Coalition details reflect busy agenda
Labour leader and Prime Ministerelect Jacinda Ardern yesterday released the list of portfolios and details of her coalition deal with NZ First and the Green Party.
It came ahead of a swearing-in ceremony tomorrow when the Labour-NZ First Cabinet will meet for the first time.
At the signing at Parliament yesterday afternoon, Ardern revealed that NZ First brought real advocacy for the regions as part of the coalition talks, to help regenerate the country’s economy.
She also mentioned that NZ First also advocated for climate change.
Some key points from the NZF deal: * $1b per annum Regional Development Fund; * Reestablish the New Zealand Forestry Service; * Review and reform of the Reserve Bank Act; * Progressively increase the minimum wage to $20 per hour by 2020; * Comprehensive register of foreignowned land and housing; * Free doctors’ visits for all under 14s; * Free driver training for all secondary students; * A new generation SuperGold smartcard containing entitlements and concessions; * A royalty on exports of bottled water; * Commit to reentry to Pike River; * A full-scale review into retail power pricing; * MPs allowed to vote on a potential referendum on euthanasia.
Some of the big parts of the Green Party/Labour confidence and supply agreement include: * Introduce a Zero Carbon Act with a goal of net zero emissions by 2050; * A referendum on personal cannabis use by 2020; * Establish an independent Climate Commission (this would have the power to bring agricultural emissions in but would not do this immediately); * All new legislation to have a climate impact assessment analysis; * Investigate a Green Transport Card to reduce public transport costs; * Reprioritise spending towards rail and cycle infrastructure; * Stop the Auckland East-West link; * Begin work on light rail to the airport in Auckland; * ‘‘Significantly increase’’ the Department of Conservation’s funding; * Remove ‘‘excessive’’ benefit sanctions; * Make progress on eliminating the gender pay gap within the core public sector; * A rent-to-own scheme as part of KiwiBuild; * Reestablish the Mental Health Commission; * A wind-down on the government-subsidised irrigation
Other NZ First policy requests included
• A $1b per annum Regional Development (Provincial Growth) Fund, including: • Significant investment in regional rail. • Planting 100 million trees a year in a Billion Trees Planting Programme. • Commissioning a feasibility study on the options for moving the Ports of Auckland, including giving Northport serious consideration. • Other large-scale capital projects.
On the economy, Labour and NZ First have agreed to review and reform the Reserve Bank Act, as well as progressively increase the minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2020, with the final increase to take effect in April 2021.
The policy against foreign buyers of existing houses sees the parties agree to strengthen the Overseas Investment Act and undertake a comprehensive register – Foreign Affairs – Infrastructure – Regional Economic Development – Internal Affairs – Seniors – Defence – Veterans’ Affairs – Children – Forestry – State Owned Enterprises – Racing – Associate Finance – Associate Education – and an Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Regional Economic Development. of foreign-owned housing.
As a further part of the NZF/ Labour agreement, it was revealed that there would be:
• No new Parliamentary building to proceed this term. • Independent review of the integrity of electoral processes and enrolments. • Review the processes of Parliament to reflect an MMP environment. • Introduce and pass a ‘‘Waka Jumping’’ Bill.
There is nothing in the section about the 99 MPs proposal.
Ardern also signed an agreement with the Green Party yesterday afternoon. ‘‘I want to thank James Shaw and all the Green Party for the work that went into the negotiations that have formed a solid working relationship. Taken as a whole you will see from this agreement and both agreements signed today the consensus that exists between us all. We will be a government for all New Zealanders,’’ she said. land and Murder charge
A 45-year-old man has been charged with murder after the death of Greymouth woman Hayley Williams, 43. Police confirmed they arrested the man about 3pm on Monday. He was granted interim name suppression when he appeared in the Greymouth District Court yesterday. The man will next appear in the High Court on November 10. Children, including Williams’ three sons, were present during the fatal shooting at her home about 4pm on Sunday.
Weekend road toll
The Labour Weekend road toll has ended with five deaths on New Zealand roads during the long weekend. The official road toll period started at 4pm on Friday and ended at 6am yesterday. According to the Ministry of Transport – the official keeper of road toll data – the provisional toll for Labour Weekend,
2017, was five. A 47-year-old woman died in a crash near Turangi on Saturday, while Jaimey Leigh Fellows,
32, died in a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 1, near Burnham, south of Christchurch, after midnight on Saturday. A 25-year-old woman and a
29-year-old man were killed following a police pursuit in Auckland about
1am on Monday. An 81-year-old woman fell off her bike in Rangiora, north of Christchurch on Monday. She died later in hospital, police said yesterday. So far, 275 people had died on New Zealand roads in 2017, compared with 222 at the same time in 2016.
Trial date set