Casey Costello

Cassandra Jane "Casey" Costello (born 1965 or 1966) is a New Zealand politician, lobbyist and former police officer. She was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, representing the New Zealand First party, in the 2023 New Zealand general election. She was appointed Minister of Customs, Minister for Seniors and Associate Minister of Health in the Sixth National Government of New Zealand.

Early life and career
Costello's parents are racing journalist John Costello and New Zealand tennis representative Maryann Davis. She is one of six children. She is of Māori, Scottish and Irish descent. Her father's ancestors were British settlers who arrived in New Zealand in 1860. Her iwi affiliations, through her mother, are Ngātiwai, Ngāti Hau and Ngāpuhi; she is a relative of former politicians Kelvin Davis and Hone Harawira.

Costello's secondary schooling was at Marcellin College, Auckland. After leaving school, Costello worked in an ice cream parlour and also as a reporter with her father at the Counties Sport and News newspaper. In a 2023 interview, she stated that working as a crime reporter inspired her to join the New Zealand Police, which she did in 1986. Her fourteen-year, Auckland-based policing career included working the 1992 Pukekohe massacre and a period as vice-president of the police union, being the first woman elected to that role.

She later became a security specialist and building services company manager in Auckland. In the 2000s, she was Parliament's manager of security and operations, overseeing a security upgrade.

Lobbyist career
From 2016, Costello was a founding trustee of Hobson's Pledge with former ACT New Zealand leader Don Brash. Hobson's Pledge is a right-wing lobby group that disputes some constitutional powers of the Treaty of Waitangi and aims to nullify the partnership between the Crown and Māori. Costello was a prominent spokesperson for the lobby group. Costello's view is that any policies seeking to redress historical injustices against Māori are "racist and separatist." She campaigned against the creation of the Australian Indigenous Voice to Parliament at the 2023 referendum, writing in The Spectator Australia that New Zealand's equivalent to the Voice had "divided" New Zealanders.

Costello has also been involved in the New Zealand Taxpayers' Union, a right-wing lobby group, including as board chair. She resigned from the board so that she could stand in the 2023 general election. Costello is also a trustee of the Migrant Exploitation Relief Foundation, pushing for investigation of the exploitation of illegal immigrants.

Early political career
Costello made an initial attempt at entering politics in 2011. Her brother, Dominic Costello, was the ACT New Zealand candidate in Te Atatū and encouraged her to join the party and stand alongside him in the 2011 general election. She unsuccessfully contested the Māngere electorate and was ranked 34th on the party list.

In 2019, Costello was involved with the New Conservatives Party. At the beginning of 2019, she joined the party's board alongside David Moffett.

2023 general election
Three years later, Costello later shifted her party affiliation and was selected by New Zealand First to contest the electorate at the. She was ranked third on the party list. At the New Zealand First conference where her candidacy was announced, Costello submitted a proposal that it should be party policy to remove the “exclusive authority of the Waitangi Tribunal to determine the meaning and effect” of the Treaty of Waitangi, along with other suggested changes to the Tribunal's authority. The proposal was approved, with the support of senior New Zealand First figures Winston Peters and Shane Jones. Costello also identified the removal of the Māori Health Authority as one of the first things she would like to accomplish if elected.

Costello was elected to parliament as a list MP on 14 October 2023, based on New Zealand First's 6.08% share of the party vote. The electorate vote in Port Waikato was cancelled on 9 October 2023 after ACT candidate Neil Christensen died. Costello was automatically renominated for the Port Waikato by-election held on 25 November 2023. Costello came second place in the by-election, gaining 2,864 votes.

First term, 2023–present
New Zealand First formed a coalition government with the National Party and ACT New Zealand. In late November 2023, Costello was appointed Minister of Customs, Minister for Seniors, and an associate minister in the health, immigration and police portfolios in the coalition government.

Associate health
As Associate Minister of Health, Costello is responsible for the government's policies on tobacco smoking, including the proposed repeal of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, which had instituted a sinking lid on tobacco sales, and proposed tax breaks on tobacco products.

On 25 January 2024, Radio New Zealand (RNZ) reported that Costello had proposed a three year freeze on Consumer Price Index (CPI)-related excise increases for smoked tobacco, citing official documents. RNZ also reported that Costello had proposed removing the excise tax from smokeless tobacco products, which would benefit tobacco companies such as Philip Morris, which were producing heated tobacco products. Costello has denied having any links to the tobacco industry. Costello has also proposed harsher penalties for selling vaping products to minors, including a NZ$30,000 fine for selling vapes to minors. Costello has disagreed with a prohibition on tobacco, instead advocating the decriminalisation of oral nicotine products such as snus and chewing tobacco.

Costello's proposed three-year tobacco tax freeze was criticised by Labour's health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall and anti-smoking advocates Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chairperson Boyd Swinburn, Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ chief executive Letitia Harding, Health Aotearoa Commission co-chairperson Leitu Tufuga, and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) director Ben Youden as detrimental to efforts to combat smoking and improve public health. Swinburn called for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to relieve Costello of her position as associate health minister.

In response to criticism, Health Minister Shane Reti expressed confidence in Costello's role as Associate Health Minister and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to reducing smoking rates and tobacco consumption. Luxon subsequently stated that Costello was only exploring smoking policy health options and has made a mistake during an interview. He also expressed confidence in Costello and confirmed that the Government would not pause increases to the tobacco tax. However, notes that Costello sent to health officials on reforming smoke free laws make it clear that a proposed freeze on excise tax for tobacco came from her office. The notes made the case that the tobacco industry is in real financial trouble, claiming "The tobacco industry in New Zealand is on its knees" and comparing the harm from nicotine to the harm from coffee, claiming "Nicotine is as harmful as caffeine.

On 27 February 2024, Costello confirmed that the Government would introduce the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill under urgency to repeal the three components of the Smokefree legislation: the retail reduction scheme, de-nicotisation and the smokefree generation measures. The Smokefree Amendment Bill passed its third reading on 28 February 2024. During the first reading, Costello described Labour's Smokefree policy as an "untested regime" focusing on prohibition and said the Government wanted a "practical, workable, and tested approach" to tobacco. She also claimed that vaping could help reduce tobacco addiction and reiterated the Government's commitment to combating smoking. Labour leader Chris Hipkins accused Costello of regurgitating the tobacco industry's talking points.

On 20 March 2024, Costello announced that the Government would introduce legislation to ban disposable vapes, and increase the maximum fine from selling to under-18s from $10,000 to $100,000.

In early April 2024, Costello met with founding members of the non-governmental organisation Vape-Free Kids NZ, who were lobbying the Government to take tougher action to regulate vapes including limiting their sale to vape shops. Vape-Free Kids spokeswoman Marnie Wilton said that Costello was more interested in making vapes accessible than protecting children from nicotine addiction. In response, Costello defended the Government's vaping policies including banning the sale of disposable vapes, increasing penalties for selling vapes to under-18 year olds and tightening the sale of vapes.

On 11 July 2024, Costello was rebuked by the Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier and ordered to apologise to public broadcaster RNZ and University of Otago public health professor Janet Hoek for failing to provide them with Official Information Act (OIA) information about the Government's tobacco and vaping policies. Costello had refused to release any documents, citing a clause in the OIA protecting confidential advice tendered by ministers and officials. She also failed to provide the Chief Ombudsman with any unredacted information. During an interview with radio broadcaster Newstalk ZB, Costello said the information was an "extraction of a whole lot of historical documents. She said: "I'm not sure who put it on my desk." In addition, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer called for a full inquiry into the Government's tobacco reform actions, alleging that Costello withheld information when pushing through the Smokefree repeal legislation under urgency.

On 18 July, Casey Costello slashed the excise rate on Heated tobacco products (HTPs) by 50 percent effective from 1 July, stating that she aimed to make HTPs an "attractive" alternative to smoking. The Ministry of Health expressed disagreement, saying "there is no evidence to support HTPs use as a quit smoking tool". During a media conference, Costello stated that reducing the excise rate for HTPs was only a "trial" aimed at helping hardcore smokers and denied that she had received feedback from the tobacco industry over the policy change.