Peter is a founding partner of Kiely Thompson Caisley and is one of New Zealand’s top employment law practitioners with over thirty years experience in the field.
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Peter is one of the few practitioners in New Zealand with real experience under the Industrial Relations Act 1973, the Labour Relations Act 1987, the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and now the Employment Relations Act 2000. He has extensive experience in industrial relations including strikes and pickets. He is admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Federal Court of Australia and is advisor to many international companies with subsidiaries in New Zealand.

In 1999 he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Employment Law at Victoria University of Wellington. Peter was a member of the University of Auckland Council from 2009 to May 2019 and was Pro-Chancellor from 2012 to 2014. Peter is currently a member of the Industrial Relations Centre Advisory Board, which is part of the Victoria University of Wellington Management School. He holds a number of company directorships in private and public entities. He is the Honorary Consul General for the Slovak Republic.  He was formerly the Chairman of the Pacific Development and Conservation Trust from 2010 to 2020, and was Chairman of the Pacific Cooperation Foundation from 2011 to 2018.

Highlights

  • Peters v Bennett [2020] NZHC 761.
  • Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Ltd v Scott [2019] NZEmpC 113.
  • Postal Workers Union of Aotearoa Inc v New Zealand Post Ltd [2019] NZEmpC 47.
  • New Zealand National Party v Eight Mile Style, LLC [2018] NZCA 596.
  • Radius Residential Care Ltd v New Zealand Nurses Organisation Inc [2016] NZEmpC 112.
  • Service and Food Workers Union Nga Ringa Tota Inc v Terranova Homes and Care Ltd [2013] ERNZ 504 (Employment Court) and [2015] 2 NZLR 437 (Court of Appeal).
  • Doran v Crest Commercial Cleaning Ltd [2012] ERNZ 221.
  • Eastern Bay Independent Industrial Workers Union Inc v Carter Holt Harvey Ltd (2009) 6 NZELR 552.
  • Olsen v Carter Holt Harvey IT Ltd  [2008] ERNZ 557.
  • Carter Holt Harvey Ltd v Yukich (2005) 2 NZELR 347.
  • NCR (NZ) Corporation Ltd v Blowes (2005) 2 NZELR 673 (Court of Appeal).
  • Carter Holt Harvey Ltd v National Distribution Union Inc [2002] 1 ERNZ 239.
  • Aoraki Corporation Ltd v McGavin [1998] 3 NZLR 276 (Court of Appeal).
  • GFW Agri – Products Ltd v Gibson (1995) 1 NZELR 394 (Court of Appeal).
  • Air New Zealand v Johnston [1992] 1 NZLR 159 (Court of Appeal).