The Government should stop wasting taxpayer money on magnets and pamphlets to explain the Employment Relations Bill and front up to the public like ACT has done,” said ACT Leader Hon Richard Prebble.

The government announced it is distributing around 80,000 pamphlets and magnets to businesses throughout New Zealand to promote it’s ERB information website. The taxpayer will foot the bill of around $150,000.

“ACT has been doing the government’s job for it, and has been holding seminars from Whangarei to Invercargill.”

The Employment Relations Bill is long and complex legislation (over 250 pages in length). Every employer and employee in New Zealand is expected to understand the Bill in under two months.

“ACT has conducted 23 meetings, to around 5,000 New Zealand employers and employees in the last three days. This was at no cost to the taxpayer.

“ACT has worked hard to ensure that every New Zealander has an opportunity to understand what the new law means. Some law firms are charging up to $500 just to tell people what is in the Bill.

“Yet, the government’s response is to rip off a primary school fundraiser and send out pamphlets and magnets. To make matters worse, only a small section of New Zealand business will receive them.

“Do they not believe the rest of New Zealand deserves to be informed? How much confidence can the public have in a Government that refuses to front up and defend it’s own legislation?

“The real reason for ‘paper and stickies’ is that the Government knows it’s MPs would be lynched if they fronted up to middle New Zealand, the big losers of their union promoting Bill,” said Hon Richard Prebble.

ENDS

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