Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/NEW_ZEAL.TXT

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TITLE:  NEW ZEALAND HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                          NEW ZEALAND


New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy, with executive
authority vested in a 20-member cabinet led by a prime
minister.  Four seats in the 99-member legislature are reserved
for those persons from the native Maori minority population who
wish to be included on a separate electoral roll.

Approximately 13 percent of New Zealand's population of
3,541,600 consider themselves Maori.  Immigrants from the
Pacific islands (5 percent) and Asia (2.5 percent) leaven a
population of primarily European descent and play an important
role in New Zealand's increasingly multicultural makeup.  The
rights of Maori and, to a lesser extent, Asians have received
increasing public attention in recent years.

Niue and the Cook Islands are self-governing countries in free
association with New Zealand.  In 1994 the New Zealand island
dependency of Tokelau informed the United Nations that it is
contemplating an act of self-determination on the basis of free
association with New Zealand.  Parliament is considering
legislation which would expand the lawmaking authority of
Tokelau's local assembly.  Inhabitants of all three areas hold
New Zealand citizenship and are entitled to New Zealand
passports.  Local law in the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau is
compatible with New Zealand and British common law.

New Zealand's police and defense forces are responsible to and
firmly controlled by civilian officials.

New Zealand is a highly efficient producer of agricultural
products.  The mainstay of its economy is the export of wool,
meat, and dairy products.  An expanding manufacturing sector is
engaged primarily in food processing, metal fabrication, and
the production of wood and paper products.  Niche industries
are developing in such high technology sectors as software
production.  Recent structural reforms have transformed New
Zealand from one of the world's most protected economies to one
based on free trade and market principles.  Disparities in
wealth are very small (though increasing), and most New
Zealanders have a comfortable standard of living.

New Zealanders enjoy a wide range of freedoms, and basic human
rights are guaranteed by law and respected in practice.
Minority rights are given special legislative protection, and
provision is made for the economically deprived.  A new Human
Rights Act, which took effect in February, incorporates
existing prohibitions against discrimination, and adds new bans
in several areas.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial
killing.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearance.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

New Zealand law prohibits torture and other forms of
mistreatment, and these prohibitions are generally respected in
practice.  In response to allegations that prison officials had
mistreated inmates at two jails, a police investigation was
initiated and is still under way.  Some officials have already
been disciplined, and several procedural reforms are being
undertaken to prevent recurrence.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The law provides for freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention,
and exile, and this is respected.  It also provides for
judicial review of the legitimacy of arrests and requires that
people arrested be charged promptly.  The court provides legal
aid to those who cannot afford to pay for a private attorney.
The law prohibits preventive detention.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The independent and impartial judiciary assures a prompt and
fair public trial.  Final appeal in some instances may be made
to the Privy Council in London, although this is rarely
invoked.  The authorities meticulously observe the rights of
the accused.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The law protects the right to privacy.  The Government does not
violate personal privacy, the sanctity of the home, or the
integrity of correspondence.  The Office of the Privacy
Commissioner hears complaints involving violation of personal
privacy by individuals or the Government.  The Privacy
Commissioner is a statutory member of the Human Rights
Commission.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and these are
respected in practice.  Several hundred newspapers and
magazines reflect a wide spectrum of political and social
thought.  Numerous state and privately owned radio stations
operate.  One private and two state television channels
broadcast nationally, and international satellite broadcasts
are available.  The Government makes no attempt to censor the
press, and opposition viewpoints are freely expressed.

Academic freedom is not limited.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The law provides for the rights to peaceful assembly and
association, and these are respected in practice.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

New Zealand enjoys a long tradition of religious freedom.  The
law treats all faiths equally.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The law places no limitations on internal movement or
resettlement, nor does it restrict foreign travel or the right
to return.  Within the limits of its resources, New Zealand
accepts and resettles refugees and asylum seekers.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

The people freely elect their government.  The law provides for
universal suffrage at age 18.  No restrictions based upon sex,
creed, or national origin limit participation in the political
process.  Four seats have been reserved in Parliament for Maori
who wish to be included on a separate electoral role.
Currently, of the 99 members of Parliament, 21 are women, 6 are
Maori (including the 4 reserved seats), and 1 is of Pacific
Island origin.  Two major parties, National and Labour,
dominate the political scene and have formed governments chosen
in triennial elections for more than 50 years.  Voting rates
are high, and participation in political groups is common.
Opposition groups freely voice their views and can influence
government policies.

Responding to complaints that the "first-past-the-post"
electoral system, or simple majority system, unfairly
disadvantaged small parties, the Government asked voters in a
referendum held at the same time as the 1993 general election
to determine whether to adopt proportional representation.  A
majority of voters chose to adopt a form of this known as
mixed-member-proportional representation (MMP).  Under this
system, each voter will cast two votes: one for the local
constituency candidate and one for a political party.
Candidates elected by constituencies and nominees selected from
party lists will be combined to achieve proportionality in the
Parliament, which will be expanded to 120 seats after the first
MMP elections are held sometime in 1995 or 1996.  The change
resulted in the formation of several new political parties in
1994.

Under MMP, the number of seats reserved for indigenous people
was determined during a 2-month registration period in which
Maori were given the option to register on either the general
or Maori electoral roll.  Some Maori leaders accused the
Government of providing inadequate support to the enrollment
campaign when low registration led to Maori gaining only 5
seats in the new 120-seat Parliament (vice 4 in the current
99-seat house.)  In October the New Zealand High Court
dismissed a legal challenge by three of New Zealand's main
Maori organizations which sought to order the Government to
conduct a new registration period with additional resources.
The Maori groups are appealing the High Court's decision.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

Local and international human rights organizations operate
freely.  New Zealand allows individuals to request an
independent U.N. Human Rights Committee investigation of
alleged abuses of human rights.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The New Zealand Human Rights Commission hears complaints of
discrimination based on sex, marital status, national or ethnic
origin, and religious or ethical belief.  The Race Relations
Conciliator, a statutory member of the Human Rights Commission
but empowered under separate legislation, hears complaints
based upon racial discrimination.  New Zealand's new Human
Rights Act, which was enacted in 1993 and took effect in
February 1994, replaced and expanded the Human Rights
Commission Act of 1977 and the Race Relations Act of 1971.  The
legislation incorporates existing bans against discrimination
on the basis of sex (including pregnancy and sexual
harassment), marital status, religious or ethical belief, race,
color, or ethnic or national origin.  It adds new bans against
discrimination on the grounds of physical or psychological
disability (including disability or impairment due to the
presence in the body of organisms capable of causing illness),
age, political opinion, employment status, family status, or
sexual orientation.

The Act prohibits such discrimination in employment, education,
access to public places, provision of goods and services, and
housing and accommodation.  The New Zealand defense force ended
its ban on homosexuals in the armed services shortly after the
Act took effect in February.  The military's new order
prohibits unacceptable sexual behavior, regardless of the sex
involved.

     Women

Nationwide police data for the 12-month period ending in June
1994 show 8,471 assaults by males on females as compared to
5,562 in the previous reporting year.  Reported instances of
male rape of females showed a less dramatic increase, 1,205
compared to 1,193.  Informed observers state that these figures
should be interpreted with caution.  They attribute much of the
increase to a heightened level of awareness by the public and a
greater willingness to report such abuses.

The Government actively combats violence against women in a
number of ways, including the issuance of nonmolestation and
nonviolence orders against abusive spouses, civil protection
orders issued in family courts, or suit for compensation for
some forms of negligent harm.  A crime prevention unit under
the Prime Minister coordinates national policy on domestic
violence.  The law penalizes spousal rape.

Victims of domestic violence may stay in one of the 50
government-funded shelters operated by the National Collective
of Independent Women's Refuges (NCIWR), or the half-dozen
shelters run by church or private groups.  One nongovernmental
organization (NGO) reported that 80 percent of women in refuges
refuse to take out nonviolence orders either because they are
too frightened, don't believe they will be effective, or think
the order will further anger the spouse.

NGO's unanimously praise the police for their commitment to
fight domestic violence, including their policy of arresting
offenders instead of attempting mediation at the scene, their
coordination with victim support services, and their response
to concerns raised by refuge workers.  In March the police
launched a nationwide campaign on spousal abuse by sponsoring a
television documentary on domestic violence.

     Children

A 1989 law increased specific safeguards for children's rights
and made special provisions for the treatment of children by
the legal system, including creation of the independent office
of the Commissioner for Children with broad powers of audit and
inquiry into all aspects of children's rights.

The number of reports of assaults on children under age 14 rose
from 709 in the reporting period ending June 1993 to 990 in the
year ending June 1994.  (These figures do not differentiate
between those committed by children and those by adults.)
Police statistics also contain a general category of abuse
against children, and these showed an increase from 3,144 to
3,309.  Again, as with abuse of women, informed observers
believe that the increase in reported abuses comes from greater
public awareness of such abuses and a greater willingness to
report them, and they attribute this largely to the
effectiveness of the Government's intensified efforts to
publicize the need to be aware of and report domestic violence.

     Indigenous People

Approximately 13 percent of New Zealand's population claim at
least one ancestor from the country's indigenous Maori or
Morioni minorities.  Despite a legal prohibition on
discrimination, significant portions of the indigenous
population remain marginally educated and economically
disadvantaged.  Maori experience high rates of infant crib
death and child abuse and are less likely to graduate from high
school.  A relatively high percentage of Maori are unemployed
and receive state assistance.  Maori also figure
disproportionately in crime statistics and among the prison
population.

In 1975 a special tribunal was empowered to hear Maori tribal
claims to land and other natural resources stemming from the
Treaty of Waitangi.  While major agreements between the
Government and Maori leaders resolving Maori claims to fishing
rights have been reached, progress on resolving land disputes
has been slow.  In early December, the Government proposed a
package  of around $612 million to settle all outstanding Maori
land claims.

Government policy recognizes a special role for indigenous
people and their traditional values and customs, including
cultural and environmental attitudes that have an impact on
issues of commercial development.

     People with Disabilities

The Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of
physical and intellectual or psychological disability or
impairment.  The Disabled Persons Community Welfare Act of 1976
mandates community support, equipment, access to buildings,
transportation to treatment centers and places of employment,
and guidelines for modifications to workplaces and homes, and
there are provisions in place for the delivery of these
services.  In December the Human Rights Commission ordered
Stagecoach Wellington, the city bus company, to cancel an order
for 40 buses deemed insufficiently accessible to persons with
physical disabilities.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

New Zealand workers have unrestricted rights to establish and
join organizations of their own choosing and to affiliate these
organizations with other unions and international
organizations.  The principal labor organization, the New
Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU), is affiliated with the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).  A
second, smaller national labor federation, the New Zealand
Trade Union Federation (TUF), was established in 1993.  There
are also a number of independent labor unions.

Labor organization is rudimentary in the New Zealand dependency
of Tokelau (population 1,800) and in the Freely Associated
State of Niue (population 2,000).  In the more developed New
Zealand Associated State of the Cook Islands (population
18,000), most workers in the public sector, the major employer,
belong to independent local unions inspired by New Zealand
models.  Industrial relations in the Cooks are governed by a
simplified version of older New Zealand legislation.

The law protects unions from governmental interference,
suspension, and dissolution.  Unions, in fact, influence
legislation and government policy.  They operate independently
of political parties but can and do support parties whose
policies they favor.  Some unions are affiliated with the
opposition Labour Party.  They have and freely exercise the
right to strike.

The law prohibits strikes designed to force an employer to
become party to a multicompany contract.  Under the Police Act
of 1958 and amendments, "sworn police officers," i.e., all
uniformed and plainclothes police but excluding clerical and
support staff, are barred from striking or taking any form of
industrial action.  Police, however, do have freedom of
association and the right to organize and to bargain
collectively.  Issues which cannot be settled between the
Police Association and management through negotiation are
subject to compulsory, final-offer arbitration.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The law provides for the right of workers to organize and
bargain collectively, and this is observed in practice in New
Zealand and its dependencies.  The law prohibits uniformed
members of the armed forces from organizing unions or
bargaining collectively.

The Employment Contracts Act (ECA) of 1991 initiated labor
market deregulation, intended to make New Zealand more
competitive internationally.  This marked a sharp break with
almost a century of prounion industrial legislation.  Under the
ECA, unions lost their special legal status and have no
inherent right to represent any particular group of workers.
The Act abolished compulsory unionism, the closed shop,
monopoly union coverage, and requirements forcing workers to
join a particular union.  As a consequence, union membership
plummeted.

Unions now represent fewer than half of all wage earners.
Under the ECA, employment relationships are based on
contracts.  Individual employees and employers may choose to
conduct negotiations for employment contracts on their own
behalf or may authorize any other person or organization to do
so as their representative.  Although choosing a union as
bargaining representative is entirely voluntary, unions have
remained the most common agent used by workers to negotiate
with employers.  Employers must recognize a representative
authorized by an employee or employees.  Neither employers nor
employees are required, however, to negotiate or to agree to an
employment contract.  In March, pursuant to a complaint by the
NZCTU, the Freedom of Association Committee of the
International Labor Organization (ILO) criticized provisions in
the ECA as contrary to ILO Convention 87 on freedom of
association and ILO Convention 98 on the right to organize and
to bargain collectively.  To obtain firsthand information on
the working of the ECA, an ILO mission visited New Zealand in
September for discussions with unions, employer
representatives, and government officials.

The Freedom of Association Committee's final report, issued in
November, recommended that the New Zealand Government keep it
informed of judicial rulings on industrial relations issues,
suggested the holding of tripartite consultations to promote
collective bargaining, criticized only the ECA's prohibition on
strikes to force a multiemployer contract, and offered the
ILO's advisory services to the Government of New Zealand.  The
Government has asked the NZCTU and the Employers Federation for
their comments on the report, but it has rejected the ILO's
criticism of the ban on strikes to force multiemployer
contracts.

The Government does not control mediation and arbitration
procedures.  The employment court hears cases arising from
disputes over the interpretation of labor laws.  A less formal
body, the employment tribunal, is available to handle wage
disputes and assist in maintaining effective labor relations.
Firing an employee for union activities is grounds for a
finding of unjustified dismissal and may result in
reinstatement and financial compensation.

There are no export processing zones in New Zealand, Tokelau,
Niue, or the Cook Islands.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor in New Zealand and
its dependencies.  Inspection and legal penalties ensure
respect for these provisions.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

Department of Labour inspectors effectively enforce a ban on
the employment of children under age 15 in manufacturing,
mining, and forestry.  Children under the age of 16 may not
work between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.  In addition to
explicit restrictions on the employment of children, New
Zealand's system of compulsory education ensures that children
under the minimum age for leaving school (now 16) are not
employed during school hours.  By law children enrolled in
school may not be employed even outside school hours if such
employment would interfere with their education.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, with a minimum of
3 weeks' annual paid vacation, and 11 paid public holidays.
Under the Employment Contracts Act, however, employers and
employees may agree to longer hours than the 40-hour per week
standard.  While New Zealand law does not specifically provide
for a 24-hour rest period weekly, the practice is accepted by
management and labor, and it is the norm.  The government-
mandated hourly minimum wage of approximately $3.75 ($NZ 6.125)
applies to workers 20 years of age and older.  Combined with
other regularly provided entitlements and welfare benefits for
low-income earners, this wage is adequate to provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and his family.  Effective
April 1, 1994, a youth minimum wage for younger workers was
introduced at 60 percent of the adult minimum.  A majority of
the work force earns more than the minimum wage.

New Zealand has an extensive body of law and regulations
governing health and safety issues, notably the Health and
Safety in Employment Act of 1992.  Under this legislation,
employers are obliged to provide a safe and healthy work
environment, and employees are responsible for their own safety
and health as well as ensuring that their actions do not harm
others.  The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has criticized
the Act, however, for not providing sufficient employee
involvement in workplace decisions affecting health and
safety.  Under the Employment Contracts Act, workers have the
legal right to strike over health and safety issues.  Unions
and members of the general public may file safety complaints on
behalf of workers.  Department of Labour inspectors enforce
safety and health rules, and they have the power to shut down
equipment if necessary.  The Department of Labour standard is
to investigate reports of unsafe or unhealthy working
conditions within 24 hours of notification.  Workers have the
right to withdraw from a dangerous work situation without
jeopardy to continued employment.