New Zealand
Job cuts begin in New Zealand as economy shrinks
By John Braddock, April 28, 2006
A wave of job cuts has begun in New Zealand as the economy declines for the first time in five years. Reports released in the past month show record balance of payments deficits, deteriorating terms o...
New Zealand government extends Afghanistan military operations
By John Braddock, April 18, 2006
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced on April 10 that the country’s military intervention in Afghanistan is to be extended until September 2007. The latest deployment of a 120-strong...
New Zealand: young workers campaign for better pay and conditions
By John Braddock, April 5, 2006
New Zealand’s biggest fast-food chain, Restaurant Brands, agreed late last month to pay increases for more than 7,000 workers employed at Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and delivery call centres arou...
Unions collaborate in ongoing destruction of Air New Zealand jobs
By John Braddock, March 9, 2006
Air New Zealand, the country’s national carrier, last month unveiled another instalment in a program of mass sackings, outsourcing of work and erosion of employment conditions. The latest job cu...
New Zealand: new Labour-led government under pressure for more market reform
By John Braddock, December 16, 2005
New Zealand’s new Labour-led government has begun its term in office under increasing pressure to implement a new round of austerity measures aimed at attacking the living standards of working p...
“Liberating the wealthy”: the legacy of New Zealand Labour leader David Lange
By John Braddock, September 27, 2005
Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange died from renal failure in Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital on August 13. He was 63 years old and had been in poor health for some time, suffering fro...
New Zealand election stalemate exposes deep social divisions
By John Braddock, September 20, 2005
Provisional results from Saturday’s New Zealand elections have put neither of the two major parties, Labour or National, in a position to form a government. The incumbent Labour Party leads by a...
Big business agenda dominates New Zealand election campaign
By John Braddock, September 16, 2005
The campaign for the September 17 elections in New Zealand has been dominated by demands for tax cuts and deeper inroads into public services. Since the Labour government’s budget was brought do...
New Zealand: election date set as Labour government’s support slumps
By John Braddock, July 27, 2005
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced on Monday that elections will be held on September 17. Confirmation of the date had been withheld for some weeks while Clark attempted to come to grips...
New Zealand: Labour’s election year budget under fire
By John Braddock, June 16, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand budget handed down by Finance Minister Michael Cullen last month has run into a storm of criticism from big business over the failure to deliver tax cuts. After weeks of media spe...
New Zealand judge criticises violent police culture
By John Braddock, April 11, 2005
A New Zealand District Court judge last month felt obliged to condemn the prevailing police culture in South Auckland as “sick”. The case, which involved a police assault on a teenager, is...
Appeals for wage restraint as New Zealand companies record huge profits
By John Braddock, April 1, 2005
With the New Zealand share market running at its highest-ever levels for the past two years, the recent company-reporting season in February has recorded a profit bonanza for leading corporations.
