In the latest Coherent episode, Sir Geoffery Palmer warns the Regulatory Standards Bill is dangerous, unworkable, and undemocratic. He says it could paralyse Parliament, strip ministerial responsibility, and leave the courts powerless. 🎧 Listen here: open.substack.com/pub/melanien...

Just out on the spinoff by @weavingourworlds.bsky.social thespinoff.co.nz/politics/18-...

An important piece by @weavingourworlds.bsky.social. If NZ First really have capitulated to Seymour, ACT and the NZ Initiative it's really problematic — at least until we have a government that repeals the Regulatory Standards Bill. It would be worth people emailing Peters and Jones about this.

“It’s a long-term death charge put in the middle of the Parliament.” - Sir Palmer On Coherent, former PM & constitutional expert breaks down why the Regulatory Standards Bill is unworkable, undemocratic & dangerously naïve. open.substack.com/pub/melanien... #RSB #NZPol #Democracy #GeoffreyPalmer

Dr Melanie Baker Jones joins Coherent to unpack how the RSB could undermine local government action, emissions regulation, intergenerational equity — and even the legal rights of nature. 🎧 Listen here to the full podcast open.substack.com/pub/melanien... #RSB #ClimateAction #NZPolitics

Can New Zealand still plan for climate change under the Regulatory Standards Bill? Dr Melanie Baker Jones joins Coherent to unpack how the RSB could undermine government action, emissions regulation, intergenerational equity and the legal rights of nature. open.substack.com/pub/melanien... #RSB

Economist Geoff Bertram joins Coherent to break down how monopoly power and regulatory capture are driving the cost of living crisis — and how the Regulatory Standards Bill could lock it all in. Full episode link here open.substack.com/pub/melanien...

Just published by @weavingourworlds.bsky.social Will New Zealand first sell out on its principles or will it stop the RSB?

What picture are the messages forming about NZ First support for an amended Regulatory Standards Bill?

Bill Rosenberg: How the RSB Privileges Power and Undermines the Public Good The former Productivity Commissioner lays out why the Regulatory Standards Bill is about embedding corporate power, locking in inequality, and weakening our democracy. Listen here: melanienelson.substack.com #RSB

“You can still deliver a pepeha — even if, like me, you’re Māori and don’t know your whakapapa.” — Emma West.

Week in Review: Dame Anne Salmond laments the falling standards of our political leaders, their attack dogs and policy sources while New Zealanders endure such hard times

Enough said...

Dr Carwyn Jones unpacks the Regulatory Standards Bill’s threat to te Tiriti, democratic lawmaking, and the future of New Zealand’s legal foundations.

Economist and former Productivity Commissioner Dr Bill Rosenberg joins me to unpack the deep ideological roots and real-world risks of the Regulatory Standards Bill.

The coalition Government has quietly amended the controversial Regulatory Standards Bill, even as the legislation is before the select committee. Laura Walters and Sam Sachdeva report. - Newsroom Pro - $ -

Ironically the Regulatory Takings clause in the proposed Planning Act would enable developers to sue the arse off Seymour for denying them the enjoyment of property rights

Hmm. Another over-egged policy paper from #NZInitiative, no doubt for ideological aim of promoting smaller govt. Problem “diagnosis” purports to paint picture of fragmentation/confusion etc. Yet fails to refer collective coordinating role of Cabinet. 🤷🏻‍♂️ www.nzinitiative.org.nz/reports-and-...

I'm on BHN 9pm tonight with Dr Ryan Ward talking about our investigative work on the influence of the theory of fringe American legal scholar Richard Epstein on the Regulatory Standards Bill - experimenting on NZ. youtube.com/live/CP4SKm5...

Significant new information in this investigative article I've co-authored with Dr Ryan Ward on the foreign ideology influence behind the Regulatory Standards Bill.

I have an article in E-Tangata today on the government's proposals to overhaul conservation, including removing decision-making from communities, increasing commercial activities and even the saleability of the conservation estate.

Ross Calman’s new book Te Tiriti o Waitangi is short, sharp, and essential. In this kōrero we dive into the rushed translation, the debates at Waitangi, and why the Treaty still matters for all New Zealanders. Listen here:

I have an article in the Spinoff today on the amendments to conservation legislation being quietly progressed by the government

Don't stop at the headline of charging for tourists on conservation land. It is obscuring proposals to make 60% of conservation land easier to sell and unleash commercial activities on the conservation estate. Here's a detailed explanation.

Does the government want to create a neoliberal conservation estate? Listen to a former Minister for Conservation disect the proposals on the Coherent podcast. Link in bio.

Former Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage joins Coherent to unpack the Government’s “modernisation” of conservation land management — and why she sees it as the most serious weakening of protections in decades. We talk biodiversity, Treaty obligations, land disposals, and climate resilience.

Eugenie Sage on the Coherent podcast: the Government’s sweeping “modernisation” of conservation land management could weaken protections, open the door to land sell-offs, and prioritise development over biodiversity. The biggest shake-up in decades? melanienelson.substack.com/p/eugenie-sa...

Some alarming changes proposed to foreign investment rules in Aotearoa NZ, outlined in this guide for submissions that are due on Wednesday 23 July: manataiao.wordpress.com/2025/07/20/f...

Overseas Investment Act amendments. Subs close 23 July. Links to Bill and relevant documents included. Guest post by Mike Smith outlines some of the concerns about the proposed changes. These amendments would strip away longstanding protections for Māori land, conservation areas, and freshwater.

#RSB What now with the Regulatory Standards Bill? Part 3 #nzpol Keep sharing! @tinangata.bsky.social @weavingourworlds.bsky.social

The real debates are happening too late. This means the early phases in the policy advice process have quite possibly collapsed: policy processes are being frontloaded with ministerial intent and backloaded with reactive pushback in the committees.

Great oral submission by @weavingourworlds.bsky.social on the Regulatory Standards Bill. Clearly spelled out to National & NZ First MPs that if they allow the Bill through in its current shape, they are effectively handing ACT a veto within the policy development machinery by entrenching its values

Open Letter Calls For Halt To The Undemocratic Regulatory Standards Bill Signed by Dame Anne Salmond, Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Professor Emeritus Jonathan Boston, Professor Andrew Geddis, Dr Jim Salinger, Dr Geoff Bertram, Dr Bill Rosenberg, Dr Max Harris, Professor Emeritus Jane Kelsey

🎧 New episode of Coherent How Property Rights Trump People, Prices & Democracy @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social calls the Regulatory Standards Bill “a dangerous power grab” — and breaks down what it could mean for supermarket prices, forest protection, fair pay, and the future of lawmaking in NZ

This will be helpful for anyone struggling with the apparent contradiction between Seymour’s “the RSB doesn’t make anyone do anything” routine with his Party’s persistent 20 year fight to make it law. A Framework for Control: The RSB’s Blueprint for Influence open.substack.com/pub/melanien...

I'm up on Monday, look forward to listening to some of these other interesting submitters too!

2/2

I think Dean's *slightly* more concerned about the short-med term effects of the RSB than I am, but pretty much agree with him on all this. Shifting the ground & process, & demanding largely libertarian logic, for regulation & legislation undercuts the ability of the state to act for the public good

What happens to our health system when laws are designed to serve markets over people? Emergency doctor @drgarypayinda.bsky.social joins me on Coherent to talk about the Regulatory Standards Bill — and why he sees it as a direct threat to public health, community wellbeing, and basic decency.

What kind of society are we building — and who gets to decide? Jonathan Boston joins Coherent to unpack the deep ideological agenda behind the RSB. We talk about its anti-democratic design, the risks to future generations, and why it poses a serious threat to social and environment.

Talking about the most sweeping constitutional rewrite in decades? In this episode of Coherent, legal scholar Jane Kelsey breaks down how the Regulatory Standards Bill could lock in libertarian principles, override te Tiriti, and weaken Parliament’s ability to act in the public interest.

If you aren't sure how your industry might be affected by the RSB have a dig into this sector specific tool from @weavingourworlds.bsky.social melanienelson.substack.com/p/new-sector... #NZPOL

What happens to our health system when laws are designed to serve markets over people? Emergency doctor Gary Payinda joins me on Coherent to talk about the Regulatory Standards Bill — and why he sees it as a direct threat to public health, community wellbeing, and basic decency.

When Chris Bishop was a tobacco lobbyist, he argued that tobacco companies should be compensated by the Govt for public health policies designed to reduce smoking, policies such as plain packaging, because it damaged tobacco cos intellectual property. Bishop and Seymour are at one on this.

Experts warn that Seymour's Regulatory Standards Bill threatens future public health laws as well as environmental protections and tino rangatiratanga. #KillTheBill 👇