Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Office of the Ombudsman

The Chief Ombudsman John Allen has today asked to urgently meet the Secretary of Education to discuss concerns he has about reports of attempts to circumvent the Official Information Act at the Ministry.

Media reports have featured an extract from a leaked video, where a senior staff member from within the curriculum centre allegedly tells staff not to write down interactions with the Minister of Education’s Office to avoid their discovery under the OIA.

There are also claims that this incident is not a one-off.

“I have significant concerns about these allegations,” Mr Allen says.

“Public trust and confidence in the Ministry and the OIA would be undermined if they were found to be true.

“I am taking this issue very seriously and am now considering what action I may take to provide some independent scrutiny of these matters through a broader investigation under the Ombudsmen Act 1975.”

Source: Federated Farmers

By Richard Dawkins, Federated Farmers water storage spokesperson

New Zealand doesn’t have a shortage of water storage ideas – what we lack is a system for turning the best of those ideas into reality.

Across the country, there are water storage and infrastructure projects at every stage of development, from Northland to Central Otago.

Some are already operating, some are well advanced, and others are little more than concepts.

That’s encouraging, but the problem is every community still seems to have to reinvent the wheel.

They assemble their own team, find funding, commission studies, work through consenting and somehow maintain enough local enthusiasm to keep a project alive for years.

When a project is finally finished, much of that knowledge and experience simply walks out the door.

We should be much better at this by now because water storage isn’t a new challenge – we’ve been talking about it for decades.

Many of the projects being discussed today have long histories, and the barriers are familiar: finance, consenting and finding people with enough time and determination to keep pushing them forward.

I think we can learn a lot from the approach taken across the ditch in Tasmania.

Rather than expecting every community to start from scratch, Tasmania has a dedicated entity with the people and expertise to assess projects, work alongside local communities and move viable schemes through development.

If a project isn’t going to stack up, they establish that early and move on.

If it does stack up, they use the same engineering, commercial and project development capability to turn it into something that’s ready for investment.

Then the lessons learned are carried into the next project.

It makes perfect sense, and IrrigationNZ has been looking closely at that model and advocating for a similar, more coordinated approach here.

I’m not saying New Zealand needs to copy Tasmania line for line, but there’s plenty we could learn from the model.

There’s also plenty of evidence here at home showing why storage is worth getting right.

Take Opuha Dam in South Canterbury, where farming benefits from the water, but irrigation is only part of the story.

Releases from the dam have historically prioritised environmental river flows, followed by domestic and stock water, then irrigation and electricity generation. The lake has also become an important recreational asset.

It’s a useful reminder that water storage is about so much more than just putting more water on farmland.

Done well, water storage can support environmental flows, drinking water, recreation, groundwater recharge, productive land use and climate resilience.

It helps both rural and urban communities manage longer dry periods and more variable rainfall.

Reliable water also changes the decisions people are prepared to make.

If farmers and growers know water will be available when they need it, they can invest with more confidence, use water more efficiently and consider different crops or higher-value land uses.

That investment doesn’t stop at the farm gate; it flows into processing, jobs, service businesses and stronger regional economies.

The Central Plains irrigation scheme is a good example. Federated Farmers’ 2026 election platform points to the scheme as contributing around $400 million to Canterbury’s GDP in 2025 and supporting more than 2,200 full-time jobs.

None of this means every proposed dam should be built, or that taxpayers should be writing blank cheques.

Water users should pay for the private benefits they receive, and projects still need to stack up commercially and environmentally.

But there’s a clear role here for government in helping worthwhile projects through the difficult early stages and removing unnecessary barriers before good projects are killed by process.

That’s why Federated Farmers is asking the next government to provide seed funding for new water storage projects.

We also want faster approvals, resource management reform that properly enables community storage and managed aquifer recharge, and a national standard that makes sensible on-farm water storage much easier to build.

Fast-track consenting is already helping address the consenting challenge for some major projects, but consenting is only one part of the job.

Someone still needs to identify the opportunities, test the engineering and economics, build local support, find the funding and turn a concept into something investors can actually back.

This is where a more coordinated approach like Tasmania’s could make a real difference.

We already have the projects, the expertise, and the successful examples showing what water storage can deliver.

Now we need to build a system that turns our best water storage opportunities into reality.

Captions

Richard Dawkins beside dam on his farm.jpg – Richard Dawkins beside one of two dams on his farm in Marlborough’s Waihopai Valley. This dam holds 85,000 cubic metres and was built in 2020; the other one, built in 2016, holds 47,000 cubic metres. Together, the dams store 132,000 cubic metres of water for irrigating 135ha of grapes.

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand was alerted to a five-hectare scrub and grass vegetation fire on Far North Road in Te Kao at 9.48am today. Firefighters from Houhora and Kaitaia responded, supported by two helicopters. Fire and Emergency and Police have evacuated ten houses as a precaution, with the residents likely to be returned home this afternoon. The fire is currently contained, but windy conditions have made firefighting difficult.

Source: SAFE For Animals

Animal rights organisation SAFE has welcomed a recommendation from Parliament’s Petitions Committee that the Government investigate how oversight of New Zealand’s animal welfare system could be improved.

The recommendation follows a petition lodged on 3 March by SAFE and the Commissioner for Animals Alliance, a coalition of 21 organisations calling for the establishment of a Commissioner for Animals to provide vital independent oversight of New Zealand’s animal welfare system.

SAFE says the current system is failing due to ineffective oversight, limited enforcement and accountability, and significant issues with industry influence over animal welfare decision making. As a result, animals continue to be kept and raised in ways that do not align with obligations set out within animal welfare legislation.

SAFE Chief Executive Debra Ashton says today’s outcome is a significant step in the right direction and validates longstanding concerns about failures within the animal welfare system.

“This is a great outcome for animals. A Parliamentary committee has recognised that decades of concern about our animal welfare system warrant investigation, and we wholeheartedly welcome this important step forward.”

Following written and oral submissions made by SAFE, SPCA, and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), the Petitions Committee concluded that concerns raised about the animal welfare system need to be further examined and addressed.

The committee has recommended the Government investigate how oversight of the animal welfare system could be improved, which SAFE says creates a clear opportunity to identify systemic failures in governance, enforcement, and accountability.

SAFE says independent oversight of animal welfare will build public trust and deliver significantly better outcomes for animals. Concerns during the Coalition Government’s term have highlighted risks within the current system, including questions around industry influence, and predetermined outcomes in decisions made by ACT MP Andrew Hoggard as the minister responsible for animal welfare. Examples include Minister Hoggard's moves to overturn the live export ban, and pushing through legislation that overrode a High Court ruling to continue the use of farrowing crates for mother pigs.

“A strong animal welfare system is independent, transparent, and accountable” says Ashton.

“A review is urgently needed to ensure industry influence and profit are not permitted to take precedence over the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of animals.”

SAFE says a reformed animal welfare system should be fit for purpose, centred on the interests of animals, informed by contemporary animal welfare science, reflective of public expectations, and backed by meaningful oversight, accountability, and enforcement.

“This outcome is a huge step forward, and a clear acknowledgement that the current system is not beyond scrutiny. We look forward to the Government taking the next step by undertaking an independent review of the animal welfare system that will that will ensure animals are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect.”

SAFE is Aotearoa’s leading animal rights organisation.

We're creating a future that ensures the rights of animals are respected. Our core work empowers society to make kinder choices for ourselves, animals and our planet.

Notes for editors

1. Website: Commissioner for Animals Alliance — https://commissionerforanimals.nz/
2. Petitions Committee Report — https://selectcommittees.parliament.nz/v/SelectCommitteeReport/7c027438-b53e-43a1-db1f-08df18232885?lang=en

Source: Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

Today The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) is launching Your GP. The specialist who knows you; He hononga whānau, he oranga whānui – a national marketing campaign that recognises the expertise, leadership and lifelong relationships that sit at the heart of this medical speciality.

Specialist GPs manage complexity, uncertainty and risk every day. They care for people across all stages of life, bringing together physical health, mental health, family circumstances and community context to provide coordinated care that no other part of the health system can offer in quite the same way. Yet too often that expertise is not fully understood or recognised by the public, policymakers or the wider health sector.

Through real stories featuring College Fellows, and video, digital, billboard and social channels, this campaign will help New Zealanders better understand the unique value of specialist general practice and the importance of continuity of care. Our goal is not simply to raise awareness, but to create a lasting shift in recognition, language and understanding, ensuring more people appreciate the specialist GP as the healthcare professional who knows them best and supports them throughout their lives.

Alongside the campaign, we are also launching the College’s Manifesto for General Practice and Rural Hospital Medicine 2026.

College President Dr Luke Bradford says launching the campaign and the manifesto together is deliberate because they tell one connected story.

“New Zealanders know the difference a trusted specialist GP or rural hospital specialist makes in their lives. Our campaign celebrates that contribution, while our manifesto outlines the practical steps needed to strengthen and sustain it. General practice and rural hospital medicine are not an add-on to the health system, they are the foundation of it and investing in them is one of the most effective ways to improve access, reduce inequities, strengthen communities and ease pressure across the wider health system.”

Find out more about the campaign on our website.

Source: Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

Wednesday 23rd of September

The Alliance Party is proud to unveil an ambitious, modern housing policy designed to bring our national housing infrastructure into the twenty-first century. Alliance Party housing spokesperson and candidate for Palmerston North, Joshua Moss, said the policy was founded primarily on one overarching principle:

“Every human being has the right to a warm, safe, and secure home at a fair price. Through four decades of neglect, privatisation, and inaction we have failed to maintain or improve the provision of public housing. We will reverse this trend.”

The centrepiece of the Alliance policy is a five-year housing plan: a massive public building programme led by Kāinga Ora, alongside a newly established Ministry of Works, to build the homes and infrastructure Aotearoa New Zealand needs.

“We will clear the social housing register, while creating decent jobs in construction and building high-quality homes that last,” Mr Moss said.

The Alliance policy caps social housing rent at 25 percent of income, and establishes state backed mortgages and co-ownership models to help working people get into housing.

“Our economy has been reliant on property speculation for too long, but the commodification of housing does enormous harm to our communities. The Alliance believes housing is a public good, and will implement lending criteria that favours owner-occupiers while discouraging property speculators.”

“We won’t build a productive economy by buying and selling houses to one another. The state must intervene in the housing market significantly to provide a real reset, and encourage investment into higher productivity sectors,” Mr Moss said.

“It’s time we started thinking of housing more like manners at a potluck – everyone gets a plate before anyone has seconds.”

Source: Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

Wednesday 23rd of September.

The Alliance Party has further elaborated on its social security and welfare policies, with a focus on the elimination of child poverty.

Alliance social security spokesperson and West Coast-Tasman candidate Sara Dyatlova Murphy said the policy provides greater detail on the previously announced Universal Child Benefit, with a broader social justice focus.

“No child should grow up in poverty in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the fact is that children are not being paid poverty benefits or poverty wages – that happens to their caregivers” Ms Dyatlova-Murphy said.

The Alliance policy emphasises the status of children as citizens in their own right, not merely the dependants of adults. Ms Dyatlova-Murphy said all government policy must consider the impact on children as members of our society with their own rights and interests.

“The same level of care given to the impact on women, on the environment, on tangata whenua, when auditing government policy should also apply to some of the most vulnerable in our community who can not directly impact government through voting – children and youth.”

Ms Dyatlova-Murphy says the policy has been shaped by the work of the Child Poverty Action Group, whose research has kept child poverty on the national agenda for more than thirty years.

“CPAG have spent decades documenting what poverty does to children in this country, and making the case for change when it wasn't popular. Their work has shaped our thinking, and we're grateful for it.”

CPAG's 2026 election manifesto challenges every party to commit to solutions for children. The Alliance policy is our answer to that challenge.

“There is no reason a child in this country should grow up in poverty and insecurity. Children have a claim over the shared resources of our society, and until all children are provided with what they need to thrive we will never realise our full potential as a nation.”

“If we care for the next generation, every New Zealander will benefit.”

Source: Federated Farmers

Federated Farmers says new legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow our export-led economy.

The Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.

Federated Farmers RMA reform spokesperson Mark Hooper says the new legislation is a huge milestone not just for farmers but for New Zealand more broadly.

“We’ve been pushing hard for RMA reform because the status quo has simply not been good enough.

“The RMA has been around for more than 30 years, increasingly making it harder and more expensive for productive Kiwis to get on with doing things to grow our economy.

“Farmers have spent far too much time and money navigating a system that’s been unnecessarily complex, expensive and uncertain for even the most basic everyday activities, like building a new shed or water storage.

“Meanwhile, councils and communities have also been left dealing with endless layers of bureaucratic planning rules and processes.

“This marks the end of that era and the beginning of an opportunity to do things differently.”

Federated Farmers has repeatedly called for the Government to get RMA reform across the line before the November election.

“We’ve been clear that getting this legislation passed before the election was important, and the Government has delivered on that,” Hooper says.

“Now we have a clean slate and the chance to build a planning system that’s simpler, more predictable and focused on getting good outcomes rather than generating more needless red tape.

“These two new laws mark a fundamental shift in the way New Zealand manages its natural resources.

“Finally, we can restore some commonsense to the whole system and make it easier to farmers – and all New Zealanders – to get things done.”

Hooper says a better resource management system is important for New Zealand’s ability to grow and invest.

“Farmers need to be able to make long-term decisions about their businesses without constantly wondering what the next planning rule, consent requirement or council process is going to mean for them.

“That matters when you’re deciding whether to invest in new infrastructure, improve environmental outcomes, expand production, develop irrigation or make other long-term investments in your farm.

“More broadly, New Zealand needs to build houses, infrastructure and businesses, generate energy and grow our productive economy.

“A planning system that adds unnecessary delays, cost and uncertainty makes all of that so much harder than it needs to be.”

Hooper says passing the legislation is a major step in the right direction, but now the focus should turn to making sure the new system works as intended on the ground.

“We’ll be watching that closely and continuing to advocate for a system that delivers certainty for farmers while achieving the environmental outcomes New Zealand needs.

“There’s a way to go before the system is up and running, but there are things the Government could do to speed up the benefits of these reforms.

“For example, they could pick up Federated Farmers’ request for 10 new national standards to make basic farming activities permitted activities.”

Source: Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

Wednesday 23 September 2026

The Alliance Party has announced Joshua Moss as its candidate for Palmerston North.

At 21 years old, Mr Moss is one of the younger candidates standing in this election. He is a union and environmental activist, and a student in resource and environmental planning.

“Young people like me face a bleak future. For decades now, free market policies have dismantled or run down our economic and social infrastructure. We have watched houses become financial assets, essential services become commodities, and well-paid, secure jobs disappear. The Alliance Party provides a genuine alternative to the failed neoliberal status quo,” Mr Moss said.

Having grown up in Palmerston North, Mr Moss has a strong connection to the city and the wider Manawatū.

“The Manawatū has enormous potential. We have a university, a growing population, a strong agricultural and industrial base, and a tight-knit community of people who like to get things done.”

As a student of resource and environmental planning, Mr Moss has a strong interest in how we build cities that are affordable, accessible and sustainable. He believes that Palmerston North can and should be a city where working people and young families can afford to live, work and build their futures.

“We need better public transport. We need more affordable housing. We need to revitalise our city centre. We need to make walking and cycling easier and safer. We need to protect the Manawatū River and our surrounding environment.”

As a self-described socialist, Mr Moss believes in public ownership and democratic control over vital institutions and long-term planning to provide for our communities.

“I don't believe the market should be allowed to determine everything that matters. A house is a home before it is an investment. Healthcare and science are public goods before they are business opportunities. Electricity and transport are core public goods, not assets to be profited off by private shareholders.”

Joshua also intends to make rebuilding New Zealand’s productive capacity a central part of his campaign.

“A stable future for young people requires a productive economic base. The Alliance believes in rebuilding New Zealand’s industrial capacity and holding key infrastructure in public hands. We need to make things in New Zealand again. If we want to rebuild our ailing infrastructure, transition to renewable energy sources, renew our public transport system and create healthy homes, we need quality local workers and materials, well-supported businesses, and strong public institutions.”

Party Leader Victor Billot welcomed the candidacy, saying it was more proof of the dire need for an unapologetic party of the left for working people.

“We’re back in the fight, and it’s been gratifying to find that it's not just the generation after me that see the need for these politics, but even the generation after that.”

“With dedicated people like Joshua in the mix, this party is here for the long haul to fight for ordinary working people and their families.”

About the Alliance Party

Re-established for the 2026 General Election, the Alliance Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a democratic socialist political party committed to economic justice, public ownership, free healthcare and education, tax reform, and secure housing for all working people.

https://allianceparty.nz/

Source: Palestine Forum of New Zealand

23 September 2026

Aotearoa New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has presented Palestinian statehood recognition as an example of New Zealand pursuing an independent, multi-directional foreign policy including where New Zealand has differed from some of its closest partners.

For Palestine Forum of New Zealand (PFNZ), Palestine is not a talking point or a diplomatic case study.

It is a test of whether New Zealand’s commitment to international law, human rights and self-determination translates into meaningful action.

Words alone do not end occupation.
Statements alone do not stop settlement expansion.
Humanitarian assistance alone does not deliver self-determination.
And “when, not if” is not a timetable.

In 2025, New Zealand decided not to recognise the State of Palestine, while several close partners proceeded with recognition. The Government argued that recognition needed to make a tangible contribution to a lasting two-state solution.

Now, in September 2026, Peters is again saying Palestinian statehood is a matter of “when, not if.”

So when?

Palestinians have waited generations for freedom, justice and self-determination.

An independent foreign policy should not mean simply having the freedom to delay.

It should mean having the courage to act according to principles — even when doing so is uncomfortable, politically difficult or inconvenient for powerful partners.

New Zealand has repeatedly affirmed the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and support for a two-state solution.

If Palestinian statehood is genuinely a matter of “when, not if”, then Palestinians should not be expected to wait indefinitely for New Zealand to decide that the time is right.

PFNZ calls on New Zealand to:

• Recognise the State of Palestine without further unnecessary delay;
• Uphold international law consistently and without double standards;
• Strengthen accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law;
• Take meaningful action against settlement expansion and settler violence;
• Ensure humanitarian assistance reaches Palestinians in need;
• Support Palestinian self-determination and political agency; and
• Use New Zealand’s diplomatic voice to pursue an end to the occupation and a just and lasting peace.

If Palestine is being presented as evidence of New Zealand’s independent foreign policy, then Palestine should also be where that independence is measured.

Not by speeches.
Not by promises.
But by action.

MEDIA: ASK THE QUESTION

PFNZ calls on New Zealand media to scrutinise the Government’s claim of an independent foreign policy and ask the question that Palestinians and New Zealanders deserve an answer to:

If Palestinian statehood is “when, not if” — when?