Govt gushes about lifting our wellbeing and saving lives – but new bowel-screening campaign has only just been announced

Buzz from the Beehive

The latest news from the Beehive features announcements of initiatives introduced to make us so much better off along with self-congratulations for initiatives that – the ministers insist – already are making us so much better off.

Then there are statements to tell us –

• Who has been appointed to which jobs (Bede Corry will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States and Ainsley Walter Chair of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra);
• Where our Ministers can be found (the PM will lead New Zealand’s Ministerial delegation to the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum in Sydney today while Associate Foreign Minister Aupito William Sio will travel to Fiji this week to represent New Zealand at the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Suva).

The self-congratulatory category “includes announcements that:

• The Ministry for Ethnic Communities marked its first anniversary on 1 July 2022 and celebrated “a successful 12 months of influencing government policy and lifting wellbeing outcomes for ethnic communities”.
• A new report on the health effects of air pollution shows “the Government’s focus on reducing emissions will save lives”.

The headline on another statement suggests it belongs in the self-congratulatory category, too.  It brays: National bowel screening campaign a lifesaver

Let’s wait and see, because Associate Ministers of Health Peeni Henare and Aupito William Sio have only just launched this one – it’s a national multimedia campaign encouraging people to take part in the Government’s lifesaving bowel screening programme.

Check out the order of matters discussed by Ardern and Albanese: deportations from Australia were “also” on the agenda

Buzz from the Beehive

New Zealand’s relationships with other countries have been a feature of an outpouring of press statements and speeches from the Beehive over the past 24 hours.

The PM checked in from overseas, the Minister of Trade is headed overseas,  the Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs addressed a bunch of diplomats from overseas, the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety brayed about a ruling from overseas, and (a second statement from him) the Minister of Trade brandished a report from overseas.

The most important of those was the press release after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held their first bilateral meeting in Sydney.

The most contentious issue on the agenda – and the matter of most interest to news media in this country – was mentioned almost as an afterthought:

Supermarkets should check the Treaty – it might entitle them to a place among the decision-makers who shape their future

The Commerce Commission’s draft report into the retail grocery sector is being welcomed by the government as “a major milestone”. It is providing ammunition for Opposition criticisms of government economic and commerce policies, too.

Commenting on the report, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark said the draft findings indicate there are problems in the market and (did he need a special inquiry to find this out?) inform him

“… that New Zealanders would get better prices, ranges and quality if there was increased competition in the grocery sector.”

The Act response is here and the National response is here. 

But supermarket operators were not the only subjects of a statement from the Beehive which portends substantial regulation for some businesses.

The futures  of tourism operators – Ngai Tahu is among the big players – will be affected by plans to address visitor pressures and safety at Milford Sound.

The Milford Opportunities Project (MOP) Masterplan unveiled in Te Anau yesterday follows four years work by cross-agency representatives, mana whenua, commercial interests and the wider community.

The project now moves to stage 3 and a new governance structure will oversee the next steps.

A ministerial group covering Tourism, Transport and Conservation portfolios will oversee the formation of a new Establishment Board to be chaired by the leader of the expert MOP group, Dr Keith Turner.