National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Tracey McLellan joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week.

They covered some of the week's biggest issues, including Labour's proposed corporate manslaughter policy, National's plans to tackle the supermarket duopoly, the funding challenges facing Canterbury Museum, and whether they agreed with FENZ Minister Brooke van Velden, who said this week she no longer has confidence in Chief Executive Kerry Gregory.

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National's Vanessa Weenink and Labour's Tracey McLellan joined John MacDonald for Politics Friday this week.
They covered some of the week's biggest issues, including Labour's proposed corporate manslaughter policy, National's plans to tackle the supermarket duopoly, the funding challenges facing Canterbury Museum, and whether they agreed with FENZ Minister Brooke van Velden, who said this week she no longer has confidence in Chief Executive Kerry Gregory.
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Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays. It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking. If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio. With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector. Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

Politics Friday: Tracey McLellan and Vanessa Weenink on corporate manslaughter policy, supermarkets, FENZ confidence

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/067e5644-256a-41db-88df-b4c8017aab3f/transcript

Labour has come up with a policy that I think is actually meaningful and would hold employers more accountable for workplace deaths.

Labour has announced that, if elected, it will introduce a corporate homicide charge. Which would mean, if a worker died on the job, their employer could be charged with homicide.

The punishments would be pretty hefty. An individual could end up with a life prison sentence and companies could be hit with fines of up to $10 million.

And about time. Because even though our health & safety laws have been beefed-up after Pike River, the punishments dished-out haven’t kept up.

And Labour wants to change that.

The party’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson, Jan Tinetti, says, even though New Zealand has one of the highest rates of workplace deaths in the developed world, employers can’t be held as accountable as they should be.

She says Labour wants to deliver what the Pike River families have been calling for for years. Which is the ability to charge employers with homicide.

Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben was killed at Pike River, is saying today that Labour’s policy announcement today is fantastic news.

She says: “People who are in charge and who knowingly make the workplace unsafe, they need to be held to account.”

Now, let’s say this went ahead and corporate homicide was a thing, it wouldn’t necessarily deliver what the likes of the Pike River families have wanted.

Which, if we’re honest, is to see the former mine boss taken to the cleaners.

Which makes the timing of today’s announcement interesting.

Because, only three weeks ago, the NZ Herald reported that Crown prosecutors were considering police recommendations on possible charges relating to Pike River.

The Herald said at the time that it understood manslaughter charges were among the charges being considered. So where this Labour policy fits with that, I’m not sure.

Either way, I like it.

As Sonya Rockhouse from the Pike River families is saying, just the threat of a life sentence or a massive fine would be enough for most employers to make sure their health & safety is up to scratch.

I’m realistic, though, and know that, if this went ahead, not all corporate homicide charges would stick.

Because guilt can’t always be proven. And that can leave people somewhat disillusioned.

Depending on the situation, a corporate homicide charge could be very difficult to prove. For example, proving that the boss of an outfit actually knew about a particular risk in the workplace before someone was killed wouldn’t always be easy.

Nevertheless, I think the ability to lay a corporate homicide charge would move things on from where they are at the moment. So it gets my support.

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Labour has come up with a policy that I think is actually meaningful and would hold employers more accountable for workplace deaths.
Labour has announced that, if elected, it will introduce a corporate homicide charge. Which would mean, if a worker died on the job, their employer could be charged with homicide.
The punishments would be pretty hefty. An individual could end up with a life prison sentence and companies could be hit with fines of up to $10 million.
And about time. Because even though our health &amp; safety laws have been beefed-up after Pike River, the punishments dished-out haven’t kept up.
And Labour wants to change that.
The party’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson, Jan Tinetti, says, even though New Zealand has one of the highest rates of workplace deaths in the developed world, employers can’t be held as accountable as they should be.
She says Labour wants to deliver what the Pike River families have been calling for for years. Which is the ability to charge employers with homicide.
Sonya Rockhouse, whose son Ben was killed at Pike River, is saying today that Labour’s policy announcement today is fantastic news.
She says: “People who are in charge and who knowingly make the workplace unsafe, they need to be held to account.”
Now, let’s say this went ahead and corporate homicide was a thing, it wouldn’t necessarily deliver what the likes of the Pike River families have wanted.
Which, if we’re honest, is to see the former mine boss taken to the cleaners.
Which makes the timing of today’s announcement interesting.
Because, only three weeks ago, the NZ Herald reported that Crown prosecutors were considering police recommendations on possible charges relating to Pike River.
The Herald said at the time that it understood manslaughter charges were among the charges being considered. So where this Labour policy fits with that, I’m not sure.
Either way, I like it.
As Sonya Rockhouse from the Pike River families is saying, just the threat of a life sentence or a massive fine would be enough for most employers to make sure their health &amp; safety is up to scratch.
I’m realistic, though, and know that, if this went ahead, not all corporate homicide charges would stick.
Because guilt can’t always be proven. And that can leave people somewhat disillusioned.
Depending on the situation, a corporate homicide charge could be very difficult to prove. For example, proving that the boss of an outfit actually knew about a particular risk in the workplace before someone was killed wouldn’t always be easy.
Nevertheless, I think the ability to lay a corporate homicide charge would move things on from where they are at the moment. So it gets my support.
LISTEN ABOVE

John MacDonald: Why not big fines and sentences for H&S failures?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/c8566557-ec4b-4d6d-8b27-b4c9000b7ba4/transcript

The ribbon has been cut as The University of Otago's 292-million-dollar Wai Ora building has held its opening ceremony today.

The new facility will expand the university's capacity for biomedical research and clinical trials, with space for about 15-hundred researchers, clinicians and students.

John MacDonald visited the new building earlier this week, joining Associate Dean of Research Professor Logan Walker and Ōtautahi Campus/Wai Ora Project Owner Professor Suzanne Pitama to find out how the new collaborative hub will support research, teaching and healthcare innovation.

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The ribbon has been cut as The University of Otago's 292-million-dollar Wai Ora building has held its opening ceremony today.
The new facility will expand the university's capacity for biomedical research and clinical trials, with space for about 15-hundred researchers, clinicians and students.
John MacDonald visited the new building earlier this week, joining Associate Dean of Research Professor Logan Walker and Ōtautahi Campus/Wai Ora Project Owner Professor Suzanne Pitama to find out how the new collaborative hub will support research, teaching and healthcare innovation.
LISTEN ABOVE

Inside Wai Ora: The University of Otago's new medical campus in Christchurch

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/406b90b1-902c-49b0-97f1-b4c900004e94/transcript

What on earth has happened to National being the party for business?

The party that encourages people to take risks, start businesses, work hard and enjoy the rewards?

I never would have imagined National, of all parties, coming up with this idea of forcing Foodstuffs to split its supermarket operations.

Business NZ feels the same. Saying today that it’s just like Labour banning oil and gas exploration.

It says the National Party’s plan to use legislation to separate Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square is alarming and sends a chilling signal.

And I couldn’t agree more.

Because, unlike the oil and gas ban, which makes it very clear to oil and gas exploration companies that they’re not welcome here, National’s supermarket idea tells the world that they can still come here, but the rules might change once they set up shop.

Which is why Catherine Beard from Business NZ says it’s not just the local supermarket operators who are going to be worried. She says all businesses, here in New Zealand and elsewhere, will be too.

National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis, though, isn’t having a bar of that.

She says no current supermarket owners would be forced to sell. They’d just be part of the Pak’nSave chain, or they’d be part of the New World/Four Square chain.

She says we’re being ripped off by the supermarkets and something has to change.

But using legislation to fundamentally change the structure of a business, that is not a centre-right policy. It’s an anti-business policy.

Another weird part of this is that National wants to force change on Foodstuffs, which is a New Zealand outfit. But isn’t touching Woolworths, which is an Australian outfit.

Nicola Willis told Newstalk ZB this morning that that’s got nothing to do with Woolworths being publicly listed on the stock exchange over in Australia.

But she did say that Woolworths shouldn’t be complacent and will be expected to offer lower prices as well.

But I’m with Business NZ. This is an anti-business policy from the dark ages.

LISTEN ABOVE

What on earth has happened to National being the party for business?
The party that encourages people to take risks, start businesses, work hard and enjoy the rewards?
I never would have imagined National, of all parties, coming up with this idea of forcing Foodstuffs to split its supermarket operations.
Business NZ feels the same. Saying today that it’s just like Labour banning oil and gas exploration.
It says the National Party’s plan to use legislation to separate Pak'nSave from New World and Four Square is alarming and sends a chilling signal.
And I couldn’t agree more.
Because, unlike the oil and gas ban, which makes it very clear to oil and gas exploration companies that they’re not welcome here, National’s supermarket idea tells the world that they can still come here, but the rules might change once they set up shop.
Which is why Catherine Beard from Business NZ says it’s not just the local supermarket operators who are going to be worried. She says all businesses, here in New Zealand and elsewhere, will be too.
National’s finance spokesperson Nicola Willis, though, isn’t having a bar of that.
She says no current supermarket owners would be forced to sell. They’d just be part of the Pak’nSave chain, or they’d be part of the New World/Four Square chain.
She says we’re being ripped off by the supermarkets and something has to change.
But using legislation to fundamentally change the structure of a business, that is not a centre-right policy. It’s an anti-business policy.
Another weird part of this is that National wants to force change on Foodstuffs, which is a New Zealand outfit. But isn’t touching Woolworths, which is an Australian outfit.
Nicola Willis told Newstalk ZB this morning that that’s got nothing to do with Woolworths being publicly listed on the stock exchange over in Australia.
But she did say that Woolworths shouldn’t be complacent and will be expected to offer lower prices as well.
But I’m with Business NZ. This is an anti-business policy from the dark ages.
LISTEN ABOVE

John MacDonald: What's with National going anti-business?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/72d3024b-96de-4070-9599-b4c8000caef6/transcript

Politics Friday: Tracey McLellan and Vanessa Weenink on corporate manslaughter policy, supermarkets, FENZ confidence

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