A former Labour Minister says a proposed pay rise for politicians gives them a real dilemma.

The Remuneration Authority's set to increase most MP salaries 10.5% over three years.

If implemented, it would be the first pay rise for MPs since 2017 and the first rise of 2.8% will be backdated to the election. 

Stuart Nash told Kerre Woodham that the public tends to hear about poorly performing MPs, which can shift perceptions of MPs in general. 

He says about 90% of MPs work incredibly hard and put the hours in, but it's often unseen.

LISTEN ABOVE  

A former Labour Minister says a proposed pay rise for politicians gives them a real dilemma. 
The Remuneration Authority's set to increase most MP salaries 10.5% over three years. 
If implemented, it would be the first pay rise for MPs since 2017 and the first rise of 2.8% will be backdated to the election.  
Stuart Nash told Kerre Woodham that the public tends to hear about poorly performing MPs, which can shift perceptions of MPs in general.  
He says about 90% of MPs work incredibly hard and put the hours in, but it's often unseen. 
LISTEN ABOVE

Join Kerre Woodham one of New Zealand’s best loved personalities as she dishes up a bold, sharp and energetic show Monday to Friday 9am-12md on Newstalk ZB. News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your morning listening covered.

Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Stuart Nash: Former Labour MP on the dilemma the pay rise is causing

Finances are tough for many kiwis at the moment, with costs skyrocketing across the board.

Mortgages are going up, as is inflation, food costs, gas, and electricity. Banks are expecting the value of “bad mortgage debt” to increase by 40% by the end of 2024, and around 90% of the country’s fixed mortgage debt has an interest rate about 4%.

An estimated 40,000 people had their power cut in 2023 due to unpaid bills, and one in five had trouble paying their monthly bill on time.

Much like low earners, middle-income taxpayers are living paycheque to paycheque, struggling to keep up with increasing costs amidst calls for more taxpayer funded benefits. 

Donna, a caller on Kerre Woodham Mornings, is one such taxpayer. Her yearly income is around $90,000, which she said becomes only $70,000 after tax and over half of which then goes towards her mortgage.

“I can’t go to my boss and just say, ‘hey, give me a pay rise’ more than once a year,” she told Kerre.

“And even then, I’m lucky, you know, if it happens.”

Her income goes not only to her mortgage and her general living expenses, but also to rates and life insurance, to ensure she has some stability should she become disabled.

“I’m 57, so I’m nowhere near getting a benefit, and all these extras that the government uses taxpayers’ money for don’t go to people like me.”

“I’m not saying they should,” Donna explained.

“I’m just saying I can’t afford any more.”

It’s becoming more and more difficult to build up a decent financial safety net, as any spare money can quickly get sucked up by unexpected costs that would be minor or inconsequential in any other situation.

Donna said that she used to have three months' worth of looking forward in savings, but now she’s literally living paycheque to paycheque.

“I hurt my back three and a half weeks ago and I have a regular appointment to see the doctor this week, and I couldn’t afford to go any earlier,” she told Kerre.

While the appointments are only $20, that’s $20 of an already dwindling supply as all of her payments went out the night before. 

“I mean, I get it.”

“I try to help people, you know, if I see someone who’s sitting on the street, even if I can just give them a smile and say’ hello, how are you?’ I try to do that,” she continued, mentioning that she buys people sandwiches when she can, but can’t do much more than she already does.

“I don’t get any extra help, and I’m not asking for it,” she reiterates.

“Everyone’s going on about these, what’s happening with this coalition with giving tax back very shortly, you know what? I need it.”

“I need that $20 a fortnight that I’m going to get.”

While it’s only a small amount, Donna said she’s tired of hearing politicians fight when people are struggling to survive. 

"I live in South Auckland and they’re all... it’s all around me and it’s just, no one... I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know what else to do or how to stop it.”

“I just feel so helpless.”

LISTEN ABOVE

Finances are tough for many kiwis at the moment, with costs skyrocketing across the board. 
Mortgages are going up, as is inflation, food costs, gas, and electricity. Banks are expecting the value of “bad mortgage debt” to increase by 40% by the end of 2024, and around 90% of the country’s fixed mortgage debt has an interest rate about 4%. 
An estimated 40,000 people had their power cut in 2023 due to unpaid bills, and one in five had trouble paying their monthly bill on time. 
Much like low earners, middle-income taxpayers are living paycheque to paycheque, struggling to keep up with increasing costs amidst calls for more taxpayer funded benefits.  
Donna, a caller on Kerre Woodham Mornings, is one such taxpayer. Her yearly income is around $90,000, which she said becomes only $70,000 after tax and over half of which then goes towards her mortgage. 
“I can’t go to my boss and just say, ‘hey, give me a pay rise’ more than once a year,” she told Kerre. 
“And even then, I’m lucky, you know, if it happens.” 
Her income goes not only to her mortgage and her general living expenses, but also to rates and life insurance, to ensure she has some stability should she become disabled. 
“I’m 57, so I’m nowhere near getting a benefit, and all these extras that the government uses taxpayers’ money for don’t go to people like me.” 
“I’m not saying they should,” Donna explained. 
“I’m just saying I can’t afford any more.” 
It’s becoming more and more difficult to build up a decent financial safety net, as any spare money can quickly get sucked up by unexpected costs that would be minor or inconsequential in any other situation. 
Donna said that she used to have three months' worth of looking forward in savings, but now she’s literally living paycheque to paycheque. 
“I hurt my back three and a half weeks ago and I have a regular appointment to see the doctor this week, and I couldn’t afford to go any earlier,” she told Kerre. 
While the appointments are only $20, that’s $20 of an already dwindling supply as all of her payments went out the night before.  
“I mean, I get it.” 
“I try to help people, you know, if I see someone who’s sitting on the street, even if I can just give them a smile and say’ hello, how are you?’ I try to do that,” she continued, mentioning that she buys people sandwiches when she can, but can’t do much more than she already does. 
“I don’t get any extra help, and I’m not asking for it,” she reiterates. 
“Everyone’s going on about these, what’s happening with this coalition with giving tax back very shortly, you know what? I need it.” 
“I need that $20 a fortnight that I’m going to get.” 
While it’s only a small amount, Donna said she’s tired of hearing politicians fight when people are struggling to survive.  
"I live in South Auckland and they’re all... it’s all around me and it’s just, no one... I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know what else to do or how to stop it.” 
“I just feel so helpless.” 
LISTEN ABOVE

Donna: Middle-income caller on crushing costs and living paycheque to paycheque

If you woke up this morning and you turned on the heater because it was a bit chilly, not as chilly as it has been, but a bit chilly, good for you. Did you think about the cost? If you didn’t, lucky you.

An estimated 40,000 New Zealand households had their power cut due to unpaid bills in 2023, which is a phenomenal number of households. One in five had trouble paying their monthly power bill and this is at a time when the “big four” power companies are earning more than $7 million every day while some households struggle to heat their homes.

These figures are according to Consumer NZ. According to their financial reports, Meridian, Contact, Genesis and Mercury had combined earnings of $2.7 billion over the last year – about $7.4m a day.  But while the consumer watchdog says the numbers are a bad look for the generation and retail power companies (retailers), the industry says it is ploughing earnings back into developments to help New Zealand transition to a carbon-zero economy. 

So, they’re not all just bloated fat cats puffing on cigars with the profits, and those aren't the profits, those are just the earnings, they are putting any profits back into transitioning to a carbon zero economy, so the wind farms and the like.

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said 60% of New Zealanders were concerned about the cost of energy and “the optics of huge profits at the height of a cost-of-living crisis aren’t great.” It’s the same problem with the banks, they’re making profits while people are struggling to pay the rent and to pay the mortgage.

The coalition government, mindful of this. has continued the Winter Energy Payment introduced by the Labour Government to help with the cost of heating homes during winter but Auckland law professor Jodi Gardiner says that doesn't cover nearly enough households who are around the edges of poverty.

If you’re not getting the Winter Energy payment, it’s because you don’t qualify. It arrives in your bank account automatically from the first of May through to the end of September, and if you’re entitled to it, you’ll be receiving it. Jodie Gardner says not nearly enough families are being taken into account for that Winter energy payment, and besides, it doesn’t go far enough.

Many New Zealand houses, particularly social housing, were built during the era of cheaper electricity and were reliant for warmth on electric heating rather than insulation. Now, that’s changed with the Healthy Homes legislation being passed, but again, Kainga Ora and the statehouse providers were given longer to ensure their homes meet Healthy Home standards than private landlords. So, there are still people living in poorly insulated homes, drafty homes, who are reliant on electricity for their warmth and their cooking, and for everything else.

It is estimated that now 25% of these occupants nationwide and more than 40% in the South suffer energy poverty, contributing to avoidable hospitalisation. So, you have a choice if you’re on limited income, either a benefit, or the super, or wages that cannot be raised, you either pay the power bill or you buy food, or you know, you have to make those sorts of crunch decisions.

Jodie Gardner says a return to state ownership of electricity isn't realistic right here right now, she argues a simpler – and more appropriately targeted – approach is to implement “social tariffs” for electricity.  

These are targeted discount energy deals funded by the government for qualifying low-income consumers. There are examples of social tariffs being used overseas to reduce the harm being caused by profit-driven companies operating in essential sectors.   

She says in the UK some private telecommunications providers have voluntarily chosen to bring in subsidised social tariffs for broadband and telephone for customers on certain welfare benefits because access to the internet, like electricity, is seen as a basic human right in developed countries.  

So, if you are having to make decisions about what you spend money on right now as we head towards winter, especially those who are living in the South where the temperatures are colder, do you worry about paying the bill? Is it one of those low-level anxieties? When paying the power bill, do you take measures to ensure that you use the least amount possible of electricity to cook and heat your home?

There's nothing new in this. You know the only new thing is the fact that we now acknowledge it. People during winter ring me and tell me they go to bed at about 6pm so that they are living in one room and keeping warm in their bed rather than trying to heat their home.  

Do you consider the provision of electricity a basic human right, which in turn means that the rest of us, has an obligation to ensure that you are not in hardship when it comes to paying the bill?

If you woke up this morning and you turned on the heater because it was a bit chilly, not as chilly as it has been, but a bit chilly, good for you. Did you think about the cost? If you didn’t, lucky you.
An estimated 40,000 New Zealand households had their power cut due to unpaid bills in 2023, which is a phenomenal number of households. One in five had trouble paying their monthly power bill and this is at a time when the “big four” power companies are earning more than $7 million every day while some households struggle to heat their homes. 
These figures are according to Consumer NZ. According to their financial reports, Meridian, Contact, Genesis and Mercury had combined earnings of $2.7 billion over the last year – about $7.4m a day.  But while the consumer watchdog says the numbers are a bad look for the generation and retail power companies (retailers), the industry says it is ploughing earnings back into developments to help New Zealand transition to a carbon-zero economy.  
So, they’re not all just bloated fat cats puffing on cigars with the profits, and those aren't the profits, those are just the earnings, they are putting any profits back into transitioning to a carbon zero economy, so the wind farms and the like. 
Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said 60% of New Zealanders were concerned about the cost of energy and “the optics of huge profits at the height of a cost-of-living crisis aren’t great.” It’s the same problem with the banks, they’re making profits while people are struggling to pay the rent and to pay the mortgage. 
The coalition government, mindful of this. has continued the Winter Energy Payment introduced by the Labour Government to help with the cost of heating homes during winter but Auckland law professor Jodi Gardiner says that doesn't cover nearly enough households who are around the edges of poverty. 
If you’re not getting the Winter Energy payment, it’s because you don’t qualify. It arrives in your bank account automatically from the first of May through to the end of September, and if you’re entitled to it, you’ll be receiving it. Jodie Gardner says not nearly enough families are being taken into account for that Winter energy payment, and besides, it doesn’t go far enough. 
Many New Zealand houses, particularly social housing, were built during the era of cheaper electricity and were reliant for warmth on electric heating rather than insulation. Now, that’s changed with the Healthy Homes legislation being passed, but again, Kainga Ora and the statehouse providers were given longer to ensure their homes meet Healthy Home standards than private landlords. So, there are still people living in poorly insulated homes, drafty homes, who are reliant on electricity for their warmth and their cooking, and for everything else. 
It is estimated that now 25% of these occupants nationwide and more than 40% in the South suffer energy poverty, contributing to avoidable hospitalisation. So, you have a choice if you’re on limited income, either a benefit, or the super, or wages that cannot be raised, you either pay the power bill or you buy food, or you know, you have to make those sorts of crunch decisions. 
Jodie Gardner says a return to state ownership of electricity isn't realistic right here right now, she argues a simpler – and more appropriately targeted – approach is to implement “social tariffs” for electricity.   
These are targeted discount energy deals funded by the government for qualifying low-income consumers. There are examples of social tariffs being used overseas to reduce the harm being caused by profit-driven companies operating in essential sectors.    
She says in the UK some private telecommunications providers have voluntarily chosen to bring in subsidised social tariffs for broadband and telephone for customers on certain welfare benefits because access to the internet, like electricity, is seen as a basic human right in developed countries.   
So, if you are having to make decisions about what you spend money on right now as we head towards winter, especially those who are living in the South where the temperatures are colder, do you worry about paying the bill? Is it one of those low-level anxieties? When paying the power bill, do you take measures to ensure that you use the least amount possible of electricity to cook and heat your home? 
There's nothing new in this. You know the only new thing is the fact that we now acknowledge it. People during winter ring me and tell me they go to bed at about 6pm so that they are living in one room and keeping warm in their bed rather than trying to heat their home.   
Do you consider the provision of electricity a basic human right, which in turn means that the rest of us, has an obligation to ensure that you are not in hardship when it comes to paying the bill?

Kerre Woodham: Access to electricity is a basic human right

Late in the show yesterday, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster along with Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced they would be introducing a National Gang Unit to crack down on gang crime and gangs’ anti-social behaviour. 

Coster said police know gang members commit a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. I don’t think it’s a state secret. I think most of us are well aware that the gangs are either committing it, or behind a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. He says 8% of all violence and 18% of serious violence. I'd love to know how many robberies and ram raids they were behind too, using young children to do the actual dirty work.

The National Gang Unit would be a dedicated, specialised gang unit of 25-30 people with ring-fenced staff of up to seven staff in every police district across the country. 

Coster said this action will be a continuation of Operation Cobalt. Fabulous. You might’ve seen the results of Operation Cobalt in the crime and the court news, numbers of gang members up before the courts getting prosecuted, getting assets stripped. The proceeds of the Crime Act are well and truly in force and in play with all the bling, and the diamond studs, and the gold chains, and the cars, and the motorbikes being seized by police, all as a result of Operation Cobalt. 

All well and good, and precisely what this coalition Government campaigned on. And to be fair, Operation Cobalt was in play in the last administration as well, but people were sick to death of seeing gang violence, senseless deaths in the name of protecting patches, the flouting of laws on a daily basis, and just the general swagger. I live outside the law. I don’t obey the same rules, I don’t care, two fingers to you. And they were allowed to get away with it for far too long.

So, cool.  I’m glad the government is doing what they said they were going to do and cracking down on the gangs, but you have to get the buy in from the police, and according to the Police Association President Chris Cahill there won't be any extra resources or staff for this new national gang unit. 

“The real problem with this announcement is it’s come with no actual facts around what the extra resourcing will be, what the extra budget will be. And if it doesn't have those things attached to it, you’re just asking the same staff to do more work, or you’re just moving stuff around, and so we really want to see the facts behind that.

“Look, it’s great to have a focus, but as I say, we’re already overworked and what are we gonna drop? I mean, the Commissioner yesterday said we’ll be doing less mental health and less family harm, but we’ve been hearing that story for a couple of years now and it just hasn’t happened. So, there’s a fair bit of scepticism out there. I mean, officers are pretty keen to get into these gangs, they know they’ve had, you know, far too much leeway and not enough emphasis on policing them, but they’re just bogged down with the amount of work they’ve got at the moment.”

I know that the Police Association is in the middle of pay negotiations with the government so there'll be a bit of ‘argy bargy’ and a little bit of jockeying for position going on, but seriously - wouldn't it have been a much more powerful statement if you'd had the PA standing alongside the Minister and the Commissioner? If they had all come out together and said we are united in reducing the harm being done to families, to communities, and to society from the gangs and the misery they perpetuate.

Late in the show yesterday, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster along with Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced they would be introducing a National Gang Unit to crack down on gang crime and gangs’ anti-social behaviour.  
Coster said police know gang members commit a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. I don’t think it’s a state secret. I think most of us are well aware that the gangs are either committing it, or behind a large amount of the crime in New Zealand. He says 8% of all violence and 18% of serious violence. I'd love to know how many robberies and ram raids they were behind too, using young children to do the actual dirty work. 
The National Gang Unit would be a dedicated, specialised gang unit of 25-30 people with ring-fenced staff of up to seven staff in every police district across the country.  
Coster said this action will be a continuation of Operation Cobalt. Fabulous. You might’ve seen the results of Operation Cobalt in the crime and the court news, numbers of gang members up before the courts getting prosecuted, getting assets stripped. The proceeds of the Crime Act are well and truly in force and in play with all the bling, and the diamond studs, and the gold chains, and the cars, and the motorbikes being seized by police, all as a result of Operation Cobalt.  
All well and good, and precisely what this coalition Government campaigned on. And to be fair, Operation Cobalt was in play in the last administration as well, but people were sick to death of seeing gang violence, senseless deaths in the name of protecting patches, the flouting of laws on a daily basis, and just the general swagger. I live outside the law. I don’t obey the same rules, I don’t care, two fingers to you. And they were allowed to get away with it for far too long. 
So, cool.  I’m glad the government is doing what they said they were going to do and cracking down on the gangs, but you have to get the buy in from the police, and according to the Police Association President Chris Cahill there won't be any extra resources or staff for this new national gang unit.  
“The real problem with this announcement is it’s come with no actual facts around what the extra resourcing will be, what the extra budget will be. And if it doesn't have those things attached to it, you’re just asking the same staff to do more work, or you’re just moving stuff around, and so we really want to see the facts behind that. 
“Look, it’s great to have a focus, but as I say, we’re already overworked and what are we gonna drop? I mean, the Commissioner yesterday said we’ll be doing less mental health and less family harm, but we’ve been hearing that story for a couple of years now and it just hasn’t happened. So, there’s a fair bit of scepticism out there. I mean, officers are pretty keen to get into these gangs, they know they’ve had, you know, far too much leeway and not enough emphasis on policing them, but they’re just bogged down with the amount of work they’ve got at the moment.” 
I know that the Police Association is in the middle of pay negotiations with the government so there'll be a bit of ‘argy bargy’ and a little bit of jockeying for position going on, but seriously - wouldn't it have been a much more powerful statement if you'd had the PA standing alongside the Minister and the Commissioner? If they had all come out together and said we are united in reducing the harm being done to families, to communities, and to society from the gangs and the misery they perpetuate.

Stuart Nash: Former Labour MP on the dilemma the pay rise is causing

In 1 playlist(s)

Kerre Woodham Mornings Podcast

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips