Was the “Wellbeing Budget” much different from any other Budget? Was it better? It is of course the first one, so we need to allow the Government some room to develop its ideas and processes. Quick answer: Yes it was a Wellbeing Budget in that it was built around the idea of focusing on many… Read more »
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The Government describes it as a Wellbeing Budget and has taken a different approach to the way funding has been prioritised, including stating five Budget Priorities last December. We have therefore not only assessed it in the usual way by each of the main Budget areas (by ‘Vote’) but include an assessment as to what… Read more »
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Minister Twyford’s announcement this morning of reform of the Public Transport Operating Model (PTOM) will be a timely fix for bad legislation that has cost jobs and pay for drivers and left public transport systems broken says New Zealand Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff. PTOM was introduced in 2013 with the intention of… Read more »
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Access Community Health’s decision to suspend approximately 40 contact centre workers and coordinators taking part in a partial strike is draconian and reflects badly on their reputation, says NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff. “The owner of Access – Green Cross – is a big business with deep pockets. In trying to get tough and intimidate their… Read more »
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The Prime Minister has announced that the Government will not tax the income from capital gains while she is Prime Minister. It has therefore lost a future source of revenue at a time when needs are becoming ever more apparent, and just before its first ‘Wellbeing Budget’. Both supporters and opponents of taxing capital gains… Read more »
Read more... This commentary is an edited version of a recent speech, “Transforming New Zealand’s low wage economy”. Whether we look at international comparisons, or look at whether employees are getting a fair share of the income that their work generates, New Zealand is a low wage economy. New Zealand wages adjusted for the cost of living… Read more »
Read more... Harriet Morison leaves an important legacy, as a unionist suffragist and feminist. Harriet is an example of the strong connections between women workers and their fight for women’s rights in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 1890 in Dunedin Harriet Morison became the Secretary of the Tailoresses Union. It was the first union to represent female workers… Read more »
Read more...Government research conducted by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows tens of thousands of Kiwi workers are being sacked by their employers every year as employers take advantage of unfair trial periods. “What this research shows us is that people who are employed on trial periods are being increasingly treated as disposable.… Read more »
Read more... The Tax Working Group (TWG) has reported back. The reactions to the proposal for taxing the income from capital gains have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous and from “it doesn’t go nearly far enough” to “this is the end of the kiwi way of life”. They have exposed a class society where one… Read more »
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This commentary looks at the year ahead. The Prime Minister has described this as the year of ‘delivery’ for the Government and she aint wrong. In addition we need to keep an eye on what’s happening in New Zealand’s economy and society, and how international events could affect us. Numerous Government working parties will report… Read more »
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