11. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement on proposed labour law changes “we are not talking dramatic changes”?
Hon STEVEN JOYCEWill he rule out reintroducing a youth minimum wage; if not, why does he think a wage cut would not be a dramatic change for hard-working young people?
No decisions have been made as to what the package will be at this point, and there have been no announcements, so the member will just have to wait and see.
Will he rule out making changes to collective bargaining that would allow bargaining agents, such as a human relations manager or even someone from Black Power, to charge workers for negotiating non-union agreements, or does he think that would not be a dramatic change?
The Prime Minister would stress that the Government is looking at practical, incremental changes. No decisions have been made and there have been no announcements, so the member will just have to wait and see.
Does he agree with his Minister of Finance that having a 30 percent wage differential with Australia is a competitive advantage; if so, is it his intention to return to past failed National Party policies that drove down wages and productivity in New Zealand?
The response has to be that the past failed policies the member refers to could be only in relation to the previous Labour Government, which put the tradable sector of the New Zealand economy into recession for 4 years before the global financial crisis. This Government is putting in place the policy objectives to achieve faster economic growth, and we are doing so successfully. Members opposite will see that and they will just have to sit and watch.