Economist Craig Renney and policy analyst Diana Russell will present the CTU’s Alternative Economic Strategy to our first Fabian meeting of 2023. The Council of Trade Unions are in the middle of consulting with workers and organisations on their strategy. You will find a link to the document here. https://union.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/AES-22-September-FINALweb.pdf “Building a Better Future” is their view of an economy that delivers for workers, and how this might be achieved. This includes making New Zealand the best country in the world to be a worker. NZ is already the best country in the world to be a business. The Prime Minister has said she wants NZ to be the best country to be a child. The CTU argues that in order for that vision to be realised we must first look after our workforce. The key design elements of the report revolve around 5 “missions” that they believe are central to a successful economic development pathway: 1. Economic equity 2. Delivering adequate housing and our infrastructure needs for the 21st Century 3. A Just Transition towards climate resilience 4. Decent work and greater work/life balance 5. Enabling the enduring wellbeing of New Zealand Each of these missions contains a policy proposal that they would like to discuss: 1. A National Investment Bank that delivers our central economic missions & a new state-owned default KiwiSaver provider to hold all default funds. 2. A Ministry of Green Works that delivers adequate housing, climate resilience, economic equity, decent work and a just transition 3. An energy revolution alongside a just transition (Industrial Revolution 5.0) 4. A Decent Work Act – to replace the Employment Relations Act. Pilot a four-day working week and ECE as right, progressively provided over time 5. Working with central government economic agencies to embed and build a genuine wellbeing approach to economic development They have three main questions they want to ask and get feedback: 1. What does a good economy look like for you? 2. What are your thoughts on the vision, direction and specifically the 5 missions? 3. What are your thoughts on their proposed solutions? Craig Renney - economist with the NZ Council of Trade Unions
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Privatisation & Plunder
Privatisation & Plunder explores the rise, impact and future of neoliberalism in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Over the past four decades, neoliberal policies — privatisation, deregulation, austerity and market fundamentalism — have radically reshaped the country more thoroughly than in any other OECD nation.
This collection brings together leading scholars, researchers and activists to unpack the social, economic and political costs of the ‘New Zealand Experiment’. All of the chapters are versions of major Fabian sessions.
We chart how neoliberalism hollowed out public institutions, sharpened inequality, and reduced our ability to respond to crises. We reveal how today’s challenges — from the cost of living and housing crises to the rise of precarious work — are rooted in this legacy.
Yet we also offer hope: transformative policy alternatives, ranging from universal basic income to new forms of democratic governance, public ownership and economic justice.
A map of the terrain and a call to collective action.
There will be be book launch events in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch (details to be confirmed).
You can register here.
