This matter deserves highest attention, and workers all over New Zealand should listen up and take note.
Yes, this is an all out attack or declaration on workers rights.
I hope that unions are getting into gear to launch a solid, effective information campaign. Submissions should be made on the Employment Relations Amendment Act.
My fear and concern is, that little attention will be given to this by the mainstream media, and that many workers will not even know what is planned.
Time to take action, online, at work-places and out on the streets.
Our unions are weak shadows of their former selves.
You’d think something like this would cause massive union protests or even a national general strike but they will go on telly and say it’s terrible but do nothing.
The unions have become largely irrelevant to the vast bulk of workers, primarily because they have refused to move with the times and have chosen to stay in their 1950s bubble ranting cold war and class war rhetoric that people these days simply do not understand or relate to. I put it down to intellectual laziness and an overwhelming sense of ‘we know best’ entitlement. Until the leaders of the ‘union movement’ figure out that they need a 21st century approach, their steady decline over the last 30 years will continue. Otherwise, maybe hold another march, or rally, or demonstration, or sit-in, or strike. That seems to work, right?
Tom Gould: I do not see it as you do. Sadly the Employment Contracts Act created an environment of a “me first” and “me and my own survival” mentality, and that has become embedded, kind of. We also have a younger generation that knows nothing of what work and conditions were like before the early 1990s. They have no experience at all of solidarity and collective efforts, and it is all individual self-fulfillment or self-aggrandisement, with “me first and stuff the rest”.
The media tell us this, and the whole development of self serving consumerism, division, isolation and escapism we see all around us is proof of it.
When I watch the news and other reports, read online about articles on various developments, I laugh about comments about “united efforts” and “solidarity”, which only happens when serious disaster strikes, after fatalities, and the likes. It is non existent, it does not show itself anymore, it is everyone just primarily thinking of him- and herself, and perhaps only about them and their partner, in sex, relationship or for longer living arrangements. Kids also are seen only as extensions of own selfs.
So that is the society we have, so unions are struggling to deal with this, and they are certainly not stuck in the 50s, they are, same like churches, other social associations, struggling to adjust to the “modern” lifestyles of people.
People are brainwashed into selfishness, consumerism, division and individualism, and that is the younger generation at large. Collective events are only mass parties on booze and drugs, promoted by Facebook announcements, some concerts at venues, and freak events where people turn up for a joint haka at the bottom on Queen St in Auckland, and afterwards disperse as quickly as they met.
There is NO joint effort, no feeling of common efforts anymore, and that is why unions suffer also. If people cannot or do not bother to take joint action, nothing will be achieved. I have commented before, that all this online commenting is good in some ways, but the fact that most here do never go and attend pickets or else, makes them invisible, and not noticed, that is by media and the public.
You may as well run a closet union going by your suggestions. Hide and seek, all right, I’d say.
I admit, they are generally as rigid and solid in their response as a wet bus ticket.
The problem is, they chose many years ago, to try the laissez faire modern capitalist service deliverer way, to offer their “services” wrapped into discounts for this and that at certain businesses, chose to cooperate with employers to avoid strife and conflict, and thus sold their souls to some degrees.
I have nothing in principle to object to co-operation and such an approach, as long as basic bottom line standards and pay are maintained, but it has long gone too far. Union delegates are aware that they live off membership fees, and while numbers have fallen immensely since the Employment Contracts Act was introduced under the meanest Nat led government in the early 1990s, the fees gathered are limited.
They fear the job losses of remaining members will further reduce their income and resource base, so they try everything to make deals with employers to avoid lay-offs and closures. The larger economic picture is one given up and handed over to merely their economic advisor, who now and then gives comments to the media.
They have forgotten that solidarity is strength and that co-ordianted action can bring greater results. Maybe they also have become too self focused as individuals, rather seeing their organiser roles as a “job” with added pay, and nothing else.
Mission and passion are no longer there, and what they do is more like a pre-retirement activity of people still calling themselves unionists.
Too much complicity, lack of faith, resignation and thus unconvincing action. As most are Labour affiliated, no wonder the party is more or less the same, that is too many in it, and especially the ones controlling it from the top.
Apart from that members have become cynical, and in general people have sadly adapted to the individualistic society imposed on them. It is me first, and if I can strike a good deal with my boss, fuck the rest.
Speaking of major campaigns; isn’t UNITE going after after MacDonalds in the courts, and the streets, for non-payment of time worked during their workers’ supposed breaks? Is this going to be another one of ShonKey’s signature retrospective fixes?
In a way, I guess congratulations are in order. NACT have just graduated from Micky Mouse legislation to Maccy Rat Law.
It will be another legislative stuff up by Bridges for example the absence of work breaks will become a hazard under health and safety legislation
You must consider your obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. This includes controlling hazards, such as physical and mental fatigue, which could result in people being harmed. Where fatigue has been identified as a hazard, appropriate rest breaks should be provided to ensure that fatigue is not likely to cause harm.
the burden of proof is on the employers,and that an absence of breaks is not hazardous will be very difficult to prove (when the literature suggests the inverse).
I’m not sure about the title – And so it begins
…90 day right to fire, youth slave-wages, union restrictions, minimum wage decrease in relation to living costs, etc. It should be And so it continues.
But yeah, nice work from Darien.
‘They are stealing your tea-break’ is a simple and effective soundbite attack that even Shearer might be able to pull off
Not only that but trying to break the backs of all Unions.I have thought for so long now that the nats goal is to deconstruct New Zealand so they can reconstruct it the way they want it.With the assistance of the simple mindedness of our lack lustre msm they are well on their way.We need to have the passion of the Turks and get out in the streets and get rid of these abject excuses for politicians.Labour needs to GET LOUD.keys complacency needs to be rattled!!!
Can Labour get some full page adverts published in MSM listing all the law changes under National, showing how our rights and workplaces have changed under this frigging awful government?
The sheeple need it spelled out in black and white, so they can see what has been done in their name.
I am afraid too many of the sheeples are too busy tweeting trivialities and frivolities on Twitter, and too busy with online shopping and flirtations.
No time for such dreadfully “serious” matters, which may create the onset of serious depression.
Most workers will be totally unaware of these proposed changes! As most workers are also not unionised, they will be ignorant of much that is likely to worsen their conditions at the workplace.
Workplaces are often lone fighter and survival environments, where many are mindful of what they say and do, to not upset the boss or colleagues.
There was a reason why taxes were once so high incomes and profits, and will be so again. The churn from cheap fuels allowed, permitted, a much looser monetarism. As the relief from fracking gases wears off, the reality will become overwhelming, that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
I should add that the big corporates’ efforts are always attracted to markets with high growth potential.
And sorry western world, that’s Africa, Asia and China.
Unless western govts had invested in its people, increased spare time, increased access to technolgy, built better cities, reduced car use, etc, etc, instead Thatcher decided (well not decided perse rather propaganda dictates declared her policies were the only way). Had we had thirty years of investment in the people rather than finance, we’d be much better off, and likely also would Africa and Asia (not China) because instead of priming our military industrial complex we’d have been been building global democracy.
No, Darien didn’t provide documentation to prove such a thing. Simon Bridges did.
“…Workplaces will be able to time rest breaks and meal breaks to suit service or production continuity, as far as is reasonable (including allowing for those circumstances in which it is necessary to restrict breaks be-cause of the nature of the work being undertaken), with an employer being able to determine the arrangement where agreement cannot be reached…”
and the Employer will be able to walk away from the table when they feel like it
so it is a take it or leave it situation which only ever hurts the workers, never the Employers
And if they do get that they’ll then ask for it to be doubled again and when they get that they’ll just ask for the power to fire at will and if National are in government they’ll give it to them.
Aha! Now HERE’S a story, finally, eh? You’re onto something, Yes! Call the police, it’s time to get that anarcho-communist-terrorist Darien Fenton locked up for good!
I know of many working in retail not even getting breaks now, so how bloody inhumane and dictatorial will employers be able to run their staff in future?
This bill is a disgrace, and those that doubt it, have a look at it.
If National gets a third term, they will introduce uniforms to be worn by all workers in public service, I presume, neatly designed along military kinds of uniforms, so all public service employees will be easily detectable.
Private enterprise employees will be called for morning drills, to get fit and strong to perform their duties like Chinese factory workers.
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New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
This matter deserves highest attention, and workers all over New Zealand should listen up and take note.
Yes, this is an all out attack or declaration on workers rights.
I hope that unions are getting into gear to launch a solid, effective information campaign. Submissions should be made on the Employment Relations Amendment Act.
My fear and concern is, that little attention will be given to this by the mainstream media, and that many workers will not even know what is planned.
Time to take action, online, at work-places and out on the streets.
Our unions are weak shadows of their former selves.
You’d think something like this would cause massive union protests or even a national general strike but they will go on telly and say it’s terrible but do nothing.
The unions have become largely irrelevant to the vast bulk of workers, primarily because they have refused to move with the times and have chosen to stay in their 1950s bubble ranting cold war and class war rhetoric that people these days simply do not understand or relate to. I put it down to intellectual laziness and an overwhelming sense of ‘we know best’ entitlement. Until the leaders of the ‘union movement’ figure out that they need a 21st century approach, their steady decline over the last 30 years will continue. Otherwise, maybe hold another march, or rally, or demonstration, or sit-in, or strike. That seems to work, right?
Tom Gould: I do not see it as you do. Sadly the Employment Contracts Act created an environment of a “me first” and “me and my own survival” mentality, and that has become embedded, kind of. We also have a younger generation that knows nothing of what work and conditions were like before the early 1990s. They have no experience at all of solidarity and collective efforts, and it is all individual self-fulfillment or self-aggrandisement, with “me first and stuff the rest”.
The media tell us this, and the whole development of self serving consumerism, division, isolation and escapism we see all around us is proof of it.
When I watch the news and other reports, read online about articles on various developments, I laugh about comments about “united efforts” and “solidarity”, which only happens when serious disaster strikes, after fatalities, and the likes. It is non existent, it does not show itself anymore, it is everyone just primarily thinking of him- and herself, and perhaps only about them and their partner, in sex, relationship or for longer living arrangements. Kids also are seen only as extensions of own selfs.
So that is the society we have, so unions are struggling to deal with this, and they are certainly not stuck in the 50s, they are, same like churches, other social associations, struggling to adjust to the “modern” lifestyles of people.
People are brainwashed into selfishness, consumerism, division and individualism, and that is the younger generation at large. Collective events are only mass parties on booze and drugs, promoted by Facebook announcements, some concerts at venues, and freak events where people turn up for a joint haka at the bottom on Queen St in Auckland, and afterwards disperse as quickly as they met.
There is NO joint effort, no feeling of common efforts anymore, and that is why unions suffer also. If people cannot or do not bother to take joint action, nothing will be achieved. I have commented before, that all this online commenting is good in some ways, but the fact that most here do never go and attend pickets or else, makes them invisible, and not noticed, that is by media and the public.
You may as well run a closet union going by your suggestions. Hide and seek, all right, I’d say.
I admit, they are generally as rigid and solid in their response as a wet bus ticket.
The problem is, they chose many years ago, to try the laissez faire modern capitalist service deliverer way, to offer their “services” wrapped into discounts for this and that at certain businesses, chose to cooperate with employers to avoid strife and conflict, and thus sold their souls to some degrees.
I have nothing in principle to object to co-operation and such an approach, as long as basic bottom line standards and pay are maintained, but it has long gone too far. Union delegates are aware that they live off membership fees, and while numbers have fallen immensely since the Employment Contracts Act was introduced under the meanest Nat led government in the early 1990s, the fees gathered are limited.
They fear the job losses of remaining members will further reduce their income and resource base, so they try everything to make deals with employers to avoid lay-offs and closures. The larger economic picture is one given up and handed over to merely their economic advisor, who now and then gives comments to the media.
They have forgotten that solidarity is strength and that co-ordianted action can bring greater results. Maybe they also have become too self focused as individuals, rather seeing their organiser roles as a “job” with added pay, and nothing else.
Mission and passion are no longer there, and what they do is more like a pre-retirement activity of people still calling themselves unionists.
Too much complicity, lack of faith, resignation and thus unconvincing action. As most are Labour affiliated, no wonder the party is more or less the same, that is too many in it, and especially the ones controlling it from the top.
Apart from that members have become cynical, and in general people have sadly adapted to the individualistic society imposed on them. It is me first, and if I can strike a good deal with my boss, fuck the rest.
Good on Darien for highlighting this.
Agree with xtasy – needs a major campaign.
Speaking of major campaigns; isn’t UNITE going after after MacDonalds in the courts, and the streets, for non-payment of time worked during their workers’ supposed breaks? Is this going to be another one of ShonKey’s signature retrospective fixes?
In a way, I guess congratulations are in order. NACT have just graduated from Micky Mouse legislation to Maccy Rat Law.
It will be another legislative stuff up by Bridges for example the absence of work breaks will become a hazard under health and safety legislation
You must consider your obligations under the Health and Safety in Employment Act. This includes controlling hazards, such as physical and mental fatigue, which could result in people being harmed. Where fatigue has been identified as a hazard, appropriate rest breaks should be provided to ensure that fatigue is not likely to cause harm.
the burden of proof is on the employers,and that an absence of breaks is not hazardous will be very difficult to prove (when the literature suggests the inverse).
I’m not sure about the title – And so it begins
…90 day right to fire, youth slave-wages, union restrictions, minimum wage decrease in relation to living costs, etc. It should be And so it continues.
But yeah, nice work from Darien.
‘They are stealing your tea-break’ is a simple and effective soundbite attack that even Shearer might be able to pull off
Yeah an outstanding bit of framing from Darien.
Not only that but trying to break the backs of all Unions.I have thought for so long now that the nats goal is to deconstruct New Zealand so they can reconstruct it the way they want it.With the assistance of the simple mindedness of our lack lustre msm they are well on their way.We need to have the passion of the Turks and get out in the streets and get rid of these abject excuses for politicians.Labour needs to GET LOUD.keys complacency needs to be rattled!!!
Might help if you actually link it to something.
Here is the EPMU press release on Scoop: National’s Employment Changes Mean a Low Wage Future For NZ
Can Labour get some full page adverts published in MSM listing all the law changes under National, showing how our rights and workplaces have changed under this frigging awful government?
The sheeple need it spelled out in black and white, so they can see what has been done in their name.
Being close to bankruptcy probably prevents too much one page ad stuff.
I am afraid too many of the sheeples are too busy tweeting trivialities and frivolities on Twitter, and too busy with online shopping and flirtations.
No time for such dreadfully “serious” matters, which may create the onset of serious depression.
Most workers will be totally unaware of these proposed changes! As most workers are also not unionised, they will be ignorant of much that is likely to worsen their conditions at the workplace.
Workplaces are often lone fighter and survival environments, where many are mindful of what they say and do, to not upset the boss or colleagues.
There was a reason why taxes were once so high incomes and profits, and will be so again. The churn from cheap fuels allowed, permitted, a much looser monetarism. As the relief from fracking gases wears off, the reality will become overwhelming, that companies, capitalist, in order to have businesses, to have consumers for their products, will need citizens to have money to spend, and pre-Thatcher the way governments did that was by taxing and redistributing.
just for completeness, you understand.
I should add that the big corporates’ efforts are always attracted to markets with high growth potential.
And sorry western world, that’s Africa, Asia and China.
Unless western govts had invested in its people, increased spare time, increased access to technolgy, built better cities, reduced car use, etc, etc, instead Thatcher decided (well not decided perse rather propaganda dictates declared her policies were the only way). Had we had thirty years of investment in the people rather than finance, we’d be much better off, and likely also would Africa and Asia (not China) because instead of priming our military industrial complex we’d have been been building global democracy.
Did she produce actual documentation that under the next National government, that their will be no breaks for New Zealand workers.
No, Darien didn’t provide documentation to prove such a thing. Simon Bridges did.
“…Workplaces will be able to time rest breaks and meal breaks to suit service or production continuity, as far as is reasonable (including allowing for those circumstances in which it is necessary to restrict breaks be-cause of the nature of the work being undertaken), with an employer being able to determine the arrangement where agreement cannot be reached…”
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/9A53507A-23B2-4B63-AEF1-2DB3DE5BEFCF/271799/DBHOH_BILL_12107_EmploymentRelationsAmendmentBill_.pdf
and the Employer will be able to walk away from the table when they feel like it
so it is a take it or leave it situation which only ever hurts the workers, never the Employers
Why would she do that when that’s not what she said?
Our Elite
The Key was in his counting house
Counting out his money – again
The Turia was in the Parlour eating
Lots of Bread and Honey – again
The Maid was in the yard w o r k i n g
hanging out the clothes and
Along came Bill English and ripped off her nose – Again.
MSM tried to slip this under the radar,
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8760947/Union-alarm-at-talk-of-longer-work-trial
Why am I not surprised?
And if they do get that they’ll then ask for it to be doubled again and when they get that they’ll just ask for the power to fire at will and if National are in government they’ll give it to them.
Doesn’t copy right law not allow other people’s images to be used. Hmmm will make a cup of tea and read the act
Yes it doesn’t.
Aha! Now HERE’S a story, finally, eh? You’re onto something, Yes! Call the police, it’s time to get that anarcho-communist-terrorist Darien Fenton locked up for good!
Maybe permission was given, or the use of the image not objected to? In that case, what is your point?
Glad you put it here as Redalert is an unsafe place where cyberbullies masquerading as Labour MPs hang out.
Binders, is that satire? What I notice is that Red Alert is a place where mostly the same commenters hang out.
No satire.. I commented on something ..just facts.. nothing outlandish.. and an MP went rogue-state personal on me. Easy peasy haven’t been back.
Just the name “red alert” should send the message, be well red alerted, to even consider going there these days!
I know of many working in retail not even getting breaks now, so how bloody inhumane and dictatorial will employers be able to run their staff in future?
This bill is a disgrace, and those that doubt it, have a look at it.
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/BillsDigests/5/d/c/50PLLaw20451-Employment-Relations-Amendment-Bill-2013-Bills-Digest.htm
If National gets a third term, they will introduce uniforms to be worn by all workers in public service, I presume, neatly designed along military kinds of uniforms, so all public service employees will be easily detectable.
Private enterprise employees will be called for morning drills, to get fit and strong to perform their duties like Chinese factory workers.