I have been reflecting upon my time as an MP so far, and how it has broadened my worldview.
Before politics, I was an employment lawyer and I saw my mission as achieving decent wage growth in this country. In furtherance of that goal, my bill to restrict restraints of trade has now passed its first reading and is open for submissions.
I would be grateful if anyone who has been negatively impacted by a restraint of trade made a submission.
A restraint of trade stops an employee from working in their field, in their area, or for a competitor after the employment has ended. These restraints restrict the labour pool, often tying low-income employees to large multinational companies. Many believe this is done with the intention of stopping competition from thriving, because it starves smaller businesses of labour.
Research from America has found that workers experience an average wage increase of 6% over five years when restraint of trade provisions are banned in their industry. Tellingly, the percentage increase is double that for women than it is for men. Benefits for innovation have also been proven. The success of Silicon Valley is attributed in part to the ban of restraints on trade, because businesses can access the skills they need.
This lesson in the detrimental impact of anti-competitive behaviour led to my keener interest in other costs people face due to insufficient competition. On the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, the Reserve Bank raised concerns that banks were making record profits here that they were not in Australia. The Commerce Commission is now investigating, and I am keen to further this work because it has the potential to reduce the prices we all pay.
I am pleased that we have begun to take active steps to address the lack of competition in supermarkets. One such step is a Grocery Commissioner, who will oversee the actions of our supermarkets and hold them to account. This will help to ensure cheaper food prices and fair treatment of those businesses in the food supply chain.
In another step to reduce prices at the checkout, Chris Hipkins recently announced that as a part of Labour’s Cost of Living Plan, we will take GST off fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables from 1 April next year, saving families around $20 a month. The Grocery Commissioner will monitor supermarkets and report publicly to make sure that the actual cost benefits are passed on to New Zealanders.
My place on the Transport and Infrastructure Select Committee has been invaluable as an Auckland MP, because it is so relevant to our everyday frustrations due to decades of infrastructure underinvestment. Now I am based in Mount Albert, I will be seizing my opportunity to question KiwiRail about its response to Mount Albert residents who live along railway lines and experienced greater flooding due to water overflowing from rail corridors. For the whole of Auckland, I will seek KiwiRail’s assurance that when the rail corridors are rebuilt, they will be cognisant of any impact on neighbouring properties given the growing risk of flooding.
Having seen the impacts of flooding as a long-time resident in Sandringham, I have a personal stake in making sure future infrastructure is flood resistant. Intensification needs to be pursued in a way that takes account of climate change.
Minister James Shaw made a comment at a recent concrete industry initiative to become carbon neutral by 2050. He said the silver lining of a decades-long infrastructure underinvestment, is that we can now build our city to be more sustainable for the environment. I agree with him. One of the joys of my job is that I get to see success stories. Did you know that they are making concrete with algae in it… which acts like a tree by becoming a carbon sink? It is technological advancements such as this which make me optimistic for our future. (HELEN WHITE)
Labour List MP based in Mt Albert.
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Published: August 2023