Today is an important day for wage and salary earners in New Zealand as they come out in rallies across the country protesting against the government’s determination to drive through unnecessary and unfair changes to industrial and holiday laws.
Update : By lunchtime today, 15,000 workers had attended rallies across NZ in the biggest protests against a government’s attacks on workers rights in more than a decade. Thousands more are expected to come out during the afternoon.
But while we’re waiting for reports on their action, here’s an ironical story (or some might use the word we are not allowed to use in parliament, the “h” word) about government members on the Select Committee in charge of the bills that workers are protesting about today.
Yesterday, National MP Tau Henare was publicly refusing to apologise for calling a teenage select committee submitter “a liar”, after he attacked James Sleep, 18, in his submission to the Transport & Industrial Relations Select Committee on the 90 day no rights bill.
James didn’t lie. I know, because I was there. He got one detail in his oral and written submissions a little bit mixed up. All Tau had to do was clarify, but instead, he called James a liar, and a bullshitter. And he’s gone further in the media saying :
Why would I apologise for a little turkey who got found out lying? He was reading out a submission and I was following it and in two parts … it was a completely different story.
He’ll get over it and if he doesn’t, well, then, too bad … He’ll learn from his experience.”
But then there is the NDU member, who had her first ever written submission to the committee sent back to her because, according to the Government members on the Select Committee, she made an “offensive comment”, which was :
Can we put John Key on a 90 day trial and sack him after the 89th day?
What? It sounds like an absolutely fair point to me – whereas Tau Henare has used his power as a government member of a Select Committee to harass a young person who had the gumption to show up and make a submission.
It’ s probably lucky the NDU member ddidn’t have to front the committee, because goodness only knows what would have happened to her.
Do you really want to associate yourself with James Sleep? Are things that dire?
@fizzleplug – it’s not about associating with anyone. It’s about treating people with respect.
Psh, good luck getting respect from Tau.
@fizzleplug – well at least we can agree on that.
What was the detail that he got mixed up?
Farrar had the solution to this:
“Anyway I have a way to resolve this. Presumably there is a recording of the “story” James told to the select committee. Labour should release the recording and James should arrange for the subject of the story to come forward and confirm it is a true story. That way he will prove that he was telling the truth. It will also allow the employer to give their side of the story.”
Then it can be thrown back at Tau – until then – how exactly do you know that he wasn’t telling a lie – are you familiar with the case / incident?
When people with power abuse that power, isn’t that in the employment sense grounds for umm “harrassment?” Bully Boy Tau.
I agree it’s not offensive its moronic, it is basic employment law that that elected offices and statutory appointments do not fall within the definition of “employment” under the ERA, I would have thought an NDU organizer would have known that sort of basic stuff but then again….
I though Henare might have been the ‘H’ word.
No doubt we’ll see you on the barricades? Oh that’s right you are on the doughnut in Canada sipping G&Ts from the mini bar.
Be warned, receipts will be checked.
this is absolutely disgusting behaviour by Tau, using his power to abuse someone who can’t answer back. What a coward.
I do not think Labour are in any position to criticise given their appalling treatment of submitters to the select committee during the Electoral Finance Bill hearing. Benson-Pope was nothing but an arrogant bully determined to ensure the disgraceful bill did pass. (Of Course Labour paid for that Act in the 2008 election)
James Sleep needs to toughen up if he wants to play with the big boys. Being a Labour stooge I have no doubt his submission would have been manipulated, exaggerated and one sided. He got what he deserved.
Monty, see you are quite satisfied with young people being abused by Nat MPs when they and try and participate in the democratic process. Good on you for backing fair process. Oh that’s right, you’re a righty, you don’t.
Trolling. Deleted. Clare
Indeed this is very very ironical. With regard to possibily sacking MP’s within 90 days I think that would be a fantastic development. We should run ‘Survivor Beehive’ type polls where voters get to vote for who stays and who goes within a 90 day period following an election. We should aim for a maximum number of MP’s (say 71 for arbitrary purposes) to stay, so if a general election returns 121 MP’s, then 50 get voted off by day 89.
@insider – yes, I am in Canada, and duh, wasn’t it me that told you? I’ve just attended a session on effective select committee chairing, so I have a few suggestions for the NACT chair and members when I get home. And btw, there will be plenty more barricades with this lot in power, so please don’t fret about me not being there.
@indiana – the detail was about two cases of abuse of the 90 day trial period – one in Auckland and one in a small centre.
@LabRat – glad you see the irony.
Where’s Loota these days. Spud, do you know? Tracey hasn’t been very active either.
Deleted. Allegation. Unwarranted. Clare
Was Tau’s behaviour any different to the behaviour of the principal that Duncan Garner interviewed?
@indiana – didn’t see it sorry. Tau’s behaviour is one thing, but if the government members are going to tolerate that, they shouldn’t be so wimpy about a written comment from a worker making a submission.
I still remember something John Key said during the 2005 election campaign. That the tax cuts proposed by Brash would give parents a reason to work on Saturdays rather than watch their children play sport.
He probabaly thought the extra hours worked would increase productivity – its scary but no surprise given what happened that someone hawking junk bonds (complicit in a corporate scam) does not understand the term. It’s little wonder that his government thinks the 4 week holidays and other holidays can be sold off for money – productive workers are healthy workers not overworked workers desperate for extra hours because of they are underpaid.
Darien, if you didn’t see the Duncan Garner interview, then perhaps you never read this Salient article about James Sleep.
http://www.salient.org.nz/news/vuwsa-exec-member-guilty-of-misconduct#comment-392909
You are banned for 3 weeks. Clare
Go and troll somewhere else. Last chance. Clare
your update says 15,000 people by lunchtime yet reports says:
“The turnout – fell short of organisers’ predictions of 10,000, but was still high in recent historic terms.”
@indiana – thanks for link, but doesn’t change my mind about the behaviour or treatment of submitters. As you often like to remind us, MPs are in a privileged position. Our job is to encourage, not squash democracy, and the Select Committee process is one where at least members of the public can have their say, even if they are not listened to by government.
@Chris – well actually, we don’t record submissions in Select Committee. James gave two examples. Other submitters, including employers gave many others, some of which I happen to know are very dubious. The so-called “lie” wasn’t about the actual example and I’ve already explained that in the post. We get all kinds of people coming in to select committee and MPs often question submitters. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s calling someone a liar that gets shows disrespect to the public and the submission process.
@Allan – the comment was from a worker, not an NDU organiser. Not everyone is as clever as you think you are and I think it showed great courage and conviction to put a submission in at all – which many people can’t be bothered to do.
Rich, sorry, I can’t help you as to Loota’s whereabouts
And I have no idea where Tracey is, she went to London from Canada, then disappeared, then came back, then disappeared again.
Workers rights are human rights!
VSM sucks!
“Workers rights are human rights!”
Well… spud said the wise thing of all so far!!!
Hes right, they not workers rights… they really human rights!