Ardern warns NoKo nukes a ‘real threat’
Thai restaurant in Whangarei, baulks at the idea of fat-cat business owners making profits off the back of minimum-wage workers.
‘‘Some people see the CEO of Fonterra getting paid $8 million and think all businesses are like that – why don’t your staff get more? But 92 per cent of New Zealand businesses are small businesses. We don’t have a CEO. I don’t have a $8m salary.’’
He knows business owners who don’t always pay themselves more than minimum wage for their own work.
‘‘A lot of small business owners don’t pay themselves a salary or they’re on a fixed salary and work many hours. If you’re going to calculate wages, they’d be paying themselves below minimum wage . . . my neighbour at the fish and chip shop hasn’t paid himself a salary in two years.’’
Few staff in Tiebtienrat’s business are on the minimum wage. He pays it while they are in the training phase. If he has to pay more from the outset, he’ll look to people who already have skills and experience.
But he expects that if the minimum wage rises 25 per cent over the next four years, other staff will expect their pay to rise by a similar amount.
‘‘When your costs increase, your price has to increase, too. If we increase our price, the question I don’t know is, would our customers be happy to pay for the price increase, if it goes up 25 per cent for the same food?
‘‘One thing that people who are not in business don’t understand is that we don’t earn 100 per cent of every dollar that comes in.’’ NUCLEAR testing in North Korea is not something the international community can afford to be complacent about, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.
North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and increases in nuclear testing made it a ‘‘genuine and real threat’’, she said on TV3’s The Nation yesterday.
"Every member of the international community needs to play a role in doing what we can to de-escalate the situation."
North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said in September that North Korea was considering testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific.
When Newshub political editor Patrick Gower asked if Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters could reach out and liaise with North Korea, Ardern said such a position would not be unfamiliar to Peters.
"A direct request was made a few years ago now by the United States administration for support from Mr Peters in navigating a situation with North Korea. That speaks to the level of diplomacy and the level of relationship that I’ve seen Mr Peters has with members of the international community."
She confirmed New Zealand would not engage in military action in North Korea unless it received backing from the United Nations Security Council.