Mr Gavin says the change in reporting will reduce the incidence of NZES information being used inappropriately as a "de facto measure of unemployment". It will also align NZES with Income Support, with which it is due to merge operations on October 1st.

Gavin says NZES statistics are becoming less meaningful as a historical indicator of unemployment levels. Law changes in April for some Domestic Purposes Beneficiaries added about 15,000 new beneficiaries to the unemployment register. Benefit reforms announced in the Budget will have a similar effect in October and February. Also, many NZES clients are already doing part-time work, which is not reported in their statistics.

Source _ The Dominion 22 May 1998 "Registered Jobless now total 188.809"; The Christchurch Press 22 May 1998 "Jobless numbers up 23.6% in first quarter" by NZPA

But now it appears that Police Minister Jack Elder is to authorise redundancies. According to the leaked memo (from Elder to Shipley), there are "early indications that the external review of police now in progress could result in a reduction in management and administrative costs in police This is likely to involve the redundancy of sworn police officers and non-sworn civilian staff." The memo recommends negotiations to get redundancy provisions into contracts for sworn staff.

Sources _ New Zealand Herald 12 May 1998 "1600 police in redundancy net" by Tony Wall; The Dominion 11 May 1998 "Leaked memo tells of police job cuts" by Karen Howard

The "Proposed Work Patterns" report also recommends fewer firefighters on overnight duty _ a time when most fire deaths occur. Under its proposals, all Auckland fire stations would lose staff, and some would lose appliances. Overall, Auckland's 120 firefighters on duty at any one time would reduce to 80, and even fewer overnight. Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty services will also be cut by 30%.

Latest: Pressure from NZ First has seen the Fire Service back down on its plan to sack all firefighters. Instead, they will be offered voluntary redundancy.

Source _ New Zealand Herald 23 May 1998 "Fire jobs will be slashed by a quarter under proposal" by Sue McCabe

Wallace: " The workers are not only being taxed on their redundancy payments, but if they have not used sick leave or holiday leave and are being paid for it by their employer, this results in having an extra "stand-down" period before they can obtain a benefit.

"For the government to give money to businesses and importers particularly of used Japanese vehicles, while taking money from the workers, is somewhat unfair to say the least. Given that importers of used Japanese vehicles have played a major role in the demise of our assembly industry makes the situation even more unfair"

Wallace is presently lobbying government to obtain some form of compensation for the redundant workers.

Source _ copy of letter from Jim Wallace to MP Graham Kelly 20 May 1998

These committees exist in nearly 40 areas around NZ and have about 750 members drawn from government, local body and community agencies. They are seen as a key element in the "local delivery" philosophy of the coalition employment strategy, and seek to increase the co-operation, co-ordination and collaboration of local agencies.

The future of the LECs will become clearer once the network of Regional Commissioners is finally in place. These commissioners will have the opportunity to judge for themselves the effectiveness of their local committees.

LEC manager Brenda Radford says that the committees have the potential to form the basis of a regional advisory network to assist the Regional Commissioners. Radford: "They represent a substantial resource of expertise and knowledge which will be available to the new department. It is important to retain the support, goodwill and shared understanding built up in our communities during the two years that LEC has been operating. LECs can make an ongoing contribution by protecting and enhancing the relationship between the three integrating units (NZES, CEG, and Income Support) and the 27 or so other member organisations"

The decision means it is now possible to contract LEC co-ordinators for the whole of the 1998/99 year. Radford says this will give a sense of continuity to the groups, and will enable the members to keep working together through the changes in bringing together the new department merging NZES and Income Support.

Source _ Transition Talk Issue 21, 22 May 1998

The Trust manager Trevor O'Brien has resigned and the trust has suspended operations. NZES Upper Hutt manager Alan sanders says he requested an audit of the trust after "one or two irregularities" were found. He would not say what the irregularities were. Trust chairwoman Heather Newell told NZPA the suspension was for two weeks and could be extended following Mr O'Brien's resignation. She says the trust has not been mismanaged and the suspension would not be permanent.

The Upper Hutt Employment Trust has been operating since 1993. It has a budget of around $1m a year, mostly from NZES and the Upper Hutt City Council. It employs about 80 people four days a week.

Over the last five years it has provided work in the Upper Hutt community for 1,039 people. Of these, the Trust says around 40% have gone on to "real jobs". At present Upper Hutt has 1,600 registered unemployed.

The problems come at a sensitive time for Employment Minister Peter McCardle, who started the Upper Hutt Trust, and is now busy trying to get the community wage scheme operating throughout the country.

Question: In the development of the community wage programme, was any independent research done on the Upper Hutt Trust to find out whether more local people are in "real jobs" now, than before it began its operations?

Source _ The Evening Post 28 April 1998 "Model for community wage scheme"; The Daily News 19 May 1998 "McCardle defends model work scheme" by NZPA.

NZCCSS: "We do not oppose, in principle, the existence of community work and training programmes or an income support system designed to create incentives for people who are able to work to do so. However we do not support the scheme the government has announced. We are concerned that the government has spent a lot of time and money developing a scheme that will not lead to more people getting jobs and instead has a high risk of harming those most in need "

Copies of the information pack are available from NZCCSS, P.O.Box 1937, Wellington phone 04-437-2627 fax 04-473-2624 email nzccss@ihug.co.nz.

Source _ Information Pack from NZ Council of Christian Social Services

Andrew Masterson of Melbourne's The Age reports that on opening day a combination of 311 private, government and community agencies were meant to burst into life. The new system, known collectively as Job Network, replaces 293 Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) outlets with more than 1470 shopfronts and centres around the nation.

One of the largest service-providers in the new network is the Government's own Employment National. Being a national, integrated, company, Employment National has only one phone number for the public - 133 444. - a button-operated computerised system where callers have to navigate their way through various menus, and where it's no good asking a question - such as "Where is my nearest Employment National office?" - because no one is listening.

The menus give callers several options: how to get a social security PIN number, how to fill out an application form, how to find out about unemployment benefit or pensions, for instance. At no stage does it give the option of finding out where you have to go. Instead, callers have to hang on until the end and, when all other options having been exhausted, a human being comes on the line. The Age reporter had several attempts to get through redirected to a message: "We are having some technical difficulties at the moment - please call back later"

Once he did get through, he still didn't get a correct answer to his simple question. He was referred to a vacant shop-front that had, up until 30 April, housed the local CES. They couldn't refer him onwards The 2,500 CES workers nationally have lost their jobs and it seems they didn't need to be told where the new offices were.

Source _ The Melbourne Age, 3 May 1998 "For the unemployed, the first job is simply to find a place to find a job" by Andrew Masterson

In a Group Training Scheme, the Industry Training Organisation (ITO), employers and unions co-operate to establish a stand-alone agency which employs and trains apprentices and then leases these apprentices out to employers for a small premium. This system enables smaller employers to take on apprentices without having to make a long-term commitment to a specific individual being trained.

The scheme has the potential to;
-- increase the number of apprentices and trainees available in a given region or industry
-- widen the scope of training available to those apprentices and trainees
-- provide an alternative to traditional apprenticeship systems for employers who would like to contribute to employing and training young people

Hundreds of apprentices in NZ are currently being trained and leased out in this way. Fluctuating work demands often prevent businesses and tradespeople from being able to guarantee a longer-term indenture commitment to a young person. But employers say they like the Group Training scheme because it enables them to choose when, how long and how often an apprentice is placed in their company.

How does it work? The Group Training agency is the legal employer of the apprentices. The agency places employees with a company for a mutually agreed period of time, and then relocates them with another participating company.

The company pays the agency for the time the apprentice works. This charge usually carries a premium for other costs such as holiday pay, sick leave, ACC levies, polytech fees, and tools and clothing expenses. The agency often offers employees counseling support and liaison with government authorities.

Source _ The Listener 16 May 1998 "Counter Culture" by Margo White, as recommended by Joan Chapple

"The advertisements misrepresent reality because they include no statistical data _ the actual percentage rate of significant , proven fraud among the various categories of beneficiaries. They imply that all beneficiaries are guilty or potentially guilty and non-beneficiaries must be warned of the danger.

"A small proportion of individuals in every walk of life will occasionally deceive. However, in view of the spate of sensational frauds among lawyers, accountants and high public officials in recent years, what would be the reaction of their representative bodies if a similar series of advertisements stigmatising these professions went to air?"
-- Robyn Brown, Avondale, Auckland.

Bishop Hui Vercoe: "This is militancy with Christian love. The idea came dramatically from the floor of the synod, and once people caught the vision of what was being asked of us, then people became enthused with it"

" We are doing this on behalf of the poor and identifying ourselves with them and the terrible situation we find ourselves at the moment here in NZ I think this is showing that on behalf of people we are saying enough is enough. No longer are we to pass pious resolutions and motions about our concerns we are asking now to arouse the church to show our commitment for all NZ'ers."

Bishop George Connor: "We used to be a caring society. We don't seem to be any more. If we can convince enough people to show that they care ... then politicians will listen and they may even change something ..."

Source _ Radio New Zealand Morning Report 14 May 1998 Interview with Bishop Vercoe by Gary McCormick