Mackay has had a career in both the private and public sectors. Before Budget Rent-a-Car, he worked at Internal Affairs as general manager of business services and director of the heritage and identity group. Before that, he was chief accountant at National Mutual (now Axa) and he has also worked in companies in Hong Kong, Britain and Australia.

Source — New Zealand Herald 22 January 2001 "Industry NZ Head relishes job challenge" by Daniel Riordan

The Action Group has just released a report, entitled "Our Children: The Priority for Policy". It believes that children are under-represented in NZ official data and formal statistics, despite the fact that around 25% of New Zealanders are aged under 15. The report finds "… a disturbing picture of poverty among children as a group, placing New Zealand among some of the least successful countries in the international league of child poverty."

Source — Stuff Auckland News 22 January 2001 "Ease child poverty with tax changes _ academics"; Sunday Star Times 21 January 2001 "Change taxes to help children _ report" by Fleur Revell; The Dominion 22 January 2001 "Bleak report on child poverty"; New Zealand Herald 22 January 2001 "Changes to tax system urged to fight child poverty" by Gregg Wycherley;

The figures, compiled for the Project by Statistics New Zealand, showed that 20% of all New Zealanders lived below the poverty line in 1998, the latest year from which figures were available. Of that 20%, 54% were working age adults, 44% children, and 11% elderly.

A further breakdown of the figures shows that 38% of Pacific Islanders, 28% of Maori and 12% of Pakeha/Europeans were living in poverty. And a disturbing trend is that about 42% of "other" people — mostly immigrants and refugees — were also impoverished.

In a comparison of income levels, statistics gathered from 1984 to 1998 show that the after tax income of the wealthiest 10% of households increased by 43% over that period. The bottom 50% of households dropped by 14%.

Other key household results show that
— 44% paid 40% or more of their after tax income on rent or a mortgage;
— 40% of households were overcrowded (Pacific Island 60%, Maori 51%, Pakeha 22%);
— 48% had been unable to provide a meal for their family at least once in the previous three months;
— 56% had family members who didn't visit a doctor when necessary in the previous year;
— 47% had at least one member with a chronic illness;
— 64% were in debt; and
— households coped through support from family (42%), growing their own vegetables (33%), using community support such as foodbanks (24%), or doing odd cash jobs (22%).

Waldegrave predicts that the introduction of income-related state housing rents last December will be a key component: "Housing is the biggest cause of poverty. Statistics like this have been important in the advice given to government to go for housing in their policy restructuring. It's a costly exercise — they're building up housing stock and making it more affordable — but it will put $20 to $30 extra in the pockets of families per week. "

Waldegrave also points to the government's restoration of superannuation levels to 65% of the average income in April last year. When the National Government announced superannuation cuts to 60%, researchers calculated the move would put 250,000 elderly into poverty. Waldegrave: "This government has revised that move and, again, it's a very costly policy, but it has prevented 250,000 elderly people going below the poverty line."

Source — NZPA 18 November 2000 "Third of NZ children in poverty, statistics show""

Maharey also says that the government is looking at establishing an official measure of poverty. In delivering his inaugural "State of the Nation" address to the Takaro Rotary Club in Palmerston North, Maharey reported that the government is working on a series of indicators which will allow it to chart the social wellbeing of the nation alongside the development of the economy. Maharey: "Still too many people lack basic literacy skills, too many remain in poverty and too many people live isolated lives away from their communities. This must change and we must have proper tools to measure our progress ..."

Sources — Newsroom 22 January 2001 "Child poverty report" by Matt Rilkoff; "The state we're in: Economic growth and social equity" inaugural State of the Nation address to the Takaro Rotary Club, RSA, Palmerston North 23 January 2001

The construction sector had the longest hours (44.49 hours), and men worked longer hours in paid work than women — 40.43 hours, and 36.74, respectively. Aucklanders worked longer (39.02 hours) than Wellingtonians (38.05 hours).

However, Employers Federation chief executive, Anne Knowles, believes that following France's example would have "a tremendously detrimental effect", and would impose significant costs on NZ businesses. Knowles: "The best way to boost employment is to get the economy performing better, not limiting your view to "there is X number of jobs". Wage costs in France are estimated to have increased more than 11% — a cost that employers in the small New Zealand economy would find impossible to absorb or pass on.

Knowles suspects the fall in unemployment in France has more to do with an improving world economy than any reduction in working hours: "Probably the biggest increase in employment from reducing hours has come from the increased bureaucracy needed to police it."

Maharey agrees that there are specific groups of workers who are working "extraordinarily" long hours, while others have too little or no work ... but he sees the problem is more that work is divided unevenly. Maharey: " We have a work-rich/work-poor divide — but I don't think it as simple as redistributing it by regulating work hours. Often people are shut out of work because they lack skills — which regulating hours would not fix."

Maharey reports that the "Futurework" project being presently undertaken by the Labour Department is looking at countries and companies (such as Volkswagen) that have shortened working weeks. The project is also looking at trends such as teleworking and the development of family-friendly work-places.

Anderton told The Dominion that, as a businessman, he saw evidence that productivity could actually be boosted by reducing working hours. His business used to extend long weekends three days to four: "Theoretically the employees worked five less days in a year, but production did not decrease. It showed us people can do in four days what they would take five to do in other circumstances..."

Alliance policy is to extend the existing three weeks' minimum paid holiday to four weeks — in effect, compelling people to take more time off.

Source — The Dominion 17 January 2001 "Why short week is a tall order" by Helen Bain

Mr Abbott , who will be sworn in at the end of the month, says he would not tolerate avoidance by the unemployed of what he describes as their "mutual obligations". Abbott: ""The idea of any excuse will do, I reject that. You have to be firm but fair."

Abbott comes into the job as Australian employment growth is slowing, the existing participation in work-for-the-dole is relatively low, and further changes to the welfare system are looming.

Under the new welfare guidelines announced late last year, people who have been unemployed for more than six months must do some activity to qualify for full payments, with those under 40 eligible for work-for-the-dole. Activities can range from joining the Army Reserve to training and literacy and numeracy programs.

Sources — Sydney Morning Herald 15 January 2001 "Abbott to take big stick to `work wary'" by Tom Allard and Andrew Clennell; ABC News Online 15 January 2001 "Crean calls for co-operation in tackling unemployment"

Trewin argues that changing the definition of "employed" from one hour of paid work to 10 hours a week would be a better measure. He is aware of the political implications of the change: under such a new definition the unemployment rate in Australia would increase from 6.6 to 9 per cent. Trewin cautions that the international community would have to agree to any change before Australia adopted it … and he expects that the ILO may agree to the new measure within five years.

Source — The Melbourne Age 22 January 2001 "Jobless yardstick wrong: statistician" by Josh Gordon

The study surveyed 3,209 organisations that hired the long-term young and adult unemployed and found that as many as one in three New Deal recruits were not retained by employers at the end of their six-month period. Almost half the young people participating in the programme were no longer employed by the company within nine months of starting. 72% of employers surveyed reported that their involvement in the programme made no direct impact on their activity and 52% admitted that their main motive in agreeing to participate in the programme was to reduce labour costs. The average gross starting hourly wage paid to young people under the scheme was £3.50 per hour, which is 20p less than the national minimum wage.

Source — Financial Times 10 November 2000

Writer Geraldine Bedell speculates that one reason for the success in first-class degrees may be that students are now given greater credit for the year's coursework as a part of their examinations. Bedell: "In the past men have been able to outflank us with the occasional bold flourish [at exam times] … it has been possible for them to survive on 98% laziness and 2% chutzpah …"

Source — New Statesman 22 January 2001 "When women rule the world" by Geraldine Bedell