"Labour's attack on WINZ for making a $100,000 payout to a disgruntled employee is misguided, as the situation is the fault of the employment laws supported by Labour and the Alliance," ACT Leader Richard Prebble said today.

"Lump sum payments to employees for grievances are the result of Employment Court and Employment Tribunal decisions which have seen a Wellington small business taken for $4,000 just for giving someone a job, through to golden handshakes to former government board members," Mr Prebble said.

"This is exactly the process that is stopping New Zealand Employers from creating jobs. Helen Clark, Michael Cullen and Jim Anderton have refused to listen to the fears of employers and are going to turn back the clock on employment law.

"The Minister of Labour Max Bradford has repeatedly sounded out Parliament for support for a law to curb such payments. Labour and the Alliance are not only against such a change, but judging from their policies, they want to extend it. The only party that has consistently opposed the rip-off claims against employers has been ACT.

"Latest figures show that in the last 12 months there were, on average, 400 employment issues per month filed with the Employment Tribunal. A total of 4,782 for the year. An Employment Relations expert in Auckland estimates that 75 to 80% of the issues filed are personal grievances.

"Labour can't complain about the employment laws that they have supported and want to make even worse," said Richard Prebble.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>