– I had Jinty MacTavish (an environmental activist turned Dunedin City Councilor) on a radio show I host and she was very proud of the fact that she had helped persuade the DCHL to have a statement of intent that was aligned with the goals of the DCC and took into account the four well-beings of the city – environmental, cultural, social and economic – instead of just the profit motive. Something that Auckland Council should look at doing – that way they can tell POAL to behave like normal human beings and not how they are behaving right now.
All the way! POAL represent the 1% and are driving slave conditions. They want the workers to be at the beck and call of the port and have no security of hours or pay. Imagine the stress of that on your daily life.
– Can you pay the bills this week?
– Can you feed your family this week?
– Are you going to miss your kid’s school play or help out with taking them on school trips?
– How about if you are a single parent? This would stop you being able to look after your child. You would have to leave your job and then how do you look after your child?
For a Christian (Peter Dunne is one I believe) I would ask you what is more important – their family life or the supposed “flexibility” that is demanded? None of these rich managers would work like this. It is called hypocrisy and we all know what Jesus thought of hypocrites.
I understand the problems with wage insecurity – but if POAL and MUNZ were able to work together properly that should be able to be minimised. Instead they are both making a mess of it – I’d be very surprised if that level of dysfunction in a relationship is all one-sided. Hence Len Brown’s and David Shearer’s positiions?
Are Greens being deliberately quiet or are just not reported much on this?
I really don’t know what Peter Dunne’s religious situation is, that’s his private life. The PoA dispute is not a religious issue anyway.
Work ‘flexibility’ has become very common, it has disadvantages for sure, but also advantages – even for some workers.
What would be better generally for society – 300 workers earning 90k a year, or 400 workers earning 67k?
Pete – when you are a Christian you are always a Christian as far as I was told… I am not one myself you understand but I was well versed in theology by my family many of whom were priests and nuns. 🙂 So Peter D can’t get away with that excuse 🙂
POAL have had an agenda from the beginning to break the union – the union has negotiated in good faith and was working constructively with management to improve productivity. This is purely generated by the management – MUNZ have simply done what any union would do in this situation.
The Greens have been very supportive and have condemned POAL and I have pasted one of our latest Press Releases for your perusal… The press have not been publishing our statements. It happens sometimes 🙂
“Ports Of Auckland actions in sacking workers disgraceful
The Ports of Auckland’s actions in sacking 300 staff sets a terrible precedent for all workers in New Zealand, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.
The Ports of Auckland today announced it is making its striking workers redundant and will contract the work out.
“The Ports of Auckland’s actions in dismissing staff because they are in a union and willing to stand up for decent work practices, including regular shifts and time with family, is appalling,” said Dr Norman.
“The Government’s legislative changes in the last term have set the scene for employers such as the Ports of Auckland to clamp down hard on workers and unions.
“John Key should realise that we will never catch Australia by driving down New Zealand wages and working conditions. We will just make New Zealand workers poorer.
“The Mayor of Auckland Len Brown and the Auckland Council have sat on their hands over this dispute for too long.
“It’s time for Mayor Brown to take a stand in support of the workers that voted for him,” Dr Norman said.”
The man that was voted in by the left cant be involved in this dispute. He has to take into account 1.5 million Aucklanders. Not just the wishes of 290 workers, and a few Union delegates who want to keep outdated practises that dont fit in with a competive economic environment. ( mods by the way my week is up)
[lprent: you missed this one.. Don’t disrespect the moderators because I need them more thn I need you. ]
James 111 is just saying that any group of 300 workers and their families can be fucked over using the justification “its for the greater good, really it is”.
That would be the Kiwiblog post in which Fatty Penguin also reiterates his support for David “Holocaust! What Holocaust?” Irving to come and speak in New Zealand?
People who stand for nothing but their own gain always struggle to understand, why those with a social conscience do care about others .
Len Brown is a disgrace Im not sure he could ever redeem himself.
Peter George would never be able to get his head around the lefts disgust of Browns inaction after all this is the guy that thinks Dunn ( the traitor) is doing no wrong while selling his Nations assets which will only make its citizens poorer.
Whoever is free should come to Auckland university at 12pm today, Len Brown will be there to answer questions. We need more support for the workers there!
I once supported Len, but no longer. I am, in fact, even beginning to wonder if John Banks could have been any worse! Of course, Brown appeals to the law to justify himself. Even if this is true (which I doubt) he would do well to remember morality, humanity, natural justice. On Campbell Live he meekly admitted that he wishes that the wharf workers had complied with their stinking bosses demands. How convenient for him this would have been. The only thing I would pity Brown about is that he has to contend with the likes of Christine Fletcher and her pals.
The trouble is QSF the Labour party is failing to fall into the cunning trap that we have laid for it. It is refusing to stay still long enough for our allies in the MSM to blast it with the anti-Union rhetoric we’ve been storing up. Still, enough pressure from the left wing activists might encourage it to change their position.
Not actually correct, Sprout. Shearer has at least been on the picket line, has talked directly with MUNZ and the CTU and both those organisations are happy with his level of involvement, at this point.
Brown is not a scab, either, by the way. That’s a very loose use of the word which has a pretty well understood definition in the union movement. Coward and Judas I have no problem with, because they accurately fit his behaviour.
I’m told that Brown will not now be invited to the EPMU conference in Auckland later this year, where it was intended he be a key note speaker again. Given the large number of unionists who campaigned on his behalf, that might well be the final nail in his electoral coffin.
At this stage, international pressure is needed . If dollars and cents are all that Gibson, Key, et al, can understand – then that is their weak point.
Short term it will inconvenience and even cause us economic “pain”. My response is,
a. Long term we will benefit from a Union victory
b. Any economic pain can’t be worse than the savage cuts to the state sector – 2,500 jobs lost already and more planned – and slash social services.
Ummm… might I suggest you actually read some basic economic textbooks first before attempting to articulate any concepts (simple or otherwise). Then you might not mistake Balance of Trade with Balance of Payments for a start.
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Keep it up then we can confirm how people with an up-close and personal relationship with economic textbooks rarely have had the same with social, geographic and political history.
and good on Shearer going to the picket, when the cameras weren’t around, and quietly talking to MUNZ behind the scenes. but why will he not come out more publicly with a statement of clear and unequivocal support for workers’ rights and the right to organize? is he ashamed of labour’s union roots or is it that he doesn’t actually support unionization? wouldn’t this be one time when it’s actually quite important to support a principle rather than a flawed focus group driven campaign ‘strategy’ of terminal invisibility and neutrality in the hope of sleep walking to victory on the back of National’s unpopularity? that just seems gutless to me.
the term scab is used broadly and is a reference to the point made by the graphic illustrating this post, which is taken from the Save our Port facebook site, where references to Brown being a scab are common. in the sense of the graphic’s point, and in the sense that he’s working against the strikers’ interests, Brown is a scab.
Yes, well, using the word scab “broadly” tends to devalue the force of its specific meaning. All sorts of people are called all sorts of things in all sorts of places – that doesn’t make give one carte blanche to do the same. Rather, it suggests a rather limited vocabulary of abuse on the part of the union. Brown is not actually “working in spite of an ongoing strike” as most dictionaries define the term. He’s a political whore/Judas/Iago/traitor to principle/hypocrite, but he is not a scab.
Good to see the direction of your anger is now targetted towards the correct place. I can understand your frustration. I mean here is a guy that was elected on a broad left platform to counter the right’s efforts to control the Auckland supercity and he is acting like a common centrist. Almost as bad as the Labour Government between 1999 and 2008 who did nothing really to fundamentally alter the employment law landscape. Just diddled around the edges.
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Apologies, Gosman. It appears that even my “banana metaphor” above was too complex for you. No wonder you couldn’t apply a solution.
(Disclaimer: I haven’t been following this dispute as closely as I might because I experienced a certain ‘sinking feeling’ when I first heard of it as I imagined the union would embark on the same tried and tested strategies of failure it initially employed last time casualisation was on the cards.)
About ten years ago, a similar ‘casualisation’ drive was unleashed on some of the ports in the S. Island. It was thwarted back then. But success was achieved…or succesful stategies deployed…in spite of union officials (some of whom are still ‘in office’).
And ten years ago there was no involvement from the Labour Party and as far as I remember, no involvement from local government either. (I believe the Dunedin council has a stake in Port Chalmers, though I could be wrong)
I’m curious as to why the union has apparently failed to learn from its own recent history and employ the successful strategies that won them the day back then.
As I said, I haven’t been following the dispute at all. But if it’s the case that scab labour is being used to work the port, then that scab labour has to get on site. And if that is the case, then that is the same scenario as existed ten years back.
And ten years back, it just didn’t seem to cross the minds of those union officials who were calling the shots to simply prevent or obstruct any vehicles carrying scab labour. When initailly non-wharfies blocked scab vehicles, certain union officials were less than impressed. And those same union officials kept telling their members to not impede the access of vehicles.
That situation eventually broke down and wharfies also began to obstruct vehicles. And it constituted a cost to the company in terms of money and efficiency. And when the company resorted to hiring vans to ferry scabs into the ports and those vans somehow attracted measures of damage, then that too cost the company and had hire firms thinking twice about who they’d hire vans to.
And when CHH ships were going to be delayed in US ports, that wasn’t because of any action or request by the union or the CTU, but because of initiatives taken by people within their public support.
It was the same story for just about every tactic, strategy or counter strategy employed. They came from outside the ranks of the union and the union officials only eventually got on board and lent their support (and even then, often very unwillingly from some…regardless of evidence highlighting how successful any given tactic or ploy was.)
In a nutshell, a lot of direct action was used and the knowledge of how to deploy direct actions effectively and safely (from both a physical and legal perspective) came from outside the union.
And it was the same for dealing with the media. The fact of the matter was that the union just didn’t seem to have much of a clue on that front either. And so the job of generating positive media coverage (or of avoiding negative coverage) fell largely to people outside the union.
That was ten years ago. Some of the officials involved are still officials today. They could or should have learned something from all the input given back then, and yet…well, it just seems that nothing has changed.
I agree that the MUNZ’s PR has been quite bad and needs a bit of an overhaul.
However I don’t see how you could stop contracted workers from entering the port completely. Certainly the Port could look to ferry them in directly from locations in Auckland that would be difficult to picket.
Alternatively there could be a blockade of the port from the landward side stopping cargo getting in and out. Might be a bit bad PR wise though.
Gos, you have all the time in the world (your output is prodigious)….so why dont we get you to run the POA? You profess to have all the answers, why waste them here, its all intellectual property. Get the job and do the damage.
Should not be too long before POA resembles a Zimbabwean copper mine with requisite employment conditions……
Well, I don’t even know the general layout of Auckland’s port. But I’m guessing there are multiple entry/exit points. So, yup. Compared to the smaller ports of Bluff, Port Chalmers and Nelson, the logistics would be more challenging.
But where there’s a will there’s a way.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
I don’t know.
But the type of nonsence I’ve heard recently whereby other ports weren’t going to handle scab loads but subsequently caved because a court said it ‘wouldn’t be cricket’ has to stop.
If a scab loads are prevented from leaving their port of destination…or at least delayed (which might be an easier thing to do if preventing it getting loaded in the first place is too problematic), then might that not encourage companies to ‘request’ their shipments be loaded by union labour?
There must be a million and one ways to introduce chaos and delay to shipments. The union should at least be exploring its options and making it clear to members that it does not in any way condone actions such as x, y or z that members might feel inclined to involve themselves in with regards scab loads, as such actions would effectively cost port authorities money and have a negative impact on the port’s customer relations.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
Indeed. There are a million and one imaginative ways forward.
Obvious. Mass solidarity strikes went for 151 days in 1951. MUA mass community picket won in 98. Dunedin community picket won ten years ago.
Two months ago threat of ILWU plus Occupy mass picket won at Longview, Oregon.
Results. Mass pickets win. Why don’t the union leaderships recognise this?
The union leaderships don’t want to break the labour law which is the basis of their existence. They control the ranks unless and until the wider militant layers of workers intervene and rescue their struggle. They are ‘won over’ only when the ranks wake up and force them to move, until the next time when repeat performance as unions get weaker and weaker.
Conclusion. Unions need to be controlled by the members and act independently of both the bureaucrats and the labour law. Occupy was born as an outlaw wildcat movement.
Union ranks + Occupy = new labour movement, both democratic and militant (potentially).
Will enough workers realise this and stand up in time? http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/new-zealand-auckland-port-employers-out.html
Damn – the delete button doesn’t work.
Just a misunderstanding when I thought you were replying to my comment. I thought I’d deleted it before it was even seen.
As you were.
[lprent: Yeah the crazies who took over the re-edit code are playing silly buggers. Weekend fixup. ]
Why have the unions folded before the neo-liberal attacks. They all havnt, but they were bashed about by Labour’s Rogernomic counter-revolution that destroyed full employment the basis of the welfare state. Bill Anderson once admitted that he made a mistake in shutting down the dispute at Marsden Point to help Labour get elected in 1984! LOL
Then Nats ECA in 91 was met by staunch union resistance like the seafarers and timberworkers but sold out by Ken Douglas of CTU who said a general strike would undermine his power to negotiate with the Nats. What he meant was he would try to do a deal with Nats by getting workers to be more productive (more exploited) and allow the bosses to take most of the increased value.
In truth the labour movement has never been strong outside the militant breakawys of the Red Fed 1908-1913 and the TUC walkout of the FOL in 1951 because its been run by bureaucrats who are the loyal servants of NZ national capitalism.
Nearly 30 years of neoliberal crisis economics has weakened the unions to the point where they use the ERA as a crutch and wouldnt know a wildcat if they fell over one.
MUNZ was chosen by the NACTs as one of the few holdout unions that has put up a rearguard action in defending their historic gains.
This is a 1951 type campaign by the bosses to destroy the unions and ride roughshod over workers rights and all resistance to total domination of the economy. Unless the working class rises up to stop it welcome to the rip, shit and bust return to the colonial 1890s.
Remember it well Bill,
Might’ve seen you there when I joined in once or twice, but I tended to try and hide in the tea tent, due to the inflammable levels of testosterone from police and protesters alike.
As I recall the dispute was won because the workforce stood firm, and the scabs who were bussed in were, I think, all out of towners.
It took/takes support from the wider community. Lot less of that in general in Auckland imo. It would have been resolved sooner with better politcal and union support.
Yes it is disappointing. It makes me wonder what current politician (if any) would have stepped in. Based upon what Brown says, it makes him look like just another neo-liberal. Or maybe it was just the characteristics of this situation that turned him away from doing anything.
This is unfolding at the same time that more is becoming understood about the link between a falling labour share of wealth and inequality and poverty. Stronger collective bargaining laws for workers is probably what’s needed rather than a relliance on any polly of the day stepping in to steer a dispute one way or other.
Is it the union part of Labour that runs the “it’s always someone else’s fault” lines?
That neither Len Brown nor David Shearer have backup the union actions (as well as just about everyone else outside some of the unions) could suggest something? Just possibly?
Workers should stand up for their rights and if they choose should lobby their cases in unison. But as Bill suggests, it might just be union leaders shitting in their member’s nest.
As could have been expected, like almost every other politician, Len Brown is making excuses – afraid that if he took action and did what is right he will encounter blow back. No pollie wants blow back and they will work against what they know is right in order preserve their career.
They kid themselves with excuses like “You have to pick your battles” or “The law doesn’t allow me to do anything”.
Meanwhile, workers and their families are callously jettisoned to keep afloat a career, (one that may sink after all).
Len Brown is not a conscience-driven leader but a big cry baby.
My understanding is that Len doesn’t operate in isolation. He’s got around 20 advisors of various capabilities in his office to help drive his vision. Such advisors include the so-called whiz kid Conor Roberts, who helped Len get elected. Others include PR experts like Glyn Jones and policy wonks like James Bews-Hair.
It’s simply atrocious – where are the Labour advisors in Len’s office, and what the hell are they thinking?
As you will have heard, our port company has announced it intends to introduce competitive stevedoring. I am disappointed the two parties down at the port have so far failed to settle their dispute and achieve a new collective agreement. I continue to be in contact with both sides and they are very aware of my concerns about the consequences both for Auckland as a whole and for the families directly involved. My powers to intervene are severely limited.
My response to him, left on his Page,
Mr Brown, you say your “powers to intervene are severely limited”. Yet, Auckland City Council is the shareholder.
Can you then explain how the Shareholding Ministers of SOEs are able to instruct the Boards of SOEs to prepare their Enterprises for sale?
How can some shareholders have “severely limited powers” whilst others have the power to sell bits of New Zealand willy-nilly? This is what folk cannot understand because it simply makes no sense.
If your powers are so “severely limited” – what the heck is the difference between electing you, or that muppet John Banks??? We might as well put Fozzi Bear in the mayor’s seat and be done with it.
Primarily, I think that history will remember Len Brown as a liar.
“The issue is, there is a huge temptation for me to throw myself into the middle of this, and I could.
As the mayor of this city I’ve got a mandate and we certainly have the power
because the company is 100% owned by our council on behalf of you all, and so I could get in amongst that.”
“The real challenge if I step into this, we have six other companies that we own that manage Auckland assets, like Watercare and Auckland Transport.
Every time they have a problem, do I step myself into that?”
After originally claiming that he had “a mandate” to, “on behalf of you all…. get in amongst that” Len Brown has changed tack and is now claiming that as the Mayor of Auckland City “My powers to intervene are severely limited.”
No mention of “I’ve got a mandate” or “Certainly hav(ing) the power” here.
Len Brown choses to be a liar, because he knows being open in his support for this brutal attack on the ports workers, would dismay those mostly working people who supported and voted for him in the Mayoral elections.
Len Brown is a social democrat. Selling out the workers who support them is what social democrats always have to do when the going gets tough because they are capitalists and the needs of capital will always come first.
Capitalists need to wage class war to maintain their priviliged position within the unfair society their system creates.
Those who pretend there can be a fair capitalism are either liars or deluded.
You cannot serve two masters. You are either for or against the capitalist system. If you are for it you have no right criticising Len because you would ineveitably end up selling out workers if you were in a position of power.
If you are not a capitalist you should not be surprised at Len’s actions.
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Samuel Becher, Victoria University of Wellington and Jessica C Lai, Victoria University of WellingtonEarlier this year, the New Zealand-based pizza chain Hell Pizza offered a limited-edition “Burger Pizza”. Its customers weren’t told that the “meat” was plant-based. Some customers complained to the Commerce Commission, which enforces consumer law in ...
Some people seem to want to close down any critical discussion of the current research into the relationship between water fluoride and child IQ. They appear to argue that claims made by researchers should not be open to critical review and that the claims be accepted without proper consideration ...
The government has been congratulating itself over the passage of the Zero Carbon Act, which sets out long-term emissions targets. Meanwhile, Climate Action Tracker has the shameful reality: those targets are insufficient:While New Zealand is showing leadership by having passed the world’s second-ever Zero Carbon Act in November 2019, under ...
The government introduced a Racing Industry Bill today. As an urban who horse racing as pointless-to-cruel, and gambling as a tax on stupidity and/or hope, this isn't normally a bill which would interest me in the slightest, beyond grumpiness at more government money for a dying industry. But there is ...
Check. Check. One, two, three, four. Is this thing ON? Hello readers, I logged in last night (yeah, it’s been a while) to mark THE END of the landmark legal case, Jordan Williams v Colin Craig, which (gulp) reached The Supreme Court, in which New Zealand’s most-defamed man was suing the politician he ...
Before The Birth: Israel’s most fervent supporters set their clocks ticking in Biblical times. They cite the kingdoms of David and Solomon as proof that, in the words of the Exodus movie’s theme-song: “This land is mine.” The majority of Israel’s backers, however, start their clocks in 1933 – the year Adolf ...
In an unreliable, strange and confusing world, Public Address is proud to present a measure of comfort and stability by annually asking everyone what words or phrases sum up the year that's been – and then giving some of them consumer goods as prizes for being clever or simply lucky.Well, ...
Both my parents are pretty handy – and they seem to have the right tools for most jobs in the garage and they know how to fix practically anything. A similar story could be told about their generation’s experience in the workforce – being a generalist was not unusual and ...
When it was revealed that NZ First had tried to enrich itself from public office via the Provoncial Growth Fund, the Prime Minister assured us that everything was OK as Shane Jones, the Minister responsible for the fund, had recused himself. Except it seems that that recusal came very late ...
Today is a Member's Day, and probably the last one of the year. After the marathon of the End of Life Choice Act, most of the bills up for debate today are uncontentious. First up is the second reading of Chlöe Swarbrick's Election Access Fund Bill. This will be followed ...
The Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee has reported back on the government's odious and tyrannical control orders bill. As expected, the fraudulent select committee process has made no significant changes (partly because they couldn't agree, but mostly because it was a stitch-up from the start, with no intention of ...
Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Within quick succession, Countdown maths wizard and twitterer Rachel Riley, alleged comedian David Baddiel and prominent lawyer Andrew Julius have all expressed very similar opinions / ideas:
These #3billboards are going round London today, organised by ex-Labour people, horrified by what their party has become. Their principles haven’t changed, they’re ...
So, there have been a bunch of bad polls out for Labour, and even the Leftie's friend, Survation, have recently given the Conservatives a rip-snorting 11% lead. You Gov's much vaunted MRP poll - which pretty much nailed the result in 2015 - is currently predicting a comfortable majority for ...
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to declare a climate emergency:The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The vote came as scientists warned that the world may have already crossed ...
Pure Fear: Worse than Heroin, this drug’s addictive power was terrifying. People under its influence didn’t drift off to Elysium. Nor did it persuade inadequate individuals that they could conquer the world. No, this drug – pure crystal methamphetamine, “P” for short – unlocked the gates of Hell itself. It ...
As the rate of measles infection, and of deaths, continues to climb in Samoa, antivaccination activists infectious disease proponents seem intent on doubling down on their claims about vaccination. (Check pretty much any news-media FB post about measles & you’ll see exactly what I mean.) Unfortunately, some of them have ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark and Minister for Climate Change James Shaw have announced the release of a Defence Climate Change Implementation Work Plan, titled Responding to the Climate Crisis: An Implementation Plan. The plan sets out a series of recommendations based on the 2018 New Zealand Defence Assessment, The ...
A medium-scale adverse event has been declared for the South Canterbury district, which will see up to $50,000 in funding made available to support farming communities which have been significantly affected by recent heavy rain and flooding in the area, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two weeks of solid rain ...
Thank you Professor Juliet Gerrard and your team for the comprehensive and extremely helpful report and recommendations. Thank you too to all the stakeholders and interested parties who have contributed ideas and thinking to it. “Making best practice, standard practice” is a great framework for change and the action plan ...
The Government will phase out more single-use plastics following the success of its single-use plastic bag ban earlier this year and the release today of a pivotal report for dealing with waste. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealandreport, released by her Chief Science Advisor ...
International education continues to thrive as the Government focuses on quality over quantity, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. The tuition revenue from international education increased to $1.16 billion last year with the average tuition fee per student increasing by $960. The total number of international students enrolled in New Zealand ...
I want to talk about one of the most pressing issues in our national life: the housing crisis and the poor performance of our cities. The argument I want to make to you is that generations of urban land use policy have lacked a decent grounding in economics. The consequences ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says new appointments to DHBs represent a significant changing of the guard, with 13 new chairs including four Māori chairs. Today 76 appointments have been announced to complement elected board members, as well as eight elected members appointed as either chair or deputy chair. Four ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau, is travelling to Germany, Poland, Austria, and Spain next week to bolster New Zealand’s political and trade relationships in Europe. While in Spain, Mr Tabuteau will represent New Zealand at the 14th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Madrid. “New Zealand strongly supports ...
“I’ve spoken to Minister Faafoi, who has apologised for his poor handling of this issue,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I have confidence in Kris as a hardworking and effective Minister, but this should have been dealt with in a much clearer manner, and I’ve made my views on that very clear ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters met with Tongan Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa in Wellington today. The pair signed a Statement of Partnership setting out joint priorities for cooperation out to 2023. “We welcomed Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa on his first visit to New Zealand as Prime Minister. Tonga ...
The Minister of Police Stuart Nash says his sympathies are with the family of a man who died after being shot by Police in Kurow. “Initial reports are that Police were called by a family member to help the man who was threatening to harm himself,” Mr Nash says. “However ...
A review of the ANZ Bank New Zealand's missteps over the past year has found complacency at the most senior level, leading to the departure of its long serving chief executive. ...
Dr Bryce Edwards.In his big-spending infrastructure announcement yesterday, Grant Robertson reinforced what many political commentators say about him – he’s electorally smart, but way too conservative to be a genuine leftwing minister of finance. Robertson does what is right for winning votes, but not necessarily what is in the ...
Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the announcement today of three changes to the Arms Bill should be the start of a large-scale rewrite, or even eventual abandonment. ...
The failure of high-growth councils to supply enough infrastructure to support housing development has led to some serious social and economic problems, the NZ Productivity Commission states in a local government funding and financing report released today. ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) says that while the Budget Policy Statement 2020 promises to extend Budget 2019’s 'Wellbeing' framework and states "reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing" as a priority, spending plans don’t ...
The National Party's new health platform includes $50 million a year for cancer drugs, a boost to Pharmac funding and the reintroduction of National Health Targets. ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is lamenting the lack of courage shown in the Productivity Commission’s Local Government Funding Report, saying that while it makes many worthy recommendations, its play-it-safe-approach relegates the report ...
Wellington 12 December 2019: The Government’s announcement to future-proof New Zealand with a $12billion investment in infrastructure is a positive sign for the country’s future. ...
19-year-old Benee’s track ‘Glitter’ is climbing international charts thanks to being given a TikTok dance. How does that work? Josie Adams explains what a TikTok dance is, and how this social media app is the new MTV.Who is Benee?Benee has had a huge 2019, with the Aucklander riding sparkling pop ...
Newsroom has asked the district court to end a defamation action by business site NBR over a news story discussing NBR and ex National MP Steven Joyce. ...
Today, at a meeting of Auckland Council’s Governing Body, councillors voted unanimously for a series of resolutions that will require greater direct involvement in resolving the ongoing dispute between unions and NZ Bus from Auckland Transport and the Minister ...
“Important policy and legislative developments have landed today which could enable a bolder, more streamlined way of delivering new infrastructure for the benefit all New Zealanders,” says Infrastructure New Zealand CEO Paul Blair. ...
The Public Service Association welcomes the announcement of a new strategic direction for the justice system, but says union members want to be properly included in designing the system they will eventually implement. ...
The success stories of people with extra struggles may not get awards and trophies, but they’re worth celebrating all the same, says Jai Breitnauer.It’s the time of year for awards assemblies and prize-givings, for clubs and teams handing out certificates and trophies. It’s traditional, as we approach Christmas and the ...
Millions of dollars worth of New Zealand fruit and grapes were at risk of rotting on the branch due to a shortage of local pickers. So a visionary group of Central Otago growers. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Gibney, NHMRC early career fellow, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity The pacific island nation of Samoa has been making headlines over the past month due to a significant measles outbreak. At last count, 4,995 measles cases had been ...
Two newspaper reports illustrate the contrasting involvements of science and spiritual beliefs in the aftermath of the White Island eruption. Meanwhile several iwi have placed rāhui over their customary coastal areas. This effectively represents a customary prohibition on all maritime activities for the whole of the Eastern Bay of Plenty ...
From Middle Earth to outer space, New Zealand business has covered a lot of ground in the last 10 years. Business editor Maria Slade looks back.As the world emerged blinking from the chaos of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, New Zealand began the 2010s in relatively good shape. We’d recovered ...
The Spinoff’s cartoonist Toby Morris chats and draws with New Zealand’s doodlers in the webseries Two Sketches. This episode, Toby is the guest of Sir Michael Hill… Jeweller.To close out the season, and potentially the series, Toby boards the super yacht of jeweller, entrepreneur, rich lister and, now, cartoonist, Michael ...
Today's release of Turuki Turuki will be welcome news for people in prison and all those working in the criminal justice system. But its most important message is that all sides need to come together. Turuki Turuki is a call for political ...
The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. ...
When Barbara Cox joined a football team in 1973, she was one of the first women in the country to do so. She’s still fighting for women in the sport to get the respect they deserve. Auckland women didn’t play football in 1972. Auckland women cooked and cleaned and looked after ...
Richard MacManus meets Aimee – the digital assistant with a human touch. For years we’ve been worried about robots taking our jobs, but in fact it’s “digital humans” that are increasingly joining the workforce. At least, that seems to be the case in customer service. Southern Cross Health Society, New Zealand’s ...
Election rallies ain’t what they used to be. Boris’s election eve shindig was an invitation-only event for party faithful. The location (at a smallish venue in the London Olympic park) was disclosed to attendees only on the day (presumably to head off the risk of protest).The set-up is for ...
New Zealanders waiting for hip and knee surgery and other medical procedures, and families struggling to put food on the table will be funding increased profits for banks and corporate investors following Finance Minister Grant Robertson's $12 billion ...
Business is Boring is a podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Campbell Ellison from Callaghan Innovation and Alexandra Allan, CEO of Food Bowl.One of the ...
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Within five years no one will remember much of him – nor of the current Auckland port strife.
Pretty much this. Move on.
No wonder Helen wouldnt touch the Greens
+1
?
A reference to the emotive headline and sprout’s political leanings, Shane.
that’s how i interpreted it – despite my not actually being a green, although i’ve appreciated their willingness to speak up on the issue
Oh okay! 🙂 Good post!
– I had Jinty MacTavish (an environmental activist turned Dunedin City Councilor) on a radio show I host and she was very proud of the fact that she had helped persuade the DCHL to have a statement of intent that was aligned with the goals of the DCC and took into account the four well-beings of the city – environmental, cultural, social and economic – instead of just the profit motive. Something that Auckland Council should look at doing – that way they can tell POAL to behave like normal human beings and not how they are behaving right now.
Shane, do you think it’s POAL bad, MUNZ good?
All the way! POAL represent the 1% and are driving slave conditions. They want the workers to be at the beck and call of the port and have no security of hours or pay. Imagine the stress of that on your daily life.
– Can you pay the bills this week?
– Can you feed your family this week?
– Are you going to miss your kid’s school play or help out with taking them on school trips?
– How about if you are a single parent? This would stop you being able to look after your child. You would have to leave your job and then how do you look after your child?
For a Christian (Peter Dunne is one I believe) I would ask you what is more important – their family life or the supposed “flexibility” that is demanded? None of these rich managers would work like this. It is called hypocrisy and we all know what Jesus thought of hypocrites.
I understand the problems with wage insecurity – but if POAL and MUNZ were able to work together properly that should be able to be minimised. Instead they are both making a mess of it – I’d be very surprised if that level of dysfunction in a relationship is all one-sided. Hence Len Brown’s and David Shearer’s positiions?
Are Greens being deliberately quiet or are just not reported much on this?
I really don’t know what Peter Dunne’s religious situation is, that’s his private life. The PoA dispute is not a religious issue anyway.
Work ‘flexibility’ has become very common, it has disadvantages for sure, but also advantages – even for some workers.
What would be better generally for society – 300 workers earning 90k a year, or 400 workers earning 67k?
Pete – when you are a Christian you are always a Christian as far as I was told… I am not one myself you understand but I was well versed in theology by my family many of whom were priests and nuns. 🙂 So Peter D can’t get away with that excuse 🙂
POAL have had an agenda from the beginning to break the union – the union has negotiated in good faith and was working constructively with management to improve productivity. This is purely generated by the management – MUNZ have simply done what any union would do in this situation.
The Greens have been very supportive and have condemned POAL and I have pasted one of our latest Press Releases for your perusal… The press have not been publishing our statements. It happens sometimes 🙂
“Ports Of Auckland actions in sacking workers disgraceful
The Ports of Auckland’s actions in sacking 300 staff sets a terrible precedent for all workers in New Zealand, Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman said today.
The Ports of Auckland today announced it is making its striking workers redundant and will contract the work out.
“The Ports of Auckland’s actions in dismissing staff because they are in a union and willing to stand up for decent work practices, including regular shifts and time with family, is appalling,” said Dr Norman.
“The Government’s legislative changes in the last term have set the scene for employers such as the Ports of Auckland to clamp down hard on workers and unions.
“John Key should realise that we will never catch Australia by driving down New Zealand wages and working conditions. We will just make New Zealand workers poorer.
“The Mayor of Auckland Len Brown and the Auckland Council have sat on their hands over this dispute for too long.
“It’s time for Mayor Brown to take a stand in support of the workers that voted for him,” Dr Norman said.”
You think? I have had only casual work for the past 3 years, and there are no advantages to it that I can see. (Nor to my ’employers, really.)
It’s better than no work isn’t it?
false dichotomy. the choice isn’t crappy work or no work. They have good conditions and the company is profitable now.
The man that was voted in by the left cant be involved in this dispute. He has to take into account 1.5 million Aucklanders. Not just the wishes of 290 workers, and a few Union delegates who want to keep outdated practises that dont fit in with a competive economic environment. ( mods by the way my week is up)
[lprent: you missed this one.. Don’t disrespect the moderators because I need them more thn I need you. ]
And it’s about to start again?
I thought it was two weeks?
Actually, 2 weeks on top of the one week =3.
Math is fun! 🙂
James 111 is just saying that any group of 300 workers and their families can be fucked over using the justification “its for the greater good, really it is”.
I thought lefties were big on ‘For the greater good’.
Definitely are. That’s why we understand that an injury to one is an injury to all.
+1
Of which 1m or so support the workers and are rather pissed off both with PoAL management and Len Brown.
Rubbish, the vast rump of Auckland couldn’t give a crap because it hasn’t affected them.
I see you’ve read Farrar’s piece, James. Good recall and summary. Try your own thoughts next time.
That would be the Kiwiblog post in which Fatty Penguin also reiterates his support for David “Holocaust! What Holocaust?” Irving to come and speak in New Zealand?
And when they turn on their own it’s even less pretty.
People who stand for nothing but their own gain always struggle to understand, why those with a social conscience do care about others .
Len Brown is a disgrace Im not sure he could ever redeem himself.
Peter George would never be able to get his head around the lefts disgust of Browns inaction after all this is the guy that thinks Dunn ( the traitor) is doing no wrong while selling his Nations assets which will only make its citizens poorer.
Ah! But they will make us richer before they make us poorer (If you catch my drift).
True Pete
Whoever is free should come to Auckland university at 12pm today, Len Brown will be there to answer questions. We need more support for the workers there!
It’s being held in the quad by the way.
I once supported Len, but no longer. I am, in fact, even beginning to wonder if John Banks could have been any worse! Of course, Brown appeals to the law to justify himself. Even if this is true (which I doubt) he would do well to remember morality, humanity, natural justice. On Campbell Live he meekly admitted that he wishes that the wharf workers had complied with their stinking bosses demands. How convenient for him this would have been. The only thing I would pity Brown about is that he has to contend with the likes of Christine Fletcher and her pals.
David Shearer has certainly taken a very neutral stance. Here’s the opening words of David Shearer’s interview with Larry Williams the other day:
WILLIAMS: You’re backing the union here, Mr Shearer, are you?
SHEARER: No, I, what I said, and you ah you, you ah quoted me correctly is that I was really disappointed to see where it had got to today.
Are you saying that history will remember David Shearer’s Labour Party as scabs and cowards too?
The trouble is QSF the Labour party is failing to fall into the cunning trap that we have laid for it. It is refusing to stay still long enough for our allies in the MSM to blast it with the anti-Union rhetoric we’ve been storing up. Still, enough pressure from the left wing activists might encourage it to change their position.
There are certainly lessons in what will become of len brown that david shearer and his caucus would be wise to take note of.
A handful of labour MPs that have shown some solidarity with workers’ rights on this issue and good for them, david shearer however isn’t one of them.
Not actually correct, Sprout. Shearer has at least been on the picket line, has talked directly with MUNZ and the CTU and both those organisations are happy with his level of involvement, at this point.
Brown is not a scab, either, by the way. That’s a very loose use of the word which has a pretty well understood definition in the union movement. Coward and Judas I have no problem with, because they accurately fit his behaviour.
I’m told that Brown will not now be invited to the EPMU conference in Auckland later this year, where it was intended he be a key note speaker again. Given the large number of unionists who campaigned on his behalf, that might well be the final nail in his electoral coffin.
At this stage, international pressure is needed . If dollars and cents are all that Gibson, Key, et al, can understand – then that is their weak point.
Short term it will inconvenience and even cause us economic “pain”. My response is,
a. Long term we will benefit from a Union victory
b. Any economic pain can’t be worse than the savage cuts to the state sector – 2,500 jobs lost already and more planned – and slash social services.
We can’t back away from this one.
Yes, I’m waiting to see the Solidarity Union coming out in a mass action over this. No more Polish sausages for us for a while I imagine.
By the way when are you going to do that blog posting on the current situation with the Gdansk shipyards Frank?
“By the way when are you going to do that blog posting on the current situation with the Gdansk shipyards Frank?”
I’ll let you know, Gosman.
By the way, how are you coming along on the current situation with your social skills? 😀
Much better thanks. I don’t instinctively bite people who spout economic BS, so you should be okay. 😉
I’m ecstastic to hear that.
And next time I’ll keep my “economic BS” simpler, with single-syllables, so you don’t get so confused.
Ummm… might I suggest you actually read some basic economic textbooks first before attempting to articulate any concepts (simple or otherwise). Then you might not mistake Balance of Trade with Balance of Payments for a start.
No… that’s too complex for you.
Let’s start you off with basics…
Given;
(A)If a rich man has 100 bananas and a family of four; and a poor man has ten bananas for just him and his wife;
(B) the rich man owns the banana plantation
(C) the poor man has already earned 10 bananas for the rich man by picking him 100 bananas, and his labour is no longer required.
(D) and the Libertarian State has a flat tax of 10%, and no welfare.
1. How many bananas will the rich man pay in tax? How many will he have left?
2. How many bananas will the poor man pay? How many will he have left?
3. How long will the rich man and his family survive, @ 2 bananas each, per day?
4. How long will the poor man and his wife survive, @ 2 bananas each, per day?
5. Do you actually care about the poor man – or is he a “casualty of the economic system”?
What economic textbook is that from Frank?
People can make up examples of anything they like. It doesn’t mean it actually reflects economic reality. I prefer some real world examples.That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
That is why I enjoy using Zimbabwe to highlight the wroing headedness of some of the leftist ideas.
Keep it up then we can confirm how people with an up-close and personal relationship with economic textbooks rarely have had the same with social, geographic and political history.
Economics text books = peer reviewed collections of lies and misunderstandings
and good on Shearer going to the picket, when the cameras weren’t around, and quietly talking to MUNZ behind the scenes. but why will he not come out more publicly with a statement of clear and unequivocal support for workers’ rights and the right to organize? is he ashamed of labour’s union roots or is it that he doesn’t actually support unionization? wouldn’t this be one time when it’s actually quite important to support a principle rather than a flawed focus group driven campaign ‘strategy’ of terminal invisibility and neutrality in the hope of sleep walking to victory on the back of National’s unpopularity? that just seems gutless to me.
the term scab is used broadly and is a reference to the point made by the graphic illustrating this post, which is taken from the Save our Port facebook site, where references to Brown being a scab are common. in the sense of the graphic’s point, and in the sense that he’s working against the strikers’ interests, Brown is a scab.
Yes, well, using the word scab “broadly” tends to devalue the force of its specific meaning. All sorts of people are called all sorts of things in all sorts of places – that doesn’t make give one carte blanche to do the same. Rather, it suggests a rather limited vocabulary of abuse on the part of the union. Brown is not actually “working in spite of an ongoing strike” as most dictionaries define the term. He’s a political whore/Judas/Iago/traitor to principle/hypocrite, but he is not a scab.
It would be fair to say that Brown has gone dog and is now a flea.
Good to see the direction of your anger is now targetted towards the correct place. I can understand your frustration. I mean here is a guy that was elected on a broad left platform to counter the right’s efforts to control the Auckland supercity and he is acting like a common centrist. Almost as bad as the Labour Government between 1999 and 2008 who did nothing really to fundamentally alter the employment law landscape. Just diddled around the edges.
Apologies, Gosman. It appears that even my “banana metaphor” above was too complex for you. No wonder you couldn’t apply a solution.
Shall we try something simpler?
1 banana + 1 banana = ?
(Disclaimer: I haven’t been following this dispute as closely as I might because I experienced a certain ‘sinking feeling’ when I first heard of it as I imagined the union would embark on the same tried and tested strategies of failure it initially employed last time casualisation was on the cards.)
About ten years ago, a similar ‘casualisation’ drive was unleashed on some of the ports in the S. Island. It was thwarted back then. But success was achieved…or succesful stategies deployed…in spite of union officials (some of whom are still ‘in office’).
And ten years ago there was no involvement from the Labour Party and as far as I remember, no involvement from local government either. (I believe the Dunedin council has a stake in Port Chalmers, though I could be wrong)
I’m curious as to why the union has apparently failed to learn from its own recent history and employ the successful strategies that won them the day back then.
Anyone got any answers?
So what were the strategies that appeared to be successful down in the South Island Bill?
As I said, I haven’t been following the dispute at all. But if it’s the case that scab labour is being used to work the port, then that scab labour has to get on site. And if that is the case, then that is the same scenario as existed ten years back.
And ten years back, it just didn’t seem to cross the minds of those union officials who were calling the shots to simply prevent or obstruct any vehicles carrying scab labour. When initailly non-wharfies blocked scab vehicles, certain union officials were less than impressed. And those same union officials kept telling their members to not impede the access of vehicles.
That situation eventually broke down and wharfies also began to obstruct vehicles. And it constituted a cost to the company in terms of money and efficiency. And when the company resorted to hiring vans to ferry scabs into the ports and those vans somehow attracted measures of damage, then that too cost the company and had hire firms thinking twice about who they’d hire vans to.
And when CHH ships were going to be delayed in US ports, that wasn’t because of any action or request by the union or the CTU, but because of initiatives taken by people within their public support.
It was the same story for just about every tactic, strategy or counter strategy employed. They came from outside the ranks of the union and the union officials only eventually got on board and lent their support (and even then, often very unwillingly from some…regardless of evidence highlighting how successful any given tactic or ploy was.)
In a nutshell, a lot of direct action was used and the knowledge of how to deploy direct actions effectively and safely (from both a physical and legal perspective) came from outside the union.
And it was the same for dealing with the media. The fact of the matter was that the union just didn’t seem to have much of a clue on that front either. And so the job of generating positive media coverage (or of avoiding negative coverage) fell largely to people outside the union.
That was ten years ago. Some of the officials involved are still officials today. They could or should have learned something from all the input given back then, and yet…well, it just seems that nothing has changed.
I agree that the MUNZ’s PR has been quite bad and needs a bit of an overhaul.
However I don’t see how you could stop contracted workers from entering the port completely. Certainly the Port could look to ferry them in directly from locations in Auckland that would be difficult to picket.
Alternatively there could be a blockade of the port from the landward side stopping cargo getting in and out. Might be a bit bad PR wise though.
Gos, you have all the time in the world (your output is prodigious)….so why dont we get you to run the POA? You profess to have all the answers, why waste them here, its all intellectual property. Get the job and do the damage.
Should not be too long before POA resembles a Zimbabwean copper mine with requisite employment conditions……
I don’t think Zimbabwe has any copper mines. Perhaps that was your point.
What is your preoccupation with Zimbabwe, Gosman?!
You do realise there are approximately 280 other countries on this planet?
Quite right. Here’s 20
I don’t think Zimbabwe has any copper mines
It does…
http://www.indexmundi.com/minerals/?country=zw&product=copper&graph=production
Well, I don’t even know the general layout of Auckland’s port. But I’m guessing there are multiple entry/exit points. So, yup. Compared to the smaller ports of Bluff, Port Chalmers and Nelson, the logistics would be more challenging.
But where there’s a will there’s a way.
Maybe shipping containers could somehow ‘magically appear’ and obstruct a number of entrance/exits? And maybe ignition keys for any lifting gear get ‘lost’ or misplaced or said machineries suffer mysterious and ‘hard to diagnose’ break downs?
I don’t know.
But the type of nonsence I’ve heard recently whereby other ports weren’t going to handle scab loads but subsequently caved because a court said it ‘wouldn’t be cricket’ has to stop.
If a scab loads are prevented from leaving their port of destination…or at least delayed (which might be an easier thing to do if preventing it getting loaded in the first place is too problematic), then might that not encourage companies to ‘request’ their shipments be loaded by union labour?
There must be a million and one ways to introduce chaos and delay to shipments. The union should at least be exploring its options and making it clear to members that it does not in any way condone actions such as x, y or z that members might feel inclined to involve themselves in with regards scab loads, as such actions would effectively cost port authorities money and have a negative impact on the port’s customer relations.
Indeed. There are a million and one imaginative ways forward.
I’d also add that it’s Len Brown’s office which needs to be picketed, and every Council meeting which is held.
Obvious. Mass solidarity strikes went for 151 days in 1951. MUA mass community picket won in 98. Dunedin community picket won ten years ago.
Two months ago threat of ILWU plus Occupy mass picket won at Longview, Oregon.
Results. Mass pickets win. Why don’t the union leaderships recognise this?
The union leaderships don’t want to break the labour law which is the basis of their existence. They control the ranks unless and until the wider militant layers of workers intervene and rescue their struggle. They are ‘won over’ only when the ranks wake up and force them to move, until the next time when repeat performance as unions get weaker and weaker.
Conclusion. Unions need to be controlled by the members and act independently of both the bureaucrats and the labour law. Occupy was born as an outlaw wildcat movement.
Union ranks + Occupy = new labour movement, both democratic and militant (potentially).
Will enough workers realise this and stand up in time?
http://redrave.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/new-zealand-auckland-port-employers-out.html
I was talking about the SI dispute ten years ago.
Your clarification (of what?) has confused me 😉 Are you referring to your comment (9.3) below ?
Damn – the delete button doesn’t work.
Just a misunderstanding when I thought you were replying to my comment. I thought I’d deleted it before it was even seen.
As you were.
[lprent: Yeah the crazies who took over the re-edit code are playing silly buggers. Weekend fixup. ]
Why have the unions folded before the neo-liberal attacks. They all havnt, but they were bashed about by Labour’s Rogernomic counter-revolution that destroyed full employment the basis of the welfare state. Bill Anderson once admitted that he made a mistake in shutting down the dispute at Marsden Point to help Labour get elected in 1984! LOL
Then Nats ECA in 91 was met by staunch union resistance like the seafarers and timberworkers but sold out by Ken Douglas of CTU who said a general strike would undermine his power to negotiate with the Nats. What he meant was he would try to do a deal with Nats by getting workers to be more productive (more exploited) and allow the bosses to take most of the increased value.
In truth the labour movement has never been strong outside the militant breakawys of the Red Fed 1908-1913 and the TUC walkout of the FOL in 1951 because its been run by bureaucrats who are the loyal servants of NZ national capitalism.
Nearly 30 years of neoliberal crisis economics has weakened the unions to the point where they use the ERA as a crutch and wouldnt know a wildcat if they fell over one.
MUNZ was chosen by the NACTs as one of the few holdout unions that has put up a rearguard action in defending their historic gains.
This is a 1951 type campaign by the bosses to destroy the unions and ride roughshod over workers rights and all resistance to total domination of the economy. Unless the working class rises up to stop it welcome to the rip, shit and bust return to the colonial 1890s.
Remember it well Bill,
Might’ve seen you there when I joined in once or twice, but I tended to try and hide in the tea tent, due to the inflammable levels of testosterone from police and protesters alike.
As I recall the dispute was won because the workforce stood firm, and the scabs who were bussed in were, I think, all out of towners.
It took/takes support from the wider community. Lot less of that in general in Auckland imo. It would have been resolved sooner with better politcal and union support.
Yes it is disappointing. It makes me wonder what current politician (if any) would have stepped in. Based upon what Brown says, it makes him look like just another neo-liberal. Or maybe it was just the characteristics of this situation that turned him away from doing anything.
This is unfolding at the same time that more is becoming understood about the link between a falling labour share of wealth and inequality and poverty. Stronger collective bargaining laws for workers is probably what’s needed rather than a relliance on any polly of the day stepping in to steer a dispute one way or other.
Is it the union part of Labour that runs the “it’s always someone else’s fault” lines?
That neither Len Brown nor David Shearer have backup the union actions (as well as just about everyone else outside some of the unions) could suggest something? Just possibly?
Workers should stand up for their rights and if they choose should lobby their cases in unison. But as Bill suggests, it might just be union leaders shitting in their member’s nest.
I’m sure Len will be very worried that some 1% -ers no longer feel the love.
As could have been expected, like almost every other politician, Len Brown is making excuses – afraid that if he took action and did what is right he will encounter blow back. No pollie wants blow back and they will work against what they know is right in order preserve their career.
They kid themselves with excuses like “You have to pick your battles” or “The law doesn’t allow me to do anything”.
Meanwhile, workers and their families are callously jettisoned to keep afloat a career, (one that may sink after all).
Len Brown is not a conscience-driven leader but a big cry baby.
My understanding is that Len doesn’t operate in isolation. He’s got around 20 advisors of various capabilities in his office to help drive his vision. Such advisors include the so-called whiz kid Conor Roberts, who helped Len get elected. Others include PR experts like Glyn Jones and policy wonks like James Bews-Hair.
It’s simply atrocious – where are the Labour advisors in Len’s office, and what the hell are they thinking?
From Len Brown’s Facebook page;
My response to him, left on his Page,
http://www.facebook.com/lenbrownformayor
I didn’t realise YOU elected Len Brown Frank.
How amazing that you seem to live in Wellington but vote in Auckland local body elections.
0/10 comprehension Gos
[deleted]
[lprent: still banned.]
When you “quote”, you might consider using “quotation marks“. Just FYI.
Primarily, I think that history will remember Len Brown as a liar.
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
After originally claiming that he had “a mandate” to, “on behalf of you all…. get in amongst that” Len Brown has changed tack and is now claiming that as the Mayor of Auckland City “My powers to intervene are severely limited.”
No mention of “I’ve got a mandate” or “Certainly hav(ing) the power” here.
Len Brown choses to be a liar, because he knows being open in his support for this brutal attack on the ports workers, would dismay those mostly working people who supported and voted for him in the Mayoral elections.
http://static.stuff.co.nz/files/Counciltranscript.pdf
static.stuff.co.nz
Len Brown is a social democrat. Selling out the workers who support them is what social democrats always have to do when the going gets tough because they are capitalists and the needs of capital will always come first.
Capitalists need to wage class war to maintain their priviliged position within the unfair society their system creates.
Those who pretend there can be a fair capitalism are either liars or deluded.
You cannot serve two masters. You are either for or against the capitalist system. If you are for it you have no right criticising Len because you would ineveitably end up selling out workers if you were in a position of power.
If you are not a capitalist you should not be surprised at Len’s actions.
Social Democracy
Oh, pardon me.