Letter No.16
3 May, 1995

12 April 1995

Firefighters say that the 120 workers who lost their jobs on April 3rd are likely to take their cases to the Employment Court.

US President Bill Clinton announces that Welfare Reform is on the top of his legislative agenda for this year, followed by tax and spending cuts.

An OECD report says that NZ school teachers are less well paid and class sizes are larger than those of other countries in the OECD

15 April 1995

An Auckland man who says he was underpaid while on a Job Plus work scheme, is dismayed that the Employment Service is refusing to act against his former employer.

17 April 1995

Anglican Archbishop Brian Davis and Mental Health Society accommodation director Margaret Beets are appointed to the Board of Housing NZ's subsidiary Community Housing.

Public Health Commission statistics show a 60% rise in tuberculosis cases in NZ since 1990, a figure which health officials say is probably under-estimated.

18 April 1995

The Police are delivering warning letters to selected individuals and organisations who may be planning protests at the upcoming Asian Development Bank meeting in Auckland. Those approached included Auckland University Students Association President Brendon Lane, and People's Centre advocate Sue Bradford.

Keith Locke, Alliance foreign affairs spokesman, says that it is "outrageous" that people associated with NGOs should be put in a special category and stopped by officials at NZ airports and visited by the police.

Government announces a $12 million "top-up" for accommodation supplement rates, to compensate for the market rentals for state houses which are to be introduced on July 1st.

19 April 1995

The Consumers Price Index rose 1.2% in the March quarter, pushing the annual inflation rate to 4%, its highest level for four years.

CTU Secretary Angela Foulkes warns that inflation at 4% will boost calls for higher wage demands this year.

The Fire Service proposes to remove 385 staff from fire engines nationally, and also introduce a new work roster which will mean further job cuts.

A Middlemore Hospital specialist links poverty with the number of premature births and other pregnancy complications in South Auckland.

20 April 1995

Conservationists were lambasted at a Fishing Industry conference for seeming to care more about "ideological extremes" than fishing jobs.

The Police hope to convince some of the potential protesters at the Asian Development Conference that their beliefs about the Bank are incorrect.

Opposition parties criticise new foreign investment legislation that would fine journalists up to $30,000 and jail them for a year if they revealed details about foreign investors with applications before the Overseas Investment Commission. The legislation also puts these applications beyond the reach of the Official Information Act.

The Business Roundtable recommends that property owners should choose what fire service they want, and this should be paid for through subscriptions and user charges.

22 April 1995

Bill Birch will unveil his 1995 Budget on June 1st.

The Audit Office urges a thorough overhaul of the laws governing Maori Trust Boards, saying the boards should be accountable to their beneficiaries rather than the Maori Affairs Minister.

With national advertisements about Special Benefit reviews, the Income Support Service sends `request for review' forms to all customers who had applied for special benefits since February 1994.

Building figures for February show a slowing down of construction activity.

25 April 1995

PM Jim Bolger outlines his vision for Tourism in NZ for the year 2000 while addressing the Pacific Asia Travel Association conference in Auckland. He predicts $9 billion in earnings and 120,000 more jobs.

26 April 1995

The Institute of Economic Research says that business confidence has fallen sharply in the first three months of this year. It is the second large fall in business confidence in a row, and for the first time since 1991, slightly more business leaders expect conditions to get worse in the next six months.

The Government has announced it will spend another $1 million on extra student places provided by Private Training Establishments next year.

27 April 1995

New electoral boundaries under MMP are released.

The Elizabeth Arden NZ Ltd manufacturing plant in Auckland is to close with the loss of 60 jobs.

Bill Birch says the fall in business confidence was necessary to take the heat out of the booming economy and to ensure that a growth rate of 3.5% - 5% per annum proves sustainable.

The IHC criticises the Social Welfare Reform bill, saying it will remove benefits that the most vulnerable sections of the community were entitled to, and will replace the benefits with discretionary entitlements administered by RHAs, without any rights of appeal.

Auckland unionists planning a May Day parade up Queen St are warned not to protest unlawfully against the Asian Development Bank Conference.

28 April 1995

International Workers Day. The engineers Union highlight the high death toll for workers, with 82 people dying at work last year. The Union also says that 724 workers on average are injured at work each week.

A leaked ACC report drawn up by the `eminent persons group' suggests that employers should be asked to pay the bulk of compensation to injured people for two months after workplace accidents.

A public relations consultant on contract to the Department of Labour was paid $152,409 for 10 months work ... more than what the DOL chief executive John Chetwin receives in a year.

Auckland City Council Property Enterprise Board announces rent rises averaging $18 a week for its 700 houses and flats.

The Independent publishes a feature on an elaborate GST ploy operating through two Auckland Charitable Trusts aimed at raising millions of dollars for low-cost housing.

Auckland's tourism industry is gearing up for an influx of big-spending bankers at the Asian Development Bank Conference next week. The spending spin-off is expected to be about $17.5 million. The NZ Herald reports sex industry, massage parlour and escort agencies putting on extra staff.