ABSTRACT
New Zealand's highly regulated labour market existed in a wider environment of regulation. The government maintained high levels of intervention in areas such as imports and exports, money markets and banking. While the Employment Contracts Act 1991 represented a substantive break with the tradition of industrial relations in New Zealand, it was in keeping with the philosophy that had driven deregulation in other sectors of the economy since 1984. New Zealand has a unique social welfare system which expanded, in stages, during the twentieth century. The system is funded from general taxation rather than from targeted contributions and, in this respect, is unlike the social security systems in most other countries. The National government's labour market and social security changes were clearly designed to enhance labour market flexibility and reduce welfare dependency. A Labour/Alliance coalition government was formed following the elections in November 1999. Once again, industrial relations have been the subject of government attention.
