One of the outstanding union leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries made many wise observations. The one that registered with me the most was the importance of being ‘hard on the issues but soft on the people’. That person was Peter Conway. He was active in private sector unionism for many yearsContinue reading “Keith Locke: Hard on issues; soft on people”
Tag Archives: politics
Function versus form: public service cuts
The National-led coalition government is undertaking a brutal assault on the public service by implementing blunt arbitrary cuts on public service staffing. The cuts are intended to be up to 7.5% but in some ministries and departments it could be higher. Its official justification is that there is too much ‘fat’ in the public service.Continue reading “Function versus form: public service cuts”
From overcoming ‘bonkers’ to a political pickle
Labour’s landslide victory in the 2020 general election meant that it became the first majority government in Aotearoa New Zealand since the introduction of proportional representation in 1996. If someone had said then it would not only be voted out but also thrashed in the next election, the response would have overwhelmingly been ‘bonkers’, orContinue reading “From overcoming ‘bonkers’ to a political pickle”
Political Bytes 