新西兰英语 89 New Government, New Laws

　　During the past two weeks, Parliament has been ‘in urgency’. That means they sit every day until late in the evenings and they even had a session last Saturday. Usually Parliament sits Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, although MPs meet for committee sessions also. The new National Government is keen to pass the laws about the various matters which they promised during the campaign.
One controversial new law is the 90 day trial period for workers in a new job. After 90 days, the employer can decide not to keep the worker on the job and will not have to pay any redundancy money. The Labour Opposition¹ says that this law will mean many bosses will get rid of workers after 90 days, then hire new workers for another 90 days. That probably depends on whether workers have to be trained. Nobody wants to train new workers every 90 days. This new law is only for small businesses that have fewer than 20 staff members.
The government has also promised financial support for people who lose their jobs because of the recession.
The government has also increased ACC levies² from $1.40 to $1.70 out of every $100. ACC is the Accident Compensation Commission and everyone pays a small amount from their pay as a kind of insurance. ACC has financial problems at the moment so they need more money.
Another new law, which passed yesterday, will allow new coal-fired power stations. The Labour government refused to use more coal because of the carbon emissions³. New Zealand has a lot of coal. Mostly we export it to China and Japan. The government said that we need more electricity generation because of higher demand for electricity.
The government had a chance to check the accounts yesterday. These show that the financial situation is much worse than two months ago. The Minister of Finance, Bill English, said that they do not have the money to help with insulation⁴ of old houses or to improve Kiwi Rail. When the Labour government bought back the Railways (see May 10th), the National Party said it was a waste of tax payer money so it is not surprising that they cannot find the money for Kiwi Rail.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 levies   

（部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队

参考例句：

• At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时，苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
• Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。

3 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

4 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。