‘The Sky Didn’t Fall In’: An Emerging Consensus on the Shape of New Zealand Labour Law?

When the Labour government introduced the Employment Relations Act 2000 it was met with a hostile and vociferous campaign of opposition from both the opposition National party and employer lobby groups. A decade later that opposition has largely faded away as it became clear that the labour market changes achieved under the Employment Contracts Act remained intact and as the ground of labour relations changed within that new environment. A year after its election in late 2008 the National government has yet to introduce significant amendments to the Employment Relations Act and looks unlikely to do so. This article asks whether a broad consensus has emerged on the shape of labour law and examines the reasons why such a consensus seems plausible. In doing so it reviews developments under Labour and considers the direction that National might take during its term of office.