90 Day No Rights policy, why?

Written By: Steve Pierson - Date published: 4:14 pm, July 15th, 2008 - 139 comments
Categories: national, workers' rights - Tags: 90 day policy

Why does National want to remove the right of workers to appeal against unjustifiable dismissal in the first 90 days of employment?

The reason National gives us is that workers having the right to sue for unjustified dismissal has a chilling effect on small businesses. Supposedly, they are afraid to hire workers because if they find they want to get rid of the worker they will have to go through a proper process and have a justifiable reason for dismissal. Employers avoid this risk by not hiring people. And that, we’re told, leads to less employment than would otherwise be the case.

First, employment is at record levels and the cry from employers is always ‘we want more workers’ not ‘I’m scared to hire people’. There is no evidence that the right to fair process and justified dismissal dissuades employers from hiring. The policy would not increase employment.

Secondly, a study shows there are 1.5 employment related problems per 100 workers a year in the private sector (2.9 for small businesses). The median cost was $5000 ($3,900 for small businesses). Of these ERPs, most were handled quickly and cheaply by agreements between the employer and the employee; only 5% went on to become personal grievance cases. Only 10% of disputes involved employees who had been employed for less than 3 months.

Personal disputes are rare, in most cases the employee is found to have a good claim and gets a settlement, the payouts are small, and very few involve employees employed for less than 3 months. Workers’ rights are not overly burdensome on employers and when they are used employers are usually in the wrong. Removing these rights would only give free rein to the few bad employers to threaten any workers who don’t ‘behave’ (eg work unpaid overtime, work in unsafe conditions, not join the union) with instant dismissal. Do we really want to reform the law to advantage bad employers?

National might believe its policy is good for employment and reduces a heavy burden on employers but it doesn’t. All it does is give power to coerce workers with the threat of dismissal, which some bad employers will exploit. The law ain’t broke, and that’s no reason to fix it.

139 comments on “90 Day No Rights policy, why? ”

Comments are now closed

roger nome 1

15 July 2008 at 4:30 pm

Excellent post Steve. National’s oficial rationale for this legislation truely is dead in the water.

Just to add a little more detail on the employment situation:

Unemployment is currently at 3.6%, and most of that is due to the work turnover that a modern economy creates. We know this because, of the 3.6% unemployed only 20% at any one time will have been unemployed for 6 months or more. That means that only 0.7% of the workforce (unemployed plus employed) are out of work because no employer will take them on.

What in fact National is doing with this legislation is taking away hundreds of thousands of people’s employment rights (as they did in the 1990s) to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
Mike Collins 2

15 July 2008 at 4:39 pm

One thing you haven’t really acknowledged SP is the effect of the economy going sour.

I concede that when unemployment is running at low levels and small businesses are “crying out for more employees” then such a policy loses value.

However the current climate amongst small businesses is one of overwhelming pessimism and negative outlook. It is exactly this sort of policy which will give confidence to small businesses that they will not be burdened with poor performing employees. To get out of recession requires making it easier for the economic generators to take risks, pursue ideas and hire new staff.

Hunkering down and avoiding risks (and hiring new staff can be risky), only exacerbates recession.
Tane 3

15 July 2008 at 4:45 pm

Y’know Mike, taking a new job can be risky too. Workers have commitments like families, mortgages and bills to pay, which means losing your job without notice or redundancy can be pretty catastrophic. A person’s job isn’t just a huge part of their identity, it’s their means of economic survival.

But aside from the moral issues around being able to throw a person out on their arse with no notice and for no reason, there’s a good economic case against it too, because removing rights against unfair dismissal is likely to have a chilling effect on the mobility of labour between jobs.

Why would you take a new job if it meant risking economic catastrophe for yourself and your family if your new employer decided to take a dislike to you?

I know the right are big on the efficient allocation of labour, well don’t you think removing rights for the first three months in a new job would create perverse incentives in our labour market?

I’d certainly think twice if changing jobs meant giving up all my employment rights for three months.
roger nome 4

15 July 2008 at 4:55 pm

“I’d certainly think twice if changing jobs meant giving up all my employment rights for three months.”

Indeed, and doesn’t this run contrary to National’s “flexible labour market” rhetoric – i.e. if people are discouraged from advancing themselves in the Labour market through seeking higher paid jobs (because of the risk that carries), then you’re dampening productive incentives and stifling the “allocative efficiency” of the market. The end result is you have lower productivity growth and lower economic growth.
roger nome 5

15 July 2008 at 4:57 pm

oops – looks like tane alread said that…
Tane 6

15 July 2008 at 4:58 pm

I edited my comment bro, guess we wrote the same thing at the same time. Like minds, etc.
Mike Collins 7

15 July 2008 at 5:01 pm

Tane,

I never said taking on a new job is an undaunting prospect for new employees.

The point I was making was that SPs reasoning was based, in part, on an argument that small employers are crying out for more employees so this policy was not needed. I don’t think that is necessarily a valid observation with a recession looming (indeed we may already be in the thick of it).

That said a worker can leave at two weeks notice. This can place considerable stress on a small employer. To follow your moral compass, we should bring in legislation that protects employers from employees being able to resign. After all we wouldn’t want their business falling over and them not being able to pay their mortgages now would we?

Ok tongue in cheek aside. I think it is fair to say that a considerable amount of resources can go into training a new employee. I hardly think it is likely that there will be wholesale sackings as it is just not economic to hire and fire at will. Small business owners are typically not economically illiterate.

In fact small business owners are grateful for good employees – why would they want to fire them?
Anita 8

15 July 2008 at 5:04 pm

90 Days No Rights skews the power dynamic between the employer and the employee during the formation of the employment relationship; setting a foundation where the employer has all the power and the worker none.

Why would the business lobby want that? 😉
Steve Pierson 9

15 July 2008 at 5:04 pm

Mike. we’ll have a post tomorrow wherein everyone can contribute reasons that people may be dismissed under National’s no rights policy which are currently ‘unjustified’ grounds in law.
ants 10

15 July 2008 at 5:12 pm

Steven, enough with the lame Strawman arguments – it makes you look like a dirty sneak. No where was it claimed that the reason National wants this is so that workers can be fired without your “proper process”.

The sole reason for this is because it is near impossible to fire workers who have bullshitted/weasled their way into jobs or are not doing their jobs and costing the company thousands of dollars, without a costly legal battle, which often ends up in favour of the employee anyway (and yes, I have firsthand experience of this multiple times).

If you had some real-world experience in an SME you would realise this – you apparently don’t, so we get you dressing Nationals position up as the complete opposite of what it actually is.

How many of you morons actually have first hand experience of working in an SME and having to deal with such people?

[ants. “No where was it claimed that the reason National wants this is so that workers can be fired without your ‘proper process'”. That’s what the Bill does, it removes the right to proper process and justifible reasons for dismissal. Your tone and the fact that you state you’ve personally lost multiple personal grievance cases suggests you are one of the bad employers that National’s policy would give free licence. We shouldn’t be making policy to help out bad employers. If you want to call people morons, go to Kiwiblog. SP]
Billy 11

15 July 2008 at 5:13 pm

…in most cases the employee is found to have a good claim and gets a settlement…

I couldn’t see where the report concluded that? Or is there another link, Steve?

Settlement does not mean the employee has a good claim. It means there is an ongoing cost to the employer in maintaining the dispute. When your $400 an hour lawyer tells you it’ll take $10k (an alot of your time and resource) to give you an 80% chance of success or you can write out a cheque now for $5k it’s no wonder what employers choose.

The blind focus on the process and elevating it to the same level as the substantive reason for dismissal is the problem. This is why you guys can look forward to having a wife-beater reading your news or the state broadcaster giving him a big cheque not to.

There is no evidence that the right to fair process and justified dismissal dissuades employers from hiring.

Ballocks. Any employer will tell you you are better off having no-one rather than the wrong person. And how can you really know what a person is like before you have worked with him or her?
roger nome 12

15 July 2008 at 5:15 pm

Mike:

“That said a worker can leave at two weeks notice. This can place considerable stress on a small employer.”

Actually that depends on the employment agreement. Sometimes it’s up to 4-5 weeks.

“I hardly think it is likely that there will be wholesale sackings as it is just not economic to hire and fire at will. Small business owners are typically not economically illiterate.”

It’s a myth that business owners always act in their own economic interest. In fact studies have found that many employers hamstring themselves by being too authoritarian (power matters to employers more than money in some cases) in their management practices – resulting in higher staff turnover and lower output.

“I don’t think that is necessarily a valid observation with a recession looming (indeed we may already be in the thick of it).”

I also think that wage restraint can be necessary during a recession, so as to ensure reasonable employment figures. Having said that, the highly decentralised labour market that we currently have allows a lot of wage flexibility. We don’t need any more.

This Bill would allow nasty employers to get away without any censure (i.e. the legal institution to enforce human rights violations under this Bill would be the civil court, which will be too expensive for most employees).

So we may be back to the 1990s, when employers could literally get away without paying employees for weeks, and not face any consequences – i.e. it wasn’t economically rational for the employee to seek legal redress.
MacDoctor 13

15 July 2008 at 5:19 pm

Steve, here is your main reason why National propose this:

From the DOL report you quoted.

Even so, costs in the range of $3000-4000 could still have a large relative impact on a small business.

i.e. It’s expensive to dismiss employees. You might be rich enough to dismiss 4 grand as trivial, but I, for one, am not.

And I should point out that the statistic that only 10% are fired within the first 3 months is much more to do with the fact that it is still too hard to dismiss an employee for anything except major misdemeanors (such as theft or absenteeism). Small businesses tend to hang on to poor employees hoping they will improve, but, the reality is, if an employee is not satisfactory within a couple of weeks (barring simple mistakes from inexperience), he or she is unlikely ever to be.
Billy 14

15 July 2008 at 5:22 pm

So we may be back to the 1990s, when employers could literally get away without paying employees for weeks, and not face any consequences – i.e. it wasn’t economically rational for the employee to seek legal redress.

What are you on about ‘nome? There is really no practical difference between the dismissal regimes under the ECA and the ERA.
roger nome 15

15 July 2008 at 5:24 pm

MacDoctor – And even with this evil socialist government the world bank still says that NZ is the second easiest place to do business in the world. Who would have thought?
Steve Pierson 16

15 July 2008 at 5:24 pm

Macdoctor. Yes a $3000-$4000 claim might be large for some employers but the average small employer experiences less than one a decade(less than 20 employees/ 2.9 ERPS a year). Most ERPs are concerntrated among a few bad employers, and most go no further than an inhouse process.

Remember too, the employee usually wins. Don’t you want to see justice done?
Steve Pierson 17

15 July 2008 at 5:27 pm

Billy, in the report on mediations it says 60% found in favour of the employee (a large part of the rest there was no finding) and 50% had a payout.

Macdoctor. The 10% figure applies to Employment Related Problems, not sackings.
IrishBill 18

15 July 2008 at 5:33 pm

“There is really no practical difference between the dismissal regimes under the ECA and the ERA.”

Yes there is Billy, under the ECA avenues for doing it cheaply were not available. Under the ERA most issues are dealt with in mediation. That means no lawyers are needed and settlements are generally confidential. IMHO a lot of employers are scared of what is simple and liberal employment law. I suspect that self-interested employer lobby groups have done a good job of scaring their members out of a sensible position on this law and other perfectly manageable facets of IR law.
Draco TB 19

15 July 2008 at 5:34 pm

Why would you take a new job if it meant risking economic catastrophe for yourself and your family if your new employer decided to take a dislike to you?

This could actually be one of the reasons that National are pursuing this policy. Employees that are freely able to move to a new job are detrimental to employers. Staff turnover costs a huge amount and most businesses want to retain the staff that they have (especially the good ones). This would become a disincentive for employees to move to a better job.
burt 20

15 July 2008 at 5:35 pm

Jobs are for life and the only employer worth working for is the govt.

There I have said it – do I get my “I love ~~Corruption~~Labour” badge now?
jafapete 21

15 July 2008 at 5:37 pm

Ironically, the problems were caused by the ECA. In the old days (before 1991), only union members had the right to take personal grievances, but the unions took the cases and filtered out those lacking merit. The ECA widened coverage to all employees, including senior managers. This had two bad effects.

Because payments for lost wages and entitlements, and for loss of dignity, injury to feeling, etc, were related to pay rates, there were some spectacular decisions involving senior managers, which were widely reported. This led to perceptions that personal grievance actions are a goldmine for employees.

Worse still, lawyers got involved. Do lawyers care whether a case has merit? Maybe, but they get paid anyway (unless they’re one of the few on commission) so there’s less incentive to filter out poor cases. So, the number of PGs going to the Employment Tribunal, now Employment Relations Authority, exploded.
MacDoctor 22

15 July 2008 at 5:37 pm

Roger: NZ is the second easiest place to do business in the world. Who would have thought?

Actually, I agree with you, it is quite easy to run a business in this country. I don’t even have much problem with company tax. But I have had friends driven almost to bankruptcy by bad employees. The ERP payout was actually the least of their problems, quite frankly. It would have been better for both employee and employer if they could have said “sorry, mate, but it’s just not working out, is it?”, given them two weeks severance and go.

Steve: Remember too, the employee usually wins. Don’t you want to see justice done?

The employee usually gets paid out – this is a far cry from “wins” and has much more to do with expediency than justice.
burt 23

15 July 2008 at 5:39 pm

Draco TB

This would become a disincentive for employees to move to a better job.

A good employee has nothing to fear from this policy, a hopeless lying cheat who pretends they are something they are not in the interview has everything to fear. I note there is a lot of fear about it on this site.
IrishBill 24

15 July 2008 at 5:39 pm

Welcome back Burt.
Billy 25

15 July 2008 at 5:39 pm

IB,

I was addressing ‘nome’s apparent suggestion that the ECA allowed an employer to not pay his or her employees and there be no sanction. Patent nonsense.
Tane 26

15 July 2008 at 5:40 pm

Damn, lost my post in response to Mike, though ‘nome has largely covered it.

My point is basically that workers should not have to rely on the whims of their employer to know whether they’ll have a job tomorrow. There’s a subtext going on about how it’s really hard to fire bad workers and good workers have nothing to worry about.

I’d point out that ‘bad’ workers can already be fired, you just need to go through a fair process. It’s the fair process that National wants to scrap. And it’s in removing the fair process that ‘good’ workers with malicious employers will get caught up.

Under National’s law, being a good employee will mean nothing. If your boss takes a dislike to you then you’re out the door.

[Oh and Billy, don’t bring Veitch into this. If his employers were too stupid to put a clause in his contract about bringing the network into disrepute then it’s their own fault for failing to do so. Don’t think you can exploit public disgust with his behaviour to try and take rights off minimum wage workers.]
jafapete 27

15 July 2008 at 5:40 pm

What IrishBill said at 5.33pm

It’s not that hard to dismiss a worker who is not performing. If the job’s relatively simple — more likely to be the case in the SME sector I’m guessing — then the period for improvement after a warning could be as little as a few weeks.

PS Someone send Burt a Labour Party badge quick.
dad4justice 28

15 July 2008 at 5:48 pm

Typical sexist cartoon. What else would I expect over here in leftyland.
Steve Withers 29

15 July 2008 at 5:48 pm

Tane seems to have it nailed. This isn’t about new employees. It’s about putting fear into the ones already in jobs that they may find themselves up the creek without a paddle if they change jobs.

Also, a popular trick in the corporate world is to lure away a competitor’s key personnel asset(s)….even if you have no particular use for them. This law change would effectively let you sabotage a competitors business….and then cut your new hires loose after the damage has been done. Maybe they go back…maybe they don’t…..but you know you only have to pay them for 89 days. Period.
Tane 30

15 July 2008 at 5:49 pm

I think it’s meant to be ironic Dad. You might want to ask the PSA.

Good to see your newfound concern for feminism though, keep it up.
jafapete 31

15 July 2008 at 5:50 pm

What gets me is that the policy aims to strip these protections from the workers who most need them, and who have fewest alternatives.

Overwhelmingly it’s the lower paid and lower skilled. They’re the same workers who got hammered by the ECA. Lost their union membership and suffered pay cuts, forced to work longer hours, etc. National’s proposals just open these most vulnerable workers to further abuse.

And one study showed that these workers are the ones most likely to say that they would join a union if they could. They should be able to depend on the law providing the same protections that workers in larger organisations get, at least.
Oliver 32

15 July 2008 at 5:51 pm

Having actually worked under a probationary period in Dublin I can say that it was fantastic. In a country that is screaming out for workers like Ireland is I worked for a small family owned business. I only got the job because of the probationary period. I was a foreigner with no industry experience so the boss said that I had 90 days to prove myself. It worked a treat. When a delivery driver turned out to be a dud we were able to get rid of him when he had only lost us one customer. My colleagues there included refugees, immigrants with almost no English and a mother returning to the workplace; just the sort of people struggling to find work in NZ today. The boss was able to take a chance on these people because of the probtionary period. He wold not have hired them otherwise. If we had not been able to get rid of the delivery driver so quickly he could have cost us a quarter of our customers.
dad4justice 33

15 July 2008 at 5:54 pm

“Good to see your newfound concern for feminism though, keep it up.”

Sorry I read that Tane, as I feel rather ill now. I just brought me tea up.
James Kearney 34

15 July 2008 at 5:55 pm

“we were able to get rid of him”

“If we had not been able to”

“he could have cost us a quarter of our”

Someone’s a house slave.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQe9nUKzvQ
burt 35

15 July 2008 at 5:55 pm

Steve Withers

Tane seems to have it nailed. This isn’t about new employees. It’s about putting fear into the ones already in jobs that they may find themselves up the creek without a paddle if the change jobs.

I think that is complete bollocks, good staff move for a combination of reasons;

* Because they can
* Because they are offered more money
* Because they want a change
* add more reasons here as you think of them….

We need to separate this homogenised thing called staff. There are staff and there are staff. Highly trained people earning lots of money, highly trained people earning stuff all (public sector health for example), there are low paid people doing mundane jobs that nobody has build a machine to do and everything in between.

The key problem I see is trying to make a “one size fits all” way to deal with them. Irrespective of how the ECA fits with your own ideology, it did provide a framework to allow the employer/employee relationship to be managed in a way that suited the particular situation.
burt 36

15 July 2008 at 5:59 pm

Oliver

Interesting to hear that perspective. I can see how that works. But you seem to have missed a key point to get along with the anon authors of the standard.

Employers are evil, they are nasty and they like spending most of their time trying to find new and exciting ways to ruin the lives of the people they hire.
Tane 37

15 July 2008 at 6:06 pm

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t just about money. Where unions are involved and where the circumstances make it viable, the preference is usually for reinstatement over a big cash payout.

Personal grievances are about putting right an injustice, not about screwing money out of small businesspeople. As Jafapete points out, the opportunistic ‘no-win, no-fee’ agents are largely a hangover from the ECA.
burt 38

15 July 2008 at 6:10 pm

Tane

I disagree, with your perspective on the preference being for reinstatement over a big cash payout.

Usually once either party reaches for the contract to see what provisions there are to cover a grievance the damage has been done. Often in employment situations trouble stems from personality clashes and/or peoples (employer or employee) inability to tolerate each others way or methods. When staff who do not have the skills are involved then reinstatement may be the preference, but this will typically be driven by fear of being unable to get another job. I don’t see why an employer suddenly becomes liable for a employees state of mind for ever.
Tane 39

15 July 2008 at 6:15 pm

Burt, do you have any experience in this or research to back up your assertions, are you just riffing off what you reckon might happen?

I can tell you for a fact that union advocates try for reinstatement where possible. It isn’t always, but that’s often due to the employer’s pride getting in the way of his or her economic self-interest.
Billy 40

15 July 2008 at 6:16 pm

But, Tane, Veitch is absolutely relevant. He is an employee who appears to have something reprehensible. And despite that, because his employer tripped up on an entirely procedural point, it’s looking like the only way to get rid of him is to write him a big fat cheque so he can profit from his wrongdoing.

This is the trap you fall into when you assume all employees are good and all meployers are bad.
burt 41

15 July 2008 at 6:17 pm

Tane

A significant portion of “our companies” revenue comes from employment disputes. God bless the ERA 🙂
Mike Collins 42

15 July 2008 at 6:20 pm

“employer’s pride getting in the way of his or her economic self-interest.”

Lucky we have union hacks telling employers what’s in their economic self interest. The fact that they have managed to create and sustain a business, when the union hack couldn’t is just an unimportant detail.
Oliver 43

15 July 2008 at 6:23 pm

Steve Kearney,

Your comment is actually quite offensive. Understanding that staff prosper when a business prospers and taking a bit of ownership in how things progress in your workplace are not negative qualities. Having some pride in your work, your achievements and the quality of your performance are not negative qualities. Showing a bit of loyalty to an employer that gives you a chance and helps you out when you are down is not a negative quality. Understanding that if the lousy employee had cost us a quarter of our customers then the whole business would have gone under costing all 13 other employees their jobs is not a negative quality. Understanding that if the business had gone under that not only would the employees lose their incomes but that the family that started the business would have been bankrupt is not a negative quality.

Identifying anyone that wishes the best for their employer as a house slave is a very negative quality that smacks of the worst kind close-minded hatred for anyone that is an employer rather than an employee or beneficiary. It is a negative quality that precludes rational constructive debate. It is a negative quality that shows a contempt for the entrepeneurs that have done so much to provide an income for us all and build our standard of living to the relatively high position that we enjoy in the world today.
Billy 44

15 July 2008 at 6:24 pm

Damn those evil meployers, meploying about the place!
Mike Collins 45

15 July 2008 at 6:26 pm

Well put Oliver!
MacDoctor 46

15 July 2008 at 6:28 pm

Steve: This law change would effectively let you sabotage a competitors business

Oh, come on, Steve. Any employer that tried anything like that would never be able to hire anyone again. Who would be stupid enough to work for them?
IrishBill 47

15 July 2008 at 6:45 pm

Billy, while most employers are fair there are still a lot who are not. Why are you advocating a law that rewards the poor ones (and would provide little gain to the good ones)?

On your point about TVNZ I would say that if there has been a failure to put a proper disrepute clause in Veitch’s agreement then he should be paid out and the HR manager who failed to properly negotiate the contract should be disciplined.

As with you “meployer” comment you seem to think that the answer to poor management should be relaxed law. That’s an answer that sends no market signal for managerial failure and rewards a lack of personal responsibility on the part of the manager/employer. In fact I would argue that there should be more responsibility for these people as they are the ones who are being particularly rewarded to “manage”. Are you sure you are a right winger?

Oliver, I would assume that the delivery driver in question was properly interviewed and had his/her references checked before s/he was employed. Or was s/he brought on without proper checks and balances based on the idea that if s/he didn’t work out then s/he could simply be sacked? If the latter is the case then the lost revenue that came from the short time that person drove for your company is the fault of your manager and a classic example of why no-rights laws damage productivity by protecting managers from the repercussions of their own bad hiring/HR behaviours.
Oliver 48

15 July 2008 at 6:56 pm

Irish Bill,

The driver was interviewed and references were checked, he blagged his way through the interview and the referees lied through their teeth to help out a mate.
Billy 49

15 July 2008 at 7:05 pm

Why are you advocating a law that rewards the poor ones (and would provide little gain to the good ones)?

I am not. I think the proposal is 180 degrees in the other direction to what you suggest. The gain to the small employer would be huge. The plumber without a dedicated manager or HR person can find out if the proposed employee is up to it. Under the present law, if the employee’s not and the plumber gets the procedure slightly wrong it will cost him or her (assuming there to be female plumbers) the “mere” $5k Steve has scoffed off. And it will probably mean he or she is less inclined to take a chance on the next potential employee.

I still doubt there is any real advantage to a bad employer employing a series of employees on 90 day trials. In my not inconsiderable experience in these matters employers are emotionally and economically invested in getting someone to actually do the job. Having found someone it’s just a pain in the arse to find someone else.

A great many employers are not managers and HR departments who need to be punished. They are plumbers, builders, farmers and shop keepers trying to get by like everyone else.
randal 50

15 July 2008 at 7:08 pm

does anyone remember the case in ashburton where the employer thought that the employment contracts act allowed him to beat up his workers because there was no provision in the bill against it?
burt 51

15 July 2008 at 7:13 pm

IrishBill

Billy, while most employers are fair there are still a lot who are not. Why are you advocating a law that rewards the poor ones (and would provide little gain to the good ones)?

This is back to the “one size fits all” mentality again. If most employers are fair then why do you want to create employment laws that work against them?

Do you really think that it is valid to make the process of employing staff so difficult that only large companies have the resources to risk it?
dad4justice 52

15 July 2008 at 7:22 pm

randal, I remember that one matey, something in the water down there, I think they call it nitrates. Talk about Joe 90 and a dry well.
IrishBill 53

15 July 2008 at 7:31 pm

“A great many employers are not managers and HR departments who need to be punished. They are plumbers, builders, farmers and shop keepers trying to get by like everyone else.”

Billy, if these people take the same care hiring workers that they would investing in tools, vehicles, stock or store frontage then they probably won’t have any worries. When you say “slightly wrong” you are being disingenuous. The mediation process is remarkable fluid and to get a payout based on a “process” error the error has to substantial and relevant to the grievance. If a small business person cannot follow the law as it stands (and it’s a very basic law) then they should consider whether they are cut out to run a business or not.

Or do you suggest we make allowances for failure to follow other basic laws? Should small grocers who can’t manage gst get released from the obligation? What about builders who find building regulations too tiresome? Or farmers who can’t manage to care for their stock or respect their neighbors’ boundaries? How about the small car sales yard owner who finds it too difficult to get his cars properly warrented? Or the electrician who wires your house but isn’t sure how to do so safely?

All of these small businesspeople have to deal with a whole lot of stuff in their businesses that is more complicated than the very simple employment law we currently have.

Oliver, if a worker is hired on false references they can be sacked already. Why do we need this law again?
Billy 54

15 July 2008 at 7:36 pm

If a small business person cannot follow the law as it stands (and it’s a very basic law) then they should consider whether they are cut out to run a business or not.

Remind me what Steve said about the percentage of mediations which ended in a payout? Are you sure it is as simple as you suggest, IB?
Oliver 55

15 July 2008 at 7:41 pm

The referees weren’t fake, it was what they chose to say. Also in the time it would have taken to sack him for that we would have lost more customers. Then, in Nz at least, if you put so much as a finger-nail wrong in the manner of sacking someone you can get burnt regardless of what the employee did.

But my first point was still valid, people were given a chance that normally would not have been given a chance, the sort of people who remain marginalised now.
Billy 56

15 July 2008 at 7:45 pm

And IB, if you want to make it hard for people to pay tax or get warrants of fitness that’s one thing. I’m just not sure what the benefit is of making it hard to employ people.
IrishBill 57

15 July 2008 at 7:52 pm

“Remind me what Steve said about the percentage of mediations which ended in a payout? Are you sure it is as simple as you suggest, IB?”

2.9% is a very low number Billy, I’d be surprised if the number of failures to follow other laws (such as builders breaching building regulations or shopkeepers failing to complete proper IRD returns) were that low. The truth is that businesses lose money in all sorts of ways due to poor management because some people are not cut out to run them. Why should workers bear the burden of their employer’s inability to practice business properly.

Edit: my point is that it is no harder to employ people properly than it is to pay taxes or invest sensibly in a work vehicle. You seem to think that it is an abomination that someone should have to pay a lawyer for employment advice (a very rare occurrence) but I doubt you would consider the same employer paying an accountant the same sort of rate to do their taxes a similar abomination. Are workers really worth less to a business than a tax return?

The problem is that the (irrational) HR behaviour of a lot of employers implies the answer is “yes”. I’ve know many small business people that would spend hours investigating and deciding on a work vehicle that might cost them $20k but spend bugger all time employing someone they might pay $40k to over a year. That’s bad management and a no-rights period will only concrete poor HR practice like that into place. That’s bad news for their productivity and our economy.
burt 58

15 July 2008 at 8:05 pm

IrishBill

If a small business person cannot follow the law as it stands (and it’s a very basic law) then they should consider whether they are cut out to run a business or not.

To that I would say:

If people in parliament can’t follow the electoral funding laws written by parliament/themselves then they should consider whether they are cut out to be in parliament.

Sadly employers can’t pass validations when they claim to have not understood the law, they live by it’s consequences.

It is a lot harder to employ people than pay taxes or invest sensibly.
Draco TB 59

15 July 2008 at 8:06 pm

Burt:

A good employee working for a good employer has nothing to fear from this policy,. Not all employers are good and this policy removes the protections people need from bad employers. After 3 years as a manager at McDs I know how frustrating it is when you can’t immediately get rid of a bad employee but I’ve also met managers that would fire people because the employee managed to show them up rather than because the employee did something wrong.

Innocent until proven Guilty – It’s an old custom we have but it’s one we put in place for a reason.
burt 60

15 July 2008 at 8:11 pm

Oliver

But my first point was still valid, people were given a chance that normally would not have been given a chance, the sort of people who remain marginalised now.

You are correct, having some ability to negotiate a trial period provides chances for employers to take some ‘risks’ in who they employ. Some candidates who don’t stack up well on paper but show ability and desire to work…

That’s the problem with one size fits all, no room for the ones who drop through the cracks.
dad4justice 61

15 July 2008 at 8:13 pm

“Innocent until proven Guilty ”

Ever experienced the Family Court and done 90 days locked up in a cell Draco TV? Any drop kick can see Helen is not up to the job and in 90 hours she can expire. Oops.
Brett Dale 62

15 July 2008 at 8:18 pm

Why won’t Labour let a hard working New Zealander who owns a business fire someone who is not working hard enough and costing them money.
Anita 63

15 July 2008 at 8:22 pm

Somewhere in all of this, there is a reasonable problem for SMEs; not everyone knows how to hire, manage, develop and exit staff. There are plenty of great business people out there who just don’t have either the skills or the confidence to do a great job of the people stuff.

National’s solution appears to be to put all the risk on the worker and destabilise them as much as possible in their first 90 days, but to make no substantive changes to anything else to actually help the SME get the best out of their staff.

So, what should the government do? What would the right policy look like?

All of us – union and employer, public and private sector – would like to see SMEs doing better at managing their staff. What would help them do that without screwing over the workers?
Anita 64

15 July 2008 at 8:43 pm

So, what should the government do? What would the right policy look like?

To answer my own question I’m going to set off the small-government brigade 🙂

1) Up the amount of effort put into small business mentoring schemes, and make sure there are mentors with good staff management skills. The existing business mentoring schemes seem to put a lot of effort into the business planning and marketing areas – but putting your business plan into action almost always means growth, and that usually means hiring new staff at a really risky time for the business.

2) Set up a SME employment law service (probably tendered out to private sector providers?) which provides some level of subsidised employment law services to SMEs – probably a few hours a year free of charge, and the rest at low cost. Perhaps tie it into the mentoring schemes, so if a mentor recognises an SME needs real help the amount of free services can be increased.

3) Provide basic employment law skills courses to SMEs (perhaps provided by either tertiary education providers or local business associations) the courses short be targeted at basic employment law safety skills for SME owners, and basic employment processes for admin staff (in lots of SMEs whoever balances the books does the employment contracts). As well as the nuts and bolts this should model good practices.

4) Create local SME employment forums where SME owners can come together (lunches or after work drinks) and maybe have a presentation about some aspect of employing staff and talk about it. This would be a good opportunity to occasionally get SME owners and unions in the same room – lots of the time they’re trying to solve the same problems (e.g. how to handle demand peaks and troughs when a business is experiencing new growth).
burt 65

15 July 2008 at 8:45 pm

Anita

I disagree that the National policy puts all the risk on the worker and destabilise them as much as possible in their first 90 days. However that’s my opinion vs yours.

However to address the possibility of rolling ‘probation’ periods it would be easy enough to modify the definition of probation period slightly. Wayne Mapp’s bill already said ‘up to 90 days or a period lesser agreed between the parties’ or something to that effect. So 90 days is the maximum.

Perhaps a simple requirement would be that during the ‘probation period’ a 10% loading is added to the salary/wage of the employee to cater for the ‘risk’ they face of being fired with no explanation. This would have a two fold effect, it would encourage employers to keep the period short and it would make it an advantage for workers to be on rolling probations.
Draco TB 66

15 July 2008 at 8:57 pm

So, what should the government do? What would the right policy look like?

Government should do what they’re already doing and the policy would look a lot like the one we already have. If the SMEs are having difficulty hiring good people because of their own lack of skills and losing money perhaps they should look at what’s available in the market:

http://www.finda.co.nz/business/c/employment-agencies/

EDIT: Ok, I’m going to say that I like your suggestions as well.

dad4justice:
Yes, I’m aware of the discrepancies in the Family Court. I have a friend who has been separated from his children for many years because of them but I still believe that it is better to have those laws there than not even if they’re imperfect and handled by a bunch of sexist bigots. The imperfections will get ironed out over time and the sexist bigots will eventually get fired.
burt 67

15 July 2008 at 9:05 pm

Draco TB

The imperfections will get ironed out over time and the sexist bigots will eventually get fired.

Not once they are hired… they are there for life and they hire more of the same sort of people as themselves. The cycle continues, no probation period is going to see a sexist bigot decide that another sexist bigot just like themselves shouldn’t work there.
burt 68

15 July 2008 at 9:10 pm

Anita

To answer my own question I’m going to set off the small-government brigade

Yes indeed. The small govt brigade solution was if employers want increased flexibility with a probation period then it has a small overhead for them when they exercise that flexibility. With direct benefit to the employee.

The big govt is good govt solution is to create an entire industry to support and control what should be a very simple process – pay somebody to do some work.
dad4justice 69

15 July 2008 at 9:11 pm

Draco TB ,yes the “sexist bigots” on the Family Court gravy train don’t have to worry about a thing as the truth doesn’t matter in the insidious court of lies. They are well paid and skilled in making male clients feel gobsmacked and poleaxed.Talk about NO RIGHTS for SEVEN YEARS, join up the fractured family business Ms Judge Maggot Brain.
Anita 70

15 July 2008 at 9:14 pm

burt,

Probation periods address a very very small amount of the employment related problems SMEs have. How do you propose the address the rest?
Bill 71

15 July 2008 at 9:15 pm

So why not have the power to fire invested in the workers?
burt 72

15 July 2008 at 9:24 pm

Anita

As I said earlier in this thread, the company I part own derives significant revenue for employment disputes, the gravy train that is the ERA. I understand this stuff quite well. I think the laws that we currently have are shit and although they provide personal benefits I think they should change. If my companies income is reliant on laws that are easily manipulated and misused then my companies imcome is not sustainable. Luckily it’s only a significant portion of the company revenue not the entire revenue stream. We (the directors) will utilise the opportunity while it exists but will be very happy to turn our mixture of skills to something more productive when it’s not available.

So what did you think of the idea of a salary/wage loading during a probation period – bit left field for a ‘right wing nut job’ eh?
johndoe 73

15 July 2008 at 9:35 pm

So let’s drop the probationary period to 30 days. That’s about how long it takes to train a McDonald’s worker. And having been in a lot of lines that were crippled by poorly functioning McDonald’s workers, if I were a franchisee I certainly would cherish the ability to give the job to someone who could actually perform it.
Anita 74

15 July 2008 at 9:35 pm

burt,

Do you think all the employment related issues SMEs have are related to the ERA? Personally I reckon there are a whole bunch of others to do with people who are not skilled at managing staff taking on risky staff management tasks at the most fragile times for their businesses.

So what did you think of the idea of a salary/wage loading during a probation period – bit left field for a â€˜right wing nut job’ eh?

It’s not dissimilar to the contracts-for-service used in many high skilled jobs. I think high skilled jobs would continue to use contracts for service, and for low skilled low cost jobs I can’t see employers being willing to pay 10% extra to new staff, even to contract out.

I also think it creates moral hazard problems and would make it very tempting to use this as a temping process while one tries to find a more perfect employeer (again a contracting model).
randal 75

15 July 2008 at 9:36 pm

cut to the chase… it is nationals policy to confuse and intimidate workers. a confused person is most controllable because as Kafka found out it is impossible to tell what the hell is going on when nobody is accountable or the rules are never made clear.
burt 76

15 July 2008 at 9:39 pm

randal

Are you are talking about our current govt or employment laws?
dad4justice 77

15 July 2008 at 9:42 pm

I think randal dropped his silly sandal again burt.
Ari 78

15 July 2008 at 9:46 pm

A good employee has nothing to fear from this policy, a hopeless lying cheat who pretends they are something they are not in the interview has everything to fear. I note there is a lot of fear about it on this site.

Right, and good employers have nothing to fear if they lose all their rights under some hypothetical Radical Socialist Greens government. The point is that IR disputes should be low-cost affairs that don’t unfairly favour either party.

Removing people’s rights to challenge their dismissal for a reason that can’t be described as “extraordinary” is exactly the sort of thing that unfairly favours one of the parties involved in the dispute.

Trial periods are well and good, but they should be contracted as such, and should last a short time- say, a couple weeks. Three months is pretty ridiculous- there are many jobs that don’t last that long, let alone need that long to establish competency.
killinginthenameof 79

15 July 2008 at 9:51 pm

Very simple solution, leave the law how it is. Currently the law allows for a probationary period, what is it with this National party, always trying to fix things with new laws! gosh youd think they were communists or something.

As the law stands if both the employee and the employer agree they can have a probationary period, why does this need changing? if a potential employee doesnt want a probationary period, they can go somewhere else, and the employer can hire some one else.

I coudl understand it being made compulsary if it was in wide spread use currently but its not.

I do ask for one consession on the proposal though, that employees under nationals proposed 90 day probationary period who are fired at the end of the 90 days are allowed to go to court for unpaid wages, as I understand under the current policy they are not.
Billy 80

15 July 2008 at 9:59 pm

randal,

Weed can be fun. I like smoking it then talking shit while eating french vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate. But seriously, you need to smoke a lot less. Or at least, stay off the blogs once you have indulged.
Steve Pierson 81

15 July 2008 at 10:07 pm

Remember what we’re talking about here – removing rights of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders, allowing bad employers to use the threat of the sack to stand over vulnerable workers, and why? because of some anacedotal evidence of a few marginal cases of employers having trouble getting rid of bad employees.

Two basics of policy

– you don’t make policy for the exceptional case or the anacedote, you make it to work well for most people most of the time and based on real evdince. If there are marginal problems, you make policy targeted specifically at those problems.

– you don’t make policy that primarily advantages the bad actors.
Leftie 82

15 July 2008 at 10:08 pm

What about the workers? What do they want? This is just catering to a minority group.
Billy 83

15 July 2008 at 10:09 pm

killinginthenameof,

The current probationary period is utterly meaningless. At the end of the “probationary period” the employer must still have a good substantive reason to terminate the employment and must still follow the same procedure he or she would have had to follow after the probationary period. Whether the employment is being terminated within or outside the probationary period makes no difference.
burt 84

15 July 2008 at 10:10 pm

Anita

Do you think all the employment related issues SMEs have are related to the ERA? Personally I reckon there are a whole bunch of others to do with people who are not skilled at managing staff taking on risky staff management tasks at the most fragile times for their businesses.

I agree with you here, the ERA has produced a larger volume of work for employment lawyers than the ECA did but it’s not the cause of the problem. The issues could easily be much like you say but building an industry around managing the interaction of the unions and the employers is IMHO bureaucracy for bureaucracy sake.

If the unions want to increase their membership then they need to add more value for their members. Not be supported by additional assistance/programs to help them achieve what they say they are good at. Personally I’m not a union guy, I was a youth rate compulsory union member when I first started work and these great things called ‘unions’ I had been told about were hopeless when I had my first employment dispute. I reckon when it was normal for 400 men to go down a mine and only 395 would came out – unions were excellent at making sure that changed. I don’t see how they can expect to have employment laws changed to accommodate their inability to provide value to their customers.

Employment laws need to be fair and reasonable and address to some degree the power balance between the employer and the employee. However they still need to recognise the golden rule. He (or She) who has the gold makes the rules. It can’t be the only rule, but we cannot forget it exists.
Steve Pierson 85

15 July 2008 at 10:13 pm

Saying that ‘good employees’ have nothing to fear from having to work without rights is premised on the idea that all employers are always fair in their dealings with all workers.

Hell, why do we need Police to have a search warrent to search your house? Only bad people need to fear getting searched, because the Police are always fair and always that their facts right.

Why do we need any rights at all? Rights only protect bad people because those actors that are restrained by rights are always behave correctly, have their facts right, and always behave fairly.
Leftie 86

15 July 2008 at 10:16 pm

One other thing. The employers here talk like they pay workers good money…such good money they can demand the best out of their workers or goodbye, meanwhile the debate rages about the wage gap between us and Australia.
Billy 87

15 July 2008 at 10:17 pm

Two basics of policy

– you don’t make policy for the exceptional case or the anacedote [sic], you make it to work well for most people most of the time and based on real evdince. If there are marginal problems, you make policy targeted specifically at those problems.

– you don’t make policy that primarily advantages the bad actors.

My point exactly.

I guess Steve thinks good employers are the “exceptional case”. Or is he suggesting that “most” employers would abuse the 90 day trial “most” of the time. If some marginal employers abused the 90 day trial policy, why could we not “make policy targeted specifically at those problems”?

And, once again, this policy would advantage the 98.9% of good employers and the employees who would not otherwise have been given a chance.
burt 88

15 July 2008 at 10:18 pm

Steve Pierson

I think you are getting confused. Where you say

Hell, why do we need Police to have a search warrent to search your house? Only bad people need to fear getting searched, because the Police are always fair and always that their facts right.

The sort of thing that seems to be being suggested is that Police should be given a search warrant for every house and every person because they need it for a few.

Of course police need that power, but only after some bad behaviour has been brought to their attention. We don’t all walk around with an arrest warrant pinned to our backs just incase one of us stuff up and breaks the law.
Steve Pierson 89

15 July 2008 at 10:19 pm

National is meant to be releasing its industrial and labour policy this week or next – the 90 Day No Work Rights policy will be the centrepiece of it… what are the odds, do you reckon, that the interests of workers will be ignored in every aspect of the policies (apart from a cursory mention) and everything will be to weaken the position of workers and give more power to employers (that power balance is central to whether workers get decent wages or not)?
Steve Pierson 90

15 July 2008 at 10:23 pm

Billy. Don’t be silly and don’t purposely misinterpret me. I’m saying National’s policy will only help out the few bad employers. The current situation works just fine, the vast majority or employees have no trouble and the few disputes there are are resolved cheap and quickly.. if it’s not always perfect every time that’s no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Billy 91

15 July 2008 at 10:27 pm

I’m saying National’s policy will only help out the few bad employers.

And I’m saying the proposed law will help good employers and employees who are presently less likely to have a risk taken on them. At what I consider to be the unlikely risk of bad employers arbitrarily sacking employees who can do the job in the expectation that they’ll be able to find another.
Steve Pierson 92

15 July 2008 at 10:29 pm

burt. you’ve confused the notion of rights in my examples.

Workers have the right to a fair process and justified reason for dismissal

People have the right to not have their property searched by the Police without warrant.

We don’t take away the right to be free from unreasonable search by arguing that only bad people will get searched. So, why would we take away the rights of workers to fair process by arguing that only bad employees have anything to fear?
Billy 93

15 July 2008 at 10:29 pm

And why does everyone delight in using “Billy” and “silly” together all the time? It’s not even my real name.
burt 94

15 July 2008 at 10:30 pm

Steve Pierson

Are you willing to address the question of why this needs to be a one size fits all scenario.

Why can’t employers acting in good faith employing skilled people deploy a probation period. Why should a business owner/manager not be able to consult existing staff and see how they feel about the suitability of the ‘new guy’ they now need to work with?

One of the most difficult situations I have had to deal with in a team leadership role was an existing excellent employee telling me she would leave if we didn’t get rid of the new guy who was rude and incompetent. I was powerless, senior management were powerless and a great team member resigned. Loose/loose
Anita 95

15 July 2008 at 10:33 pm

burt,

I agree with you here, the ERA has produced a larger volume of work for employment lawyers than the ECA did but it’s not the cause of the problem. The issues could easily be much like you say but building an industry around managing the interaction of the unions and the employers is IMHO bureaucracy for bureaucracy sake.

I wasn’t suggesting building an industry around managing the interaction of unions and employers. In fact I wasn’t suggesting building an industry (use existing providers and schemes) or managing the interactions of unions and employers at all.

I was suggesting that the government should invest in providing both support services and training to SMEs so that they can do the best possible job of managing their staff.

Help SMEs be effective employers, make the staff as productive as they can be, make New Zealand’s economy boom. What could be better?
Steve Pierson 96

15 July 2008 at 10:34 pm

burt. I’m just dealing with the policy that National has proposed, which is a one size fits all. All workers trying to get jobs in small businesses will have to accept a 90 day period where they could be fired for no good reason.

If there was some sophisicated approach that wouldn’t disadvantage most workers and give unwarranted power to bad employers, that would be different, but that’s not what National’s policy does.
burt 97

15 July 2008 at 10:37 pm

Steve Pierson

burt. you’ve confused the notion of rights in my examples.

I think it’s still you who is confused although I agree my point was not clearly made.

Not allowing a probation period fullstop is like saying all people will need to be arrested one day so print an arrest warrant and attach it to them now. It will be handy when we need it later.

Allowing a probation period is not comparable to not needing a search warrant, it’s comparable to presumption of innocence.
Steve Pierson 98

15 July 2008 at 10:38 pm

Billy.
“And I’m saying the proposed law will help good employers and employees who are presently less likely to have a risk taken on them”

any actual evidence (not stories – stats or studies) that the current law discourages employment? Doesn’t seem to be doing us any harm.
Anita 99

15 July 2008 at 10:39 pm

burt,

Why can’t employers acting in good faith employing skilled people deploy a probation period.

They can now, as you know.

Why should a business owner/manager not be able to consult existing staff and see how they feel about the suitability of the â€˜new guy’ they now need to work with?

They can now, as you know.
burt 100

15 July 2008 at 10:40 pm

Anita

I like the idea, I don’t see it as a govt function. However be it govt or private it will have significant benefits so therefore the ownership of the scheme is inconsequential to it’s value as a concept.

Why do you think it needs to be govt?
Anita 101

15 July 2008 at 10:44 pm

burt,

Because the problem exists now and the private sector doesn’t seem to be dealing with it.

I think one of the roles of government is to see the gaps where things are needed and make sure the gaps are filled. You will note I was suggesting that government use/encourage existing (largely private) providers to fill the gap, not that central government do it.

Ideally the private sector would take over and the government would quietly back out.
Steve Pierson 102

15 July 2008 at 10:46 pm

burt. the current law is not akin to arresting everyone and taking their fingerprints. The hypothetical you describe is not a right, it’s a restriction on freedom of individuals, forcing them to be fingerprinted.

What rights do is protect the weaker party from unreasonable use of power against them (in fact, the whole of the law can be seen as a restriction of the unreasonable use of power by the powerful to empower the rest of us) – the public is protected from unreasonable exercise of power by the Policy, the employeee is protected from unreasonable exercise of power by the employer. When you take away rights, you are opening the door for unreasonable use of power by those in powerful positions against those with less power – you should only do that with good reason.
burt 103

15 July 2008 at 10:47 pm

Anita

Why should a business owner/manager not be able to consult existing staff and see how they feel about the suitability of the â€˜new guy’ they now need to work with?

They can now, as you know.

No I don’t know, how is this achieved without a messy process when there is no probation period?
Anita 104

15 July 2008 at 10:52 pm

burt,

Involve existing staff heavily in the recruitment process. Make sure the recruitment process is effective at checking how the potential employee would interact with existing staff. Do recruitment properly!

(This is part of my point about why SMEs need support with employment processes, these things are entirely possible you just have to have the knowledge and the confidence)

Which reminds me, I’ve exited a staff member for incompetence – it’s entirely possible under the current law. I think it sucks that your organisation couldn’t work out how – again good training and support gets you a long way!!
Billy 105

15 July 2008 at 10:54 pm

Anita,

They can now, as you know.

This is just plain wrong. You can employ someone and say they are employed on a probationary period. But there is no difference to the procedure or practice when terminating an employee’s employment during or after a probationary period under the current law. If you have a 60 day probationary period, whether the employment is terminated on day 58 or day 62 makes no difference. A probationary period is utterly meaningless under the present law.

Steve, sorry, I haven’t had time to conduct any surveys into this. In fairness, I’ve been too busy managing my staff. I know quite a few employers. We talk. No one is desperate for a 90 day trial period so they have an opportunity to screw their staff. Sometimes, however, they say they’ve decided not to employ someone because they are worried they are not the right person. Maybe they were wrong. Guess we’ll never know.
burt 106

15 July 2008 at 10:58 pm

Anita

Involve existing staff heavily in the recruitment process.

Yes yes, great… everybody, stop what you are doing and come and have a chat with Jo Blogs, Jo wants to work here and we need an extra staff member because we are busy. Can you all stop what you are doing and socialise with Jo for a while. Sign-off sheets are over here once you have made an assessment.

Yep – that will work in all cases (one size fits all) – NOT!
Anita 107

15 July 2008 at 10:59 pm

Billy,

So what do you want from your probationary period if the one you’ve got now isn’t good enough?

must … go … to … bed! 🙂
Draco TB 108

15 July 2008 at 11:01 pm

However they still need to recognise the golden rule. He (or She) who has the gold makes the rules. It can’t be the only rule, but we cannot forget it exists.

That rule was outlawed 800 years ago.
burt 109

15 July 2008 at 11:09 pm

Draco TB

I like this bit….

“It required the King to renounce certain rights, respect certain legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law.”

Makes me think of Darnton Vs Clark. 🙂

But seriously, do you think that the Magna Carta removes the inherent right of a person spending their own (or their companies) money to decide who should work for them and that it denies them some form of ‘testing period’ when they are spending that money?
Anita 110

15 July 2008 at 11:12 pm

burt,

“Hi, this is Jo, as you know we’re looking for a new and Jo’s our final candidate at this stage. Jenny, Shane and I think Jo’s great, but we’re not quite sure yet, and Jo’s pretty keen to work here, but she’s not sure yet either.

She’s come in for the afternoon so she can get a feel for the job, and you all can get a feel for her. She’ll be spending a while with Bill talking about the job and having a look at the workspace and running through some of the spreadsheets and the tasks she’ll need to do. Then I want her to spend maybe 15 minutes with each of you, have a chat about what you do, what you think her job will be like, and ask her anything you’d like to check out.

Could whichever of you she’s with at afternoon tea time make sure she gets a cuppa and show her the break area.

Afterwards I’ll catch up with each of you about how it went, then Jo and I will meet tomorrow lunchtime for coffee and see how we want to proceed from here.”

It’d take 20 mins from each staff member and would be a robust, fair, effective process that would be far less work than hiring her then dismissing her.

Sure it’s not going to work in a big call centre, but the problem we’re supposed to be trying to solve is an SME hiring a new employee and being concerned about making sure they perfect.
burt 111

15 July 2008 at 11:19 pm

Anita

I have interviewed like that, I have been interviewed like that.

Yes it sorts out a lot of things. But what about the guy who after he has been there a week still hasn’t had a shower since the day of the interview three weeks ago? There is still no way to get past the ‘first impression” in 20 minutes. This is the issue, if it were as simple as this in all cases it would be the norm. It might be commonplace in higher paid roles but as you say it won’t work for the call centers etc, which if I’m not mistaken is where workers rights are a bigger issue.

One size will not fit all, why must we try and work around a law that tries to make that so?
RedLogix 112

15 July 2008 at 11:37 pm

“One size fits all”… that IS kind of how most laws work.

The moment you start to make up exceptions, or complex gradations of application is the same moment the sharp men in sharp suits start working the angles.
J Mex 113

16 July 2008 at 12:10 am

At the heart of The standard’s arguement is an absurdity…

– That an employer would fire a good employee after 89 days (and 89 days of training investment), so they don’t need to give them rights, and then roll the dice in the hope that they get someone as good.

No recruiters would work with such employers. Recruiters only get paid when the employees stay for 6 months.

An employee can leave at any time (ever tried to make someone, who didn’t want to, work out their two weeks notice?), but employers are currently locked in to employees to a large extent.

Most developed countries have this law and the sky hasn’t fallen in those countries.

This is just patch protection from the EPMU and their bloggers.

[lprent: I wearily point out yet again. You are attributing an opinion to a lump of software running on some hardware. Now I realise this may come as a shock to you, but software doesn’t think.

Direct your criticism to the writer of the post, and I’d suggest that you read the About and Policy sections at the top of the site. It appears you are ignorant about how this site runs.]
Oliver 114

16 July 2008 at 2:55 am

Has anybody else commenting on this thread acutally worked somewhere overseas with a probationary period written into employment law??
Anita 115

16 July 2008 at 7:45 am

burt,

Yes it sorts out a lot of things. But what about the guy who after he has been there a week still hasn’t had a shower since the day of the interview three weeks ago?

Then you talk to him, and if that doesn’t work you run a nice short tight process and fire him if he doesn’t sort himself out. I’ve had personal hygiene conversations with staff I’ve managed; they’ve all sorted themselves out without a lot of effort on my part, they would have been gone if they hadn’t.

It might be commonplace in higher paid roles but as you say it won’t work for the call centers etc, which if I’m not mistaken is where workers rights are a bigger issue.

National’s proposal does nothing to address the issues of call centres it is explicitly about small employers. My suggested approach would work fine for them, and it would give far better outcomes than try-and-fire alone would.
Anita 116

16 July 2008 at 7:48 am

lprent,

Now I realise this may come as a shock to you, but software doesn’t think.

Now, as a professional coder, you know that’s just not true. Late at night code is a devious and vicious opponent!
Darren Rickard 117

16 July 2008 at 8:36 am

The legislation, when passed in 2009, will allow more opportunity to employers and employees alike.

Labour’s attack on employers, under the current system, make them afraid to hire new staff.
RedLogix 118

16 July 2008 at 9:02 am

Labour’s attack on employers, under the current system, make them afraid to hire new staff.

A speculation that flies in the face of the measurable FACT that under the current Labour laws New Zealand employers have employed so many of us that our unemployment rate is at a record low.

You employ a person because you hope to benefit from their efforts. This obliges the employer to meet a number of socially and professionally accepted minimum standards and codes of behaviour; exactly as is required in every other aspect of their business.

Why should the vast majority of decent New Zealanders who do an honest day’s work be placed at such an enormous power disadvantage during the first three months of working for a new employer? In my experience the first six months of ANY new role has been a learning curve; a period of heightened vulnerability while I learn not only the job, but unravel all the unwritten, unspoken politics about the place. The last thing most of us need during that initial period is the feeling that our manager could unilaterally sack us on a whim.

While this proposal might protect a minority of employers from a minority of bad employees; for the rest of us it’s bad news. (And so much for ‘one size fits all’.)
Phil 119

16 July 2008 at 9:02 am

“One size fits all’ that IS kind of how most laws work.

The moment you start to make up exceptions, or complex gradations of application is the same moment the sharp men in sharp suits start working the angles.”

For once, I actually agree with RedLogix. But s/he needs to remember that not all of us in sharp suits are ‘working an angle’. I just wear the suit ‘cos I make it look good.
Draco TB 120

16 July 2008 at 10:22 am

But seriously, do you think that the Magna Carta removes the inherent right of a person spending their own (or their companies) money to decide who should work for them and that it denies them some form of â€˜testing period’ when they are spending that money?

The Magna Carta is the base of most of our laws and it doesn’t prevent people from hiring or firing. What it does is ensure that those doing the hiring and firing do so under some rules that help ensure consistency.
slightlyrighty 121

16 July 2008 at 10:28 am

Question:

Why not regard the notion of a probationary period as part of the recruitment process?

Lets be honest. There are those out there who interview terribly. the idea that you can accurately predict who is going to be a good candidate for a given role is great if you have a large, well resourced HR department at your disposal.

Most small businesses do not. The idea that you can take a chance on an employee and that if it doesn’t work out, then no harm, no foul would be of great benefit to many small businesses looking to grow their business.

I am sure that such a trial would not, nor should not, remove the obligation of an employer to ensure that any employee, even probationary, is given every reasonable assitance to perform to the required level.

In all of this I am still reminded of my own employer, who is the most fair minded employer that I have ever worked for, having to take time out of his business, costing him money to engage legal representation, to defend himself in a PG case after he had dismissed a recently hired part time worker who had verbally abused a customer with various four letter words.

Either through settlements or legal fees, employers get nailed. Larger employers can absorb these costs. $3900 to settle a PG case for a small business could be the difference in a loss or profit situation.
roger nome 122

16 July 2008 at 10:53 am

Billy:

“I was addressing â€˜nome’s apparent suggestion that the ECA allowed an employer to not pay his or her employees and there be no sanction. Patent nonsense.”

It did. Some facts that you don’t appear to know.

1) Under the ECA parties could wait a year or more for mediation and two years for an adjudicated hearing. As a result, many people would just move on, not wanting to be bothered with having that worry hanging over their head for years.

In contrast, under the ERA the process is quick and easy with the average time spent waiting for a hearing being just 3 weeks.

2) Under the ECA a typical one day hearing would commonly involve legal costs of $5,000 for each party. So unless your claim(s) involved more than $5,000 in wages in arears it wasn’t economically rational for an employee to seek legal redress.

The result was that employers could get away without paying employees for weeks, and not face any consequences.

In contrast, under the ERA mediation is free. So that one’s a no brainer.

A probationary period would take us back to the days of the ERA, as National has stated that the ERA’s employment institutions won’t apply, and employees will have to seek legal redress for grievances through the civil courts. That means lawyers and a lot of money for low-paid workers, who are the ones who are most commonly screwed over.

If you don’t believe me, go read the following academic article:

McAndrew, I., Morton, J. and Geare. A. (2004) The Employment Institutions, in: Employment Relationships: New Zealand’s Employment Relations Act, Rasmussen, E. (ed) Auckland University Press, Auckland.
roger nome 123

16 July 2008 at 11:02 am

SR:

“Why not regard the notion of a probationary period as part of the recruitment process?”

Because it could mean being totally screwed over – i.e. not getting the money that you worked for because you employer decides they don’t want to give it to you.

“$3900 to settle a PG case for a small business could be the difference in a loss or profit situation.”

But as Steve points out in his post, that’s a very rare situation that law abiding employers don’t have to worry about.
J Mex 124

16 July 2008 at 3:51 pm

“Most developed countries have this law and the sky hasn’t fallen in those countries.

This is just patch protection from the EPMU and their bloggers.”

[lprent: I wearily point out yet again. You are attributing an opinion to a lump of software running on some hardware. Now I realise this may come as a shock to you, but software doesn’t think.

Direct your criticism to the writer of the post, and I’d suggest that you read the About and Policy sections at the top of the site. It appears you are ignorant about how this site runs.]

Sorry for the lazy typing.

In my defence, my guesss would that be that every contributer on the standard would buy into the business owners/baby eaters are mainly into this this legislation so they can strip worker of their rights and churn them every 89 days argument.

My points still stand, and I will direct them at Steve in the first instance…

1. It is uneconomic to continually churn employees every 3 months. Advertising, Interviewing and Training all cost time and money. I don’t know one employer who likes the interview and recruitment process.

2. If you churn employees for no good reason you are just as likley to end up with worse employees every time you churn. Your existing employees are going to get very tired of this very quickly, continually “helping the new guy”.

3. Recruiters are not going to work with you if you churn employees every 89 days.

4. The sky hasn’t fallen in, in countries where this has been tried. This is a little like a paid internship. My guess is that Steve would reel in horror at the idea of the overseas unpaid intership and proclaim it to be nothing more than slave labour.

5. Employees can walk away from a job whenever they feel like it (I was just talking to a friend who did that very thing), while employers have far less freedom.

6. There are large benefits to the long term unemployed and new job starters in this law. They get a chance to prove themselves in the workplace and the employer can take a calculated risk on them.
Steve Pierson 125

16 July 2008 at 4:06 pm

J mex. in reverse order.

6. There’s no evidence that people are being barred from the workforce solely by lack of a probationary period in which they can be fired for no reason (probationary periods with protection against unjustified dismissal are already legal). Incidentally, less than 0.3% of the workforce has been on the unemployment benefit for over a year.

5. Employers innately have the power in the employer/employee relationship – they own the means of production, they are the gatekeepers to employment, workers need to work to make a livable income. Workers rights law only goes some way to balancing the odds.

4. I’m not a fan of unpaid internships either – they prevent anyone who dons’t have another means of support from getting their foot in the door to many professions. In other countries the probatioanry period is not a no rights period, you still ahve protection against unjustified dismissal.

1, 2, & 3. I’m not saying that a significant number of workers will be churned every 89 days. Rather, this law gives licence to a few bad employers to exert great power over new employees (you can be fired for joining a union, refusing to do unpaid overtime, refusing unsafe work etc) and will be exploited by the same kind of people currently exploiting triangular employment relationships to avoid the costs of workers’ rights like sick pay.
Oliver 126

16 July 2008 at 5:14 pm

Hsving actuall worked in a country with a probationary period I can assure you that 99% of the negative comments about National’s policy are irrelevant. NZ unions are going to lose a lot of credibility when this becomes law and their dire predictions are shown to be nonsense.
Steve Pierson 127

16 July 2008 at 5:25 pm

Oliver. In the country you worked in, could a probationary worker be fired for refusing to work in dangerous conditions? Because that’s what the Nats are proposing.
lprent 128

16 July 2008 at 5:28 pm

J Mex: I post here on the odd occasion. I have no idea how I’d feel about trial periods, I can see good and bad points. However I have run across a few crap managers in my time. I had a look at even more case studies when I did my MBA. If you give some crappy managers a position without some redress then they will abuse it. They will do it on the most vunerable, the young elderly, and the people who have a stand-down period.

I’d be very loath to have this available if there wasn’t any type of comeback on unprofessional idiots that abuse it. For preference make it a criminal act akin to fraud with a mandatory prison sentence if convicted. Some safeguard like that would probably satisfy me.

Because you are so sure it wouldn’t be a problem, then there would be no real hassle adding abuse of this provision to the crimes act?
Oliver 129

16 July 2008 at 5:29 pm

Steve,

Bollocks, safety laws will still apply. As I said earlier you’ll look pretty silly in a year or so, just ask people with actual experience of probationary laws.
RedLogix 130

16 July 2008 at 5:47 pm

Oliver,

Safety laws may well apply; but the useful application of them still requires that both employer and employee act in good faith to make them work.

The kind of employer that worries me will pressure people to take shortcuts and take risks when they think no-one will notice. 99.99% of the time they get away with it.

It’s only when Mum or Dad doesn’t come home one night that the penny drops. But then it’s too late isn’t it?
Oliver 131

16 July 2008 at 5:52 pm

Redlogix,

I’ve been around a few workplace accidents in my time. None of them have come from fundamental safety issues, they’ve all come from worker stupidity or laziness.

Protections will still apply, if a worker is pressured to take shortcuts they can just contact OSH.
Tane 132

16 July 2008 at 6:22 pm

Oliver, re: safety laws. This is the Australian experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9IMYbt5UuE
RedLogix 133

16 July 2008 at 6:35 pm

Oliver,

None of them have come from fundamental safety issues, they’ve all come from worker stupidity or laziness.

If worker ‘laziness and stupidity’ is the SOLE cause of industrial accidents; then why has the workplace death rate dropped over 60% in the last few decades since the introduction of comprehensive H&S systems? If your claim were true, then all those new safety measures and systems put in place by employers in that time would have made very little difference.

Or are you claiming that workers have gotten less lazy and stupid in that time? And if this is true would you be happy for them to be paid more as a result?

Protections will still apply, if a worker is pressured to take shortcuts they can just contact OSH.

And a week later… bye bye job.
burt 134

16 July 2008 at 11:09 pm

RedLogix

“One size fits all’ that IS kind of how most laws work.

For a few examples of where you are wrong about ‘how most laws work’ think about tax laws, Shop trading hours (I can buy petrol but not plants or alcohol on Easter Sunday!), speed limits, parking fines, postal rates, freight charges, RUC, assault laws, private property laws, drug laws.

I agree everybody should be treated equally under the law (I’m an idealist I know) but I don’t agree the law should homogenise the things it controls into as few rules as possible or just one.

Badly drafted laws or laws drafted to distort ideologically unpleasant natural orders (eg progressive tax laws) is what invites the sharp men in sharp suits to work the angles. Simple identification of different circumstances under the law IS the law reflecting the real world, which is the way it should be. No good will come from attempting to change the real world because political parties haven’t got the balls to back down on a belligerent ideological stance taken years ago to defeat the oppositions policy.
Oliver 135

17 July 2008 at 10:12 am

Redlogix,

I didn’t say that laziness and stupidity are the sole cause of all workplace accidents, only the one’s I’ve witnessed.

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Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

Who Makes Mazda Cars?
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

How Often to Replace Your Car Battery A Comprehensive Guide
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

Can You Register a Car Without a License?
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the Rule If you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

Mazda: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Reliability, Value, and Performance
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

What Are Struts on a Car?
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

What Does Car Registration Look Like: A Comprehensive Guide
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

How to Share Computer Audio on Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How Long Does It Take to Build a Computer?
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How to Put Your Computer to Sleep
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

What is Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT)?
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

iPad vs. Tablet Computers A Comprehensive Guide to Differences
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How Are Computers Made?
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How to Add Voice Memos from iPhone to Computer
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

Why My Laptop Screen Has Lines on It: A Comprehensive Guide
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How to Right-Click on a Laptop
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

Where is the Power Button on an ASUS Laptop?
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How to Start a Dell Laptop: A Comprehensive Guide
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Serious populist discontent is bubbling up in New Zealand
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
6 days ago

How to Take a Screenshot on an Asus Laptop A Comprehensive Guide with Detailed Instructions and Illu...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

How to Factory Reset Gateway Laptop A Comprehensive Guide
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

The Folly Of Impermanence.
“You talking about me?” The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Bowalley Road
6 days ago

A crisis of ambition
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
6 days ago

Have 308 people in the Education Ministry’s Curriculum Development Team spent over $100m on a 60-p...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
6 days ago

'This bill is dangerous for the environment and our democracy'
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
6 days ago

The Bank of our Tamariki and Mokopuna.
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
6 days ago

The worth of it all
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
6 days ago

What is the Hardest Sport in the World?
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
6 days ago

Release: Working together on consistent support for veterans this Anzac Day
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Penny drops – but what about Seymour and Peters?
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Budget blunder shows Nicola Willis could cut recovery funding
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Further environmental mismanagement on the cards
The Government’s resource management reforms will add to the heavy and ever-growing burden this Government is loading on to our environment. ...
Greens
3 days ago

Release: RMA changes will be a disaster for environment
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Labour supports urgent changes to emergency management system
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Labour calls for New Zealand to recognise Palestine
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Three strikes law political posturing of worst kind
The Government is bringing back a law that has little evidential backing just to look tough, Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Government cuts unbelievably target child exploitation, violent extremism, ports and airpor...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Three strikes has failed before and will fail again
Resurrecting the archaic three-strikes legislation is an unwelcome return to a failed American-style approach to justice. ...
Greens
4 days ago

Release: Environmental protection vital, not ‘onerous’
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Govt cuts doctors and nurses in hiring freeze
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
6 days ago

Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
Greens
7 days ago

Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Labour Blog
7 days ago

Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect them
News that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunches
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals bill
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Government throws coal on the climate crisis fire
The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project instead
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priority
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful law
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homes
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on media
The action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters
The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Opportunity to build a more sustainable economy
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust past
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environment
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. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to Government
Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention Office
Labour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

CCC issues warning over further climate delay
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. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Luxon targets are lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt priorities
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. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

Methane target review is dangerous duplication
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
9 hours ago

Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
15 hours ago

PM announces changes to portfolios
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

New catch limits for unique fishery areas
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Overseas decommissioning models considered
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

New diplomatic appointments
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Trade relationship with China remains strong
“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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
6 days ago

$41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Judicial appointments announced
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
7 days ago

Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Taupō takes pole position
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Government backing mussel spat project
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 - ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Government focused on getting people into work
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Inflation coming down, but more work to do
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
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 ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Grattan on Friday: Social media companies can’t be immune from the need for a social licence
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 ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
7 hours ago

Nelson Mandela’s grandson joins Gaza flotilla, slams ‘genocide complicit’ leaders
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 ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
10 hours ago

200 journalists ‘targeted’ over their environment reporting, warns RSF
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 ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
11 hours ago

Bryce Edwards Analysis – Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
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 ...
Evening ReportBy Bryce Edwards
11 hours ago

David Seymour: Auckland Grammar School ANZAC Day Address
This speech was delivered to Auckland Grammar students, family, Old Boys, and staff on ANZAC Day 2024 by David Seymour ’97, MP for Epsom. ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

David Seymour: Auckland Grammar School ANZAC Day Address
This speech was delivered to Auckland Grammar students, family, Old Boys, and staff on ANZAC Day 2024 by David Seymour ’97, MP for Epsom. ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

Inflation is slowly falling while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain the CPI
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. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
13 hours ago

Response To ANZAC Day Protests
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 ...
Scoop politics
14 hours ago

Claimants want Children's Minister to front up kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face)
Waitangi Tribunal claimants will appeal a High Court decision to overturn a summons order from the Tribunal for Children's Minister Karen Chhour. ...
Radio NZ – political
14 hours ago

‘It bucked our lads up wonderfully’: the lightning-quick battle that marked the birth of the US-...
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 ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
15 hours ago

GCSB refuses to release details of spy deal 'to protect interests'
The spy agency is refusing to release a copy of its deal with a foreign agency to run a secret operation out of this country. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

Die In for Palestine Marks ANZAC day
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. ...
Scoop politics
16 hours ago

Ancient nomads you’ve probably never heard of disappeared from Europe 1,000 years ago. Now, DNA an...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD). Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
18 hours ago

Don’t mention the war: On grandparents and Anzac biscuits
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits. First published in 2021. All my ...
The SpinoffBy Amanda Thompson
18 hours ago

If plastic manufacturing goes up 10%, plastic pollution goes up 10% – and we’re set for a huge ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
18 hours ago

Governor-General's Anzac Day Dawn Service Address
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Scoop politics
18 hours ago

Angling-Conservation Group Sees Fast Track Bill As Undemocratic
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Scoop politics
19 hours ago

Remembering the great TrueBliss vs Bardot national anthem sing-off
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff. First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
The SpinoffBy Jamie Wall
19 hours ago

Help Me Hera: Do I even want the public sector job I might be about to lose?
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
The SpinoffBy Hera Lindsay Bird
20 hours ago

ANZAC Day Wreath Calls For No Future Deaths From AUKUS
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Scoop politics
22 hours ago

Swimmer does everything and more to get to Paris
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
NewsroomBy Dave Crampton
23 hours ago

Seize the day
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell. First published in 2022. The high school’s head girl and ...
The SpinoffBy David Hill
24 hours ago

The first, forgotten Anzacs, more than 50 years before Gallipoli
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association. First published in 2018. When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
The SpinoffBy Scott Hamilton
24 hours ago

Poem for Anzac Day: ‘Hoki Mai’ by Tayi Tibble
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble. Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
The SpinoffBy Tayi Tibble
1 day ago

Poem for Anzac Day: ‘My World War I Poem’ by Bill Manhire
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin. My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
The SpinoffBy Bill Manhire
1 day ago

Book of the Week: Talia Marshall on living legend Ngāhuia Te Awekōtuku
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
NewsroomBy Talia Marshall
1 day ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
1 day ago

Daily crossword, Thursday 25 April
The post Daily crossword, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
1 day ago

High Court overturns Waitangi Tribunal summons to Minister for Children Karen Chhour
The minister was due to give evidence on Friday regarding the government's plans to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Sydney University students set up Gaza solidarity camp as war marks 200 days
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
1 day ago

Most bees don’t die after stinging – and other surprising bee facts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

How Anzac deaths changed the way we mourn to this day
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/Flickr Victor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Sugar gums have a reputation as risky branch-droppers but they’re important to bees, parrots and p...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Inflation is slowly falling, while student debt is climbing: 6 graphs that explain today’s CPI
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. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Our housing system is broken and the poorest Australians are being hardest hit
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

‘It bucked our lads up wonderfully’: the lightning-quick WWI battle that marked the birth of the...
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 ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

First Nations Anzacs sacrificed life and limb for Country. Why aren’t their stories shown onscreen...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War Memorial Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

NZ’s Media Minister Melissa Lee demoted after Newshub crisis
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
1 day ago

Our tall, wet forests were not open and park-like when colonists arrived – and we shouldn’t be b...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Aces in their places: Luxon plays coy over ministers' competence
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Melissa Lee’s media Hail Mary comes up short
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
NewsroomBy Laura Walters
1 day ago

Northland council continues four-year Māori ward fight in face of government changes
A council that played a key role in getting Māori ward polling removed is now lobbying against government plans to reinstate binding referendums. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Education Ministry cuts: Roles providing support for disabled kids among those proposed to be axed
Leaked documents show which divisions will bear the brunt of hundreds of proposed job cuts at the Ministry of Education. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Land Information New Zealand proposes 57 job cuts
It is the latest department to announce job cuts as part of the government's cost-cutting measures. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Watch: Government's 'wheels are falling off already', Hipkins says, after ministers d...
The Labour leader says the demotion of two ministers today shows the PM "didn't have particularly good judgement". ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

The stories of Australia’s Muslim Anzacs have long been forgotten. It’s time we honour them
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

National emergency response facing 26 separate inquiries: What have we learned
The country's emergency response is besieged by inquiries, despite years of reviews and efforts to make laws that deliver. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Sexual assault victims give evidence in court, but alleged perpetrators don’t have to. Bruce Lehrm...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

What’s the difference between ADD and ADHD?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Watch: Government's 'wheels are falling off already', Hipkins says, after minsters de...
The Labour leader says the demotion of two ministers today shows the PM "didn't have particularly good judgement". ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Anti-Poverty Groups Urge New Minister For Disability Issues To Reverse Funding Cuts
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

New Media Minister Must Rule Out State Intervention In Private Media
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

OPM leader’s open letter condemns Australia’s ‘treachery’ over Papua
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
2 days ago

‘Emily Dickinson made me into a writer’: Lauren Groff on the power of reading
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff. The book I wish I’d written If I wish I’d written a ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
2 days ago

Watch live: Chris Hipkins speaks after ministers Melissa Lee, Penny Simmonds lose portfolios
The Labour leader speaks from Parliament after the prime minister's sudden Cabinet reshuffle. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

What kind of diner are you? 6 types of diners who avoid plant-based meat dishes
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Auckland University Criminologist Slams ‘Racist’ Three Strikes Law
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

Australia-born judge facing potential deportation from Kiribati
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
2 days ago

Can Body-Worn Cameras Work In Australia And New Zealand? Lessons From Milestone’s Denmark Survey
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Scoop politics
2 days ago

Media Minister Melissa Lee demoted from Cabinet, Penny Simmonds stripped of portfolio
Melissa Lee has been stripped of the Media portfolio, while Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues role. Follow as the PM explains. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Climate change and human rights: how a landmark legal victory in Europe could affect NZ
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vernon Rive, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images A seven-year campaign by a group of over 2,000 Swiss women – average age 73 – recently ended with a European Court of Human Rights decision variously ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Page-turning rural gothic: Ash by Louise Wallace, reviewed
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
The SpinoffBy Claire Mabey
2 days ago

Lower catch limits in force for Fiordland, Chatham Islands
New catch limits in Fiordland mean recreational fishers will only be able to take much smaller bags of finfish and shellfish. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

New emergency management legislation delayed after bill pulled by Government
The bill was introduced by the previous government in June last year. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

‘It was my Eras tour’: Meet the world’s biggest TrueBliss fans
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
The SpinoffBy Alex Casey
2 days ago

No more Census forms? Stats NZ mulls form of future surveys
The traditional Census form could become a thing of the past, as Stats NZ starts to rely more heavily on administrative data. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

The voices that vanish in a decimated newsroom
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
The SpinoffBy Eda Tang
2 days ago

Half our colleagues suffer pain and discomfort from periods. But they’re still a taboo subject at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

'We're going to be banning gang patches' – Police Minister adamant
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

Is it possible to ‘objectively’ judge music? We asked 5 experts
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

Gloomy vibe from infrastructure sector as RMA changes unveiled
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
The SpinoffBy Anna Rawhiti-Connell
2 days ago

From Gallipoli to Gaza: remembering the Anzacs not as a ‘coming of age’ tale but as a lesson for...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
2 days ago

The end of the Census? Stats NZ to look at whether survey is still needed
The traditional Census survey could become a thing of the past as Stats NZ starts to rely more heavily on administrative data. ...
Radio NZ – political
2 days ago

90 Day No Rights policy, why?

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