National's Ryan Hamilton

Following the US official withdrawal from the World Health Organisation, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has called into question New Zealand’s membership in the organisation.

With Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warning of a “rupture” in the world order, political leaders in New Zealand are holding sharper focus on how we conduct ourselves internationally, especially with the United States.

This week, Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Ryan Hamilton about New Zealand’s relationship with the US, and our position on the global stage.

More than 200 scientists, researchers and water professionals were involved in the development of a Water Research Roadmap, offering the government 20 priorities for development in the water sector.

Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Minister for Agriculture Todd McClay reported on their updated National Direction for Natural Hazards across New Zealand last week, as the government seeks public feedback on their resource management plan through the Planning Bill and the Natural Environment Bill.

This all comes as the United Nations shared a bleak report on “the era of global water bankruptcy” in which they say that many water systems are being chronically and unsustainably overused — to the threat of global water security. 

Wire Host Sara spoke to National MP Ryan Hamilton about all of these topics, starting with water sector priorities in Aotearoa.

The Parliament’s Workforce and Education Committee has released an interim report on an inquiry into the harm young New Zealanders face online. The government has recently announced an overhaul of the Resource Management Act and introduced two new bills in its place, the Natural Environment Bill and the Planning Bill. 

For our weekly catch-up with the National Party, Producer Vihan spoke to MP Carl Bates, who is also the Deputy Chairperson of the Workforce and Education Committee, about the new findings of the interim report, the new Natural Environment Bill, and the Fast Track Approval Amendments Bill.

Recently, the government has announced some major reforms to how regional councils operate, with regional councillors proposed to be replaced by boards made up of city and regional mayors, and potentially even Crown-appointed representatives, called combined territories boards, or CTBs.

As well as this, Health Minister, Simeon Brown, has called for the decentralisation of Health New Zealand, with the expectation that the entity focuses on deliveries closer to the front-line, additionally expecting a plan to do so by the end of the year.

For our weekly catch up with the National Party, News and Editorial Director Joel spoke to MP Stuart Smith about these topics, starting with the regional council.