What would National do?: Emigration
Simon Power has hit on the fact that Stats New Zealand produces migration figures every month, and that means every month he gets […]
Economy
workers’ rights
National makes work rights the defining issue
National’s strategy, the strategy of a weak party, is to present a ‘small target’ by promising to change virtually nothing if they were […]
The shape of things to come
With the loss of 500 ANZ National jobs to Bangalore India and 430 jobs from Fisher and Paykel to Mexico announced today, a […]
Spot the difference
Hmm, spot the difference in the headlines of two press releases out today: ‘Fisher & Paykel Appliances Announces Global Manufacturing Strategy’ ‘Next Steps […]
Cost of benefit system plummeting
Continuing our benefits theme, here’s a look at how much the benefit system costs you. The figures are the combined expenditure by the […]
On the scrapheap
This graph shows the number of people employed in New Zealand, and employment would have been had the number of people with a […]
A decent job with fair pay
That’s what the labour movement is all about: ensuring that people who want to work can find jobs and that they receive fair […]
Bad politics
National’s current attempt to stop the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union from registering as a third party pretty much proves what we all […]
National forced to support meal breaks
National has found itself politically unable to oppose the amendment to the Employment Relations Act that will ensure workers are entitled to meal […]
Fair and balanced
The Herald could barely contain its self-satisfaction when National’s David Farrar complained to the Electoral Commission that the country’s largest private sector union, […]
Davey gets it wrong again
David Farrar’s latest political campaign on behalf of the National Party has, like so many of them before, foundered on the sharp rocks […]
In praise of ACC
It was nice to see this independent report into the ACC scheme by Price Waterhouse Coopers. Amongst the general positive comments was this […]
Sack Spotless
I’ve just got back from a small but very vocal picket outside Spotless’ corporate HQ on The Terrace in solidarity with the 800 […]
The trans-Tasman wage gap
Now this is rich. National, the party that gave New Zealand its low wage economy, is running the line that the trans-Tasman wage […]
April 1 changes boost wages and cut taxes
Today is a big day for government policy affecting Kiwis’ incomes: The minimum wage is now $12 an hour, up from $7 when […]
An embarrassing effort
Ever since the Herald lost its rag over the EFA I’ve come to expect little more than half-truths and inaccuracies from its editorials, but […]
Boohoo
Legislated breaks for workers are unnecessary according to Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O’Reilly. His bitter protest against proposed changes to employment […]
Meal breaks
I had planned to write something about the business lobby’s moaning over Labour’s plans to restore workers’ rights to meal and rest breaks, but as […]
Kiwisaver breaks half a million
Congratulations to Kiwisaver’s 500,000th member, baby Remy Van Cruysen, whose parents, Jules and Megan, signed him up today. By the time Remy is an […]
Blackball centenary
The weekend marked the centenary of the Blackball miners’ strike. TV3 reported that: “Politicians flocked to Labour’s spiritual home on the West Coast […]
Whatever, Roger
NZers’ wallets will bulge under Act, says Roger Douglas. Sure they will Roger – with the bills from our kids’ user-pays schools, our […]
Nationalise Air New Zealand
The recent scandal over Air New Zealand underpaying its Chinese workers to the tune of four times less than their New Zealand counterparts […]
Tax cuts = no rise in the minimum wage?
From the ABC site: “A peak business group says the Federal Government’s promised tax cuts should be taken into account when deciding on […]
New Zealand, a great place to do business
At 30%, the corporate tax is lower than or equal to most developed countries’. Our GST is only 12.5%, in most developed countries […]
Key’s Australian excuse
On the 20th of December, John Key was reported in the Bay Report as saying “we would love to see wages drop” while talking […]
What we can’t tell you
There is more to the John Key “we would love to see wages drop” story than you have been able to read in […]
Free Osanloo
The International Transport Workers’ Federation is holding an international day of action tomorrow calling for the release of Mansour Osanloo, an Iranian trade […]
Did Key try to get ‘wage drop’ journalist sacked?
Michael Cullen made an interesting remark in the House today in response to a question on John Key’s statement that he “would love […]
Talleys in trouble again
NZPA reports that Hollow Men the Talley brothers have been fined $110,000 after eleven workers at their Blenheim plant were subjected to carbon […]
How would Key make wages drop?
Having read our coverage of John Key’s ‘we would love to see wages drop‘ line my brother asked ‘but how can a government […]
For the record
Like most of his policy positions John Key’s story on his comment “we would love to see wages drop” just keeps on changing. […]
Lucky last
When we published the results of our MP survey on John Key’s “we would love to see wages drop” quote last week, we […]
Key’s shameful attack on journalist
One of the more unsavoury aspects of Key’s “we would love wages to drop” saga is the unwarranted attacks by Key and his […]
Jones to Key: say it to our faces
Far North Labour MP Shane Jones laid down the gauntlet to Key over the ‘we would love to see wages drop‘ scandal. Jones […]
Transcript proves Key is lying
When it was revealed that John Key had told a business leader he ‘would love to see wages drop‘ it undermined everything he’d […]
The deafening silence
At a meeting in Kerikeri last year with a business leader, in the presence of journalist Greg Robertson, National Leader John Key said […]