Negotiations leave borders exposed

There is a real possibility that New Zealand’s borders could be unprotected over the busy Christmas period if the Ministry of Primary Industries does not settle wage negotiations with frontline biosecurity staff, says Labour’s spokesperson for Primary Industries Damien O’Connor.

His comments follow news that frontline staff at airports and ports around the country have had to resort to industrial action in response to the Ministry’s refusal to negotiate a new collective agreement in good faith.

The Ministry has been accused of deliberately provoking a dispute for some months with its ‘take it or leave it’ approach to the terms of the new collective agreement.

“The National Government is once again putting New Zealand’s future at risk by squeezing wages for frontline biosecurity staff. It has to realise that starving biosecurity services of funding and not paying decent wages to frontline staff will result in more skilled people leaving New Zealand for jobs elsewhere.

“The Ministry of Primary Industries must resolve this pay dispute and ensure the experience and wisdom of hard-working frontline staff is not ignored through the pay negotiation process,” Damien O’Connor said.

ends

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Gordon Campbell: On The 2013 Budget

Among Thursday’s main talking points:

We are apparently on track for a margin-of-error $75 million surplus, now in sight for 2014/15. But this sickly creature is hobbling out of the lab on the basis of all kinds of facilitative conjuring: such as trimming by $200 million the amount of new spending next time around.

With this strictly nominal surplus in sight, the 1984-ish justification for eternal austerity will have a news talisman: namely, getting Crown debt down to 20% of GDP by 2020. More>>

Budget Report, Lockup Audio & Images: Budget Day 2013 As always and especially after the managerial mishaps of the past few weeks and months, (e.g. Aaron Gilmore, the Mighty River Power share float, the GCSB mishaps) Budget Day 2013 was always going to be a pageant of reassurance... More>>

Budget 2013 Comment: Plain Sailing, But It's No America's Cup Pattrick Smellie: Compared to the last four budgets, this year's reflects an economy moving out of recession and into calmer waters... Yet if the fastest annual growth rate we can expect over the next two years is 3 percent - with the Christchurch rebuild in full swing - then you'd have to say New Zealand's underlying low-growth problem is far from fixed. More>>

Auckland Discord: Govt’s Power Hungry Housing Approach A Threat - Labour

Last week the Government said this, ‘The Government commits not to use any proposed or existing powers ... to override the council's planning and consenting processes’. But its housing Bill says this; ‘If an accord cannot be reached in an area of severe housing unaffordability, the Government can intervene by establishing special housing areas and issuing consents for developers’. More>>

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Extending Protest Ban, Relaxing Permit Rules: Govt Abuses Urgency To Extend Anadarko Amendment

The Government is trying to pass legislation under urgency which would make the Anadarko Amendment – which limits protest at sea – apply to an additional 1.7 million square kilometres, the Green Party said today. More>>

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