Reaction roundup: Nats’ work rights policy

Written By: - Date published: 11:14 am, July 25th, 2008 - 39 comments
Categories: national, wages, workers' rights - Tags: , , , , , ,

Democratic, voluntary organisations of workers:
Finsec: “Within the current framework, many workers have been able to achieve real wage increases like the 5% increase from Westpac our members have been offered this week…These pay rises have come as a result of staff being able to bargain collectively through their own independent union. National’s policies undermining collective bargaining would weaken the ability of workers to achieve real wage rises”

CTU: “National’s policy does not mention how they will lift wages, suggests workers could lose the fourth week of annual leave and have pay for statutory holidays cut, and reduces the democratic right of workers to belong to unions. This is consistent with them opposing all legislation that has improved workers lives over the last 9 years.”

EPMU: “The policy aims to take rights from workers in a new job, undermine collective bargaining, block workers accessing representation on site and undermine annual leave provisions and holiday pay rates…National’s policy shows it has no plans to lift wages in New Zealand. Every point in this policy is an attack on current work rights and every point would put downward pressure on the wages of working New Zealanders.”

NDU: “This policy will keep wages down in the rapidly growing service industries where unionisation and collective bargaining is just starting to recover and deliver improvements for some of the lowest paid workers in the country.’

NZEI: ‘the pay gap is the problem; strengthening people’s ability to collectively bargain is the answer. What in National’s policy is going to strengthen collective bargaining?’

PSA: “John Key says nothing about how National will lift wages as workers face rising fuel and food prices”

Voluntary organisation of employers:
Business NZ: “We have had quite a few pendulum swings in employment policy over the last twenty years. A period of restraint and consolidation along with enhancement of basic rights is likely to be beneficial”

39 comments on “Reaction roundup: Nats’ work rights policy ”

  1. T-rex 1

    That is a very strong statement from Business NZ.

    Great stuff.

    Ha! Captcha: “S. Connerize”. Is that like ‘terminate’?

  2. T-rex 3

    I retract my above. Reading the actual story… sigh.

    They should listen to their own advice.

    That said, I’m not sure what the problem is with allowing independent collective bargaining. It doesn’t say people CAN’T belong to unions, just that they’re allowed to form their own collectives as well. What’s wrong with that?

  3. BeShakey 4

    They seem to be struggling to get much positive comment on their policies. I guess theyre hoping that releasing them a way out from the election will give JK enough time to mesmorise people with his smile so they forget what the Nats policies are.

  4. Joker 5

    Finsec: “Within the current framework, many workers have been able to achieve real wage increases like the 5% increase from Westpac our members have been offered this week These pay rises have come as a result of staff being able to bargain collectively through their own independent union. National’s policies undermining collective bargaining would weaken the ability of workers to achieve real wage rises’

    Turkeys: We think Christmas is a terrible idea

    [Tane: Hey, um, just wondering, do you actually have a rebuttal of Finsec’s analysis, or are you just crowing about the idea of workers taking a pay cut under National’s policies?]

  5. T-rex 6

    It’s not just the smile… have you not seen the Notional Party Hypno-logo?

  6. there’s clearly thought behind this timing and vagueness:

    for one and a half years we’ve basically had no idea what national stands for – ‘change’ and smile and moderate were the memes… now, get out the bad policy quickly and quietly before the glare of the full campaign.. the only policy they want to release then is the tax cuts and probably one surprise spending promise.

  7. T-Rex. Being a union isn’t hard – you need 15 members and you jsut register with the DoL. What allowing collectives to be made when there’s no union involved (ie no organisation of wokers) means that the workers and their reps aren’t involved in deciding what goes into the collective. Instead, the boss bargains with a bargaining agent – paid by the boss, or the boss. The collective that emerges is obviously going to be in the employers’ interests and less beneficial to workers than a boss-union collective. The boss then presents workers with the collective and say take that or take nothing, and can legally refuse to bargain with the union because there is already a collective in place.

    Unions aren’t trying to protect their ‘patch’ by opposing this, they’re trying to protect workers’ bargaining power.

  8. Tane 9

    T-Rex: The problem is you’re accepting the Tories’ framing. Anyone can start a union – it’s simply a group of 15 or more workers who choose to register to bargain collectively. There are heaps of these small unions about under the current law.

    What National is proposing is to allow the boss to create his own collective agreement on lesser conditions and refuse to bargain with his employees’ chosen union. This was done in the 1990s under the ECA and it led to an undermining of collective agreements and a drop in wages.

    Add in other measures like the ability of employers to refuse unions site access and the 90 day no rights policy and you’ll see how the balance of power (and thus the ability to win higher wages) is being tilted hugely in favour of the employer.

    Like all of the right’s rhetoric of choice, the real power lies with the employer, not with the worker.

    Beshakey: The Nats may be hoping people will forget about their policies, but it also gives unions plenty of time to inform their members about what a potential National government would do to their wages.

    I suspect yesterday’s policy release will have galvanised a lot of unionists who had been quietly hoping that John Key would live up to his moderate rhetoric.

  9. T-rex 10

    “and can legally refuse to bargain with the union because there is already a collective in place”

    THAT I was not aware of. That’s f*cked up.

    Aren’t unions predicated on the ability to withdraw labour though? How can that be taken away? I mean how can you actually refuse to bargain with someone?

  10. Tane 11

    T-Rex. You lock out the workforce who remain on the union collective (unpaid) until they submit to your demands. The experience of the 1990s is that workers may hold out for a while, but eventually they need money to feed their families and pay their mortgages etc and have to submit to the non-union collective.

    It may mean a pay increase of 2% rather than 5%, but hey it’s better than being locked out without pay.

  11. T-rex 12

    The same thing could happen anyway though. If you had two unions within a single company (both of 20 people) and one of them was asking for 2% and the other for 5% then the employer could just offer 2%, and wait out the other workers.

    The question is why any of the 2% people would accept only 2%?

    I can’t see how to avoid this without having compulsory union membership of a single union, and that seems somewhat authoritarian.

  12. There are limited legal grounds for strikes.

    But, yes, that raises another point (and something I was looking at the other day) – weakening the bargaining position of unions actually increases strikes and labour/days lost.

  13. Tane 14

    T-Rex. Why would a union deliberately try to undermine the other union onsite with a lower pay deal that meant everyone lost out?

    Sure there can be tension sometimes between unions that share sites, but I’ve never seen anything like you’re suggesting.

    Unions aren’t businesses undercutting each other for market share, they’re democratic workers’ organisations. Workers decide themselves what their pay claims are, elect delegates to the negotiations and have a democratic vote to ratify the final deal.

  14. T-rex 15

    “Why would a union deliberately try to undermine the other union onsite with a lower pay deal that meant everyone lost out?”

    I don’t know – why would a non-union collective try to do the same thing?

    I can’t see how a union and a non-union would be any different to two unions. In either case there is the potential for corruption of the person doing the bargaining.

    “Workers decide themselves what their pay claims are, elect delegates to the negotiations and have a democratic vote to ratify the final deal.”

    Surely that would be equally true of a non-union collective. Or at least, if it wasn’t, it would be because the members chose to use a different arragement.

  15. Tane 16

    Because if it’s a non-union collective written and managed by the boss on a take-it-or-leave-it basis then he has an incentive to undermine wages. That’s why he’s introducing it in the first place.

    No democratic organisation of workers has an incentive to lower their own pay.

  16. Lew 17

    T-Rex: “I don’t know – why would a non-union collective try to do the same thing?”

    Because a non-union collective would likely be headed by a person negotiating on behalf of the employer, not the employees.

    That’s the fundamental issue: it’s divide and rule.

    L

  17. T-Rex. First, I think we’re confusing terminology between collective as a group of people and collective as shorthand for collective agreement. UNder National’s policy, there is no non-union collective organisation, only a non-union collective agreement. There’s not some kind of collective of workers that’s not called a union.

    Parties bargaining for the non-union collective are both paid for by the boss. They work in the interests of the boss – ie. lower pay rises.

    Unions are democratic, voluntary organisation of workers working for their members’ interests. A non-union bargaining agent is not working for the workers, it’s working for the boss.

  18. T-rex 19

    In that case it should be called a non-union non-collective.

    How could anyone accept such a conflict of interests? Why would anyone accept representation by a complete sellout, rather than deciding to abandon the non-collective and form their own.

    What I’m getting at here is – how is what you describe any different to an employer simply refusing to accede to any of a unions demands?

    What is the recourse available to a union that would not be available if a non-union-non-collective was present?

    Is it just a “united we stand” kind of thing? Is the perception that a union is less vulnerable to intimidation?

  19. T-rex 20

    So really, a non-union agreement is just the employer calling all the shots, but with a pretense of objectivity and independence.

    What a complete load of crap. That is even stupider than wanting to build a 4 lane highway from Welly to Auck.

  20. Draco TB 21

    The question is why any of the 2% people would accept only 2%?

    Why would anyone undermine their bargaining position by having multiple collectives in a work place?

  21. T-rex 22

    “Why would anyone undermine their bargaining position by having multiple collectives in a work place?”

    Because they might not believe in the ideals of the people representing them, or they might be looking for different things out of an agreement to the norm, etc etc.

  22. A collective agreement is an employment contract that applies to more than one worker. That’s why it’s called a collective.

    Under the current law. Workers through their union have the exclusive right to bargain for a collective agreement with the boss (the workers must vote to approve the collective).

    National would allow someone else than a union to bargain with the boss for a collective. Who’s that someone else? not the workers, it’s an agent of the boss. Workers are then presented with the choice – sign the collective (eg take a 2% rise, rather than the 4% you would expect from a union collective) or refuse, strike or get locked out.

    It’s not that National is trying to be evil, it just sees minimising costs to business as more important than workers pay and conditions.

  23. T-rex 24

    “Workers are then presented with the choice – sign the collective (eg take a 2% rise, rather than the 4% you would expect from a union collective) or refuse, strike or get locked out.”

    How is that any different to what would happen without a collective though?

    Union says “we demand 4%”, boss says “no, 2%” – neither will budge, and you’ve got the same strike/lockout scenario.

    I think the collective does nothing but allow the boss to pretend to be being more reasonable than they actually are. I can’t understand how anyone could ever argue it had merit.

  24. but, T-Rex, everyone loves choice.

  25. T-rex 26

    yeah – dare to be stupid.

  26. Tane 27

    T-Rex. Certainly union-busting goes on now with the ERA in its current form, but the protections in the law and the ability of unions to organise onsite make such an approach a lot harder.

    Allowing the boss to set up a non-union collective agreement, put together with the other changes National is proposing, will make it a lot easier for bad employers to bust the onsite union and reduce wages.

    That’s what the experience of the 1990s tells us. It’s certainly not a ‘choice’ that’s going to empower any workers. It will only empower bad employers.

  27. monkey-boy 28

    I have to confess I am intrigued. For example, if the employer refuses to negotiate with a non-union collective or such, what it to stop it saying ‘f** it ‘ we will just join/form a recognised union and then you will have to listen to us’?
    Unless the collective bargaining position of the non-union collective is identical to the unionised one, in which case, why have the union?
    I am also conscious that the ECA is about employment contracts. The term ‘contracts’ suggests a negotiable settlement, rather than a situation that is set in stone, does it not?
    I think what National is attempting to do here is to dilute the influence that unionised collective bargaining has in the workplace, not because it is intrinsically opposed to the concept of collective bargaining, but rather because it is a way to drive a wedge into the amount of financial clout and personnel that can be supplied to the Labour Party.
    If this is a case, then what we are witnessing is a three-pronged debate; one on the security of collective bargaining under present law versus a law change. Two, an appeal to the country to consider and debate the influence that unions hold over workplace negototiations for better or for worst. Three; whether the ‘status quo’ is being defended for altruistic reasons by the union movement and Labour, or because it perceives a further threat to its financial bases, which is already creaky.
    To put it mildly, if Keys apparently innocuous changes are embraced by the voter, and coupled with the EFA, if they change their mind, or merely amend it to take in rcent court rulings such as th eone against the EPMU, Labour and the unions will be in serious trouble.
    In short it could finish what the EFA started. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

  28. Tane 29

    Lee, employers are opposed to collective bargaining because it means higher wage increases and more say from workers in the operations of the business. National is the party of employers, hence the policy.

    I think your obsession with the EFA is clouding your analysis here. National’s policy has nothing to do with the EFA or party funding – it’s essentially the same policy as Don Brash put out in 2005.

    Moreover, unions contribute only a small proportion of Labour’s funding. They don’t really have a lot of money to throw around, nor the mandate from their membership to spend a lot. Far more comes from business, MPs and wealthy individuals. The strength of the unions in elections is their ability to mobilise workers at election time. No electoral law will change that.

    Anyway Lee, I’ve been wondering for a while – given your pretence of standing for the workers, and given National’s policy will screw over said workers, how can you still support National?

  29. Anita 30

    Can someone with a better union-theory head than me (and without the flu 🙂 check this logic for me…

    The Employer-Worker dynamic is based, in the first instance on good will and the fact that, broadly, productive efficient companies can benefit both. When things go bad though, the dynamic is based in paired mirroring withdrawal rights: a labour withdrawal i.e. the right to strike; and a capital withdrawal i.e. the right to withdraw capital, usually but shutting down or moving overseas.

    We see both in action in New Zealand; on the one hand workers will threaten to stop work to improve wages and conditions (the classic strike), on the other companies will threaten to take their capital overseas, or change business activities, unless wages and conditions are cut (e.g. AirNZ saying they’d ship engineering overseas unless the EPMU could find a way of making services cheaper).

    There are two checks and balances on the withdrawal rights, the first is legislated controls (placing controls on both workers and employers), and the second is the operation of the market – a capital withdrawal is worthless if the workers can all get equivalent work elsewhere quickly, a labour withdrawal is worthless if the employer can hire equivalent staff quickly.

    So… to limit the effect of both controls the employers and workers form collectives. By forming unions or business associations/forums/whatever they can both negotiate with government over the legislative controls and prevent the replacement of capital/labour quickly (e.g. “we’ll all move overseas” or “you won’t be able to find any qualified engineers if the union strikes”).

    At least, in my flu-ridden state that seems right 🙂

    So, allowing non-union collective bargaining weakens the worker collective. While the group can bargain together, without membership of a broader union their threat of labour withdrawal is significantly weakened because they can’t prevent other workers being brought in to replace them. Secondly they have little power to negotiate with government over legislative change. Thirdly, encouraging the existence of groups of non-unionised workers weakens the unions (and through that, those workers) as it makes it easier for employers to replace them if they withdraw labour.

    So National’s proposal skews, against workers, the existing balance between employers and workers paired right to withdraw.

    Does that analysis hang together?

    [Hee – moderated for length I think – can’t be concise when I can’t stop coughing :]

  30. monkey-boy 31

    You see there you go again Tane:
    “Anyway Lee, I’ve been wondering for a while – given your pretence of standing for the workers, and given National’s policy will screw over said workers, how can you still support National?”

    You have a tendency to judge everyone by your own standards. Just because you are so ideologically entrenched that it wouldn’t even occur to you to see any merit in looking at both sides of the argument, you seem to think that nobody else can. I will support whoever I see as the best bet for the future of the country based on the merits of the arguments around the policies, and based on my own experience. Now, about my obsession with the EFA. I believe in discussions on kiwiblog I may have stated positons such as ‘I can’t believe that the unions are actually supporting this’ based on my own observations tht it would, in the wrong hands be a perfect instrument with which to screw the unions if National got in. Now, coupled with a ‘death by a thousand cuts’ approach to disrupting collective bargaining, if that succeeds, you will see a strike against the ability of the unions to participate in the electoral process, and you may see a waning of membership of unions which may affect say, the EPMU’s abilty to raise the limit of $120,000 it could have as a third party. If it had been allowed to by law.
    So, to be brief, the unions have been screwed already by Labours inept laws and face further of the same if National get their way.
    So I guess I should ask you: given your pretence of standing for the workers, and given Labour’s policy has screwed over said workers, how can you still support Labour?

  31. Quoth the Raven 32

    I don’t think there is much doubt that union membership and hence strength has incresed under this Labour goverment. True the EFA has decreased the amount of money a third party like a uniion can spend but unions can communicate to their members they don’t need to spend loads of cash for full page ads in the Herald.

    I think what National is attempting to do here is to dilute the influence that unionised collective bargaining has in the workplace, not because it is intrinsically opposed to the concept of collective bargaining..

    I think history shows otherwise.

  32. roger nome 33

    Lee – you aren’t too well-read on industrial relations and/or labour economics hey?

    Try slipping across to my blog, and read just the latest four posts.

    http://rogernome.blogspot.com/

  33. Sorry roger.. the spam filter has taken a shine to you and your links, but it learns and since i just unspammed you four times hopefully it will stop bocking you.

  34. “Sorry roger.. the spam filter has taken a shine to you and your links”

    Don’t worry Steve.The spam filter is the only thing in the world that can possibly have the hots for the rogered gnomer.

  35. monkey boy 37

    Roger thank you I read your blog this morning and followed some of the links. Noticed Tane regurgitating much of it today as well, here and on kiwiblog, while you were doing your Abbott and Costello act. You should do him for plagiarism. Raven historically I think you are correct about national and collective bargaining, I was basing my comment on the recent policy release, which is like a neutron bomb, which may be designed annihilate the union movement, but leave the rights of collective bargaining intact, but unusable.

  36. monkey boy 38

    ps, Roger, as you are such a fount of knowledge, can you list which countries, apart from NZ, doesn’t use probationary periods in their employment laws? I am really keen to see the company we keep.

  37. Swampy 39

    “Being a union isn’t hard – you need 15 members and you jsut register with the DoL.”

    That is complete rubbish. Unions are required to register as incorporated societies and meet all the legal requirements of that law – which basically means a written constitution that meets certain minimum standards, keeping records and accounts and so on. The bureacracy makes a small union of 15 people rather unlikely.

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    4 days ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    4 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    5 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    5 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    6 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    6 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    6 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    6 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    7 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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