Economy, Work, & Welfare Archive

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  Pay Equity - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  The Carers Bill that was rushed through parliament under urgency last Friday was another example of how women count for nothing in this economy. The face of the family carers has been a man, and a wonderfully brave man at that, and nothing I am about to say is meant to undervalue his work – [...] read more
  May 22, 2013 1:54 pm - 1 Comment
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  Crackdown on overseas borrowers – a real life example - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  One of my pet bug-bears about the annual “crackdown” on student loan repayments that we’ve been experiencing for the past five years since National has been in Government is the implication that it’s lazy students that are being targeted. Student loan borrowers who are eligible to repay their loans are graduates – grown ups! – with complex responsibilities and situations. read more
  May 18, 2013 2:51 pm - 41 Comments
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  Bill English – no solution to poverty - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Yesterday, in reference to the budget Bill English noted “We don’t believe that there is a solution to poverty in general so I wouldn’t expect any large scale intervention”? Goodness. I guess all the work of the Expert Advisory Group on Child Poverty, consisting of much esteemed doctors, and professors and community workers, was for [...] read more
  May 15, 2013 3:57 pm - 13 Comments
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  Starfish clothing - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  I was very sad to hear that Starfish clothing is closing down. I’m sad for several reasons.  They’re a very local company. They started in Wellington 20 years ago and have been part of Wellington life for all that time including being active in the anti-motorway protests. Laurie Foon is a genuinely lovely woman with [...] read more
  May 14, 2013 2:05 pm - 17 Comments
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  Black milestone in climate change reached - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  A black milestone in climate change history was reached over the weekend. Concentrations of carbon dioxide, the key ingredient in global warming, hit 400 parts per million of the air in our atmosphere, up from 280 ppm in the mid-18th century when the Industrial Revolution kicked in.  Internationally, we are rushing headlong towards disaster – [...] read more
  May 13, 2013 2:25 pm - 138 Comments
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  A motorway to save “dying” Wellington? - by Julie Anne Genter

  
  
  
  Recently, to shrug off blame for the Wellington region’s contraction in employment per capita, the government has taken to blaming the city council’s opposition to roading. As I have mentioned before, National has big plans to spend billions (perhaps as much as $5 billion, if we include the $2.4 billion interest on the private loan [...] read more
  May 12, 2013 11:55 pm - 72 Comments
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  Kudos to the Warehouse for pay move - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  It’s great news that the Warehouse is making it a policy to lift wages. This move is partly inspired by the Living Wage campaign. The Green Party has been actively supporting this campaign that would see big employers sign up to pay a living wage.  This is the wage that would allow their employees to [...] read more
  May 8, 2013 3:44 pm - 6 Comments
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  Bad employers get May day bonus - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  It is ironic that the legislation re-introducing youth rates into New Zealand comes into play on a day normally associated internationally with workers celebrating their struggle for  better conditions. From today mean spirited employers have an opportunity to push down rates for young workers. One such employer actively cheerleading the re-introduction of youth rates is [...] read more
  May 1, 2013 2:08 pm - 24 Comments
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  Fight for the living and mourn for the dead: Workers Memorial Day - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  Sunday 28th April was Workers Memorial Day and in Auckland I attended the event that was organised by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions to remember the people in the last year that went to work and never came back. This year’s event highlighted the appalling health and safety record of the forestry industry. [...] read more
  April 29, 2013 6:26 pm - 4 Comments
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  New bill to reinstate postgraduate allowances - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  The Government’s decision in last year’s Budget to remove eligibility for student allowances from postgraduate students has to be one of its most short-sighted decisions ever. For that reason I’ve drafted a member’s bill that would reinstate eligibility for student allowances to postgraduate students. read more
  April 29, 2013 1:17 pm - 16 Comments
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  Pacific Parliamentary Forum - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Parliament has been blessed with the presence of political leaders from all around the Pacific for the last few days. We had some great debates and discussions. I just want to gloat about one – the motion to liberalise trade was voted down in favour of an amended motion in support of sustainable development. The [...] read more
  April 22, 2013 12:23 pm - 2 Comments
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  Julian Savea and his rugby management - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  I’m not going to say much. I feel for Julian’s partner and don’t want to make this any more of a public event than what it is now. I do want to challenge his managers though. According to the story on Radio NZ this morning, his managers defended their decision to let Julian play by [...] read more
  April 22, 2013 12:22 pm - 3 Comments
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  Nail in the coffin of state housing in Sandringham - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  Last month I blogged about the sale of Housing New Zealand land in Haverstock Road, Sandringham, where – instead of redeveloping its land into a groundbreaking mixed housing development – Housing New Zealand was flogging off a huge parcel of land to the highest bidder. I visited the site on 25 March, and this is [...] read more
  April 17, 2013 1:53 pm - 3 Comments
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  Brickbats and bouquets for Foodstuffs - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  Earlier this week it was announced that several companies that employ a lot of young workers will not be taking advantage of the Government’s Minimum Wage (Starting out wage) Amendment Act to pay their staff youth rates. Fast food chain McDonalds joined other retail and fast food companies Bunnings, Farmers, K Mart. Starbucks, KFC and [...] read more
  April 11, 2013 10:22 am - 1 Comment
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  Will Auckland’s housing price bubble be different this time round? - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  Maybe. Yesterday, the Reserve Bank signalled enough concern about rising house prices in Auckland that they spooked commentators with the possibility of early rises in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) and a more certain resolve to use complementary tools, like loan-to-value ratios. I have more hope following this statement that the Reserve Bank has learned [...] read more
  April 10, 2013 10:25 am - 12 Comments
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  PGG Wrightson must stop its GE experiment. - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  PGG Wrightson is controlling shareholder Agria’s push to have the two companies’ seed divisions merge into an international seed company rivalling controversial genetic engineering giant Monsanto.  It’s a disturbing development for New Zealand’s future. Neither genetic engineering (GE) or Monsanto have anything to offer New Zealand’s reputation as a provider of the safe, nutritious, sustainably [...] read more
  April 9, 2013 10:32 am - 34 Comments
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  Southern Sojourns of a ‘mostly rational’ MP - by David Clendon

  
  
  
  I have spent much of this recess week  in (sometimes) sunny Otago and Southland, and despite being about as far from my own rohe as it is possible to be without leaving the country, I found plenty to admire and enjoy. I made my first visit to a South Island  prison,  the Otago Correctional Facility, [...] read more
  April 5, 2013 3:53 pm - No Comments
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  Closing the gap: Australia vs. NZ on climate change - by Kennedy Graham

  
  
  
  The Australian Climate Commission have released a report ‘The Critical Decade: Extreme Weather’. Throughout the authors are unequivocal and forthright about the reality of the effects of climate change on Australia. Australia is already experiencing, and is going to experience, extreme weather events more often – because of human-induced (‘anthropogenic’) climate change. There is no [...] read more
  April 4, 2013 1:22 pm - 56 Comments
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  Selling New Zealand’s brand and profits - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  New Zealand is headed towards having our farming families becoming peasants in their own land by allowing further and unnecessary foreign investment into processing of New Zealand dairy production. The ticking off of two new foreign dairy processors into New Zealand production by the Overseas Investment Office is a huge opportunity cost to New Zealand’s [...] read more
  April 4, 2013 9:55 am - 13 Comments
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  April 1st student loan changes are no joke - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  As of Monday this week, the rate for repaying student loans has increased from 10% to 12%. This means that everyone with a student loan who earns more than the $19,084 threshold will now have to pay 12 cents of every dollar they earn over that threshold towards their student debt. This is a significant [...] read more
  April 3, 2013 10:19 am - 1 Comment
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  Congrats Sir Bob Jones for your stand against pokies - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  It was good to see a stand being taken against pokie machines by Wellington property developer Bob Jones. It’s not often I agree with Sir Bob – and I certainly don’t agree with his description of problem gamblers – however it’s undeniable that the presence of pokie machines makes pubs look dodgy. The pokie industry [...] read more
  March 27, 2013 2:32 pm - 20 Comments
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  Basin flyover won’t solve traffic woes - by Julie Anne Genter

  
  
  
  Some influential people in Wellington (including the editorial board of the Dominion Post) seem to have an unshakeable faith that a four-lane road from Levin to the airport, including a motorway bridge at the Basin Reserve, will solve substantial traffic problems in Wellington and support economic growth.   Late last week, Wellington City Council split [...] read more
  March 26, 2013 9:46 pm - 29 Comments
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  Another state housing sell-off in Sandringham - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  Just like it is all around the country, Housing New Zealand is busy demolishing state houses and selling off the land to private developers in Sandringham. It’s a tragedy, not only for those who have now lost their homes in the area, but also a tragic missed opportunity to invest in more of the affordable, [...] read more
  March 14, 2013 1:57 pm - 5 Comments
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  National’s blind spots on tax reform - by frog

  
  
  
  This week, the Victoria University Business School hosted renowned international tax expert, Dr Alan J. Auerbach. He contrasted the work and findings of our own recent Tax Working Group with the findings of the UK Mirrlees Tax Review, and the Australian Henry Tax Review. While he saw many positive parallels with the three reviews, he [...] read more
  March 14, 2013 8:18 am - 7 Comments
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  Trading New Zealand’s credibility in Colombia - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Last week John Key announced his plan to sell Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV’s) to Colombia. In an effort to build trade and sell off redundant military equipment, John Key seems to have chosen to make New Zealand complicit in the further arming of a potentially illegal military force who has been responsible for very significant human [...] read more
  March 12, 2013 8:28 am - 6 Comments
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  Good, green, growing organics - by Steffan Browning

  
  
  
  Yesterday I co-hosted, with Labour Party MP Damien O’Connor, the launch of New Zealand’s 2012 Organic Market Report. Organic production is very dear to my heart, having been an organic producer for 16 years. But aside from knowing the realities of the day to day work of being an organic producer, I also know that [...] read more
  March 7, 2013 4:35 pm - 3 Comments
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  Welfare cuts challenged by the UN - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Yesterday the United Nations released a letter to the Australian Government asking them to explain their welfare cuts. UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and the working group on discrimination against women are warning the cuts could have a detrimental effect on the human rights of up to 100,000 Australians, and could [...] read more
  March 5, 2013 4:57 pm - 8 Comments
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  John Key needs to raise killings of unionists during Colombia visit - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  While John Key is pushing the cause of free trade in Colombia, he needs to raise concerns around the appalling number of trade unionists that die protecting workers’ rights there. In 2011, according to the International Trade Union Confederation 29 trade unionists were murdered in Colombia. Colombia is a violent society where helping to organise [...] read more
  March 5, 2013 2:17 pm - 4 Comments
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  More damn statistics and Women in Canterbury - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  I know I just wrote a post yesterday critiquing the Government’s choice of statistics, and no-one wants to read continual disputes over statistics but the following statements from Paula Bennett’s media release today are just too provoking: “I also recall dire predictions that Cantabrians would go onto benefits in huge numbers post-quake, but in fact [...] read more
  February 28, 2013 6:03 pm - 8 Comments
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  Statistics damn statistics - by Jan Logie

  
  
  
  Yesterday we found out the National Party’s welfare reform agenda, Future Focus, is getting results. Prior to Future Focus there was no work expectation on sole parents until their youngest child was 18 years old. “More than 10,600 sole parents on the DPB with children over six years old are now earning more than $100 [...] read more
  February 28, 2013 9:23 am - 8 Comments
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  Wheeler on the death of manufacturing etc. etc. - by Russel Norman

  
  
  
  It’s interesting to compare yesterday’s speech by Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler with Sir Paul Callaghan’s vision for a prosperous New Zealand. Wheeler describes New Zealand’s manufacturing sector as a sunset industry, in terminal decline due to globalisation, competition from low wage countries, and a shift to a service intensive economy. It’s the kind of [...] read more
  February 21, 2013 5:27 pm - 26 Comments
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  Give postgrads a chance - by Holly Walker

  
  
  
  The Otago Daily Times is today reporting figures from the Ministry of Education that show that, as a result of the Government’s cuts to student allowances, an extra 5140 student will be forced to borrow money through the student loan scheme for living costs – or be more reliant on borrowing than before. On average, [...] read more
  February 21, 2013 10:57 am - 6 Comments
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  Workers moving back to 19th Century - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  Low wages weaken local economies and communities; as the adults in a family struggle working horrendously long hours and sometimes several jobs to make ends meet, our communities become poorer because those adults do not have any free time to volunteer. read more
  February 15, 2013 3:14 pm - 159 Comments
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  National’s approach to local government is all over the place - by Eugenie Sage

  
  
  
  As successive Ministers of Local Government,  Nick Smith and David Carter loudly criticised councils for their debt level and  said councils needed to focus on “core services “ without defining what these were. Last year National made major changes to the Local Government Act so that the purpose of local government was no longer the [...] read more
  February 15, 2013 11:18 am - 5 Comments
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  You can’t live on a precarious wage. - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  At the symposium on Precarious Work and the Living Wage in our Communities at AUT today Guy Standing – the author of the 2011 book The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class – talked about the way our labour markets have changed over the last few decades and the impact on workers. The Precariat refers to [...] read more
  February 15, 2013 9:44 am - 54 Comments
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  Where will cost of new property development fall? - by Eugenie Sage

  
  
  
  The National Government continues to undermine local democracy and erode the autonomy of elected councillors with its plan to limit what local authorities can charge as development contributions. Councils can currently afford the infrastructure costs associated with new subdivisions and other land developments by charging what is called a “development contribution”. This helps pays for [...] read more
  February 14, 2013 5:14 pm - 26 Comments
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  370,000 signatures already collected to stop asset sales, only 22,000 to go! - by frog

  
  
  
  Can you join us for one last big weekend of collection on the 16th and 17th of February? We’re on track to submit the petition before any asset sales are started. A referendum will give every New Zealander who wants a smart, green future a chance to be heard. There will be collection points at [...] read more
  February 9, 2013 11:23 am - 78 Comments
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  Submit to sink the lid on Auckland pokies - by Denise Roche

  
  
  
  Auckland Council is currently reviewing its Class 4 (pub and club pokies) gambling policy, and I’m encouraging people to have their say on this important issue. Councils across New Zealand have some control over the number of pubs and clubs with pokie machines. The policy review will be the first time Auckland Council has brought [...] read more
  February 8, 2013 2:13 pm - 49 Comments
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  Silverstripe wins govt contract - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  Good news from Kiwi open-source software firm. It’s great to see Kiwi businesses do well, and with so many challenges facing manufacturers and exporters great to have a good news story coming out of our software industry. According to Stuff: Government websites will switch to free, open-source software from Wellington firm Silverstripe under an “all-of-government” [...] read more
  February 7, 2013 2:51 pm - 25 Comments
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  Solid Energy’s future is in clean energy - by Gareth Hughes

  
  
  
  There hasn’t been a great deal of good news lately for Solid Energy. What does the future hold? read more
  February 7, 2013 12:25 pm - 163 Comments