The Bulletin: Disconnect between unemployment and rural worker needs

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Challenges loom in matching unemployed with rural jobs, trans-Tasman travel bubble agreed in principle, and Greens push for urgent Fair Pay Agreements. It is increasingly becoming clear that one of the country’s biggest economic challenges over the rest of the year will be matching people … Read more

The Bulletin: Unions demand government keeps promise

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination. Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ Herald (paywalled.) It relates to … Read more

The National Party needs a new Big Bad

With a capital gains tax off the political agenda, the opposition needs to find the government’s achilles heel. Liam Hehir goes looking through the options. This is the week of the “wellbeing” budget. Animating this bold vision for our future is an ironclad certainty that the one thing New Zealanders really need to be happy … Read more

The Bulletin: Trouble in paradise for tourism industry

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Two major threats loom for the tourism industry, fair pay agreement working group comes back, and Shane Jones and Russel Norman go to war over trawling. For two major of reasons, the tourism industry could be about to hit some severe headwinds. It’s an enormous sector of … Read more

Women are sick of being fobbed off. Pay us what we deserve.

I love my job, writes midwife Lucy Kelly. But love can’t make up for a wage I can barely survive on. On Wednesday the 19th of September we celebrated 125 years of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa. I found it hard to celebrate. It feels like we’re riding on the wake of a landmark success of … Read more

The Bulletin: Bolger back for workplace relations battle

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Jim Bolger is back, Housing NZ CEO set to front up, and logging debris causes havoc after Tologa Bay flooding. Sector wide collective agreements, and minimum pay and conditions across industries, will be investigated by a government working group. The working group will look at ways to … Read more

Will Labour’s fair pay policy really bring New Zealand to a standstill?

With one side calling it a working class win and the other fearing a return to the 1970s, Jihee Junn attempts to separate fact from fiction when it comes to Labour’s Fair Pay Agreements. Earlier this year, former Labour leader Andrew Little got up on stage at E tū union’s Auckland headquarters to share his … Read more