KEY POINTS:
National and the Maori Party have put the first hiccup in their governing arrangement down to the speed wobbles as National rushes to get its priority legislation through, but the Maori Party has hinted it expects better.
The Maori Party said yesterday that it would oppose a law
change that allowed bosses in small businesses to put workers on a 90-day probationary period.
The bill is included in the legislation National is ramming through before Christmas under urgency, despite not being in its 100-day plan.
Co-leader Tariana Turia said the party had concerns about the way National dealt with it, including the last-minute notice to the Maori Party and had discussed the process with National's leadership.
The Maori Party's votes are not needed for the law to pass but the disagreement is the first test of the new agreement between the Maori Party and the National Party.
That agreement leaves the parties with scope to disagree with each other but puts a premium on a respectful "mana-enhancing" relationship between the two, including consultation on issues that affect Maori Party interests.
Mrs Turia said she was not expecting the employment bill to appear before Christmas because it was not among the law changes National had initially indicated.
The Maori Party was told only on Monday and had insufficient time to seek the views of Maori businesses and workers.
Mrs Turia indicated her party was willing to put it down to speed wobbles as the Government moved to rush its priority legislation through.
When asked if there had been strong words she replied "not yet".
"We've all been rushed off our feet and I just think it's the new Government settling in. I'm sure by next year ... we will have plenty of time to talk through points of difference."
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said the Maori Party's decision was "not unexpected", noting the agreement allowed for differences of opinion. Asked about Maori Party concerns with the process in this case, he said National was working at "100 miles an hour getting the Government up and running" but was building up the consultation processes with other parties.
He said the Government made the decision after the election to include the 90-day bill, believing it was among the steps to help businesses with the recession.
Mrs Turia indicated National had given up the chance of getting the Maori Party onside by choosing to put it through under urgency, saying some in the caucus had supported aspects of the bill because of its benefits to Maori businesses. She said she would have preferred it if the bill had gone through the select committee process.
The Maori Party had also opposed a similar private member's bill introduced by National's Wayne Mapp in 2006 and Mrs Turia said while the revised version was an improvement it did not go far enough to protect workers' rights.
The Human Rights Commission has also criticised National for rushing it through under urgency and has written to ministers asking it to reconsider and send the bill to a select committee.
In a statement yesterday, commissioner Judy McGregor said rushed legislation was "risky" and it was a "fundamental change to employment law which requires serious consideration".
