Labour red-faced over 'Future of Work' plagiarism

An accusation of plagiarism has forced Labour MP Clare Curran to apologise for apparently copying text from business magazine The Economist for a "Future of Work" issues paper.

According to the New Zealand Herald, Curran admitted that sections of the paper had not been attributed correctly, saying: "These paragraphs should have been cited in the final text and I apologise for the oversight."

In a statement released by the Dunedin South MP, Curran said a large number of documents were used during the research, from "many sources over a period of weeks and months".

The accusations of copying surfaced when former party member Phil Quin, who quit the party this month, flagged the similarities on his personal blogsite.

Labour vs the Economist:  

Labour wrote:
"Complex tasks such as programming a computer or writing a legal brief can now be divided in component parts and subcontracted to specialists around the world."

The Economist wrote in Workers on Tap:
"Complex tasks, such as programming a computer or writing a legal brief, can now be divided into their component parts-and subcontracted to specialists around the world."

Labour wrote:
"Fast-moving tech companies competing in this arena have developed new models - such as Uber, Handy and AirB&B - that are transforming industries which have been historically slow to innovate. Transportation, grocery, restaurant and personal service industries are seeing hyper-growth in the on-demand world."

The Economist's Business Insider's The 'On-Demand Economy' wrote:
"The fast-moving technology companies competing in this arena have developed new models that are transforming industries which have historically been slow to innovate. The ground transportation, grocery, and restaurant industries are prime examples of hyper-growth categories in the on-demand world."

Labour wrote:
"The 'on-demand economy' is the result of pairing that workforce with smartphones and other devices, which now provide far more computing power than the desktop computers which reshaped companies in the 1990s, and reach far more people."

The Economist wrote in There's an App for That:
"The on-demand economy is the result of pairing that workforce with the smartphone, which now provides far more computing power than the desktop computers which reshaped companies in the 1990s, and to far more people."

Curran said: "The document has been updated on our website."