivered to you each Wednesday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Jacinda Ardern has won global admiration for her personal style. But how will Kiwis judge her government at the ballot-box in September this year – just as unemployment is expected to peak?Grant Duncan, Associate Professor for the School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1370752020-05-13T05:09:37Z2020-05-13T05:09:37ZGoogle and Facebook pay way less tax in New Zealand than in Australia – and we’re paying the price<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334215/original/file-20200512-66703-1yeoo5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C9%2C3028%2C2162&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The New Zealand government’s recently announced NZ$50 million subsidy package to support local media was <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/media-support-package-delivers-industry-request-assistance">necessary</a> and urgent – even if it came too late to save the Bauer magazine titles from <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/120757500/bauer-closure-spells-apocalypse-for-new-zealand-print-media-says-past-editor">closing</a>.</p>
<p>But the injection of government cash did not address the underlying cause of the decline of New Zealand’s media, which predates the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>While the internet has created new opportunities for media and audiences alike, those opportunities have come at a price. Traditional media organisations now compete with giant digital platforms, not only for the attention of readers, but also for the advertising revenue that was once their lifeblood. </p>
<p>Adding insult to injury, the digital platforms compete for audiences’ attention partly by distributing the news content that was first created and published by those now-struggling media organisations. </p>
<p>This not only damages the media and public discourse, it is harmful to taxpayers. </p>
<p>A carefully designed digital service tax (DST) could redress the balance and help level the playing field for the New Zealand media. Such a tax would compensate New Zealand for revenue lost by its failure to tax the profits of non-resident tech giants operating in its territory. </p>
<p>Rules forcing the likes of Google and Facebook to compensate the creators of the media content they carry – as has been introduced in Australia – could also be helpful. Both options could be applied quickly if there was the political will.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-more-negotiating-new-rules-could-finally-force-google-and-facebook-to-pay-for-news-136718">No more negotiating: new rules could finally force Google and Facebook to pay for news</a>
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<h2>The challenge of taxing the tech giants</h2>
<p>The New Zealand market for internet advertising services is dominated by two multinationals – Google and Facebook. Unlike the local media, these giants do not pay income tax in New Zealand proportional to their local advertising revenues. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334222/original/file-20200512-66681-imo65a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The attention economy: digital platforms sell advertising around news content created by ad-starved and struggling media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In 2015 Google, Facebook and Amazon accounted for 69% of digital ad revenues outside China. By 2018 their share had <a href="https://www.zenithmedia.com/internet-advertising-will-exceed-half-of-global-adspend-in-2021/">risen</a> to 86%. But this growing share of global ad revenue is not matched by the income tax these firms pay in New Zealand. </p>
<p>Due to the complex way the digital giants report their finances, New Zealanders are left guessing how much ad revenue they generate. And yet, just across the Tasman, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the equivalent of the NZ Commerce Commission, has forced Google and Facebook to disclose their Australian targeted ad revenue for 2018. </p>
<p>The ACCC <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Digital%20platforms%20inquiry%20-%20final%20report.pdf">estimates</a> Google generated around A$3.7 billion (NZ$3.9 billion) from ads placed on its own search pages and on third parties’ websites. Facebook’s ad revenue was around A$1.7 billion (NZ$1.8 billion).</p>
<p>Based on this data and the similarities between Australia and New Zealand, it is reasonable to conclude that in 2018 Google might have earned about NZ$720 million in New Zealand, and Facebook about NZ$349 million from targeted advertising only.</p>
<h2>A disproportionately small tax take</h2>
<p>Changes to reporting standards [made in 2014] mean Facebook isn’t required to file financial statements in New Zealand, so its 2018 tax bill is not public information. In 2018 Google NZ Ltd (an entity of Alphabet group) <a href="https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/service/services/documents/4ED501A067DCD2DB7765DF3565CFA654">paid</a> income tax of NZ$398,341 – about 0.055% of the estimated gross ad revenue “extracted” from the New Zealand market.</p>
<p>In Australia Google paid income tax A$26.5 million in 2018 (already a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-01/google-facebook-make-billions-in-australian-sales-pay-little-tax/11060474">minimal amount</a>), meaning Google New Zealand paid 66.5 times less income tax than its Australian equivalent for the same period. Given the New Zealand economy is about a seventh the size of Australia’s, this is an extremely wide disparity.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/attention-economy-facebook-delivers-traffic-but-no-money-for-news-media-105725">Attention economy: Facebook delivers traffic but no money for news media</a>
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<p>New Zealand has been reluctant to unilaterally adopt a DST, possibly to avoid conflict with the US. However, with many OECD members <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/digital-tax-europe-2020/">introducing</a> a DST – including France, Italy and the United Kingdom – further delay is difficult to justify. The more countries that put a DST in place the more costly it will become for the US to retaliate.</p>
<p>The New Zealand government has said it <a href="http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2019-06-04-consultation-taxing-digital-services-industry#statement">prefers</a> “an internationally agreed solution through the OECD” to the tax challenges of digitalisation. The OECD has agreed to find a “solution” by the end of 2020. </p>
<p>With rising tensions between Europe and the US over taxing highly digitalised multinational businesses, that timeframe is looking increasingly unrealistic. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334220/original/file-20200512-66681-12axdza.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">California headquarters of Google and parent company Alphabet - a corporate structure with immense tax benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<h2>NZ can’t go it alone</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has further slowed the process. The delay favours the tech giants but not New Zealand and the other countries where they operate and pay little tax. These countries need to move quickly to stop the erosion of their tax bases. </p>
<p>New Zealand is unlikely to move without Australia on board, but Australia now seems more interested in other mechanisms to correct its relationship with the global tech giants. </p>
<p>The ACCC is developing a <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/josh-frydenberg-2018/media-releases/accc-mandatory-code-conduct-govern-commercial">mandatory code</a> of competitive conduct that will require Google and Facebook to pay news media for the use of their content. There are similar <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/09/french-publishers-win-decisive-battle-against-google-177686">developments</a> in France. </p>
<p>Such codes target anti-competitive conduct, whereas a DST involves compensation for the loss in revenue caused by outdated international tax rules. To some extent a DST is a charge for the dominant market position of multinational digital services firms.</p>
<p>The ACCC’s code is not a substitute for a digital services tax, but New Zealand could do worse than consider a similar scheme. In the end, both a DST and enforcing payment for content will be necessary if New Zealand wants its local media to survive, let alone thrive - and not just at the expense of taxpayers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Victoria Plekhanova does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealanders and struggling media companies are paying the price for an unwillingness to tax the tech giants’ local profits.Victoria Plekhanova, Lecturer, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1382942020-05-12T02:31:14Z2020-05-12T02:31:14ZThe pandemic budget: moving New Zealand from critical care to long-term recovery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334176/original/file-20200511-66698-12dex1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C23%2C5192%2C3565&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>May 14’s budget will surely be remembered as the “pandemic budget”. It might seem like the worst possible timing – economic uncertainty rages, Treasury has had to abandon its usual economic “forecasts”, and the pandemic’s viral economic spread is far from over.</p>
<p>On the contrary, this may be very good budget timing. With the government’s swift lockdown and border actions, we all hope coronavirus will soon be “<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-may-well-be-able-to-eliminate-coronavirus-but-well-probably-never-eradicate-it-heres-the-difference-137991">eliminated</a>” in New Zealand. The government also rightly took immediate action to support an economy forced into hibernation.</p>
<p>So now the budget arrives just as we are ready to move into phase two of recovery – when government spending and tax policies need to change from preventative medicine to patient care.</p>
<p>So what budget action is needed? Despite some clamouring for a new “pandenomics” to guide policy, there is nothing different in principle about the post-elimination recession about to hit New Zealand, even if it turns out to be bigger than the unprecedented recession caused by the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). </p>
<h2>Time to end universal subsidies and support</h2>
<p>Negative economic shocks can be supply-driven, demand-driven or both. Each requires different policy responses. </p>
<p>The current crisis started as a (self-imposed) supply shock: firms had no choice but to scale back output while their costs persisted. This is why the government’s supply-side wage subsidies and small business support were the right call (even if reasonable people can argue over their size and detail).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ghosts-of-budgets-past-haunt-new-zealands-shot-at-economic-recovery-138290">The ghosts of budgets past haunt New Zealand's shot at economic recovery</a>
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<p>But as firms come out of hibernation, widespread wage subsidies should be mostly withdrawn. The government cannot possibly provide current levels of wage support for the next one to two years of economic fallout. Nor would it be desirable, as the economy adjusts to a longer recessionary phase. Keeping unsustainable businesses going through this would only undermine the needed adjustments.</p>
<p>Looking ahead, weak demand is more likely as unemployment rises, some businesses fail during this second phase and real wages fall. That is why this budget’s timing is helpful. It is time to pivot away from sensible but unsustainable supply-side support, to combating the expected demand contraction and its consequences.</p>
<p>This doesn’t depend on Treasury forecasts. We already know that output has dropped massively, with more to come. So preparation for stimulating fiscal policy – such as expanding some government spending programmes (though much of this will happen automatically as tax revenues fall and welfare spending rises). Looser monetary policies should help, with the central bank injecting more liquidity into the economy.</p>
<p>This year’s pandemic budget should, however, look to redirect spending towards immediate support for those businesses and households that will now suffer most. Since total spending will inevitably rise, cutting back longer term and low impact projects needs to form part of this. </p>
<p>A good place to start would be the <a href="https://www.growregions.govt.nz/about-us/the-provincial-growth-fund/">Provincial Growth Fund</a>, the result of little more than expensive political horsetrading among the government’s coalition partners. But somehow I doubt this option is what finance minister Grant Robertson meant last week when he signalled that certain pre-COVID-19 budget priorities will be “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300007168/old-budget-put-on-ice-by-coronavirus--grant-robertson">put on ice</a>”.</p>
<h2>Stay flexible and plan for steady debt repayment</h2>
<p>In my view, two guiding principles should inform budget initiatives.</p>
<p>First, flexibility. Uncertainty around who will be worst affected, for how long and how severely, suggests that flexible support packages make more sense than widespread, predetermined handouts. Let’s see where the economic recession bites, with packages in place to respond quickly, rather than trying to predict where the worst effects will be.</p>
<p>Direct government-to-business loans, for example, that can be applied for and granted subject to conditions, would ensure more targeted support. And with interest rates set close to government borrowing rates, they are a relatively low risk, low cost option. Those needing short term help and are able to recover will repay in due course. Those without a long term future would not be well served by delaying the inevitable at taxpayer expense.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/past-pandemics-show-how-coronavirus-budgets-can-drive-faster-economic-recovery-137775">Past pandemics show how coronavirus budgets can drive faster economic recovery</a>
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<p>Secondly, plan a future debt trajectory. Much current debate surrounds the eventual taxpayer cost of massive public debt increases, perhaps rising from 20-50% of GDP. As with the post-WWII debt response, this will need to be brought back down, but more slowly than after the GFC, for example.</p>
<p>Public debt increases are global, and New Zealand will not look like a bad international credit risk for the foreseeable future. Plus, with interest rates almost certain to remain low for years, the government’s debt servicing costs have never looked better. Nevertheless, a credible plan towards lower debt is essential if we are to be well prepared for the next crisis – as we were for this one.</p>
<p>Some are suggesting this year’s budget initiatives will be pivotal for the economy. Maybe. Mostly, budgets are like yesterday’s news. Who remembers the 2019 budget beyond the slogans? It was the “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/113084773/budget-2019-theyll-remember-it-as-the-budget-that-got-hacked">hacked budget</a>” (which wasn’t actually hacked, but prematurely revealed due to Treasury slip-ups). Or the “<a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/publications/wellbeing-budget/wellbeing-budget-2019">Well-being Budget</a>” (the official title that was little more than political spin with a smiley cover photo; what were Bill English’s <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/state-sector-leadership/cross-agency-initiatives/social-investment">social investment</a> budgets about if not well-being?).</p>
<p>So, good luck Mr Robertson – we hope your pandemic budget (or <a href="https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/budget-2020-will-be-a-recovery-budget">“recovery budget”</a> as you are calling it) delivers more than a catchy strapline.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norman Gemmell receives funding from The New Zealand Treasury, Inland Revenue, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, the New Zealand Productivity Commission and Victoria University of Wellington.</span></em></p>New Zealand’s 2020 “pandemic budget” should shift spending priorities towards a flexible and targeted approach to economic recovery.Norman Gemmell, Chair in Public Finance, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1382032020-05-08T05:35:12Z2020-05-08T05:35:12ZWas New Zealand’s coronavirus lockdown legal? One week might make all the difference<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333598/original/file-20200508-49579-p3k4cd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C5%2C3479%2C2352&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As New Zealand approaches the end of its strictest lockdown period, a debate has begun about whether it <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300006616/legal-challenge-over-coronavirus-lockdown">was legal</a> in the first place. This is important because people are being prosecuted for breaching the lockdown. Naturally, lawyers are getting involved, so things are going to get technical.</p>
<p>Some lawyers tend to speak in hyperbolic terms about the “rule of law”. Invariably, they will go back to 1297, because the Magna Carta of that year – obtained as a concession by the landed gentry of England from the king – required that imprisonment be regulated by law. That provision of English law still applies in New Zealand. Its modern consequence is that public officials, whether the police or the director general of health, can only detain us if they act within statutory powers.</p>
<p>A more recent declaration of principle is found in <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0109/latest/DLM225524.html">section 22</a> of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, which says, “Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily arrested or detained.” </p>
<p>When judges interpret other laws, they must try to make sure that the Bill of Rights is met. So if a statute contains a power of detention, it will be construed that it does not allow arbitrary detention unless parliament has been clear that it does not mind arbitrariness.</p>
<p>At a broad-brush level, there are three main legal questions. Was there detention? If so, was there a law in place that allowed detention? And did the law allow arbitrary detention? Let’s look at those three key questions in turn – and why this debate could all come down to the week between March 26 and April 3, 2020.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-may-well-be-able-to-eliminate-coronavirus-but-well-probably-never-eradicate-it-heres-the-difference-137991">We may well be able to eliminate coronavirus, but we'll probably never eradicate it. Here's the difference</a>
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<h2>Was lockdown a form of detention?</h2>
<p>Detention is a step up from restrictions on freedom of movement (also protected by the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act). And an important question is when do we cross the legal threshold from restriction to detention? This is significant because of the protections in international human rights law, which the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act is designed to secure. At the international level, it is made clear that wrongful detention requires compensation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333605/original/file-20200508-49579-1gm28t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A deserted Wellington street on April 4, the day after isolation and quarantine were mandated under the Health Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Various courts and international human rights bodies have examined where to draw the line. In essence, they have decided that “detention” does not require being put under lock and key. </p>
<p>Rather, it turns on whether the restrictions are more intense than mere restrictions on freedom of movement. This includes house arrest accompanied by limited movements outside. This supports the view that anyone other than essential workers was “detained” at level 4 and possibly most people at level 3.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-nz-goes-into-lockdown-authorities-have-new-powers-to-make-sure-people-obey-the-rules-134377">As NZ goes into lockdown, authorities have new powers to make sure people obey the rules</a>
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<h2>Was there a law allowing NZ to detain people in lockdown?</h2>
<p>This question requires a legalistic review. The lockdown rested on directives from the director general of health (presumably drafted by government lawyers, who are the ones who should face any criticism should the lockdown prove to be open to legal challenge). </p>
<p>Under <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1956/0065/latest/DLM307083.html">section 70</a> of the Health Act 1956, the director general can issue <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-epidemic-notice">directives</a> with various aims. One power is to close premises and prevent people congregating in public places. This was used at the outset of the lockdown, but the directive did not specify house arrest and it is difficult to see that this power would allow that. </p>
<p>If the courts agree that people were placed in detention, government lawyers may have an uphill struggle to show that the law used allowed this.</p>
<p>Another section 70 power of the director general is to require isolation and quarantine. This more obviously allows detention, but a directive under this power was not issued until April 3. It made the house arrest scenario clear. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333603/original/file-20200508-49569-k2jwwy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield providing a COVID-19 update to media in Wellington.</span>
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<p>But a separate question is whether the directive can cover all people or whether individual orders have to be made. Given that people can be infectious without symptoms, the public health basis for group detention is fairly strong. In addition, the Health Act powers can be contrasted to powers to quarantine under the Tuberculosis Act 1948, which required an individualised court order.</p>
<p>So, assuming detention, there are good arguments that it was not based in law until April 3. Even after that date there is the third question: was it arbitrary? </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-lockdown-suggests-sticking-to-rules-gets-harder-the-longer-it-continues-135927">The psychology of lockdown suggests sticking to rules gets harder the longer it continues</a>
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<h2>Did NZ allow arbitrary detention in lockdown?</h2>
<p>Many cases have discussed the meaning of arbitrariness, but the core idea is that detention must be the last step – namely, that other options are inadequate. This will depend on the evidence as to the state of knowledge about COVID-19 when the lockdown was imposed. </p>
<p>Importantly, the government has a duty to protect lives, and pandemic situations can be very dangerous, particularly for vulnerable people – as has been demonstrated in New Zealand, and more so in countries that took a lax approach.</p>
<p>Summarising this, first there are good arguments that most of New Zealand was in detention. The government seems to have a good prospect of showing that this was not arbitrary, given the risks of the disease spreading and causing death and misery. </p>
<p>But there is a clear problem with a failure to use the proper law from midnight on March 25, when level 4 lockdown began, until April 3. </p>
<p>This is not just an academic question. People were arrested, prosecuted and in some cases imprisoned for breaching the lockdown rules. </p>
<p>If the lockdown was not lawful until part-way through, people arrested in the week between March 26 and April 3 should not have been. And if, despite the strong arguments of the government, the lockdown was arbitrary, even arrests after April 3 will have been improper. Those people will have a pretty clear claim for unlawful detention and compensation, despite their selfish actions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138203/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kris Gledhill does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Legal challenges to New Zealand’s strict early lockdown rules will test how far a government can go in a public health emergency.Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1377752020-05-07T19:52:07Z2020-05-07T19:52:07ZPast pandemics show how coronavirus budgets can drive faster economic recovery<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333266/original/file-20200507-49584-1vvfui2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3888%2C2578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With New Zealand’s May 14 budget expected to chart the way out of the economic crisis, Finance Minister Grant Robertson should be looking to the past as well as the future. Finance ministers elsewhere are facing similar decisions, many even more constrained than New Zealand’s.</p>
<p>But the common claim that we live in “unprecedented times” is not entirely true. Social distancing and other dramatic interruptions to our lives are nothing new. </p>
<p>One clear precedent is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-sars-81473">SARS epidemic</a> that hit Singapore, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 2003. Other more localised but catastrophic examples, such as the Haiti earthquake of 2010 or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, are also instructive.</p>
<p>What is different is the scale of the current crisis. Economies everywhere are in freefall and unemployment is rising. Gross domestic product figures for the first quarter of 2020 show economic declines not seen since WWII. The second quarter is <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020">predicted</a> to be even worse.</p>
<p>The challenge for governments is to manage both expectations and spending to drive recovery. Despite the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/415689/cabinet-approves-fast-tracking-of-shovel-ready-projects">fast-tracking</a> of so-called “shovel-ready” construction projects, that does not necessarily mean infrastructural spending is a magic bullet.</p>
<h2>An alphabet of possible recoveries</h2>
<p>There are four plausible recovery trajectories. A V-shaped recovery suggests the affected economies will rebound rapidly after lockdown. A U-shaped recovery entails a similar return to normality but after a longer downturn. </p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1035/u-and-v.gif?1588822614" width="100%"></p>
<p>The W describes a second hit to the economy, most likely from a second wave of infections (as happened in the second winter of the catastrophic <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/topics/1918-flu-pandemic-50734">1918-1919 flu pandemic</a>) but potentially also caused by misguided economic policies. Most worrisome here would be premature withdrawal of government spending support. </p>
<p>The worst case is L-shaped, in which the economy takes many years to come back.</p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1036/w-and-l.gif?1588825494" width="100%"></p>
<p>Recovery from SARS was V-shaped in all the affected economies. While SARS spread to many fewer places and disappeared more quickly than our present nemesis, social distancing in the four affected countries was not dramatically different. Fear at the time was as palpable as it is now. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-and-spanish-flu-economic-lessons-to-learn-from-the-last-truly-global-pandemic-133176">Coronavirus and Spanish flu: economic lessons to learn from the last truly global pandemic</a>
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<p>Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore all experienced a dip in GDP growth in the first half of 2003. But by the third quarter their economies were growing fast again. Statistical analysis we did for the Asian Development Bank found the epidemic did not have any longer-term adverse effect on these three economies. </p>
<p>China is a much bigger country, but even when we looked at its two hardest-hit regions, Guangdong and Beijing, the picture was the same – a V. We could see this from economic data from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, and with satellite images of night-time light emitted by urban-industrial areas. </p>
<p>These data suggest there was some re-orienting of economic activity after the SARS epidemic (as observed in the diminished night-light) but very little long-lasting effect on aggregate incomes. The same rebound may be happening right now in Wuhan which emerged from lockdown in March this year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333298/original/file-20200507-49584-o7mwba.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>SARS affected, drastically but briefly, only a few countries in East Asia (and Toronto, due to travel-borne infection). Each had the institutional capacity and financial resources to successfully mobilise recovery once the infection had been vanquished.</p>
<p>The data from recoveries after other types of disasters tell a similar story. Except for very poor and chaotically-governed places (such as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00181-017-1405-4">Haiti</a>), countries tend to recover quite rapidly. This is true for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387818310976?casa_token=JR3h7UoTFMQAAAAA:YUkeeX5yekMPkg6s4GDwXR6Jus8S7ur_nn4R5Fszc5NtdDdGNLMXV6kA1d5E-EhOFGfAFrutlyo">Indonesia</a> and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rode.12586">Sri Lanka</a>, hardest hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Their recovery was fuelled by generous assistance from abroad and large mobilisations at home.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-hasnt-killed-globalisation-it-proves-why-we-need-it-135077">Coronavirus hasn't killed globalisation – it proves why we need it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Targeted funding and managing fear to recover faster</h2>
<p>Two main observations emerge in this rear-view mirror. The first is that the targeting of recovery funding is <a href="https://www.nowpublishers.com/article/Details/IRERE-0104">crucial</a>. After previous shocks, when regions or cities failed to recover completely, it was usually because the recovery was under-resourced or funding was mis-targeted.</p>
<p>Unlike a natural disaster, the damage associated with COVID-19 is not to infrastructure. It is to employment in specific sectors such as tourism and culture. Policies should therefore target the maintenance of labour markets (even if it means sustaining them on life support) rather than spending on more infrastructure. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-one-off-tax-on-wealth-could-cover-the-economic-cost-of-the-coronavirus-crisis-137677">How a one-off tax on wealth could cover the economic cost of the coronavirus crisis</a>
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<p>“Shovel-ready” projects were critical after the 2008 global financial crisis, when the disruption was largely to the construction/housing sector. A construction injection now will not provide work for most of people who have lost their jobs in restaurants, hotels, retail, or travel. </p>
<p>Spending on better and greener infrastructure, when the existing infrastructure is crumbling or dangerous, is good policy in and of itself. But it will not provide the necessary antidote to our current malaise.</p>
<p>Secondly, recovery depends crucially on expectations. In those cases where the shock <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X17303893?casa_token=xCDSv81Hr2gAAAAA:_g5fZQIS8Zt7omAwLRMwk0fQlF7AZP8Ju8Ce7jSeR_wT13yW0bQ1dRpo7sdq6ujCO8cd8jl9i1I">significantly increased</a> the fear of future shocks, recovery was slower. Households and businesses were more reluctant to buy and invest.</p>
<p>Without assurances that we have “solved” COVID-19 – with a vaccine or effective control – a full recovery is going to be impossible. The longer it takes, the more our recovery will be shaped like a drawn-out U rather than a V. As the Economist magazine recently put it, we will have a <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/04/30/life-after-lockdowns">90% economy</a>.</p>
<p>Without a good public health response we might even risk a W, where a second wave of infection requires further harsh but necessary social distancing.</p>
<p>Without managing expectations about a COVID-free future, and without aggressive but well-targeted government action, the post-pandemic trajectory will look like an L. That will put a far greater burden on future generations than any debt governments might take on now to develop a vaccine or keep businesses afloat and people on payrolls.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137775/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ilan Noy receives funding from several New Zealand government grants, including from the Health Research Council, the Ministry for Business, Innovation, and Employment, and the Earthquake Commission. </span></em></p>Previous shocks show that smart spending and building public confidence are crucial to the speed and shape of economic recovery.Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1350402020-04-15T06:10:17Z2020-04-15T06:10:17ZNew Zealand’s coronavirus elimination strategy has united a nation. Can that unity outlast lockdown?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327949/original/file-20200415-153298-dgq7jp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=36%2C9%2C1226%2C661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A billboard created by Auckland University of Technology students. thanking New Zealand's essential workers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/HuttValleyDHB/status/1246915789766012928">HuttValleyDHB/Twitter</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During a national emergency we discover how well, or poorly, a country is governed. But New Zealand’s success so far in working towards eliminating COVID-19 isn’t due just to leadership from the top. It’s been a collective success, involving most “ordinary” Kiwis and unity across political divides.</p>
<p>As New Zealand awaits a decision on easing its strict <a href="https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-system/current-covid-19-alert-level/">level 4 lockdown</a>, it’s worth looking at what’s worked here so far, what hasn’t – and how much national unity might survive in the months ahead.</p>
<h2>Unseen acts of public service</h2>
<p>New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-jacinda-arderns-coronavirus-response-has-been-a-masterclass-in-crisis-leadership-135541">crisis leadership skills</a> have attracted the most <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/09/asia/new-zealand-lessons-intl-hnk/index.html?fbclid=IwAR19C1BZ-yIeKkkzRkiaMS-ayMJqn5PJ0CSBNK5SopU6mhgPo2q6M70JBYo">international attention</a>. And understandably so – it took courage and leadership to heed scientific advice and go for <a href="https://www.nzma.org.nz/journal-articles/new-zealands-elimination-strategy-for-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-what-is-required-to-make-it-work">elimination</a> of the virus, which is not an option for many countries. Ardern has also shown a strong command of the issues, along with humane, firm and consistent messaging. </p>
<p>But Ardern has not been the only leader in New Zealand’s COVID-19 response. Instead, what’s been striking is how well the nation’s broader political system – the public service, health experts, the opposition, and the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/414137/covid-19-lockdown-64-prosecutions-for-breaches-over-easter">vast majority</a> of New Zealand’s nearly <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/population">5 million people</a> – have all played a role.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1250232112474537985"}"></div></p>
<p><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/413048/the-people-leading-new-zealand-s-fight-against-covid-19">Senior officials</a>, led by director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, have wielded significant <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/120666760/the-rule-of-law-matters-even-more-during-an-emergency">emergency powers</a> and performed impressively.</p>
<p>Ministers and public officials have worked well as a team when fronting up to journalists, and been willing to address difficult questions. </p>
<p>Behind each of those leaders, from the prime minister down, there has an army of often unseen public servants and health professionals working around the clock to support a nation-wide effort.</p>
<p>Of course, certain problems were not well anticipated. For example, the repatriation and quarantining of <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/413253/police-didn-t-check-all-recent-arrivals-were-self-isolating-bush">Kiwis returning home</a> could have been better, while initially there was lax monitoring at the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/413327/covid-19-border-restrictions-no-sign-of-tighter-controls-despite-police-admission">border</a> and <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/30-03-2020/lockdown-policing-cant-work-well-while-theres-still-confusion-over-rules/">inconsistently applied</a> policing guidelines.</p>
<p>Admittedly, no one could have fully prepared for this pandemic. But the government and the public sector will have lessons to learn for next time. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En">Taiwan</a> was better prepared than many nations for COVID-19 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971204001766">due to its past experience</a> with SARS in 2003.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1250254262363275264"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trust-in-government-is-high-in-nz-but-will-it-last-until-the-countrys-elections-later-in-the-year-135840">Trust in government is high in NZ, but will it last until the country's elections later in the year?</a>
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<h2>Personal leadership from the ground up</h2>
<p>New Zealanders right across the country also deserve recognition for having cooperated for weeks with severe, if not dictatorial, <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/04/01/1110952/democracy-on-hold">restrictions</a> on their liberties and customs, even affecting the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/412705/covid-19-funeral-restrictions-leave-families-grieving-in-isolation">ways we mourn</a>. </p>
<p>For many Kiwis, there’s been painful loss of income, social isolation, and radical changes in <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/esport/120945183/coronavirus-how-the-sport-lockdown-has-opened-the-door-to-esports">sport and recreation</a>. But we have each played a part in successfully breaking the chains of COVID-19 transmission.</p>
<p>The community has got in behind an elimination strategy that (so far) is working. The daily numbers of new reported cases peaked at 89 on April 5 and have declined since. The number of <a href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases">active cases</a> (all reported cases minus recoveries) is declining. Health system overload has been averted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/327903/original/file-20200415-117573-3n0wjw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Zealand’s running tally of new and probably cases, as of 9am, April 15, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases">NZ Ministry of Health</a></span>
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<p>There have, of course, been rule-breakers, some of whom even Ardern has called <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/04/coronavirus-christchurch-man-arrested-for-coughing-sneezing-on-supermarket-customers.html">“idiots”</a>. </p>
<p>But, fearful of either infecting others or being infected, most people have been supportive of the government’s efforts. An international <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/08-04-2020/almost-90-of-new-zealanders-back-ardern-government-on-covid-19-poll/">poll</a> found 88% of New Zealanders surveyed “trust the government to make the right decision around the response to COVID-19” – significantly higher than in other countries including the UK, US, Canada and Japan. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-lockdown-suggests-sticking-to-rules-gets-harder-the-longer-it-continues-135927">The psychology of lockdown suggests sticking to rules gets harder the longer it continues</a>
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<h2>Opposition scrutiny and unity</h2>
<blockquote>
<p>On the big questions […] there’s no National or Labour, or Green or ACT or New Zealand First; just New Zealanders. – Opposition leader Simon Bridges’ <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2020/03/25/1100027/simon-bridges-full-speech-on-state-of-emergency">speech</a> to parliament about the declaration of a national state of emergency, March 25, 2020.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When rapid action was needed to pass emergency legislation in March this year, including a <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-outstrips-australia-uk-and-us-with-12-billion-coronavirus-package-for-business-and-people-in-isolation-133789">massive stimulus package</a>, New Zealand’s parliament acted quickly, and with unusual unity across party lines. </p>
<p>Since then, while parliament has been adjourned, a special select committee chaired by National Party leader <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/03/in-the-absence-of-parliament-we-must-ensure-new-zealands-response-to-covid-19-is-the-best-it-can-be">Simon Bridges</a>, has been running public online hearings, with opposition members in the majority. </p>
<p>They have asked ministers and officials critical but constructive questions about the crisis response, holding the government and officials to account, as they should. Following a <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/412083/simon-bridges-jacinda-ardern-clash-between-responsible-and-political">fractious exchange</a> at the start, there has been relatively little political point-scoring.</p>
<p>Similarly, not long after the prime minister’s <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/government-ministers-and-chief-executives-take-pay-cut">announcement</a> that she, her ministers and public sector leaders would take a <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/121027864/ministers-to-take-20-per-cent-pay-cut">20% pay cut</a> for the next six months, the opposition leader said he’d be doing the same.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1250236537846943744"}"></div></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-jacinda-arderns-coronavirus-response-has-been-a-masterclass-in-crisis-leadership-135541">Three reasons why Jacinda Ardern's coronavirus response has been a masterclass in crisis leadership</a>
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<h2>Returning to politics as usual beyond level 4 lockdown</h2>
<p>I’d love to say the present politics of unity will last, but it would be naive to expect that. </p>
<p>Even today, the opposition leader moved to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/414253/national-party-leader-simon-bridges-calls-for-work-to-restart-safely-after-lockdown">take the initiative</a> from the government, pushing for more businesses to re-open sooner rather than later. Bridges’ call pre-empted finance minister Grant Robertson’s <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/414297/covid-19-finance-minister-says-businesses-to-shift-to-safe-economic-activity-under-alert-level-3">speech</a> later in the day about opening more “safe” businesses.</p>
<p>The date for the next election is still set for 19 September. While Labour is riding high at the moment, this is likely to be temporary. After the Christchurch terrorist attack in March last year, Labour surged ahead of National in the polls, but soon <a href="https://theconversation.com/left-leaning-australians-may-look-to-new-zealand-with-envy-but-ardern-still-has-much-work-to-do-128227">fell back</a> to second place. </p>
<p>By the time this immediate health crisis is over and the economic consequences start to bite, we are bound to go back to politics as usual. National could, for instance, attack the government over the economic fallout, and Labour would then have to defend its record. </p>
<p>And political fallout from national crises can really damage an incumbent government, if things go badly.</p>
<p><em>Stay in touch with The Conversation’s coverage from New Zealand experts by signing up for <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz/newsletters/new-zealand-weekly-58?utm_campaign=System&utm_content=newsletter&utm_medium=TopBar&utm_source=theconversation.com">our weekly newsletter</a> – delivered to you each Wednesday.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand’s COVID-19 elimination strategy has been a collective success, involving ‘ordinary’ Kiwis and unity across political divides. Ending lockdown and a looming election will test that unity.Grant Duncan, Associate Professor for the School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1282272019-12-04T18:37:36Z2019-12-04T18:37:36ZLeft-leaning Australians may look to New Zealand with envy, but Ardern still has much work to do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/305074/original/file-20191204-70184-1avrqia.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jacinda Ardern created an indefinable aura of promise – but just as people fall in love, some have fallen out of love, too.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Mick Tsikas</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In October 2017, 37-year-old Jacinda Ardern became prime minister of New Zealand. The world looked longingly at a young and inspiring female leader who had unexpectedly catapulted the Labour Party into office.</p>
<p>Ardern promised that kindness, compassion and <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/jacinda-ardern-climate-change-is-my-generation-s-nuclear-free-moment.html">carbon-neutrality</a> would bless the Antipodes. She then gave birth to a beautiful girl and took six weeks’ parental leave, after which dad took over as caregiver. And baby made a star <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxp3tujHoUs">appearance</a> at the UN General Assembly. </p>
<p>Ardern was also widely praised for her compassionate responses to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-attacks-are-a-stark-warning-of-toxic-political-environment-that-allows-hate-to-flourish-113662">terrorist attacks</a> on two mosques in Christchurch on March 15.</p>
<p>Across the Pacific, Australians unhappy with their own conservative government may have been, and may continue to be, envious of New Zealand as a bastion of progressive, compassionate government. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/centre-left-politics-dead-in-crisis-or-in-transition-119159">Centre-left politics: dead, in crisis, or in transition?</a>
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<p>But on closer inspection, it may not be as compassionate as it seems. US President Donald Trump, for example, <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/05/how-new-zealand-inspired-trump-s-new-immigration-proposals.html">envies</a> New Zealand its tough, skills-based immigration policy. And it doesn’t need a wall to keep people out, thanks to the Pacific Ocean. </p>
<p>Despite all the lauding of the Ardern government, Kiwis who have left for life in another country – including the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/the-detail/114830305/the-detail-australia-tightens-up-its-kiwi-deportation-rules">600,000 in Australia</a> – are not flocking home. It may have something to do with higher incomes and better weather.</p>
<p>Indeed, sometimes New Zealand likes to emulate Australia. Ardern sensibly copied John Howard’s post-Port Arthur <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n5314/pdf/ch09.pdf">firearms ban</a> after the Christchurch attack. It’s genuinely tragic that New Zealand didn’t follow Australia’s example back in 1996. Lives would have been saved.</p>
<p>The Ardern you meet face to face is “as seen on TV” – a highly intelligent and empathetic person. There’s nothing fake about her. But the business of government is complex, grinding and (when you fail) unforgiving. And, in a democracy, it’s not about one person.</p>
<p>Due to proportional representation, to be prime minister of New Zealand, you have to build and maintain coalition relationships with other parties, and you may have little in common with some of them.</p>
<p>Like a curmudgeonly uncle who spoils the youngsters’ Christmases, the veteran conservative populist Winston Peters has been propping up Ardern’s coalition government as deputy prime minister. And that deal came with a big price-tag, including a <a href="https://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1710/362429780LabourandNewZealandFirstCoalitionAgreement.pdf">one-billion-dollar-per-annum provincial growth fund</a>. It also gave Peters the power to block progressive policies, such as a tougher <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12224277&fbclid=IwAR3ZPeFb9-hg9NkByR76Rc7QgHd-_4t7cFJ9IT6uEvsMJjjESsXNY1SiOCg">capital-gains tax</a>.</p>
<p>Ardern over-promised on policy, especially on solving the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/09/labour-s-flagship-policy-where-did-kiwibuild-go-wrong.html">housing</a> crisis, and is now seen as struggling to deliver. </p>
<p>Auckland’s housing market remains one of the world’s <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11979658">least affordable</a> – although not outdoing Sydney. Many Kiwis <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/386181/more-than-250-000-new-zealand-children-living-in-poverty-new-figures-show">are still struggling</a> with costs of living.</p>
<p>Ardern created an indefinable aura of promise – about a better and <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018619376/i-want-the-government-to-bring-kindness-back">“kinder”</a> politics – that resonated emotionally. In May 2018, Facebook called her the world’s <a href="https://twiplomacy.com/blog/world-leaders-on-facebook-2018/">“most loved”</a> leader.</p>
<p>People often fall in love, but then they fall out of it. The beloved was supposed to make bad things go away. But the unspoken promise doesn’t materialise.</p>
<p>There is now disappointment that Ardern wouldn’t visit the land-claim protestors at <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12259956">Ihumātao</a>, that she isn’t fixing the country’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/19/a-weeping-sore-jacinda-ardern-must-clean-up-new-zealands-political-donations-mess">electoral-finance</a> laws, and that it took the Labour Party six months to investigate a serious <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/115652892/labour-took-six-months-to-investigate-serious-sexual-assault-complaint">sexual assault</a> against a young female party volunteer – and even then they botched it.</p>
<p>Ardern readily accepts that there is still <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/12/livestream-jacinda-ardern-s-speech-to-labour-conference.html">a lot to fix</a>. </p>
<p>But the latest <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117880219/new-poll-has-nationalled-government">polls</a> suggest that the next election, due in November 2020, may not go Labour’s way, and so she may not be around to fix stuff. </p>
<p>Ardern’s rise to power, domestically and globally, meant shouldering a burden of frustrated left-wing hopes and dreams, most of them needing radical reforms – too radical for Peters. </p>
<p>Ardern did not follow her predecessor Helen Clark’s third-way maxim – <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/john-armstrongs-opinion-jacinda-arderns-eco-warrior-emissions-cutting-image-charade">“under-promise and over-deliver”</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-podcast-jacinda-ardern-on-her-political-life-92670">Politics podcast: Jacinda Ardern on her political life</a>
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<p>New Zealand’s three-year parliamentary term means that a new government has to face the electorate before it has had a chance to produce results.</p>
<p>In the May 2020 Budget we can expect big new capital expenditure to raise employment and incomes, and to fix some problems. But it remains to be seen whether Labour and the Greens can muster enough voters to overcome Kiwi conservatism.</p>
<p>The opinions of many Kiwis are sufficiently of the protectionist “New Zealand first” variety that, if a wave of refugees were to arrive, the reactions would be just as polarising as they have been in Australia. </p>
<p>In a large online <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/93679813/grant-duncan-widening-inequality-fuels-high-level-of-discontent-among-kiwis">survey</a> in 2017, 55% agreed that the numbers of immigrants arriving were “too high”, nearly 53% believed new arrivals should be told “do things the Kiwi way”, and 72% said New Zealand should “strictly control foreign ownership of property”. The numbers of immigrants have not declined much since 2017.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s populist and decidedly less progressive politics are discernible, if you ask the right <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/95257522/things-in-nz-are-good-so-why-are-we-so-grumpy">questions</a>. It’s just not obvious at the moment to the outside observer.</p>
<p>So if you feel a twinge of Kiwi-envy, just remember it always pays to take a closer look.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128227/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grant Duncan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Yes, Jacinda Ardern is an intelligent, compassionate prime minister, but governing is difficult – and problems have inevitably arisen, or never gone away.Grant Duncan, Associate Professor for the School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1275962019-11-22T10:02:02Z2019-11-22T10:02:02ZNZ deputy PM under fire, but maintains no laws broken in party donations scandal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303075/original/file-20191122-112990-152f81m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C86%2C5699%2C3311&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First party, maintains that no laws have been broken in his party's funding arrangements.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Paul Braven</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, is under pressure following a <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/electoral-commission-receives-complaint-over-nz-first-foundation">complaint</a> to the <a href="https://elections.nz/">New Zealand Electoral Commission</a> about his party’s mysterious funding arrangements.</p>
<p>Under electoral law, political parties have to <a href="https://elections.nz/guidance-and-rules/donations-and-loans/rules-for-party-donations-and-loans/">disclose all donations above NZ$15,000</a>. But the New Zealand First party, a coalition partner in the Labour-led government, has a somewhat <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/403141/mysterious-foundation-loaning-new-zealand-first-money">opaque relationship with a trust called the New Zealand First Foundation</a>, which has loaned the party tens of thousands of dollars in the past three years. </p>
<p>Those <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/117577119/who-are-the-donors-behind-the-nz-first-foundation">giving money to the foundation</a> can remain anonymous because under electoral law, loans are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as donations. </p>
<p>But the foundation’s trustees are the New Zealand First party’s lawyer and an ex-member of parliament, who is now a lobbyist. This raises questions about the legality of the funding.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-politics-how-political-donations-could-be-reformed-to-reduce-potential-influence-105805">New Zealand politics: how political donations could be reformed to reduce potential influence</a>
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<h2>Money, politics and scandal</h2>
<p>The relationship between private wealth and public power bedevils all democracies. In particular, constant tension surrounds the use of such wealth to fund political parties and candidates that contest public office. </p>
<p>This issue often emerges in the form of a scandal, where some practice or behaviour is revealed that challenges current legal or social norms. New Zealand is in the midst of such a moment.</p>
<p>While the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/403141/mysterious-foundation-loaning-new-zealand-first-money">loans from the foundation are legal</a>, they have the practical effect of preventing the public disclosure of whoever provided the money in the first place. Reporting <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/117577119/who-are-the-donors-behind-the-nz-first-foundation">based on leaked internal documents</a> reveals that the foundation’s funding sources include “companies and individuals who work in industries that have benefited from a NZ$3 billion <a href="https://www.growregions.govt.nz/about-us/the-provincial-growth-fund/">Provincial Growth Fund</a>” overseen by a New Zealand First minister. </p>
<p>As further reported, the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/117509589/nz-first-foundation-dodging-electoral-rules-records-suggest-breaches?rm=m">foundation also appears to have directly paid</a> for some of New Zealand First’s activities without those payments being disclosed as donations to the party. If correct, that practice looks to be at least questionable under existing electoral law. </p>
<p>While the New Zealand Electoral Commission is now examining the matter, its investigatory role is somewhat limited as it cannot require anyone to produce additional documentation. But should the commission conclude that the recent revelations show New Zealand First (or, more specifically, its party secretary) has committed an offence against the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/DLM307519.html#DLM1868320">Electoral Act</a>, it has a <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/DLM307519.html">statutory obligation</a> to refer the matter to police.</p>
<p>Such a referral would, of course, be politically very damaging to the party. Unfortunately, it would not be unprecedented. The country’s <a href="https://www.sfo.govt.nz/">Serious Fraud Office</a> already is <a href="https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/update-complaint-received-regarding-disclosure-political-donations">examining allegations</a> relating to the opposition National Party’s treatment of some NZ$100,000 in donations. To have two of New Zealand’s political parties under police investigation for possible illegal activity is hardly a ringing endorsement of the country’s political culture.</p>
<h2>Is the law fit for purpose?</h2>
<p>The alternative may not be all that much better. Consider what it means if, after discussing the matter with the party and the foundation, the commission concludes that no laws have been broken. After all, the leader of the New Zealand First party, Winston Peters, <a href="https://www.nzfirst.org.nz/electoral_law_breach_allegations">maintains this to be the case</a>.</p>
<p>It would demonstrate New Zealand’s electoral law simply is not fit for purpose. </p>
<p>It would mean a key part of the government can be intimately connected to a legally opaque foundation that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from primary industry leaders, wealthy investors and multi-millionaires; that the foundation can use that money for the benefit of a party and its MPs; and that no one outside of the party and those who gave the money need know what is going on.</p>
<p>Such a state of affairs surely would threaten New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.transparency.org/country/NZL">ranking as the world’s second least corrupt nation</a> in the world. It is important to note there is no indication that any form of quid pro quo actually exists here, but this would make it hard to sustain public trust and confidence in our governing arrangements.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-full-ban-on-political-donations-would-level-the-playing-field-but-is-it-the-best-approach-81821">A full ban on political donations would level the playing field – but is it the best approach?</a>
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<p>For this reason, the current scandal is already generating calls for change to New Zealand’s electoral laws. Former National Party prime minister, Jim Bolger, <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018723350/ex-prime-minister-jim-bolger-calls-for-end-of-political-donations">advocates an end to private donations</a> to political parties and a system of public funding. Author Max Rashbrooke advocates a combination of low limits on private donations and the use of “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/19/a-weeping-sore-jacinda-ardern-must-clean-up-new-zealands-political-donations-mess">democracy vouchers</a>”, which give every citizen a small amount of money to donate to the political party of their choice.</p>
<p>Those are proposals that New Zealand ought at least to consider seriously. For as long as the country continues to leave the funding of political parties and candidates up to those individuals and groups with wealth to spare, we will see scandals like the current one reoccur.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127596/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Geddis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The New Zealand First party, a government coalition partner, has received tens of thousands of dollars from a foundation whose trustees include the party’s lawyer and an ex-MP.Andrew Geddis, Professor, University of OtagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1265802019-11-11T19:00:57Z2019-11-11T19:00:57ZAs NZ votes on euthanasia bill, here is a historical perspective on a ‘good death’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300825/original/file-20191108-10935-w4iaqq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=70%2C149%2C5163%2C3201&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Critics of assisted suicide often raise moral objections while proponents focus on the trauma of terminally ill patients. But all arguments have a long history.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week New Zealand’s parliamentarians will vote on the third reading of the <a href="https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_74307/end-of-life-choice-bill">End of Life Choice Bill</a>. </p>
<p>Much public discussion on the merits of euthanasia has centred around the role of the medical practitioner as healer. Some doctors and conscientious objectors worry that physician-assisted suicide will alter the <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/392774/seymour-unfazed-by-doctors-letter-against-end-of-life-choice-bill">relationship between doctors and their patients</a>. They argue it is unethical, often invoking the <a href="https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20909">Hippocratic oath</a>. </p>
<p>The oldest code of medical ethics, the oath dates to around the fourth century BC and is still sworn by doctors today. It specifically <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24624423.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Ace52758660d62b03cd7c96af548f9691&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">forbids physicians from administering lethal drugs</a>, among its other precepts.</p>
<p>Some critics of the bill present religious and moral objections against euthanasia, while proponents have focused on the trauma and pain of terminally ill patients and their families. All these arguments have a long history.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-places-where-its-legal-how-many-people-are-ending-their-lives-using-euthanasia-73755">In places where it's legal, how many people are ending their lives using euthanasia?</a>
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<h2>The art of dying well</h2>
<p>Like the Hippocratic oath, euthanasia (in its literal meaning of “good death” in ancient Greek) <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953603005756">first appeared</a> around the fourth and third century BC. Ancient Roman emperors, at death’s door, were known to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37440902-of-the-advancement-and-proficience-of-learning">consume wine, drugs and other palliatives to ease their dying</a>. Good emperors were believed to deserve a dignified death, and often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953603005756">staged them</a>. </p>
<p>In pre-modern Europe, <a href="http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/journal/volumes/volume_18/Death%20and%20Dying%20in%20Medieval%20and%20Early%20Modern%20Europe.pdf">experiencing a good death</a> and intentionally shortening the agony of dying were separate matters. From 1400 on, there was a thriving trade in <a href="http://www.deathreference.com/A-Bi/Ars-Moriendi.html">advice books on the art of dying</a>. These instructed readers on how to prepare their souls for a “good death” and the Christian afterlife. </p>
<p>Prayers, rituals and information about what to expect offered practical guidance for attaining salvation. Christian theologians saw euthanasia as “<a href="https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=uYNbwVzdPm4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bartolomeo+Castelli,+Amaltheum+Castello-Brunonianum,+sive,+Lexicon+medicum&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjfh_KcgdnlAhUOfH0KHeapA44Q6wEIOzAB#v=onepage&q=euthanasia&f=false">a blessed and peaceful death of the faithful</a>”. </p>
<p>Whether and how people sought to hasten or ameliorate death is less clear. Scholars only began considering the doctor’s role in enabling euthanasia in the late 16th century.</p>
<h2>Early ideas about assisted dying</h2>
<p>In 1605, English lawyer, statesman and natural philosopher <a href="https://www.biography.com/scholar/francis-bacon">Francis Bacon</a> wrote that the physician’s office extends to <a href="https://books.google.co.nz/books/about/Bacon.html?id=bslNAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">matters of health as well as dying</a>. In his words, a physician ought “not only to restore health, but to mitigate dolours, and torments of Diseases”. If there was no hope of the patient’s recovery, everything should be done “to make a fair and easie passage out of life”.</p>
<p>Bacon called this “fair and easie passage” euthanasia. Importantly, he distinguished between “outward” euthanasia and the soul’s peaceful transition to the afterlife. While the latter remained the purview of the spiritual realm, Bacon placed the former within medicine’s province.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301052/original/file-20191111-194641-1v74pou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A devil and an angel weigh up a dying man’s soul. From Hieronymus Bosch: The seven deadly sins.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from Wikimedia commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Until recently, historians believed active euthanasia did not exist in pre-modern Europe, but historian of medicine <a href="https://www.medizingeschichte.uni-wuerzburg.de/stolberg.html">Michael Stolberg</a> has <a href="https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319541778">challenged this notion</a>. </p>
<p>A physician in 1660s Antwerp, <a href="https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/bran038biog01_01/bran038biog01_01_0550.php">Michiel Boudewijns</a>, wondered whether doctors could help their terminal patients die. While moved by patients in agony, Boudewijns urged Christian doctors to observe the fifth commandment and the Hippocratic rule of “do no harm”. He cautioned his colleagues against undertaking risky procedures and acting on compassion to expedite death in hopeless cases. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hypothetical-designs-can-help-us-think-through-our-conversations-about-euthanasia-125975">How hypothetical designs can help us think through our conversations about euthanasia</a>
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<h2>A matter of trust</h2>
<p>Physicians also feared patients would lose trust in them if they knew they shortened dying patients’ lives. It was not until the late 17th century that facilitating dying sparked public debate among scholars. In 1678, Caspar Questel, a Silesian lawyer active in Saxony, wrote about assisted dying in the homes of ordinary people. </p>
<p>Methods to accelerate dying ranged from acts of faith and folklore to illegal actions. Questel had discovered that family members, nurses, nuns and other carers removed the pillow from under the head of the dying person. It was a widespread custom that was believed to quicken death. </p>
<p>Other forms of assistance included opening a window so the soul of the dying person would be encouraged to leave the body and meet God, placing lit candles around the gravely sick and placing the dying on the ground or putting them outdoors. More fatal actions involved suffocating the dying with a pillow or cutting their veins. Exercising empathy for the suffering of the dying was weighed against the risk of being charged for their premature deaths.</p>
<p>In present-day New Zealand, if this week’s vote is in favour of euthanasia, the option for assisted dying will still need to be ratified in <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/401616/key-vote-for-referendum-on-voluntary-euthanasia-looms">a referendum next year</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, cultural customs, prevailing medical ethics and beliefs about death and the afterlife have evolved over time. Today discussions about euthanasia involve a wider range of participants than in pre-modern Europe. The distance between learned professionals and everyone else has narrowed. Civil rights, legal precedents and protections have given us a new language and ethics through which to understand fraught issues concerning our health, body and death.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Abou-Nemeh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The arguments in favour or against euthanasia have a long history, going back to the Hippocratic oath that doctors still swear today.Catherine Abou-Nemeh, Lecturer in Early Modern History, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1220402019-08-25T19:53:24Z2019-08-25T19:53:24ZVoter turnout at New Zealand local elections keeps falling, but paying people to vote could backfire<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/289149/original/file-20190822-170951-1aqhaok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=110%2C213%2C4809%2C3039&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rather than encouraging people to become better citizens, rewards and fines can actually reduce peoples’ natural tendencies to do the right thing by others.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, voter enrolment for the 2019 local government elections closed in New Zealand and concerns about low voter turnout resurfaced. During a <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396811/paying-voters-idea-floated-to-boost-local-body-elections-turnout">panel discussion</a> run by Auckland Council, the idea was raised to pay people to vote to encourage participation. </p>
<p>The concerns about low voter turnout are well founded. Voting rates in local government elections <a href="http://socialreport.msd.govt.nz/civil-and-political-rights/voter-turnout.html">have been falling for at least 30 years</a> and voter participation now rests around 40% – almost half that of general elections.</p>
<p>The idea that we should be <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/396811/paying-voters-idea-floated-to-boost-local-body-elections-turnout">paying people</a> to cast their vote in New Zealand <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85206579/paying-voters-one-solution-to-new-zealands-election-apathy">isn’t new</a>. But the notion ignores the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.50.2.368">evidence</a> that using explicit monetary incentives to induce pro-social behaviour can be counterproductive.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-how-unusual-is-compulsory-voting-and-do-90-of-new-zealanders-vote-without-it-62443">FactCheck Q&A: how unusual is compulsory voting, and do 90% of New Zealanders vote without it?</a>
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<h2><em>Homo economicus</em></h2>
<p>The suggestion to pay people to vote rests heavily on the assumption that people subscribe to the self-interested motivations of <em><a href="https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095943203">Homo economicus</a></em>: the idea that people make decisions purely on extrinsic motivations often determined by financial incentives.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.7.1.83">type of thinking</a> has guided political theorists and constitutional thinkers since the late 18th century; influencing policy and causing laws to be designed to induce people to act as if they were civic minded, rather than explicitly encouraging the cultivation of civic virtues. </p>
<p>But this approach to policy making ignores the fact that we frequently observe people making choices in the best interests of society, rather than solely on what might best financially benefit themselves. These decisions are understood to be guided by <a href="https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/70/3/489/1571401?redirectedFrom=fulltext">intrinsic motivations</a>, as opposed to extrinsic motivations.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bungled-nz-census-highlights-need-for-multiple-voting-options-to-raise-maori-participation-121831">Bungled NZ census highlights need for multiple voting options to raise Māori participation</a>
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<h2>The crowding out paradox</h2>
<p>The issue is that in situations where intrinsic motivations are ignored and substituted for market mechanisms, such as rewards or fines, we can “<a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/320/5883/1605">crowd out</a>” intrinsic motivations. In other words, rather than enhancing pro-social behaviour, rewards and fines can actually reduce peoples’ natural tendencies to be good citizens.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most <a href="https://rady.ucsd.edu/faculty/directory/gneezy/pub/docs/fine.pdf">well known illustration of crowding out</a> was a controlled behavioural experiment in Haifa, Israel, where parents who were late picking up their children at the end of the day were fined. Parents responded to the fine, but not as the daycare centres had hoped. Rather than encouraging cooperative behaviour the fine appeared to undermine the parents’ sense of personal obligation to avoid inconveniencing the teachers, and late pick-ups more than doubled. </p>
<p>Another well known example found that <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/gift-relationship">paying people to give blood</a> in the United Kingdom caused donations to go down, while another study found that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2586896?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">paying people to collect money for charity</a> caused the volunteers to collect fewer donations.</p>
<p>In each of these cases, peoples’ natural tendencies to do good were crowded out by fines, bonuses or other incentives that put a price on their civic behaviour, and left them less inclined to act in a pro-social and generous way.</p>
<h2>Message for policymakers</h2>
<p>Voter turnout rates help to show how citizens feel about government, both in terms of their confidence in political institutions and whether their participation can make a difference. Because of this, the long-term trend in local government voter engagement should be raising red flags among decision makers in New Zealand. </p>
<p>So what to do? Although there is unlikely to be a panacea for increasing turnout, a mix of strategies that <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2952255?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents">integrate structural reform</a> with behavioural tools, such as requiring voters to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/us/politics/oregon-voter-registration.html">opt out rather than opt in</a> or offering “<a href="https://www.vox.com/presidential-election/2016/11/8/13553112/i-voted-sticker">I voted</a>” stickers, could offer incremental improvements. Likewise, investing in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/10/civics-education-helps-form-young-voters-and-activists/572299/">civic education</a> could stimulate long-term changes in beliefs and norms, thereby increasing the scope of citizens’ intrinsic motivations and levels of voter engagement.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-lowering-the-voting-age-to-16-could-save-democracy-93567">How lowering the voting age to 16 could save democracy</a>
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<p>Whatever the strategies explored, policymakers need to be aware that fines, bonuses or other incentives have the potential to compromise peoples’ pre-existing civic values and intrinsic motivations. Subsequently, New Zealand decision makers need to take a comprehensive view of the things that motivate people to act when considering ways to increase voter engagement at the next election.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Talbot-Jones is an affiliate of Motu Economic and Public Policy Research. </span></em></p>The idea that a small payment could motivate more people to vote resurfaces regularly, but this ignores evidence that monetary incentives to induce pro-social behaviour can be counterproductive.Julia Talbot-Jones, Lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1187832019-06-16T22:17:21Z2019-06-16T22:17:21ZWith climate change likely to sharpen conflict, NZ balances pacifist traditions with defence spending<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279447/original/file-20190613-32347-wzddff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C318%2C6372%2C3962&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand's military aircraft are used for disaster relief, such as following a series of earthquakes in Sulawesi in 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Holti Simanjuntak</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In most countries, the question of whether to produce guns or butter is a metaphor for whether a country should put its efforts into defence or well-being. In New Zealand, this debate is much more literal and has been won easily by butter. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dcanz.com/about-the-nz-dairy-industry/">Dairy exports</a> made up around <a href="https://www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/gross-domestic-product-gdp">5.6% of New Zealand’s GDP</a> in 2018 while <a href="http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/public-docs/2017/votedefenceforcemainestimates17-18.pdf">defence spending only accounted for around 1.1%</a>, with the tiny local defence industry adding little to that total. </p>
<p>Relative geostrategic isolation means New Zealand’s security has been more about ensuring global trade routes stay open for exports, like butter. But climate change is now challenging that notion as <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/climate-news/109067137/defence-force-we-need-to-prepare-for-climate-change">environmental change is expected to generate instability</a> in the South Pacific. </p>
<p>While the government doesn’t expect core day-to-day defence spending to <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2019-06/b19-wellbeing-budget.pdf">increase over the next few years</a>, as much as <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/defence-capability-plan-2019-released">NZ$20 billion</a> will need to be spent on new equipment. </p>
<h2>Replacing ageing equipment</h2>
<p>Big ticket items such as warships and military aircraft last for decades and purchases are often years in the planning. Platforms purchased for the New Zealand military, including some acquired during the Vietnam War, are now reaching the end of their life. </p>
<p>New Zealand is facing significant bills as major aircraft, ships and army vehicles will need to be purchased in the next few years. The timing is particularly awkward for the government as it is <a href="https://www.budget.govt.nz/budget/2019/wellbeing/index.htm">shifting its spending towards well-being</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-well-being-budget-how-it-hopes-to-improve-peoples-lives-118052">New Zealand's 'well-being budget': how it hopes to improve people's lives</a>
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<p>To manage this problem the government has released its <a href="https://www.defence.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Defence-Capability-Plan-2019.pdf">Defence Capability Plan 2019</a>, which outlines its <a href="https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/defence-capability-plan-2019-released">NZ$20 billion shopping list</a> to resource the military into the 2030s. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.defence.govt.nz/the-latest/story/super-hercules-selected-as-preferred-option">first purchase to come</a> consists of new C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport planes. They will replace the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s existing C-130s which are now more than 50 years old. At the time of writing, all five of these planes have been <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/391985/new-zealand-defence-force-s-hercules-planes-all-grounded-for-maintenance-faults">grounded due to maintenance problems</a>. A major justification for the upgrades is greater need for a variety of relief, monitoring and peacekeeping missions caused by the effects of climate change. </p>
<p>A recent New Zealand Defence Force <a href="http://www.nzdf.mil.nz/downloads/pdf/public-docs/2018/newzealanddefenceassessmentonclimatechangeandsecurity2018summary.pdf">report</a> warned that extreme weather patterns will threaten water, food and energy security in the region and shortages could spark violence. New Zealand’s military provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the Pacific and the climate crisis is shifting the rationale for defence spending and the politics of defence in general.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/06/national-questions-how-20-billion-defence-spend-is-wellbeing.html">Criticism from the opposition</a> National Party has been less about the plan and more about whether it fits with the government’s overall well-being approach. But the real flak has come from the coalition government’s <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/391812/defence-force-s-1b-spend-unnecessary-greens">Green Party support partner</a>. </p>
<p>This shows the complexity of defence politics in New Zealand, as different political parties represent distinct strands of public opinion on the role of the military. </p>
<h2>Balancing pacifist and martial traditions</h2>
<p>The last 50 years have seen significant disagreement over how the country should engage with the rest of the world and what it should do with its military in particular. Decisions over <a href="http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p22051/mobile/ch02s03.html">big purchases</a> and <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=224683">overseas deployments</a> can open up major divisions over New Zealand’s strategic identity. </p>
<p>New Zealand’s strong martial and pacifist traditions are both represented in the current government and major defence decisions have to be made with care.
Jacinda Ardern’s coalition is managing this complex balancing act. The coalition is made up of the centre-left Labour Party and the moderately populist New Zealand First Party, with the Green Party <a href="https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/NZLP%20%26%20GP%20C%26S%20Agreement%20FINAL.PDF">providing confidence and supply</a>. </p>
<p>NZ First is the strongest supporter of the country’s martial traditions. It has always had a hawkish attitude towards China, which has become more relevant in recent years. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pacific-reset-strategic-anxieties-about-rising-china-97174">New Zealand's Pacific reset: strategic anxieties about rising China</a>
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<p>While Labour is generally seen as more dovish than the National Party, the differences have been largely over tone rather than substance. Attitudes towards <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10334285">anti-nuclear policies</a>, the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=224702">scrapping of the RNZAF fighter wing</a>, and the 2003 <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0703/S00192.htm">invasion of Iraq</a> have been major points of difference in the past. </p>
<p>Labour has generally differentiated itself by being slightly <a href="https://www.nzonscreen.com/embed/ab6b64e1c25acb3f?t=9m12s">more willing to criticise allies</a> and placing more faith in collective security, the United Nations and disarmament.</p>
<p>To limit criticism that it is spending on “<a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/money-tanks-but-not-teachers-simon-bridges-takes-aim-budget-after-claiming-massive-leak-details">tanks not teachers</a>”, Ardern’s coalition has skilfully outsourced the job of replacing ageing defence equipment to NZ First’s minister of defence Ron Mark. It was probably no coincidence that last year’s announcement that <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12085784">NZ$2.3 billion would be spent on new maritime patrol aircraft</a> was made by NZ First leader Winston Peters while Ardern was on maternity leave. </p>
<p>Ardern has let NZ First claim the political credit and take the political risk with expensive defence replacements, lest they take the shine off Labour’s focus on social policies. That balancing was on show again last week when Ardern announced that New Zealand was <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/391677/nz-pm-jacinda-ardern-announces-iraq-troops-withdrawal">ending its military training deployment to Iraq</a>. </p>
<h2>Pacifism in the age of climate change</h2>
<p>By sitting outside cabinet, the Greens are able to represent the pacifist end of the political spectrum. The party has its roots in the <a href="https://youtu.be/AEi7cQKCR_I">Values Party</a> of the 1970s, which helped make anti-nuclear attitudes mainstream in New Zealand and, by 1984, Labour Party policy. </p>
<p>The party’s defence spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman described the transport plane purchase as “<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018699188/defence-force-super-hercules-planes-unnecessary-greens">war making capability</a>” when New Zealand is good at humanitarian aid delivery, monitoring and supporting Antarctic research. She reconfirmed the Green Party’s commitment to peacekeeping through the UN. </p>
<p>This attitude is problematic as it forgets that the tools for war fighting are the same as those for peacekeeping and disaster relief. As the focus of Green movements worldwide has shifted to climate change, the commitment to disarmament is becoming more at odds with the realities of climate change. Rising sea levels, crop failures and mass migration will be <a href="https://www.newclimateforpeace.org/sites/default/files/NewClimateForPeace_FullReport_small_0.pdf">massively destabilising</a> to the international system.</p>
<p>It is not tenable to criticise the purchase of aircraft that will be largely used to send relief missions to the Pacific, scientists to Antarctica and peacekeepers to UN missions, simply because they could be used to send soldiers into combat. The challenge for the Greens will be to find a coherent message on the military that tackles the climate crisis and represents the views of its pacifist base. </p>
<p>The challenge for New Zealand’s allies will be to understand and respect how these contradictory threads of New Zealand’s strategic culture direct and constrain its defence spending.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Belgrave does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand’s coalition government has to balance strong martial and pacifist traditions. But ageing equipment and climate change will require taxpayers to fund expensive upgrades for the military.David Belgrave, Lecturer in Politics and Citizenship, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1150402019-04-16T19:39:36Z2019-04-16T19:39:36ZWere journalists ‘just doing their job’ in the political resignation of Metiria Turei?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/269557/original/file-20190416-147483-45aapi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C73%2C2035%2C1287&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Metiria Turei (here with James Shaw) was the co-leader of the Green party until 2017, but resigned within weeks of her welfare reform speech in which she shared her personal experience with New Zealand's welfare system. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Scowlie/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Two months before New Zealand’s 2017 elections, which eventually installed the Ardern coalition government, then Green party co-leader Metiria Turei gave a <a href="https://www.greens.org.nz/news/speech/mending-safety-net-%E2%80%93-metiria-turei%E2%80%99s-speech-green-party-2017-agm">speech on welfare reform</a>. </p>
<p>Many political commentators had predicted an easy victory for the ruling National party, but this was turned on its head by a chain of events that saw Turei resign as Green party co-leader - and effectively from parliament - less than four weeks later. In the middle of it all, Jacinda Ardern was appointed as Labour party leader, partly in response to polls suggesting Labour was losing support to the Greens. </p>
<p>In our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1464884919834380">research</a> we examined the role of journalism in animating the Turei controversy and the different perceptions of professional journalists and online commentators sympathetic to Turei’s left politics.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-new-power-is-driving-journalism-in-the-digital-age-95380">How 'new power' is driving journalism in the digital age</a>
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<h2>The political context</h2>
<p>Turei’s speech outlined a policy that challenged the neoliberal consensus of the past 30 years by pledging to increase welfare payments for “every single beneficiary by 20% and remove disciplinary penalties for welfare beneficiaries”. </p>
<p>But the part that attracted most media interest was Turei’s personal story about her experiences of the New Zealand welfare system as a single parent, Māori woman and law student in the 1990s. Most significantly, she revealed “the lie I had to tell to keep my financial life under control” by not informing the welfare authorities about the flatmates she had when receiving rent support payments. </p>
<p>The initial reaction in journalistic opinion pieces and commentary was predictably mixed and divisive. Some journalists condemned Turei for welfare “fraud”, while others communicated their support. The case mobilised Turei’s supporters on social media, where they used the Twitter hashtag #IamMetiria to share their own punitive experiences of the country’s welfare system.</p>
<p>The response of the two main political parties, Labour and National, was relatively subdued. Then opposition Labour leader Andrew Little <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11891306">commended Turei’s speech</a>, while National government ministers merely expressed their “<a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/07/paula-bennett-says-she-never-deliberately-misled-winz.html">disappointment</a>”.</p>
<h2>Media politics</h2>
<p>The focus on journalism’s role in the controversy intensified after the publication of an <a href="http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/07/patrick-gower-metiria-turei-s-political-fraud-is-ripping-off-the-new-zealand-public.html#.WX3pAbeIRzk.twitter">opinion piece by Patrick Gower</a>, who was then political editor of Newshub. Gower accused Turei of manipulating “the media and the public” by trying to exploit her personal story for political gain.</p>
<p>In a drip-feed fashion, different details emerged that intensified media scrutiny of Turei, including a <a href="http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/more-questions-raised-about-metiria-turei-s-living-situation.html#.WYQQGSP9oB4.twitter">Newshub story</a> that revealed she had registered at an electoral address that wasn’t her home in 1993. The political stakes rose even higher when two of Turei’s parliamentary colleagues <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11899846">resigned in protest</a> at her initial refusal to step down as co-leader. </p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1464884919834380">Our analysis</a> highlighted a marked division in the responses of professional journalists and online commentators. Journalists insisted they were simply “doing their job” by interrogating Turei’s story. Online critics accused journalists of hounding Turei, and attributed significant responsibility to media for her political demise.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11900072">in this column</a>, Rachel Stewart mocked the claims of Turei’s online supporters that journalism was somehow to blame for her political fate: </p>
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<p>Blaming the media - or anyone - for a political misfire of the Greens’ own making, is about as pointless as expecting sharks to stop liking blood. Not going to happen.</p>
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<p>Conversely, writer and blogger Giovanni Tiso <a href="https://www.pantograph-punch.com/post/assassination-of-metiria-turei">interrogated journalistic discourses</a> that obscured the role played by media in Turei’s “political assassination”. In pointed contrast to Stewart’s shark metaphor, he suggested:</p>
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<p>…there is in fact nothing natural, inevitable or necessary about a narrow understanding of journalism which has no regard for social value.</p>
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<h2>Antagonistic disputes</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/14479">study</a> highlighted how evaluation of journalism is increasingly the subject of antagonistic disputes between journalists and non-journalists, operating in different regions of what the political communication scholar <a href="https://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/socialsciences/staff/andrew-chadwick/">Andrew Chadwick</a> calls today’s “hybrid media system”. We showed how journalists negotiate these antagonisms partly through a self-serving depiction of online publics as inherently irrational.</p>
<p>Journalists’ defensiveness to ubiquitous online critique is in one sense understandable. The complex entity we call “the media” can be made to sound like an undifferentiated blob. But journalistic dismissals of “social media” can be similarly reductive. In the Turei case, these obscured the capacity of online commentators to produce perceptive critiques of journalism. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/14479">study</a> illuminated what can and cannot be said about journalism in the middle of a high-stakes political drama. On the eve of Turei’s resignation, the Green’s other co-leader, James Shaw (now a government minister), <a href="http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/politics/james-shaw-on-greens-turmoil-dont-blame-the-media/">gave a media interview</a> in which he said:</p>
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<p>…people should just calm down … and realise the media have just been doing their job. </p>
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<p>Shaw’s comments were – not surprisingly - lauded by many journalists and, read literally, affirmed the dominant journalistic interpretation of the controversy. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/339445/the-leaderinterview-%20james-shaw">a month later</a>, Shaw offered a more convincing diagnosis of the case. He noted how parts of the media “really went beyond reasonable bounds” in their coverage of Turei.</p>
<h2>Journalism, social media and democracy</h2>
<p>How journalists do their job is the product of a constellation of economic, political, social, cultural and historical forces. Much like Turei’s attempt to bring attention to punitive aspects of the country’s welfare system, these cannot be understood independently of the neoliberal imperatives that have dominated New Zealand politics since the 1980s.</p>
<p>But the fact it is still difficult to make these arguments when <em>talking about journalism</em> in mainstream media says something about the nature of journalism’s representational power and its vulnerability to forms of online critique that ultimately democratise public conversations about journalism practice. </p>
<p>Affirming the democratic capacity of online publics should not be construed as denying some of the profound limitations of today’s digital culture and its obscene business models. These have become very visible to all of us in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/christchurch-attacks-provide-a-new-ethics-lesson-for-professional-media-113840">Christchurch attacks provide a new ethics lesson for professional media</a>
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<p>Rather, it is to suggest that the thing we call “social media” should not be reduced to a one-dimensional pejorative category. For all its faults, online culture has given greater public visibility to legitimate critiques of journalism that are still less likely to be talked about – and heard – in traditional news media.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/115040/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A few weeks before New Zealand’s 2017 elections, Metiria Turei’s welfare reform speech triggered a sequence of events that led to her resignation and questions about the conduct of journalists.Sean Phelan, Associate Profesor of Communication, Massey UniversityLeon Salter, Lecturer, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1119092019-02-20T05:27:42Z2019-02-20T05:27:42ZHuawei or the highway? The rising costs of New Zealand’s relationship with China<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259676/original/file-20190219-129545-fuc4q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=131%2C131%2C4468%2C2578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern meeting with the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang during last year's ASEAN summit.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Mick Tsikas</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Until recently, New Zealand’s relationship with China has been easy and at little cost to Wellington. But those days are probably over. New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/377136/huawei-5g-decision-everything-you-need-to-know">decision to block Huawei from its 5G cellular networks due to security concerns</a> is the first in what could be many hard choices New Zealand will need to make that challenge Wellington’s relationship with Beijing.</p>
<p>For over a decade New Zealand has reaped the benefits of a <a href="https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-in-force/china-fta/nz-china-fta-resources">free-trade agreement with China</a> and seen a boom of Chinese tourists. China is <a href="https://nzchinacouncil.org.nz/2019/02/new-zealands-exports-to-china-trump-sales-to-australia-and-the-united-states/">New Zealand’s largest export destination</a> and, apart from concerns about the influence of Chinese capital on the housing market, there have been few negatives for New Zealand. </p>
<p>Long-held fears that New Zealand would eventually have to “choose” between Chinese economic opportunities and American military security had not eventuated. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pacific-reset-strategic-anxieties-about-rising-china-97174">New Zealand's Pacific reset: strategic anxieties about rising China</a>
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<p>But now New Zealand <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12203882">business people in China</a> have warned of souring relations and the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12204147">tourism industry is worried about a downturn</a> due to backlash following the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/02/17/huawei-backlash-china-accuses-lying-u-s-of-unjust-and-immoral-bullying/#4a1ad9cb6963">Huawei controversy</a>. </p>
<h2>China’s growing might</h2>
<p>During Labour’s government under Helen Clark (1999-2008) and under the National government with John Key as prime minister (2008-2016), New Zealand could be all things to all people, <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-04/20/content_24678849.htm">building closer relationships with China</a> while finally <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11147936">calming the last of the lingering American resentment over New Zealand’s anti-nuclear policies</a>. But now, there are difficult decisions to be made. </p>
<p>As China becomes more assertive on the world stage, it is becoming increasingly difficult for New Zealand to keep up this balancing act. Two forces are pushing a more demanding line from Beijing. One is China’s move to <a href="https://amti.csis.org/chinas-reach-grown-island-chains/">assert more control over waters well off its coast</a>. </p>
<p>For decades, Beijing was happy to let the US Navy maintain order over the Western Pacific to facilitate global trade with China. As China’s own <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2018/Aug/16/2001955282/-1/-1/1/2018-CHINA-MILITARY-POWER-REPORT.PDF">economic and military abilities have grown</a>, it has begun to show that it is willing to protect what it sees as its own patch. Its <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/chinas-island-build-up-the-view-from-space/">mammoth island building in the South China Sea</a> is a testament to its new-found desire to push its territorial claims after decades of patience. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/despite-strong-words-the-us-has-few-options-left-to-reverse-chinas-gains-in-the-south-china-sea-97089">Despite strong words, the US has few options left to reverse China's gains in the South China Sea</a>
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<p>China’s stronger foreign policy is <a href="https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/does-china-rise-threaten-rules-based-order">testing what is known as the “rules-based order”</a>, essentially a set of agreed rules that facilitate diplomacy, global trade, and resolve disputes between nations. This is very concerning for New Zealand as it needs stable rules to allow it to trade with the world. New Zealand doesn’t have the size to bully other countries into getting what we want. </p>
<p>Trump-style posturing would get New Zealand nowhere. A more powerful China doesn’t need to threaten the rules-based system, but the transition could create uncertainty for business and higher risks of trade disruption. It is vital for New Zealand that an Asia-Pacific dominated by China is as orderly as one dominated by the US.</p>
<h2>Tech made in China</h2>
<p>The other force challenging the relationship is <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/2186494/how-huawei-went-small-time-trader-shenzhen-worlds-biggest-telecoms">China’s emergence as a source of technology</a> rather than simply a manufacturer of other countries’ goods. Many Chinese firms like Huawei are now <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/09/23/chinas-tech-giants-have-conquered-east-now-west/">direct competitors of Western tech companies</a>. Huawei’s success makes it strategically important for Beijing and a point of pride for ordinary Chinese citizens. </p>
<p>Yet, unlike Western countries, <a href="http://www.ndrc.gov.cn/zcfb/zcfbtz/201505/t20150513_691578.html">China actively monitors its population</a> through a wide variety of mass surveillance technology. Therefore, there is a trust problem when Chinese firms claim that their devices are secure from Beijing’s spies. New Zealand’s <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/377136/huawei-5g-decision-everything-you-need-to-know">decision to effectively ban Huawei components</a> from 5G cellular networks could be the first in many decisions needed to ensure national security.</p>
<p>Chinese designed goods are becoming more common and issues around privacy and national security will get stronger as <a href="https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/griffin-connects-your-toast-to-your-phone/">everyday household goods become connected to the internet</a>. Restrictions on Chinese-made goods will further frustrate Beijing and will invite greater retaliation to New Zealand exporters and tourist operators. </p>
<p>In more extreme cases, foreign nationals have been detained in China in response to overseas arrests of prominent Chinese individuals. As many as <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-thirteen-canadians-detained-in-china-since-huawei-executives-arrest/">13 Canadians were detained recently</a> in China following the arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of US prosecutors.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-chinese-authors-detention-raises-important-questions-about-chinas-motivations-110433">Australian-Chinese author's detention raises important questions about China's motivations</a>
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<h2>Declaring the limits of the relationship</h2>
<p>If New Zealand is to maintain a healthy relationship with China, it needs to be clear on what it is not willing to accept. It is easy to say individual privacy, national security and freedom of speech are vital interests of New Zealand, but Wellington needs to be clear to its citizens and to China what exactly those concepts mean in detail. All relationships require compromise, so Wellington needs to be direct about what it won’t compromise.</p>
<p>New Zealand spent decades during the Cold War debating how much public criticism of the US the government could allow itself before it <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2608985">risked its alliance with the Americans</a>. New Zealanders wondered if they really had an <a href="http://www.press.auckland.ac.nz/en/browse-books/all-books/books-1993/Independence-and-Foreign-Policy-New-Zealand-in-the-World-Since-1935.html">independent foreign policy if they couldn’t stand up to their friends</a>. Eventually nationalist sentiment spilled over in the form of the anti-nuclear policy.</p>
<p>New Zealand is now heading for the same debate as Kiwis worry about how much they can push back against Beijing’s interests before it starts to hurt the economy. Now that the relationship with China is beginning to have significant costs as well as benefits, it’s probably time New Zealanders figured out how much they are prepared to pay for an easy trading relationship with China.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Belgrave is a member of Auckland branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. </span></em></p>New Zealand’s decision to block Huawei from its 5G cellular networks due to security concerns is likely to be just the first of many that challenge Wellington’s relationship with Beijing.David Belgrave, Lecturer in Politics and Citizenship, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1058052018-10-30T00:28:45Z2018-10-30T00:28:45ZNew Zealand politics: how political donations could be reformed to reduce potential influence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242843/original/file-20181029-76413-14ayvy9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=137%2C125%2C3730%2C2604&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand's government is considering looking into changes to the way political parties are funded, and areas such as donation transparency could be part of the discussion.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the aftermath of the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12147674">controversy</a> surrounding former MP Jami-Lee Ross and opposition National party leader Simon Bridges, discussions have focused on possible reforms of political donations in New Zealand.</p>
<p>My colleagues <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503343&objectid=12148664">Bryce Edwards</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/108071655/Line-between-political-access-and-political-influence-is-porous">Michael Macaulay</a> have raised the issue of taxpayer funding of political parties. So too has <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12147251">Minister of Justice Andrew Little</a>. </p>
<p>Green Party MP Marama Davidson has suggested the <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/369328/greens-urge-political-donation-reform">donation threshold</a> for the disclosure of a donor’s name and address be lowered from NZ$15,000 to NZ$1,000. She has also proposed banning foreign donations outright and capping individual donations at NZ$35,000.</p>
<p>Several of these proposals warrant further discussion and contextualisation.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealand-politics-foreign-donations-and-political-influence-105489">New Zealand politics: foreign donations and political influence</a>
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<h2>Donations and foreign money</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09615768.2017.1351661">Foreign interference in domestic politics</a> is an increasing phenomenon worldwide.</p>
<p>Currently in New Zealand foreign donations to a party of up to NZ$1,500 are permissible. Moreover, foreign donations below this amount are not individually or collectively disclosed. </p>
<p>It would be easy for a foreign state or corporate body seeking political influence to channel a large number of donations into the system just under the threshold via numerous proxies. Whether such interference has been happening is unclear, since New Zealanders do not know how much money currently comes in to political parties via foreign actors. </p>
<p>Even if foreign donations are not a problem now, one could rapidly develop. A strong argument can be made that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09615768.2017.1351661">foreign money has no place in democracy</a>, including New Zealand’s. </p>
<p>New Zealand would not be going out on an international limb by banning foreign donations. Foreign donations to political parties are not permissible in the [<a href="https://fullfact.org/law/most-non-uk-citizens-cant-donate-uk-political-parties/">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://www.sipo.ie/en/Guidelines/Donation-Guidelines/Guidelines-for-Political-Parties/Prohibited-Donations.html">Ireland</a> and <a href="https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/who-can-and-cant-contribute/">the United States</a>. They are also <a href="http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=ces&document=part6&lang=e">banned in Canada</a> but unfortunately a <a href="https://nationalpost.com/opinion/np-view-why-wont-the-liberals-stop-foreign-donors-from-influencing-our-elections">significant loophole</a> exists. Australia is currently in the process of banning foreign donations.</p>
<h2>Lowering threshold for anonymous donations</h2>
<p>As noted, the threshold below which political donations can be anonymous could be lowered. A lower threshold would make it more difficult to evade name disclosure rules by splitting donations and attributing each part to a different donor. </p>
<p>Splitting may be what happened to the <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018667446/who-is-zhang-yikun-the-alleged-donor-of-100-000-to-national">alleged NZ$100,000 Yikun Zhang donation</a>. The NZ$1,000 threshold proposed by the Greens would be a huge improvement on the status quo. A donor of NZ$100,000 seeking to evade legislation and to remain anonymous would have to coordinate 100 individual donors, rather than seven. </p>
<p>But New Zealand could go lower still, to NZ$200, without being radical. Giving NZ$200 to a political party is huge for an ordinary New Zealander, and the reality is only a very small minority would need to disclose their names under such a law.</p>
<p>There is international precedent for setting much lower thresholds for anonymity than the Greens propose. For example, in Canada, the <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/party-financing">maximum amount of an anonymous donation</a> was set at C$200 in 2015, while <a href="https://www.sipo.ie/en/Guidelines/Donation-Guidelines/Guidelines-for-Political-Parties/Prohibited-Donations.html">in Ireland</a> it is currently €100.</p>
<h2>Donor privacy versus transparency</h2>
<p>One concern with non-anonymity is that it delivers public transparency at the cost of private donor privacy. Currently the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/DLM307519.html">Electoral Act 1993</a> contains a mechanism for anyone wanting to donate to a political party and not wanting their identity disclosed to either the public or to the party receiving the donation. To obtain such anonymity, the donation needs to be more than NZ$1,500. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.elections.org.nz/home">Electoral Commission</a> aggregates all such donations. It passes them on to parties at regular intervals. It does not identify the dollar amount of individual donations, or the number or names of donors.</p>
<p>Not many donors use this protected disclosure avenue. For example, between September 2015 and June 2018, the commission passed on only NZ$150,000 in anonymised money to parties <a href="https://www.elections.org.nz/sites/default/files/plain-page/attachments/donations_protected_from_disclosure_-_general_election_2017.pdf">via this channel</a>. At the same time amounts well in excess of NZ$10 million were passed on by donors identifiable to political parties (but not necessarily to the public). </p>
<p>A preference for identifiable channels suggests current donors get value from non-anonymity. It implies most donors feel they are buying something. The fact that donors feel they are buying something should be cause for concern.</p>
<h2>Capping donations and individualising donors</h2>
<p>The Greens have suggested NZ$35,000 as a maximum cap on donations. Again, New Zealand could go much lower without being out of step with other countries. For example, in Canada donations to each political party are <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/party-financing">capped at C$1500 a year</a>. Like Canada, Ireland has a <a href="https://www.sipo.ie/en/Guidelines/Donation-Guidelines/Guidelines-for-Political-Parties/Prohibited-Donations.html">maximum annual cap of €2500</a>. </p>
<p>However, Geoff Simmons, leader of the <a href="https://www.top.org.nz/">Opportunities Party</a>, has argued that a cap would make it <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/26-10-2018/the-greens-proposed-donation-ban-would-serve-to-ban-new-parties-from-parliament/">difficult for small parties to get started</a>. Simmons’ party was kick-started by large donations from <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/99839970/TOP-loses-leader-Gareth-Morgan-and-three-other-candidates-in-matter-of-hours">multi-millionaire Gareth Morgan</a>, who was also the party’s first leader.</p>
<p>Another possibility for the reform agenda is the Canadian approach of only permitting donations from individual people. Corporate and trade union donations are banned. However this proposal is unlikely to be popular with neither National, which receives considerable corporate donations, nor Labour, which traditionally gets significant trade union funding.</p>
<p>All these proposals, inevitably, have pros and cons and possible unintended consequences. They are deserving of wide public debate. One hopes that the current government can provide the public with a credible forum for such discussions, and a clear pathway to sensible future reform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105805/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chapple does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the aftermath of a controversy surrounding New Zealand’s opposition party, discussions now focus on reform of party donations to avoid the potential of political influence.Simon Chapple, Director, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1054892018-10-24T01:49:42Z2018-10-24T01:49:42ZNew Zealand politics: foreign donations and political influence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241761/original/file-20181023-169831-1f5pwd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=472%2C139%2C3037%2C2343&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand opposition and National Party leader Simon Bridges speaking to reporters, following allegations about his handling of a political donations by former senior whip Jami-Lee Ross. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Boris Jancic</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s opposition National Party is embroiled in a <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/369196/speaker-of-the-house-seeks-advice-on-jami-lee-ross-situation">rolling controversy</a> that erupted last week when former National MP and senior whip Jami-Lee Ross accused his leader Simon Bridges of corruption. Bridges has vehemently denied these accusations, and the evidence released does not support any allegations of illegality. </p>
<p>One dimension of the controversy that has attracted less attention is the connected issues of political party donations and foreign influence on New Zealand’s democratic system.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pacific-reset-strategic-anxieties-about-rising-china-97174">New Zealand's Pacific reset: strategic anxieties about rising China</a>
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<h2>Foreign influence</h2>
<p>The discussion of foreign influence in New Zealand politics plays out mostly in terms of the activities of the People’s Republic of China. The local debate was initiated by Professor <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/science/schools-and-departments/antarctica/gateway-research/antarctic-and-southern-ocean-governance-programme/accordion/chinas-polar-strategy-and-global-governance/researcher/anne-marie-brady.html">Anne-Marie Brady</a>’s “<a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/for_website_magicweaponsanne-mariesbradyseptember2017.pdf">Magic weapons</a>” paper last year. Despite her warnings that China’s foreign influence activities have the potential to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of the political system of targeted states, the dominant view among New Zealand’s main political parties might best be described as “nothing to see here, time to move on”.</p>
<p>Reactions in New Zealand contrast sharply with the situation in Australia, where there has been a much more open <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-29/chinas-been-interfering-in-australian-politics-for-past-decade/9810236">democratic debate</a> on the issue of China’s influence, as well as law reform designed to mitigate foreign interference.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/soft-power-goes-hard-chinas-economic-interest-in-the-pacific-comes-with-strings-attached-103765">Soft power goes hard: China's economic interest in the Pacific comes with strings attached</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241763/original/file-20181023-169828-1ou2en1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Former New Zealand National Party member Jami-Lee Ross speaking to media.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boris Jancic</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Last week, Jami-Lee Ross released a recording of a conversation he had with opposition leader Simon Bridges in June (<a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-10-2018/the-jami-lee-tapes-a-transcript-of-the-ross-and-bridges-donation-chat/">full transcript</a>). The transcript alleges that Zhang Yikun, a wealthy Chinese immigrant and a former member of the People’s Liberation Army with ongoing links to the Chinese state, made a <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/10/16/279660/zhang-yikun-and-the-alleged-100k-donation">donation to the National Party of $100,000</a>. The conversation then turned to new candidates for the National party list, and the possible candidature of <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/10/17/281366/question-of-china-influence-in-zhang-yikun-saga">Colin Zheng</a>, manager of a construction company owned by Zhang. </p>
<h2>Keeping track of political donations</h2>
<p>At a national level, there are rules under the <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/DLM307519.html">Electoral Act 1993</a> regarding political donations to both candidates and to political parties. For candidates, a donor’s name and address must be reported for donations of more than $1,500. For party donations, the name and address of the donor must be reported where donations exceed $15,000. </p>
<p>For both candidates and parties, foreign donations (defined as from people who are not citizens or residents on the electoral roll or from incorporated or unincorporated bodies outside New Zealand) exceeding $1,500 are forbidden. Each registered political party must file an annual return of party donations with the <a href="https://www.elections.org.nz/">Electoral Commission</a>, which are then made public. In terms of party donations which hit a $30,000 threshold, a return must be filed within ten working days, as opposed to annually.</p>
<p>There are also restrictions on how much can be spent during a general election period, which also effectively constrain donations. Political party spending is capped at just over $1.1 million, plus $26,200 per electorate contested, for a total election spend of just under $2.7 million if all 60 electorates are contested. </p>
<p>Spending limits also apply to persons or groups who are not contesting the election directly but seek influence. They can spend up to $12,600 on election advertising during the regulated period without having to register with the Electoral Commission. A person or group whose spending exceeds that amount must register and they can spend a maximum of $315,000 on election advertisements. </p>
<h2>Who raises what from whom</h2>
<p>In 2017, National raised $4.6 million in party donations, vastly exceeding Labour’s $1.6 million, as well as busting the limits of what they could spend in that year’s election. $3.5 million of the National’s donations (76%) were anonymous under the $15,000 threshold, compared with 0.7 million of Labour’s (44%). The Green Party raised $0.8 million, with 72% under the disclosure threshold, and New Zealand First raised $0.5 million, with 84% under the threshold.</p>
<p>There is no requirement for political parties to report the amounts of overseas donations under $1,500. Consequently the public does not know how many foreign donations come in under that amount. </p>
<p>It would be easy for a foreign state to funnel money into a political party from a large number of foreign donors, all under the $1,500 threshold. Equally, if that state had access to local actors, it could funnel money into the system at amounts above or below the $15,000 threshold. </p>
<p>What donors get for their donations is unclear. At its least malign, donors seek to passively promote a political ideology which they consider to be beneficial. Where donations are part of developing a long-term quid pro quo relationship along multiple dimensions, donors’ and receivers’ motivations and exactly what is traded is very difficult to pin down from the outside.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.transparency.org/">Transparency International</a> <a href="https://www.transparency.org.nz/docs/2013/Integrity-Plus-2013-Pillar-10-Political-Parties.pdf">reports</a> that New Zealand political parties are one of the weakest pillars supporting local transparency and good governance. Within this weak pillar, one of the weakest strands involves political finance and donations. </p>
<p>They argue that with the demise of mass political participation, parties are increasingly dependent on donations to function. This weakness means that local politicians are more likely to seek to “supply” influence, or at least dangle the prospect of influence, in front of wealthy bidders. </p>
<p>The “demand” to buy political influence has also risen. With the <a href="https://www.victoria.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1500829/Anderson_Chapple.pdf">increase in worldwide inequality</a> and kleptocracy, there are more rich people for whom buying influence is the norm. Specifically in New Zealand, there has been an influx of wealthy expatriates from China, where buying influence is an accepted practice. They often retain close links to the Chinese Communist Party, which runs an <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/china-and-tibet">authoritarian, anti-democratic and oppressive regime</a>. It is thus not surprising that issues of donations and foreign influence are increasingly entering into domestic political debates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105489/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Chapple does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An evolving controversy brewing in New Zealand’s opposition National Party has raised questions about political party donations and foreign influence on New Zealand’s democratic system.Simon Chapple, Director, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1052122018-10-19T02:22:27Z2018-10-19T02:22:27ZOne year on for Ardern’s coalition government in New Zealand<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241353/original/file-20181018-67161-2mpgrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=168%2C100%2C3344%2C2417&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the General Assembly of the United Nations last month. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/PETER FOLEY</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Shortly before last years’s general election in Aotearoa New Zealand, a Morrinsville farmer protesting the then opposition Labour Party’s planned water tax held up a placard describing its newly minted leader, Jacinda Ardern, as a “<a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/09/jacinda-ardern-laughs-off-pretty-communist-protest-sign.html">pretty communist</a>”. </p>
<p>A year on, Ardern is New Zealand’s prime minister, the third woman and the youngest person to have held the role in 150 years. She is comfortably the most popular politician in the land, and one of the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12132971">brightest stars in the international political firmament</a>.</p>
<p>The Labour-New Zealand First-Green coalition government led by Ardern celebrates its <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11936791">first birthday</a> this week. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/jacinda-ardern-to-become-nz-prime-minister-following-coalition-announcement-85996">Jacinda Ardern to become NZ prime minister following coalition announcement</a>
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<p>It has been quite the year for Ardern. It is worth reiterating just how far she has travelled since she took the reins as Labour’s leader just weeks before the election, igniting a dull campaign and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/95495277/hundreds-mob-new-labour-leader-jacinda-ardern-at-her-first-big-policy-reveal">resuscitating Labour’s polling</a>. </p>
<h2>A contemporary politician</h2>
<p>Following the election, the conservative National Party looked odds-on to retain office. But on 19 October, after almost two weeks of negotiations, the leader of the centre-right New Zealand First (NZF) party, Winston Peters, surprised virtually everyone (including Labour’s front bench) when he used the balance of power to <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11934949">form a government with Labour and the Greens</a>.</p>
<p>In the year since, Ardern has firmly established herself as the government’s and her party’s most valuable political asset. In an ironic turn of events, Andrew Little, the man who voluntarily stood aside so Ardern could become Labour leader, is also performing well. </p>
<p>An astute and effective political communicator, Ardern regularly uses Facebook Live to apprise the nation of the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12081185">contents of a day in the life of the PM</a>.
The formal set pieces that have helped established Ardern as the dominant figure on New Zealand’s political landscape include her speaking on the lower marae at Waitangi, the <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/101171924/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-makes-historic-speech-at-upper-marae-at-waitangi">spiritual birthplace of the nation</a>, wearing a <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/04/m-ori-group-that-loaned-jacinda-ardern-their-korowai-says-it-was-an-honour.html">Māori korowai</a> while meeting New Zealand’s head of state, and taking a seat in the United Nations General Assembly with her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/25/jacinda-ardern-makes-history-with-baby-neve-at-un-general-assembly">child, Neve Te Aroha, and partner, Clarke Gayford</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241354/original/file-20181018-67167-7nu15.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Jacinda Ardern brought her partner, Clarke Gayford, and baby to the UN General Assembly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/PETER FOLEY</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>The informal, popular-culture moments – particularly those mediated by social media – have been just as important and reflect how Ardern occupies political time and space in a way no previous New Zealand prime minister has. She and Gayford have used Twitter to announce Ardern’s pregnancy, triggering stiff nationwide competition for the <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11978039">role of official babysitter</a>. Social media also charted the birth of their child in a public hospital, the PM’s <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/jacinda-ardern-recovering-with-mac-n-cheese-after-daughter-born/news-story/1097ca4ce323408b29b214d48f7e44c9">taste for mac’n’cheese</a>, and the creation of a <a href="https://twitter.com/NZClarke/status/1044252770268672000/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1044252770268672000&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nzherald.co.nz%2Fnz%2Fnews%2Farticle.cfm%3Fc_id%3D1%26objectid%3D12133312">special UN pass for Neve Te Aroha</a>.</p>
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<p>But swooning international audiences do not vote in Aotearoa New Zealand, and what <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYsZv9JXmio">plays well on the Colbert Show</a> does not necessarily resonate in quite the same way back home. </p>
<h2>Not all smooth sailing</h2>
<p>It is important to note that National continues to outpoll Labour on the preferred party vote. At times the political <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12069093">management of the coalition</a> has been shoddy. Ardern has already had to relieve two members of her cabinet – <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/365086/pm-clare-curran-sacking-from-cabinet-was-proportionate">Clare Curran</a> and <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107248175/prime-minister-announces-decision-on-meka-whaitiri-inquiry">Meka Whaitiri</a> – of their ministerial duties, to the disappointment of those hoping to see more, not fewer, women at the top table. </p>
<p>Ardern has also been criticised for not taking a stronger stand on the <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/09/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-caves-to-winston-peters-after-refugee-remarks.html">plight of refugees</a> and on questions concerning <a href="https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/10/16/280568/follow-the-money-and-the-influence">possible Chinese involvement in domestic politics</a>. While the government has established many reviews, it is taking some time for the material achievements to start racking up. </p>
<p>But there are signs the administration is starting to hit its straps. Finance Minister Grant Robertson recently announced a <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/govt-surplus-sitting-910m-higher-than-forecast-last-december-grant-robertson">larger than expected budget surplus</a>, thus meeting his promised public debt/GDP ratio four years ahead of schedule. </p>
<p>Since Ardern’s return from the UN, Peters and his New Zealand First party colleagues have looked uncharacteristically focused, although the call at the party’s recent conference for a <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/367838/secret-new-zealand-values-immigration-quiz">Respecting New Zealand Values Bill</a> was quickly slapped down by Ardern. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the opposition National party is spiralling into <a href="https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/368918/national-bombshell-allegations-make-headlines-across-world">nasty internecine strife</a> that has gone global, may cost the party its leader, and will almost certainly damage its polling.</p>
<h2>Changing the culture of politics</h2>
<p>Standing back from the detail, what can be said about the political landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand one year on from the formation of the first Labour-NZF-Greens coalition? For one thing, on this side of the ditch we are cautiously re-familiarising ourselves with the idea that the state can be a force for good. The results at this early stage are patchy, as you would expect, but this administration’s belief that government can be benign rather than benighted feels new and different. </p>
<p>Second, Ardern is normalising a whole bunch of things. Being a prime minister and a new mum, breastfeeding at work, and having a male partner who is a primary carer are all becoming, well, just normal. </p>
<p>Third, our cultural politics are changing. Not quickly enough, to be sure, but the symbolism of the fact that Ardern and Gayford’s child carries a Māori name and will be raised speaking both te reo Māori and English has been lost on precisely no-one in this country.</p>
<p>Finally, the nation’s political stocks in the international arena are appreciating. That is no bad thing for a small, exporting nation. There is a powerful progressive-egalitarian narrative in New Zealand reaching back through the nation’s anti-nuclear stance in the mid-1980s to the achievement (or granting) of women’s suffrage in 1893.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-new-zealand-was-the-first-country-where-women-won-the-right-to-vote-103219">Why New Zealand was the first country where women won the right to vote</a>
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<p>As is the case with all political narratives, this one obscures as much as it reveals. But in an age of international fear and loathing, many New Zealanders take quiet pride in the sight of the “pretty communist” <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/107445802/prime-minister-jacinda-arderns-statement-to-the-united-nations-general-assembly">defending a rules-based international order</a>, in opposition to the stance taken by the president of the US, a nation that was once the self-appointed leader of the free world. One wonders whether the farmer from Morrinsville appreciated the irony of that moment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105212/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Shaw does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One year since Jacinda Ardern became prime minister, New Zealanders are refamiliarising themselves with the idea that the state can be a force for good.Richard Shaw, Professor of Politics, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/968112018-05-18T10:21:53Z2018-05-18T10:21:53ZNZ budget 2018: government adopts investment approach to achieve valued outcomes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/219548/original/file-20180518-140798-1yb1ppe.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the post-budget debate. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New Zealand’s Labour-led coalition government used its first budget to drive step changes in social and environmental outcomes. The <a href="https://nzier.org.nz/static/media/filer_public/2b/1d/2b1dd37e-ada7-44a1-8b8c-e9370986b1f9/state_of_the_state_nz_2016.pdf">investment approach to public policy</a> has become the new orthodoxy for governance.</p>
<p>The investment approach can be defined as using evidence to quantify a public problem and then fund interventions that are likely to improve outcomes and therefore reduce future costs to government.</p>
<p>When the government released <a href="https://theconversation.com/nz-budget-2018-gains-for-health-housing-and-education-in-fiscally-conservative-budget-96794">its first budget</a> yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson delivered a document that stands in stark contrast to those of the National government that led the country from 2008 to 2017. This is most apparent in its approaches to social services and environmental protection.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nz-budget-2018-gains-for-health-housing-and-education-in-fiscally-conservative-budget-96794">NZ budget 2018: gains for health, housing and education in fiscally conservative budget</a>
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<h2>Political and economic context</h2>
<p>The coalition government comprises three parts. The centre-left Labour Party is joined by New Zealand First, which espouses economic nationalism. The Green Party, which emphasises good environmental stewardship, agreed to give confidence and supply. The budget could easily have been a train wreck. Its coherence is a major accomplishment.</p>
<p>With the New Zealand economy nearing a decade of continuous growth, the government’s <a href="https://treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/financial-management-and-advice/revenue-and-expenditure">revenue base</a> is sound. This has allowed it to fund new initiatives while keeping the budget in surplus. The government has shown a strong desire to maintain sound economic management, but it is not prepared to sacrifice other valued outcomes to hasten the paying off of government debt. As Robertson said in his budget speech:</p>
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<p>We are committed to being responsible – not just fiscally, but socially and environmentally.</p>
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<h2>Big priorities</h2>
<p>The budget brought good news for health, education, housing, transport and the environment. It also heralded more incentives for business innovation. </p>
<p>In health, the big news concerned reducing the cost of visiting a doctor and improving access to primary care, as well as extending cancer screening and easing access to mental health services. </p>
<p>In education, the government had previously announced its <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/news/details-of-fees-free-tertiary-education-and-training-for-2018-announced/">fee-free post-school training and education policy</a>. This means people will be able to attend university and undergo other tertiary training without having to pay fees for the first year. Education also got a boost for the early years, with a large amount of new funding to meet increasing demands for early childhood education. </p>
<p>Auckland’s recent immigration-driven population growth and soaring property prices have had two adverse effects. Homelessness has become an acute problem and bottlenecks have arisen across transportation networks. The 2018 budget <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2018/releases/r21-la-twyford-building-houses-to-tackle-the-crisi.htm">made provision for increasing the stock of state housing</a> – the previous government had started <a href="https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/state-houses-being-sold-below-valuation-%E2%80%94-twyford-ck-192951">selling it off</a>. The budget also provided large amounts for transport infrastructure. </p>
<p>The Greens received their wish, with a <a href="https://budget.govt.nz/budget/2018/releases/r41-gr-sage-budget-backs-nature.htm">$181.6 million funding boost for the Department of Conservation</a>. This was the largest increase since 2002. </p>
<h2>Investment approach</h2>
<p>In its first budget, the government has adopted the language of investment. This represents both continuity and change. </p>
<p>Under the previous National government, New Zealand experimented with treating <a href="http://bwb.co.nz/books/social-investment">public policies as investments</a>. <a href="https://sia.govt.nz">Datasets were developed</a> to gain insights into how various risk factors in young people translated into subsequent costs for taxpayers. Armed with these insights, the government redesigned social services to better meet the needs of those at risk. Australia <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8500.12250">emulated some of this</a>. </p>
<p>Public policies that help people participate in society and contribute to the workforce generally meet popular support. But the National government didn’t gain that <a href="http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7189-roy-morgan-new-zealand-voting-intention-march-2017-201703201044">popularity dividend</a>. The likely reason is that its leaders focused on the fiscal savings to be achieved. Individual and social well-being got short shrift.</p>
<p>Times have changed. Grant Robertson made this very clear. Note the language: </p>
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<p>Budget 2018 lays the foundations for New Zealanders to have better lives in the decades to come.</p>
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<p>Talking of education, he said: </p>
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<p>Better education leads to better lives, and today we begin those investments with new energy. </p>
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<p>About addressing child poverty he said the aim was that:</p>
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<p>New Zealand truly becomes the best place in the world to be a child … if we improve the well-being of our children, we will be a rich society indeed. </p>
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<p>Robertson applied the language of investment in talking about rehabilitating prisoners, addressing climate change and foreign policy. The investment approach being proposed is in accord with international <a href="https://global.oup.com/ushe/product/public-policy-9780199975976?cc=au&lang=en&">evidence of good practice</a>. </p>
<p>With its 2018 budget, this New Zealand government has emphasised that it does things differently. While building on established <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/25741292.2018.1425086">policy frameworks</a>, Jacinda Ardern and her colleagues are showing how responsible economic management and adoption of public policies that are known to be effective can improve the well-being of all citizens.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96811/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Mintrom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New Zealand’s coalition government in its first budget has treated public policies as investments, with the goal of improving social and environmental outcomes.Michael Mintrom, Professor of Public Sector Management, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.