Youth homelessness campaigner Aaron Hendry describes in the Quote of the day below how he was seeing tamariki and kuia living freezing on campsites in Taranaki. \u201cIf this is the track we\u2019re on \u2013 we need to derail it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s must-read is Claudette Hauiti\u2019s piece for Waatea News<\/a> on homelessness, which includes Christopher Luxon\u2019s responses to her questions in last night\u2019s news conference. See more in The Lead below, Quote of the day and Docs of the Day below.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s must-read is from Bella Craig for RNZ: Kiwi workers wanted: ‘The north of Australia is a really good option’<\/a> See more in my Top Pick \u2018n Mix below.<\/p>\n Paying subscribers can hear more detail, analysis and commentary in the podcast and video above and get the links and sourcing below the paywall first, along with my full Picks \u2018n\u2019 Mixes for this morning. If paying subscribers give it more than 100 likes I\u2019ll open it up for full public listening, sharing and reading later in the day.<\/p>\n Last night\u2019s post-Cabinet news conference appeared to be some sort of turning point in the publicly expressed mood of the nation about the failure of his Government\u2019s economic strategy to improve living costs and deal with homelessness.<\/p>\n He spent the first 10 minutes before questions defending his Government\u2019s policies and blaming the previous Government, which raised questions later about whether he was protesting too much. He was asked about being booed at the netball final over the weekend. His announcement of the banning of retailers from charging fees for using credit and debit cards was lost in the combined blow-back about job losses, cost of living inflation and homelessness. <\/p>\n He then went on to say he was doubling down on budget cuts to lower mortgage rates.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing we can do to make you better off is to double down on our long-term economic plan. While our economy grew four times as fast as Australia’s in first three months of this year, global uncertainty continues to pose a risk. And that makes it even more crucial to continue pushing ahead with our economic plan.\u201d PM Christopher Luxon in his post-cabinet news conference.<\/p>\n His response to be challenged about the opening monologue is below in full (bolding mine):<\/p>\n Thomas Coughlan: So you’re opening remarks for about 10 minutes on the cost of living. Are you feeling defensive on that issue?<\/p>\n Christopher Luxon: No, not at all. No. More just acknowledging for New Zealanders that we have just gone through three years of a recession that’s probably been nothing like we’ve seen since the early 1990s. How did we get here? As I keep saying – we’ve had to come back to the immutable laws of economics. If you lose control of spending, you lose control of inflation, you lose control on interest rates, put an economy into recession and people start losing their jobs. <\/p>\n It’s a known economic prescription that we know how that works and the previous government stuffed that, they crashed that and as a result people are feeling that pain and suffering now.<\/p>\n He was also challenged by Waatea News reporter and former National MP Claudette Hauiti about homelessness. Here\u2019s the exchange:<\/p>\n Claudette Hauiti: Prime Minister, In Ng\u0101motu, Taranaki and New Plymouth, we found a kuia and her mokopuna in a freedom camping site and advocates in Te Tai Tokarau have counted 6,000 tamariki living beneath the breadline in freezing conditions. How is it that you can allow that to happen?<\/p>\n Luxon: Sure, we understand we’ve got some real challenges in our housing market. That’s why we’re trying to make it easier to build more houses so that more people can be accommodated in safe, dry, affordable homes. That’s why you’re seeing us actually do everything we can to make sure that rents are not going up. We’ve got stable rents in New Zealand for the first time in a long time. That’s why you’ve seen us take 6,000 people off the State House wait list. That’s how we’ve moved 2,100 kids out of emergency housing into proper homes because we’ve prioritised them above others to get them to state houses and community houses. We know it’s still challenging. Sorry.<\/p>\n We know we’ve got real challenges in homelessness and no New Zealander wants to see people being homeless. That’s why we spend half a billion dollars with other organisations that actually can provide the wraparound support with people who have often got very complex and challenging needs.<\/p>\n MSD is constantly available there for people who need any housing assistance, but we have made progress on getting kids out of emergency motel accommodation, making sure we get the state house wait list down, keep rent stable, and hopefully open up new land so we can get more houses built.<\/p>\n For the record:<\/p>\n The Government announced<\/a> last month it had abandoned plans to build 3,780 new Kainga Ora homes;<\/p>\n Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) officials reported to the Government in June (the report<\/a> was released publicly last week) that homelessness had risen between 25% and 225% in our major cities in the last year after the Government tripled its emergency housing rejection rate; <\/p>\n The Government removed 2,826 or 84.5% of homeless people from emergency housing in motels between November 2024 and May of this year, hitting its target of cutting the numbers by 75% five years earlier than originally planned, although it acknowledged it didn\u2019t know where about 15% of them went; and,<\/p>\n The Salvation Army called this morning on the Government to increase housing supply and funding for homelessness NGOs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve met tamariki sleeping outside in the rain. No shelter. No protection. No one to help them. Some are as young as 11. There\u2019s no safe place for them. The system\u2019s left them behind.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no youth homelessness strategy. No ring-fenced funding. No urgency. This government is playing politics while our kids sleep in doorways.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI found a kuia sleeping in a carpark. That broke me. A kuia and her moko in the cold, wrapped in duvets. That\u2019s not just poverty, that\u2019s a national disgrace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government\u2019s spin about tax cuts and GDP growth ignores the basic truth: our tamariki are freezing. Our wh\u0101nau are freezing. And the people with power are warm, paid, and comfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is the track we\u2019re on \u2013 we need to derail it.\u201d Youth homelessness campaigner Aaron Hendry via Claudette Hauiti for Waatea News<\/a>.<\/p>\n Amy Williams for RNZ: ‘We’re vulnerable’: More women living without shelter in Aotearoa<\/a><\/p>\n Bella Craig for RNZ: Kiwi workers wanted: ‘The north of Australia is a really good option’<\/a><\/p>\n Jess Roden for 1News: ‘You’ve had long enough’: Cataract surgery still not equally accessible. <\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: ‘Unparalleled disruption’: One in 1000 Kiwis homeless as housing crisis worsens<\/a><\/p>\n Claudette Hauiti for Waatea News: Warm in the Beehive, Frozen on the Streets<\/a><\/p>\n Ruby Shaw for ODT-$: MP \u2018ill-informed\u2019 on seesaw<\/a> National MP Sam Uffindell has been accused of getting his facts wrong after slamming council spending on a central Dunedin seesaw<\/p>\n Guyon Espiner for RNZ: Tobacco product tax break extended<\/a><\/p>\n Thomas Coughlan for NZ Herald-$: Health NZ considering sending cancer patients to Oz, citing gynaecologist shortage<\/a><\/p>\n RNZ: Nurses call strike after latest failed pay negotiations<\/a><\/p>\n Matthew Littlewood for ODT: \u2018Flaws\u2019 in Waikato med school business case<\/a><\/p>\n Charlie Mitchell for The Press-$: No coherent strategy behind freshwater \u2018tinkering\u2019, watchdog saysThe fifth overhaul of freshwater policy in 14 years will only cause confusion and delay, Commissioner says.<\/a><\/p>\n Cate Macintosh for The Press-$: Lunch orders down as school students reject mealsSchools are ordering almost 10,000 fewer lunches than when the $3 meal regime started. Why? The children don\u2019t like them. And offal is on the way.<\/a><\/p>\n RNZ: Cost of living: ‘NZ is back on course,’ says government<\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: ‘More spin than a front load washing machine’: Hipkins blasts Willis for 10-minute cost of living ‘sermon’<\/a><\/p>\n Jamie Ensor for NZ Herald-$: Ministers agree to raise board members’ pay ranges \u2013 in some cases by 80%<\/a><\/p>\n Lloyd Burr for Stuff: \u2018What exactly are you announcing?\u2019 Minister is asked at press conference<\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: Luxon says Govt must ‘double down’ on economic plan<\/a><\/p>\n Stuff: \u2018It\u2019s not uncommon for politicians to be booed\u2019: PM brushes off icy receptionThe moment was picked up in official broadcast coverage after the Mainland Tactix beat the Northern Mystics to win the title.<\/a><\/p>\n Pierre Briancon for Reuters: EU\u2019s lopsided Trump trade deal will be short-lived<\/a><\/p>\n FT-$ (gift link opens three times): Trump freezes export controls to secure trade deal with China<\/a><\/p>\n WSJ-$ (gift link): Five Signs of a Market Bubble Investors Are Tracking<\/a><\/p>\n NY Times-$ (gift link) Robert Reich Thinks the Baby Boomers Blew It<\/a><\/p>\n Reuters: German government to approve 2026 budget with record investment and borrowing surge, sources say<\/a><\/p>\n RNZ: Nauru seeks to transform its economy by becoming a crypto powerhouse<\/a><\/p>\n Mandy Te for Interest: Banning surcharging; Ending ‘a very messy situation’, or coming ‘with real costs to businesses’?<\/a><\/p>\n Glenn McConnell and Bridie Witton for Stuff: Ban on PayWave surcharges could shift costs to shoppers, critics say<\/a><\/p>\n Roeland van den Bergh for The Post-$: Surcharges at the till gone by May – but will you pay more?Retailers support the axing of payment surcharges, but bank fees are the real problem.<\/a><\/p>\n Susan Edmunds for RNZ: 27,850 jobs gone in a year<\/a><\/p>\n Andrew Bevin for Newsroom Pro-$ (free from tomorrow): Mobil hit with warning over ongoing disclosure problems<\/a><\/p>\n Matt Nolan for his substack: On comprehensive income taxes<\/a> How I learned to stop worrying and love taxing everything<\/a><\/p>\n Column by Joel MacManus for The Spinoff: Windbag: Why the Taxpayers\u2019 Union endorsed the Green Party policy of land-value rates.<\/a><\/p>\n Susan Edmunds for RNZ: New Zealanders urged to break up with property<\/a><\/p>\n RNZ: Wellington water loss drops but warning investment in new pipes needed<\/a><\/p>\n Emily Ireland for LDR via Stuff: ‘Crippling’ water bills likely<\/a><\/p>\n Emma Ricketts for Stuff: More than 40 Wellington City Council-owned buildings deemed earthquake-prone<\/a><\/p>\n Tracey Roxburgh for ODT: Urban planning gives town \u2018deferential\u2019 treatment<\/a><\/p>\n Denise Piper for Northern Advocate: ‘Cruel and Third World’: Patient starved 16 hours a day for six days waiting for surgery<\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: ‘It was a scary way to live’: Housing battle ends for terminally ill man<\/a><\/p>\n Claudette Hauiti for Waatea News: \u2018I am Doctor\u2019: M\u0101ori health equity is tough going<\/a><\/p>\n Deep-dive by Laura Walters for Newsroom Pro-$ (free from tomorrow): Matt Doocey says the mental health and addiction system is \u2018going forwards\u2019, pointing to improvements in his target areas. But reports from the frontline tell a different story of unmet need.<\/a><\/p>\n Rachael Comer for The Timaru Herald-$: Resident doctor expected to do the job of two or three doctors, union says. Resident doctors at Timaru Hospital are exhausted as 16 work on a roster which needs 27 to fully staff it, the trade union which supports them says.<\/a><\/p>\n Marty Sharpe for Stuff: Judge slams Oranga Tamariki’s \u2018egregious\u2019 behaviour towards foster parents<\/a><\/p>\n Waatea News: Advocate finds Kuia, mokopuna freezing in Ng\u0101motu<\/a><\/p>\n Robin Martin for RNZ: Taranaki family runs out of BBQ gas to heat house with ELGAS behind on deliveries<\/a><\/p>\n Jared Savage for NZ Herald: \u2018A continual escalation\u2019: Jared Savage on how organised crime is evolving in NZ<\/a><\/p>\n Mildred Armah for Stuff: From nine years in refugee camp to fresh struggle with NZ\u2019s high unemployment rate<\/a><\/p>\n Katie Todd for RNZ: At-risk prisoners still being placed in dry cells, despite warnings<\/a><\/p>\n Miriam Bell for The Post-$: Pay equity changes \u2018demoralising\u2019, says Global WomenControversial pay equity law changes have undermined women\u2019s trust and created uncertainty for businesses, says a group of NZ\u2019s top female business executives.<\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: Atmospheric river to drench NZ during 16-hour spell of warnings<\/a><\/p>\n RNZ: Climate activists target Stockton again<\/a><\/p>\n ConsumerNZ\/PowerSwitch\u2019s Paul Fuge interviewed by NZ Herald: How do we fix NZ’s “broken” energy sector?<\/a><\/p>\n NZ Herald: Does your power company tell you if you’re on the cheapest deal? Check our interactive<\/a><\/p>\n Deep-dive by FT-$ (gift link opens three times):Desalination: the costly solution for a thirsty world<\/a><\/p>\n WSJ-$ (gift link): A Tiny Company Is Vouching for Risky Insurers in Hurricane Country<\/a><\/p>\n David Farrier for his substack Webworm: Sean Plunket Has Lost His Multi-Millionaire Backer<\/a><\/p>\n Interest: “Farm confidence surges”<\/a><\/p>\n Gary Hamilton-Irvine for Hawkes Bay Today: New $750m solar farm for Hawke’s Bay: Why is the region turning to solar?<\/a><\/p>\n Matt Stoller on his substack Big: The War Among Democrats Over Market Power, Housing and Capital. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Dems release a major bill on housing, while New Democrats do a trickle-down ‘Innovation’ agenda. Which will win?<\/a><\/p>\n Column by Gareth Hughes for The Post-$: Wellbeing is at the heart of what local govt does, law change or not. Central government isn\u2019t going to build parks, playgrounds or pools, and it is not going to drive local economic development<\/a><\/p>\n Column by Martin Hawes for The Post-$: Why family trusts are not what they used to be. Today I would think it quite possible that there are more trusts being dissolved than being formed. It seems certain that the feeding frenzy has now been sated.<\/a><\/p>\n The Salvation Army, Community Housing Aotearoa, and Housing First Auckland Backbone, K\u0101hui T\u016b Kaha, Christchurch Methodist Mission, DCM and Wellington City Mission released their National Homelessness Data Project half-yearly update<\/a> this morning.<\/p>\n Stats NZ reported<\/a> yesterday there were 2.34 million filled jobs in June, up 0.1 percent (3,487 jobs) from May and down 27,850 jobs (1.2 percent) from June 2024.<\/p>\n The Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet (DPMC) announced<\/a> yesterday 30-80% fees increases for directors of Crown Agents, Autonomous Crown Entities (ACEs) and tertiary education institutions), trust boards, advisory bodies and committees, Royal Commissions, Public Inquiries, Government Inquiries and Ministerial Inquiries, and statutory tribunals: Cabinet Fees Framework for members appointed to bodies in which the Crown has an interest<\/a><\/p>\n Full video of PM\u2019s Post-Cab News Conference yesterday : Watch: Luxon faces questions after Cabinet meets<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/8b6afa9e-6da7-4995-93e6-5d3083020941_1050.jpeg\")
<\/a>PM Christopher Luxon. Photo for RNZ by Mark Papalii<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/8c0f40c7-82d1-4cf6-8407-d70d4391f703_750x.jpeg\")
<\/a>MusicalChairs via BlueSky<\/a>: \u201cRecessions throw young people out of the labour market – exhibit one. If we want to avoid another lost decade for young people (and a continued exodus), we need a youth training, education, job guarantee programme. Remember: we keep youth unemployment high to ‘prevent inflation’. It’s ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n