The Wire with Alex

Last Thursday, the Employment Leave bill, which aims to replace the Holidays Act, passed its first reading in Parliament. The bill will reform annual and sick leave calculation, changing from a lump sum system, to an hourly calculation scheme.

While New Zealand workplace relations and safety Minister, Brooke van Velden claimed the bill is meant to simplify leave calculations, criticisms of the bill's other potential impacts have emerged.

Those who work irregular hours will receive less leave, it's been proposed a full day in lieu won’t be provided for people working shorter shifts on public holidays, and leave for people on ACC compensation would be cut.

In response the Public Service Association has called on MPs to sign a pledge to oppose the law change and ensure workers aren’t left worse off.

To explain this pledge and why the PSA opposes the changes in the bill, producer Thomas talked to PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons.

In February, Australian politician Pauline Hanson made headlines for an interview with Sky News where she suggested there are no “good” muslims. 

Additionally, an independent report from last year found anti-Muslim incidents in Australia had “skyrocketed” since the start of the war in Gaza.

This has been amplified by the charged political environment in the wake of the Bondi terrorist attack, and the government’s subsequent Plan to Combat Anti-Semitism, which conflated anti-Semitism with criticism of the state of Israel.

For International Desk, Wire Host Caeden spoke to Research Fellow at Deakin University, Dr Ali Mamouri, about this rising Islamophobia in Australian politics and its consequences.

Last year, the govenment announced siginificant budget cuts to the school lunch programme formerly known as Ka Ora, Ka Ako, reducing the funding available per meal and reshaping how the programme is delivered in schools. Now, New Zealand's Healthy School Lunch Programme covers only a quarter of schools based on the Equity Index, reaching about 240,000 students, so more than half of children experiencing food insecurity do not attend school that recieve the programme. 

New research by Dr Kelly Garton, a research fellow in the School of Population Health at the University of Auckland, and a spokesperson for Health Coalition Aotearoa, compares New Zealand’s programme with Brazil’s national school meal system, which has been running for over 70 years and is considered a global gold standard.

Producer Pranuja spoke with Dr Garton about what New Zealand could learn from Brazil’s approach to school meals, and what a stronger programme here might look like.

Recently, the government legalised their practice of clawing back welfare money from people who receive an ACC claim, leaving thousands of people in debt to the Ministry of Social Development, (MSD).

Last week, we also saw mixed messaging from the government over Iran. One such case saw the Prime Minister claim that those affected by the crisis would receive automatic visa coverage, contradicting his immigration minister.

Finally, a review of the Clean Vehicle Standard could be the final nail in the coffin of the previous Labour government's policies to build an electric vehicle market in New Zealand if the current government chooses to repeal the policy that fines importers who do not also bring in a high enough ratio of electric vehicles.

For our weekly catchup w/ the Green Party, Manny spoke with MP Ricardo Menéndez March about the Green Party’s response to the government's messaging on Iran, and the review of the clean vehicle standard, but began by talking about the legislation permitting the clawing back of welfare support from ACC recipients.