Analysis - The country moves to orange but retailers fume over mask-wearing rules. The government steps over a line as it sends troops to Europe and weapons to Ukraine, albeit indirectly. Louisa Wall fires a broadside as she leaves Parliament and some MPs blunder their way through the week.
Louisa Wall and Jacinda Ardern. Photo: RNZ
The government moved the whole country to the orange traffic light setting at midnight on Wednesday, removing indoor gathering limits but retaining a lengthy list of mask-wearing requirements.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins presented statistics that backed Cabinet's decision, saying it showed New Zealand was over the Omicron peak and was going down the other side.
Hipkins said the biggest difference people would notice was the lifting of indoor limits in bars, cafes and restaurants, and that there was no longer any need for patrons to be seated and separated.
Hipkins got himself into a muddle when he was asked about mask-wearing. He apologised at his press conference for getting some of it wrong and not knowing all of it straight off, but still copped a fair bit of media derision.
To clear things up a statement was issued setting out exactly where and when people have to wear masks under orange. There were 12 bullet points and the "must wear a mask" list included retail businesses "for example supermarkets".
That didn't go down well.
Retailers were fuming, Newstalk ZB reported, quoting Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford: "While it is good news that the country is moving to orange, it is absurd that the government is removing mask requirements in the hospitality and education sectors but keeping them for retail."
Harford was also quoted by Stuff describing the situation as "deeply disappointing" and "nonsensical".
Hipkins was asked at his press conference about this disparity, and said it was about volume - a lot more people visit supermarkets. He also said mask-wearing in pubs and restaurants was impractical because people took them off to eat and drink.
The next settings review is due in mid-May but going down to green is highly unlikely. Unless the rules under orange are tweaked retailers will have to fume for quite a while.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Chief of Defence Air Marshal Kevin Short. Photo: Pool image / Robert Kitchin /Stuff
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by Defence Ministrer Peeni Henare and Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short at the press conference to announce more help for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
It marked a significant change in the government's attitude.
A C-130 Hercules with 50 Defence Force personnel would be sent to Europe - it left on Wednesday - to help transport and distribute donated military aid to Ukraine, RNZ reported. It would not go to Ukraine itself.
Ardern said New Zealand would contribute $13 million for military, legal and human rights support including $7.5m for weapons and ammunition procurement via the United Kingdom. That money would enable the UK to help supply arms to Ukraine.
This is lethal aid, albeit indirectly, and the government has previously been careful to say its assistance was non-lethal.
Ardern said the government had always questioned the distinction between lethal and non-lethal, considering all efforts were going towards supporting the war effort.
The funding for weapons decision was in line with New Zealand's standards because what was happening in Ukraine was a blatant breach of a country's sovereignty, she said.
"An act like this impacts on every democracy and every country that considers its sovereignty sacred."
NZ Herald columnist Matthew Hooton said the big difference was that the deployment didn't have UN authorisation.
"In reality, Ardern is working hand in glove with our Five Eyes partners and Nato, especially the British to whom our $7.5m for weapons and ammunition will be paid," he said.
"The upshot is that Ardern is the first prime minister to send our military to a true European war for more than 80 years, when Savage declared in 1939 that 'where [Britain] goes, we go; and where she stands, we stand'."
A similar sentiment appeared to prevail in 2022, Hooton said.
Questions were asked about why weapons were not being sent directly, particularly Javelin anti-tank missiles which are reported to be the Ukraine military's weapon of choice.
Short said if they were sent they wouldn't last long. It was better to go through the UK and Nato coordination centres because the weapons would get there quicker and would be compatible with Ukraine's forces.
Act leader David Seymour told Newstalk ZB the Defence Force had 24 Javelins. He said he hadn't seen any Russian tanks on the streets in New Zealand so they should be sent to Ukraine.
One issue the Defence Force may have considered is the difficulty in replacing Javelins if it did send them. Given the rate the US and other countries are delivering them to Ukraine, it would likely take years.
Javelins are highly effective heat-seeking "fire and forget" shoulder launched missiles. They're expensive but not extremely so. According to the Pentagon's 2021 budget the US-made Javelin, including launch system and missile, costs US$178,000 (NZ$261,706). Each replacement missile costs US$78,000 (NZ$114,680).
It wasn't known what weapons would be purchased for Ukraine from the $7.5m, but if it was all used for Javelins the Ukrainians would get about 40 of them.
Louisa Wall delivering her valedictory speech. Photo: Screenshot / Parliament TV
The last item on Parliament's agenda before MPs left for the Easter recess was Louisa Wall's valedictory speech and she fired a broadside at her own party, RNZ reported.
She accused Labour Party president Clare Szabo of leading a "corrupt practice" and said she was forced out of her electorate through "unconstitutional actions".
Wall's grievances aren't new and go back to the way a late nomination from Arena Williams saw her selected as the candidate for Wall's Manurewa electorate. Williams won the seat and Wall returned as a list MP.
During interviews last weekend Wall said Ardern had told her she would never be a cabinet minister. The prime minister was asked about that at her post-cabinet press conference on Monday but didn't respond. She said she wasn't going to say anything that detracted from Wall's achievements as an MP, which included taking the gay marriage bill through Parliament.
Wall has left to take up a position created for her - ambassador for Pacific gender equality.
For some MPs it was a week of wishing they hadn't said what they did say.
National leader Chris Luxon was the first foot-in-mouth case when he spoke to the media on Tuesday. He was asked whether the government's half-pricing of public transport should continue, Stuff reported. "Ultimately public transport should stand on its own feet. It can't be subsidised or underwritten," he replied.
Labour snatched that up, noting public transport had been subsidised in some form for decades by National and Labour governments.
Transport Minister Michael Wood said removing all subsidies would almost treble the cost people paid for buses and trains with a multi-zone bus fare in Auckland hitting $31.50, a train ride in Wellington hitting $47.50 and a Christchurch bus trip hitting $11.75.
Luxon subsequently told Stuff he didn't want to remove all public transport subsidies and should have been clearer the day before. He explained that what he had been trying to say was that he wasn't keen on subsidising "white elephant" public transport projects such as the $100m Te Huia commuter train between Auckland and Hamilton which is heavily subsidised and has had a slow start attracting riders.
It was the government's turn when Housing and Associate Finance Minister Megan Woods was asked by Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking what the OCR was. About 2 percent, she replied, doubling the actual figure. She got the unemployment rate right at 3.2 percent.
National's Mark Mitchell, on the same programme, couldn't correctly identify either rate.
Woods admitted she should have known the OCR rate, but Mitchell said his portfolios of police and counter-terrorism meant he shouldn't have to.
These events prompted the NZ Herald's Thomas Coughlan to write an article titled 'What happens when politicians say something silly'.
He said that on their own these screw-ups didn't say anything terribly important about the state of politics in New Zealand but they did expose blind spots on the part of Labour and National.
"Woods' flub on the radio shows she wasn't across what might just be the single most important number in her portfolio," Coughlan said.
And one of Luxon's weaknesses was a depth of knowledge about how the government worked.
Coughlan said it had been a long time since Ardern made a genuinely embarrassing gaffe, and he went on to explain how she avoided the pitfalls.
"Ardern avoids embarrassing flubs by carefully managing questions she doesn't have an answer to, or doesn't understand," he said.
"She'll waffle and give a tangential answer, but one that doesn't touch on anything she's not comfortable talking about. It's frustrating and at times soporific, but it works for Ardern."
As any Ardern-watcher will know, Coughlan got that right.
*Peter Wilson is a life member of Parliament's press gallery, 22 years as NZPA's political reporter and seven as parliamentary bureau chief for NZ Newswire.