Casey Costello strikes again
Another Government Minister in the National / ACT / New Zealand First Coalition Government breaks the law
Summary:
A track record of deception is becoming evident in the Government’s Coalition alliance. Ministers across all parties have been found to either lie without contrition, and/or act unlawfully and unreasonably. The rails are coming off quicker than a marshmallow induced fantasy train ride as the conductors throw caution to the wind, in pursuit of their goals. But as the evidence piles up, and the Government continues to show scant regard for Kiwi lives, well-being, and our future, what consideration is due from us as voters, residents, citizens?
This is a long read.
Brooke van Velden’s first month as a Government Minister
Part I
Within two days of her appointment as a NZ Government Minister, Brooke was showing New Zealand how things would be done under the new team.
She appeared on TVNZ’s breakfast TV, as a Minister of Government, and on the topic of New Zealand’s current offshore oil and gas ban, said:
“When the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment looked at this ban after the fact, he said it's likely to increase global emissions because we still need electricity as a source.
A similar comment was made in the ACT Party Energy Policy on its website.
“There was no cost-benefit analysis and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment found it would actually increase global emissions by forcing activity offshore.”
In response, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment acted decisively, writing a letter reprimanding van Velden for misrepresenting his comments.
Mr Upton said both the ACT website blurb, and Ms van Velden’s comments on television were "incorrect and misleading".
"I most definitely did not say that the ban would increase global emissions," he confirmed.
He added,
“But it would create an excellent precedent if your decision to lift the ban followed a thorough analysis of the costs and benefits of such a step".
No apology or clarification from Ms van Velden or the ACT Party was ever made.
Part II
Later in December, now a few weeks into her new job, the Workplace Relations & Safety Minister repealed Fair Pay Agreements (FPA) under urgency. (repeal = delete)
Treasury said FPAs boosted wages by up to $600 million a year, and repealing it would strip that money away from workers. (To be fair, I think that was the idea. Extraneous business costs have been lamented by Luxon.)
Van Velden was also informed removing it would unfairly impact people such as the disabled, young, Maori, women, Pasifika. A benefit though, would be that some employers would have ‘lowered costs’.
In December 2023, van Velden claimed she had consulted with the unions on the urgent repeal.
Quote:
“I reached out in good faith to both sides of the Fair Pay Agreement argument, which is the Council of Trade Unions and BusinessNZ, to give both parties an opportunity to start a good working relationship. I would have hoped, that's how we would have been able to play the next three years. I'm less certain of that now.
The unions disputed her account, and expressed a lack of confidence in the Minister. Ms van Velden responded,
“Respect goes both ways. I start all new relationships with a foundation of respect and in good faith. So I would hope that that comes back to me too."
Small wrinkle: Treasury confirmed what the unions said.
Ms van Velden had lied.
There had been “no consultation” with unions on repealing Fair Pay Agreements. But she had listened to business lobby groups.
Très surprise.
After this demo of masterclass gaslighting, Newsroom revealed last week that Van Velden hasn’t met with unions for over 6 months now. This is fairly unprecedented.
Van Velden didn’t front, but her mentor and leader David Seymour did, putting forward a standard defence of his #1 right hand person.
‘Of course she is doing a good job. Of course she’s listening to the right people.’
If anyone is worried about the government making decisions without holistic, considered data, consultation, context, or research, you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the NACT1 Government has already taken active measures to help hide business lobbyist identities and made it easier for them to do business in Parliament. We couldn’t possibly upset that apple cart. David Seymour empathizes.
Priorities.
Minister Bishop dishing it out - unlawfully - to environmental groups
Last month, Minister Chris Bishop, leader of the House, ex-tobacco man, and corporate donor magnet, was found to have acted “unlawfully and unreasonably.”
This time, the Government was standing in the way of Forest & Bird, an environmental group for Aotearoa New Zealand. Forest and Bird sought information on advice Ministers had received on their notorious “Fast-Track” bill, which many criticized as an “authoritarian,” “anti-nature,” and ‘ripe for corruption.’
The government department urged haste as public submissions on “Fast-Track” were closing soon. It would no doubt benefit the public to have more of an understanding of what was at stake.
Instead, Bishop directed departments to withhold the information, citing various excuses until well after the public submission date had passed.
Bishop was not above gaslighting either.
When asked by the Green Party how impacted communities from the public could, in future, have their voices heard on projects that came under fast-track, Bishop replied that members of the public should submit a fast-track application for projects of “regional and national significance” themselves.
This brings me to today’s star ….
Casey Costello has form
Many of you may have heard that New Zealand’s Chief Ombudsman has found Associate Health Minister Casey Costello’s actions "unreasonable and contrary to law". i.e. she broke the law too.
This time round for the New Zealand Government in power, Costello was refusing to provide background information to health experts on the Coalition government’s smoke-free generation law repeal.
Under the previous government, New Zealand would have reduced the number of retailers selling cigarettes and prevented Kiwis born from 2011 onward from ever buying tobacco, as part of its Smokefree 2025 plan. Nicotine content would be weakened too.
The move was lauded internationally and would have come into effect were it not for …
Wait, who is Casey Costello anyway?
Costello chaired the tobacco money funded Taxpayers Union before resigning to run as a New Zealand First MP.
She also worked intimately with the anti-Maori, right wing Hobsons Pledge for many years. She’s listed as a “founding trustee” on their website.
Before that, she was variously a police officer, building management officer, union representative.
In 2017, Hobsons Pledge described Costello as “a winner in life and in business”. She had tried to enter Parliament a few times in her career. First as an ACT party rep (2011). Second as a New Conservative Party member (2019). And third - and lucky last - New Zealand First (2023).
Costello now holds five Ministerial roles - Police (Associate Minister), Customs (Minister), Seniors (Minister), Immigration (Associate Minister), and Health (Associate Minister) - thank you, Prime Minister Luxon and National.
It is in her last role that she has gained the most … prestige and accomplishment.
A dedicated soldier to the cause
The intention to repeal i.e. cancel NZ’s smoke free generation law was surreptitiously added to the New Zealand First Party manifesto in October 2023 after early and overseas electoral voting commenced.
National had never mentioned it would happen.
Nicola Willis, New Zealand’s new Finance Minister, later admitted repealing the law was to help fund tax cuts.
Appeals and desperate pleas by medical professionals, who said it was “immoral” and “not evidence based” fell on deaf ears.
45,000 signatures calling for the Government to stop its repeal of the Smokefree legislation also failed.
The international press also covered it -
It was all for nought. The government was adamant this was important.
Top NZ health officials were confused, demoralised, and some considered quitting in response.
One wrote:
“Please keep this in confidence ... I’m sure we have all been challenged ethically and morally by the notion, firstly that our Government will repeal the Smokefree legislation, and even more so that this will help fund tax cuts.
I’m sure anyone working in Public Health will feel pretty demoralised by this, but I’m aware that we signed an oath which is why I’ve copied in our other Doctors who may well be feeling a lot like I am right now.”
The doctor felt that appealing to Health Minister Shane Reti might help
“I am hoping to have a chance to discuss this with our new Minister (who is also still a practising Doctor) in the next day or two”
Little did they know our Prime Minister, and multiple senior Cabinet Ministers - including Casey Costello, Chris Bishop, and Health Minister Shane Reti - were all parroting tobacco company lobbying lines on their media blitz.
Not repealing smokefree “would increase the tobacco black market, and escalate ram raids,” they claimed. Never mind it contradicted official government advice given to the Prime Minister and Ministers.
Government Ministers rallied for tobacco, and unsupported by any independent scientific evidence ever, fanned the notion that nicotine was no more harmful than caffeine.
Chris Bishop: “Well, they’re both unhealthy.. Caffeine’s addictive, so is nicotine.”
Casey Costello, writing as Associate Health Minister, begged for clemency for the tobacco industry, claiming “tobacco is on its knees,” and weaving a suite of tobacco talking points into government papers.
When asked why she did it, she denied it. And after evidence emerged, she admitted it was true but feigned ignorance.
“The paper was an … extraction of a whole lot of historical documents – it was sitting around and [someone] just compiled them all into one big list…
I’m not sure who put it on my desk.”
When the opposition Labour Party, who had implemented Smoke Free Generation law in the first place, tried to ask her about her pleas for tobacco companies, she was shielded by the National Party Government Speaker, Gary Brownlee.
To this day, Costello claims she doesn’t know who wrote her Ministerial paper.
In her name.
Now that’s not all, folks.
Costello also omitted $46bn of smoke-free economic and health benefits in Cabinet papers.
Small change. Nothing to see here. Only $46,000,000,000.
Concerns compounded when it was discovered that Ministers' papers and narratives mirrored tobacco industry talking points.
The Coalition blatantly ignored urgent calls for the Govt to declare its links to tobacco. Complaints against Costello were also sidestepped too.
It was made official in February 2024.
Rest in peace, Smoke Free New Zealand 2025
This Coalition has shown consistent, scant regard for the lives and well being of New Zealanders
In its short 7 months of ruling, the Coalition team of New Zealand First, ACT, and National, has shown scant regard for the well being of everyday New Zealanders.
From Brooke van Velden’s refusal to provide a timely response on engineered stone - a substance proven to kills workers and which has no minimum threshold for its toxicity, to repealing smoke free despite impeccable medical and economic benefits for NZ, to cancelling Kiwirail’s Interislander that would have secured future proof, rail enabled boats at a stellar cost by 2026 - there is a disturbing pattern of prioritizing donors, corporate interests and lobbyists over our future.
It appears we are seeing leaders who are leading with self interest, and a vast majority - aside from ones like Simeon Brown and Penny Symonds - have direct, sustained lobbyist and marketing credentials. And are using it on New Zealand.
We live in a democratic society and a large majority of us adhere to, and support, our system of government.
But when it is taken over by corporate interests and decision makers have scant regard for New Zealand, and its most vulnerable, what is our answer then?
If Trump does win in November, the world order as we know it will also change.
That complexity deserves due recognition.
Note: Images credits and investigative journalism re: the comparison of Ministerial papers and talking points with tobacco industry strategy notes are courtesy RNZ 4th March, 2024.
I’m not sure what’s more terrifying, that the coalition can continue to behave this way, with total disregard for residents’ well-being and the moral responsibilities that go with holding power, or the apathy of the media and public at large.
Don’t get me wrong, there is some excellent work being done by various journalists and groups in the left bloc, but - unfortunately - they largely act as an echo chamber. I’d be willing to bet an analysis of various social-minded petitions calling for change would include many of the same signatories. Not so much a case of ‘they who shout loudest, wins’ as those with the fattest wallets…
Taken in the context of the fact “The Paris-based OECD has ranked New Zealand as the fourth-worst country among its 38 members when it comes to regulating vested interests that try to influence policymaking” [Open Democracy Project, 2024], the examples you’ve rightly called out are even more worrying.
I can’t help but worry about my corner of the Substack landscape (workplace health and well-being), where Brooke van Velden is signalling scarily significant changes.
As you rightly note, the prospect of the current Government’s behaviour in a world where Trump is re-elected makes Aldous Huxley’s fears seem like a small child’s passing nightmare. What’s it going to take for these concerns to penetrate the walls of the aforementioned echo chambers and kick-start some change?
What is our answer then?
Do we really have a system that allows government, any government, to act with impunity?
I’m shocked at my ignorance.