Sunday 30th Apr 2000
Richard Prebble
Media Release -- Economy
Bill Signals Much Wider, Insidious Programme
ACT leader Richard Prebble said the Employment Relations Bill was just a small part of disastrous changes for New
Zealand's economy. “The Official Information Act document dump by the government before Easter reveals a much wider
agenda. There are plans for an employment equity bill, a new parental leave bill, and significant changes to the
Holidays Act,” he said today. “Helen Clark’s statement over the weekend that she does not trust the private sector to
put equal opportunities programmes in place and will therefore legislate for it confirms this agenda. Employers who
think the Employment Relations Bill is bad news are going to be hit by another range of measures that are hostile to
their business," Mr Prebble said. “It’s not surprising business confidence is in freefall as employers learn that the
radical union bill is just the start of the changes to the industrial landscape that they are expected to finance. “And
Laila Harre and Margaret Wilson stating they will legislate for equal pay is just ideology. Employment statistics
indicate that women are in fact doing very well in terms of participation, and women now out-number men as university
graduates. “The government’s programme has more to do with the Prime Minister’s ideological commitment to radical
feminism than answering any proven problem in this area.” Mr Prebble said it was also safe to predict that should any
equity law be introduced on the basis of gender, Labour’s militant Maori caucus would insist that it be extended to
race. “This is all going to turn running a business into a nightmare of political correctness,” he said. ACT is
encouraging employers to make submissions on the radical Employment Relations Bill by Wednesday May 3. Information on
the Bill and making submissions is available at http://www.act.org.nz/action/employment/index.html ENDS
For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at
act@parliament.govt.nz.