Video episode available on my Substack. Former Green MP and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage joins Melanie for a deep dive into the Government’s sweeping proposals to “modernise conservation land management" — reforms she believes will dismantle decades of hard-won protections for our public estate. Framed as streamlining, efficiency, and “unlocking” economic opportunities, the changes would shift DOC’s focus from preservation to enabling economic activity, making i...
Why the Regulatory Standards Bill would paralyse Parliament, empower unelected overseers, and unravel democratic lawmaking in New Zealand In this episode of Coherent, Melanie Nelson speaks with former Prime Minister and constitutional law expert Sir Geoffrey Palmer about the Regulatory Standards Bill — which he describes as one of the most dangerous and constitutionally incoherent pieces of legislation he’s encountered in his long career. Sir Geoffrey warns that the Bill would install an unel...
Video episode available on my Substack. In this powerful and far-reaching conversation, Dame Anne Salmond joins Melanie to confront the deeper ideological project behind the Regulatory Standards Bill. With clarity, compassion and a lifetime of scholarly insight, Anne warns that the Bill isn’t just about regulation — it’s a blueprint for hollowing out democracy, elevating corporate interests, and tying government into a narrow ideological approach. Together, they explore: Ho...
Video episode available on my Substack. In this wide-ranging and deeply grounded conversation, I speak with Dr Rebekah Graham — community psychologist, writer, and advocate for disability rights — about the hidden but sweeping risks the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) poses for disabled communities, and for the future of equity and inclusion in New Zealand. Dr Graham draws on her work with Parents of Vision Impaired and her long-standing research on material hardship and food ins...
Video episode available on my Substack. Economist and Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa research fellow Paul Dalziel joins Melanie on Coherent to analyse the Regulatory Standards Bill — and explain why it’s deeply misaligned with the values and aspirations of most New Zealanders. While the Bill presents itself as a tool for improving transparency and regulatory quality, Paul argues it is not fit for purpose. Drawing on his submission and decades of economic expertise, he unpacks the ...
Video episode available on my Substack. What does it mean when a government proposes to put most law through a libertarian filter? In this episode of Coherent, I speak with Dr Carwyn Jones, legal scholar and expert in te Tiriti o Waitangi, about the Regulatory Standards Bill — a proposal that’s quietly but profoundly reshaping the legal foundations of New Zealand. We explore how the Bill elevates a narrow set of private property and individual liberty principles at the expe...
Video episode available on my Substack. In this episode of Coherent, economist and former Productivity Commissioner Dr Bill Rosenberg joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the deep ideological drivers and real-world risks of the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB). Drawing on decades of work in employment law, productivity policy, and public economics, Bill warns that the RSB is less about good regulation and more about embedding a bill of rights for wealth into New Zealand’s legal system. ...
Video episode available on my Substack. Green Party Co-leader Chloe Swarbrick joins Melanie to dissect the Regulatory Standards Bill — a proposal she describes as a “neoliberal sausage machine” for laws and a direct threat to democracy, climate action, and public wellbeing. In this wide-ranging conversation, Chloe reflects on what the Bill signals about the direction of our politics and who benefits when corporate interests are prioritised over collective good. She breaks down why the ...
Video episode available on my Substack. What does climate action look like in a legal framework that prioritises present-day costs, private property rights, and minimal state intervention? In this episode of Coherent, climate consultant and legal academic Dr Melanie Baker Jones joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the wide-reaching implications of the Regulatory Standards Bill for climate policy and environmental governance in New Zealand. Drawing on her background in law, disaster reg...
Video episode available on my Substack. In this episode, Melanie speaks with environmental policy expert and regulatory researcher Marie Doole about the rising threat of regulatory capture—when laws and systems designed to protect the public end up serving powerful interests instead. Marie draws on her independent research and professional experience to explain what regulatory capture looks like in New Zealand, how it spreads across the whole policy cycle, and why it’s more urgen...
Video episode available on my Substack. What if a single piece of legislation could quietly reshape how all future laws are made — limiting the role of government, elevating corporate power, and embedding a fringe ideology into the heart of our democracy? In this episode of Coherent, lawyer and campaigner Max Harris joins Melanie Nelson to unpack the true agenda behind the Regulatory Standards Bill. Drawing on his legal expertise and political analysis, Max explains how the Bill a...
Video episode available on my Substack. Labour MP and regulation spokesperson Duncan Webb joins the Coherent podcast to sound the alarm on the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) — a piece of legislation he describes as a “dangerous power grab” and a fundamental shift in how law will be made in New Zealand. In this wide-ranging and accessible conversation, Webb explains how the Bill elevates property rights above all else, allowing an unelected board — appointed by David Seymour — to scrutinise a...
Dr Gary Payinda has spent nearly two decades working as an emergency doctor in Northland — one of the most under-served regions in New Zealand. In this powerful episode, he shares his deepening alarm about the direction of our public health system and why he sees the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) as a dangerous turning point. From privatised surgeries and telehealth replacing GPs, to unsafe workplaces and corporate interference in medical standards, Gary draws on frontline experience ...
In this episode of Coherent, economist Geoff Bertram joins me to explore the Regulatory Standards Bill (RSB) and the deeper ideological project driving it. With a career spanning decades in regulatory economics, macroeconomic policy, and the history of economic thought, Geoff offers a sweeping and incisive analysis of how this seemingly technical Bill threatens to upend New Zealand’s democratic and regulatory foundations. Geoff traces the RSB’s lineage from the Business Roundtable’s agenda of...
In this powerful episode of the Coherent podcast, Dr Russel Norman — Executive Director of Greenpeace Aotearoa and former Green Party MP — joins Melanie Nelson to dissect the Regulatory Standards Bill and its far-reaching implications. Drawing on his years inside Parliament and his frontline environmental advocacy, Russel exposes how the Bill would constrain democratic decision-making, empower polluters, and undermine efforts to address climate change and protect New Zealand’s natural heritag...
In this episode, the tables are turned. Thanks to Bryan Bruce Investigates for initiating and sharing this podcast episode where he interviews Melanie Nelson, the host of the Coherent podcast and the Weaving our Worlds podcast. In this episode of Head to Head, Bryan Bruce interviews Melanie Nelson, a writer, researcher, translator and consultant specialising in the application of te Tiriti to environmental and conservation issues. Together, they delve into the Regulatory Standards Bill, a pr...
The proposed Regulatory Standards Bill may seem like dry policy, but its implications could reshape how New Zealand governs itself. In this episode of Coherent, Jonathan Boston, ONZM, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, unpacks the sweeping impact this legislation could have on government services, environmental protections, and the very structure of our democracy. We explore the bill’s philosophical roots in market-liberal ideology, its p...
In this compelling episode, Melanie Nelson interviews Jane Kelsey, a leading critic of New Zealand's neoliberal reforms and an expert in global economic governance. They explore the far-reaching implications of the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill—a piece of legislation that threatens to reshape New Zealand’s democratic processes, environmental protections, and social safeguards. Jane traces the bill’s libertarian roots, linking it to decades of neoliberal policy-making in New Zealand, incl...
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