Craig McCulloch

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Craig McCulloch

The ACT Party has dismissed National's proposal to ban children under 16 from social media, calling it hastily-drafted, simplistic and unworkable. ACT's opposition has prevented Prime Minister Christopher Luxon from pushing ahead with a government bill to follow Australia's lead in a social media crackdown. Instead, National has put a member's bill into Parliament's ballot and is now seeking support from parties outside of government to try to get it over the line.

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Craig McCulloch

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has rejected claims by ACT leader David Seymour that the ministerial line-up has become "bloated" and riddled with "meaningless titles". But former ministers from across the political spectrum have backed Seymour's assessment and his calls to slash the number of ministers, portfolios and departments. In a speech on Thursday, Seymour proposed capping the executive at just 20 ministers - all inside Cabinet - and scrapping associate positions, except in finance.

2 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Craig McCulloch

ACT leader and soon-to-be deputy prime minister David Seymour has criticised the ministerial line-up as looking "bloated" and full of "meaningless titles", as he calls for a smaller team of ministers, portfolios and departments. In a speech to the Tauranga Business Chamber on Thursday, Seymour made the case for streamlining the executive government, saying the current set-up was "a big, complicated bureaucratic beast" and an example of "national paralysis".

2 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Craig McCulloch

A year on from the Ministry for Regulation's creation, the average salary for its staff continues to top $150,000 - well above the sector-wide average of just over $100,000. New figures, as of 28 March, record an average annual salary at the agency of $150,320 across 70 permanent staff and 17 fixed-term staff. That compares to a figure of $152,034 reported in August last year - which at the time prompted outrage from opposition parties and the Taxpayers' Union.

3 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Craig McCulloch

New Zealand First is pushing for the term "woman" to be defined in law as "an adult human biological female" as the party vows to fight "cancerous social engineering" and "woke ideology". But RNZ can reveal the party has also quietly withdrawn its proposed legislation to fine those who use public bathrooms not for their designated sex, and another bill focused on scrapping diversity targets across the public service.