National’s optional 90 day probationary period for new employment is sensible. It would have been surprising if National had not re-committed to it after a strenuous attempt to get Wayne Mapp’s Bill passed, but the policy timing is welcome none-the-less.

Hopefully the Maori Party will support it this time. The people they claim to speak for have more th gain than any one else from reduced employer anxiety about being stuck with a dud if they risk giving an unpromising prospect a go.