Letter No.139
12 February, 2001

22 January 2001

The acquisition of Ansett Australia by Air New Zealand will create 70 jobs in New Zealand, largely by contracting out accounting services. The Australian Services Union, however, says up to 180 staff in Australia could lose their jobs as a result.

23 January 2001

Business confidence had its largest turnaround since economic surveys began in 1970, according to the latest Survey of Business Opinion by the NZ Institute of Economic Research. The December quarter survey shows that 31% of businesses expect conditions to improve in the next six months, a turn-around from the June quarter when 45% expected conditions to worsen.

24 January 2001

The world's largest phone maker, Lucent, is cutting 16,000 jobs, 15% of its total workforce.

25 January 2001

Hawkes Bay fruit growers are uniting to combat a shortage of seasonal workers. Growers are now considering sharing their workers, and have put together a pamphlet for potential workers which includes an explanation of the region, key contacts, and places to find work.

26 January 2001

US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says the country's economic growth has plummeted to near zero. He says that he backs US President George Bush's plans for tax cuts to prevent the economic slowdown becoming a recession.

27 January 2001

Deputy PM Jim Anderton says that his People's Bank promises fees that will be up to a third less than those of the major banks. He says that September or October is the projected start-up date, if the Cabinet makes a favourable decision quickly. However, he says if the decision is not made soon, the bank will not be able to open until next year.

29 January 2001

Australian PM John Howard unveils a A$2.9 billion plan to boost Australia's research and development. A major amount will be spent on a loan scheme to help 240,000 postgraduate students update and acquire new skills.

New Zealand Trade Union Federation president Maxine Gay has her arm in plaster after falling and breaking her wrist during protests against the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She says police prevented more than 1,000 demonstrators from reaching Davos, and used tear gas and water on about 500 that managed to assemble at the Davos railway station. Police outnumbered demonstrators 5 to 1.

30 January 2001

NZ lingerie company Bendon is cutting 29 workers from its East Tamaki, Auckland factory.

Wellington recruitment company Education Personnel says it has hundreds of new teachers on its books looking for a job. Director Simon Birch says the employment climate for graduates is terrible, as most clients are looking for experienced teachers. One new graduate, Nathan Hook, believes that young teachers are encountering ageism. Hook: "You feel discriminated against because you're not long enough in the tooth."

The Government is introducing measures to increase the amount of information available on the student loan scheme, after a report by the Auditor-General. However, NZ University Students Association co-President Andrew Campbell says the plans mean nothing unless they are linked to a policy change. Campbell: "The Government's response to the Auditor-General's report is to simply tell us more in public and more often how bad the scheme is."

Opposition leader Jenny Shipley is demanding the release of reports on the People's Bank written by Treasury and an investment bank that are said to be highly critical of the scheme. Both reports have been withheld for reasons of "commercial sensitivity". Shipley says NZ Post is owned by the taxpayer and is "not allowed to withhold free and frank advice on the matter".

Japan's jobless rate last year averaged 4.7%, the highest it has been for 46 years.

31 January 2001

A 4-day conference to promote public debate about tertiary education begins in Wellington. The conference is being run by the New Zealand University Students' Association, and will deal with issues such as student debt, academic freedom and student involvement in the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission.

Hawera call centre company Marketing Concepts has secured a major US contract that will create up to 100 jobs in Taranaki over the next five years. The company will handle calls for Animal Herbals, a pet herbal product company.

Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey releases reports detailing the steps the Government has taken to reduce inequality amongst New Zealanders. The reports cover labour, employment, social services, immigration and senior citizens. Maharey says the Government has an ambitious programme right across the social sector and it is now looking to build on what it has achieved.

More women than men graduated from NZ universities in 1999, according to a recent graduate employment survey. 55.7% of the 24,054 graduates surveyed were women. 69.9% were Pakeha European, Asians accounted for 14.2%, and Maori only 5.7% of the total graduates.

A CD-Rom offering ways for workers to get days off work has become one of the top 20 selling CD-Roms in Germany. The CD explains how employees should behave when at the doctor in order to get a medical certificate. Utech, the maker of the product, says it is not meant to be taken seriously.

Overworked British parents are buying their children expensive designer clothes to compensate for not spending enough time with them, according to a recent report by research group Mintel. Working mothers in particular are feeling so guilty they are spending less on their own clothes so they can buy more expensive clothes for their children. Others are using their children as "the ultimate fashion accessory" to display their wealth and make their offspring "stand out in the playground".

US internet retail giant Amazon is cutting 1,300 jobs, 15% of its workforce.

1 February 2001

Rental accommodation is in hot demand in Invercargill as students of the Southland Institute of Technology invade the city. The polytechnic's fee-free scheme has attracted 1,800 students, more than double the 700 enrolments last year. Southland Real Estate rental manager Evan Jones says the situation is "absolutely ballistic". Jones: "This is great for the city to have a real rental crisis."

2 February 2001

Beneficiaries are the most discriminated group in NZ society today, according to a National Business Review-Compaq survey. The poll finds that 75% of those surveyed felt that people on welfare were likely to come up against some discrimination. Being gay or lesbian was seen as the second most victimised group, by 74% of the survey. Next in the list was Asian people (at 73%), followed by overweight people (72%), Pacific islanders (71%), Maori (70%), people with disabilities (61%), the elderly (53%) and women (50%).

Chris Lawrence of the Human Rights Commission says that the NBR-Compaq poll disproves the Kiwi myth that NZ'ers are an easy-going and unprejudiced society.

4 February 2001

Super-yacht builders Sovereign Yachts are to set up a new shipyard on surplus land at the Hobsonville Air Base in West Auckland, creating 350 new jobs. The $18m project will generate an estimated $600m in export earnings over the next five years.

Manukau City's economy grew 3.2% in the last quarter of 2000, taking annual growth to 9.5%, according to the Manukau City Council. This compares favourably to the NZ growth rate of 0.7% in the quarter and 4.5% for the year. Employment in Manukau increased by 7.2% in the year, while unemployment dropped from 8.3% to 7.1%.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) releases a previously unpublished report from the Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to support its claim for a $28 a week pay rise for the "working poor". According to the report, there are 800,000 low-paid working families in Australia who are struggling to pay for the basic necessities of life. The report follows on from another released last year that found that two in every five families living in poverty had one or both adults working. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says it will support a modest wage rise.

5 February 2001

A lecturer at the University of the South Pacific, Joseph Veramu, estimates that 42% of Fiji's population live in extreme poverty. Veramu: "In spite of the tourist brochures touting Fiji as a place with romantic swaying in the cool breeze and a paradise-like environment, the reality is that many people are poor and face hardships in meeting their basic needs."

Last year an unprecedented 4,000 children considered at risk were still waiting to be seen by CYFS workers. The number of potential child abuse cases is forcing the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services (CYFS) to hand over some of its work to private welfare agencies for the first time.

Secretaries are so scarce in NZ's major cities they are being enticed back from overseas by recruitment agencies for substantial salaries. Todd August of recruitment firm Lampenalectus says there will always be lots of options for good secretaries. August: "The demand on them is much higher than it ever was. It is no longer just taking notes and making the odd cup of tea."

6 February 2001

Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton proposes several social and economic policy goals in his Waitangi Day speech at Orongomai Marae, including wiping debts for science and engineering students who promise to stay and work in NZ. See story in this issue.

7 February 2001

ACT leader Richard Prebble doubts whether Jim Anderton is serious about his debt-wiping ideas. Prebble: "This is the Alliance Party continuing to put out policy which they have no intention of implementing..."

8 February 2001

Official unemployment figures for December 2000 show unemployment at 5.6% of the workforce.