I seem to remember that before "Prebble, Richardson and there (sic) ilk" - came Douglas!
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British "immigrant union stirrer" Pat Kelly could no longer advise his union members to vote Labour because of Douglas! Labourite David Lange described Kelly as "Gaddafi without the ethnic charm"!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/iobitu...ACXMLOOBMANR4/
I think much of the move to independent contractors to avoid employment law stemmed from about the time of Douglas.
NZ was a dreadful place back then. And it was even difficult to escape for an overseas break with a daily allowance of money we were allowed to take, which barely covered accomodations In a country as exotic as Australia. Never forget having to collect postal orders at one five shilling note per day until you had enough for some restricted import, like a subscription to an overseas magazine. Some will remember having to have overseas funds to buy a new car. Otherwise you had to trade one in to satisfy the dealer, who offered next to nothing for the trade In. If you didn't have a trade in, they would sell you a second hand car, send you off for a drive around the block, and trade it in when you returned. That got around the price controls and regulations. Younger readers will think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. N Z had one if the most restricted and controlled economic es in the world. It was a horrible little country.
I guess you have to look at the international context of the times. Presumably NZ was more appealing than still war-ravaged and dreary post-war Britain and poor and conservative Ireland - or sufficiently appealing to pay £10 for the trip to the other side of the World and then to decide to stay.
Despite how poor they were, they saved the 10 Sovereigns (a fortune for many) and some more, for money when they got here, then they set about making a life for themselves and their families. Did they whine about it, or is that the preogative of the next lot or the lot after that?
You obviously don't recall those days, and the armies of 'moaning poms' as they were known, who found their way, mainly into the public service, and certain industries, like the Roslyn Woolen Mills on Dunedin. Seafearers union, boilermakers, steel workers union and so on. They infiltrated the unions and disrupted every industry they could. As a school leaver I worked in a trade where the floor would get messy. No bother to anyone with a brain - just a quick sweep and all was well. Problem was, the minute a union delegate spotted you they would call a stop work meeting, because some whippersnapper was doing a cleaner out of a job. Demarcation they called it. We were supposed to stop doing whatever until we coud find the cleaner, or he founfd us. It was pathetic. Do you not remember Tom Skinner, Pat Kelly, Ken Doughlas, Bill Richards, Jim Knox and the others - frequently on the news causing mayhem. Yes - they were well known and the harm they did to NZs economy, and reputation was immense. I don't know your age, but you obviously weren't working in that period - when no matter what, you were forced to join their horrible unions, and pay fees. If you could be bothered with the rigmarole you could be a conscientous objector - I was - although I still had to donate the equivalent of the union fees to an approved charity. They were thugs and bullies and it took a brave stance to be an objector.
You should read a bit of history of Trade Unionism in NZ, some of it even interesting like the Trades Hall bombing in 1984, which killed caretaker Ernie Abbot. A horrible period, promoted by scum - to nobodys' benefit.