Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on the Greens campaigning on making union membership the default for new employees

The Green Party says unions are to thank for workplace rights Kiwis now see as a given. 

Co-leader Marama Davidson's announced a members bill to make union membership the default, which is also a Party election policy. 

Membership would still be optional, but workers would need to opt-out, not in.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this proposal feels like a step backwards, given which other countries have compulsory unions. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry soapers with us Aller Berry.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Good afternoon, Heather. What do you think, Well, I sort
of grew up with compulsory unionism when I was a
young journal.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Great, but you grew up with black and white TV.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
No, no, just let me finish, Heather. I haven't finished.
And I've got to say, in those days, journalists and
you can thank us for the battle that we fought
in the seventies, journalists are much better paid than what
they used to be. We used to be on an
absolute pittance and it was the Remuneration Authority under Norman
Kirk that gave us a big hit and that brought

(00:33):
the salary up to where we thought at the time
should be. So having said that, I think a return
now to automatical they call it automatic trade unionism that
the Greens are reposing is really a step back. But
it's not only that, it's the image that it creates.

(00:53):
I mean North Korea and Cuba. They have compulsory unionism
in those countries. Most certainly don't, and I think New
Zealand shouldn't be seen in the light of being expecting
people to sign up for a union as soon as
they are employed.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Now I'm interested in Why they're doing it though, Barry,
because it's not a vote winner. Are they doing it
to try to lure the labor that the union's away
from labor to support the Greens?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Well, who knows. I mean, it's in a way silly
what they're proposing, because what they're saying is that when
a worker joins the workforce, they automatically become a union
member unless they opt out. Well, that's cool, they can
opt out. So what does it mean. It really doesn't
mean anything if people don't feel that the union is

(01:44):
right for them.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Sure, because there will be people who are lazy enough
to not make the decision one way or the other.
So it will automatically lift union men.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Well, the problem is that when they do start their
workplace in the workplace, their names are given, apparently to
the trade union movement the legislation they're proposing, So it
means that somebody from the trade union can get in
touch with a young worker and say, look, you're part
of our union. Would expect you to.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Free publicity, toe the line. Okay, So what's Winston Peters
reckons on why Paul Henry was announced as an Act
Party candidate this week.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, today the ACT former ACT Party president Tim Jago
was sentenced to eighteen months jail for indecency chargers on
top of the two and a half years he's already
serving for sexually abusing two teenage boys. Now, essentially he

(02:43):
says he's very regretful and so well he should be.
So ACT most certainly won't be comfortable with the behavior
of their former president. And wait for it, Winston Peters
reckons that's why his coalition partner trotted out Paul Here
Henry as a candidate this week.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
The fact of the matter is that at seven pm
previous night, the ACT Party found out that their former
president was up against upling in the court again for
peterophilia charges. So that's why they dropped this one. And
at this point in time, the coinserence is echoing around
the country. For goodness sake, there's no surprises here. But

(03:22):
as be, poor Henry's going to find out this is
a difficult job politics and he's going to have to learn.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
Yeah, so that's the reason why. But look, there was
more from Winston today. New Zealand first Social Agriculture Minister
Mike Patterson, who was a former sheep farmer, headed off
to India. You'll be aware Heather and his boss didn't
see that as hypocritically given the party's trench in opposition

(03:50):
to the FTA with India.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Have a listen, we've been working on exporting the wall
all around the world. So since we've got the job
and Mike's done a fantastic job. And there I said,
if you go to their Indian new Parliament, the carpet
is magnificent, carve is provided by New Zealand. This is
nothing to do with this. I mean, this is the
kind of deal we talked about getting out there and
trading properly, but making it up and manifesting it as

(04:13):
the Prime Minister has while he subserviently bows down to
an Indian culture in New Zealand was just breathaking. How
could we possibly be proud of what he did? I mean,
the salutations and secretness of the Prime Minister's behavior when
many finances here was just breathaking, and you know it.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
I find it extraordinary. Now this is our foreign minister,
and I thought Luckson's behavior to the Indian Prime Minister
was superb and they obviously both got on extraordinarily well.
Now Peter's was talking to Meil Couzy bro Jamie mckaye
on the Country Today. That's where that came from. There

(04:52):
will be, though you'll be pleased to hear it. Heather
and New Zealand Faery's announcement tomorrow.

Speaker 1 (04:58):
Are you allowed to say that out loud?

Speaker 2 (05:00):
I'm saying it out loud, but they're not embargo. I suspect, well,
the announcement's embargo and we don't know what it is,
but there is an announcement coming up, and I suspect
it won't be terribly exciting to be perfectly honest.

Speaker 1 (05:13):
Okay, thanks Barry. I think Barry might have just let
the cat out of the bag. They're very sober. Senior
political correspondent.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
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