Newsletter
Newsletter
Government comes out firing for 2012
The area of wages is just the tip of an iceberg of activity for government as a potentially difficult year really gets underway. In some of the announcements that impact in the franchise market, there has been reports on unemployment, consumer law reform and identity verification services.
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce has been quick to trumpet a fall in unemployment from 6.6 per cent to 6.3 per cent in the December 2011 quarter announcing it as further evidence the economy is heading in the right direction.
The results from Statistics New Zealand show that 3000 more people were employed in the quarter.
“Over the past year 34,000 jobs have been created and the number of unemployed has fallen. The latest results are encouraging given the challenges the country has had to face over the past few years with the global financial crisis and Canterbury earthquakes,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Joyce said the Government was committed to sensible management of its own finances and was determined to create the right environment to encourage competitive businesses to grow and create sustainable jobs.
“If we want more and better paying jobs, then we have to have increased business investment in New Zealand. That’s why the Government is implementing a comprehensive 120-point plan that will help build a stronger, more competitive economy.
“We have to be prepared to remove costs and roadblocks that discourage good businesses from investing and expanding. Nothing creates jobs better than successful, growing, competitive businesses.”
Consumer Law Reform Bill passes first reading
The Consumer Law Reform Bill passed its first reading last week.
“The Consumer Law Reform Bill is a vital update to New Zealand’s consumer laws and another step towards implementing the Government’s 120-point economic development action plan,” said Consumer Affairs Minister Chris Tremain.
“The Fair Trading Act, Consumer Guarantees Act, and other consumer laws are relevant to everyone in daily life. These laws are sound, but have not been updated in over 20 years.
“Therefore, they are not adequately dealing with some modern transactions. The Consumer Law Reform Bill will update consumer laws to better cover Trade Me-style auctions, supermarket self-service systems, telephone sales using credit cards, and the sale of extended warranties.
“The Bill also adds new provisions to the Fair Trading Act to require traders and retailers to have reasonable grounds for any claims they make. Common sense changes like this will better protect consumers and ensure that traders are behaving honestly.”
The Bill also:
- Extends the scope of the Disputes Tribunal to hear cases under the “misleading and deceptive conduct” provisions of the Fair Trading Act;
- Gives the Commerce Commission a wider range of enforcement tools to more effectively enforce the Fair Trading Act;
- Amends the Consumer Guarantees Act to better provide for acceptable quality of electricity and gas;
- Adds provisions to the Fair Trading Act relating to lay-by sales, unsolicited goods and services, conduct at auctions, and uninvited direct sales;
- Provides for a new Auctioneers Act which will require auctioneers to meet a number of minimum standards.
Bill supporting identity verification service
The first reading of a bill that will make it easier for people to verify their identities to government agencies has also been activated.
The Electronic Identity Verification Bill will provide people using the internet with the option of an easy and secure way to verify their identities to access a range of services from government agencies.
The service works in combination with the igovt log-on service, which allows people to use one log-on to access secure online services across multiple government agencies.
“Using the service will allow people to avoid repeatedly having to provide physical documents to multiple agencies in order to use online services,” says Internal Affairs Minister Amy Adams.
“Currently, for these kinds of interactions, agencies usually require people to provide several documents as evidence of their identity, but this bill ensures that the process is much easier, while still having appropriate controls and safeguards.”
The identity verification service has been operating successfully, but in a limited form, since December 2009. People have been able to use the service for online ordering of certificates and copies of records from the births, deaths and marriages registry.
“It is now time to expand the service to allow for a greater range of uses, so that people, government and businesses can realise the benefits that Internet technologies offer.”