logo
Brooke Van Velden's Mother's Day Present Sets Gender Equity Back 53 Years

Brooke Van Velden's Mother's Day Present Sets Gender Equity Back 53 Years

Scoop06-05-2025
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union condemns today's move by the National-led government to gut the Equal Pay Act.
The proposed changes will halt all current pay equity claims, cause them to be restarted under very restrictive and unreasonable criteria, and waste years of work by employers and unions who in many cases have been working together to seek justice for some of Aotearoa's lowest paid workers – all without due parliamentary process.
Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says 'this is discrimination at its worst and will set gender equity back 53 years to when the Equal Pay Act was passed.'
'Countless union women have fought long and hard for many years to achieve equal rights and equal pay for work of equal value in the workplace and this government is making a mockery of all that mahi.'
'This is another shameful example of workers paying the price for unnecessary tax cuts that overwhelmingly benefit the already well off. This time it comes at the particular expense of women being paid fairly, and it clearly demonstrates this government's lack of respect both for justice and for women.'
'Brooke Van Velden has delivered the worst possible Mother's Day present for working women – legislation that takes them and their families backwards.'
Wellingtonians outraged by this move are welcome to join us for a protest at the intersection of Cobham Drive and Evans Bay Parade at 9am on 23 May. All welcome!
TEU currently has two live pay equity claims for administrators and library assistants in universities. Including our two for university clerical/admin and library assistant, service workers.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer
New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer

Scoop

time8 hours ago

  • Scoop

New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer

Press Release – New Zealand Government This weeks engagements have enabled New Zealand to commemorate a half-century of dialogue with ASEAN and reinforce our position as a reliable and valuable partner, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. Minister of Foreign Affairs New Zealand's relationships in Southeast Asia have never been more important for our security and prosperity, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. 'As we deal with the current challenging, uncertain and disordered security environment, New Zealand is working ever more intensively with Southeast Asia,' says Mr Peters, who is currently in Malaysia for the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting. 'In 2025, we celebrate 50 years of dialogue relations between New Zealand and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),' Mr Peters says. 'We are working towards agreeing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, and this week's meetings in Malaysia have been an important step towards achieving that goal by October 2025. 'This week's engagements have enabled New Zealand to commemorate a half-century of dialogue with ASEAN and reinforce our position as a reliable and valuable partner,' Mr Peters says. Yesterday's meeting was Mr Peters' tenth engagement with the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers since his attendance at the inaugural Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005. 'New Zealand is honoured to be among the original countries to establish the East Asia Summit as the region's premier ASEAN-led strategic forum. Dialogue and cooperation between partners are more important than ever. New Zealand remains committed to our enduring partnership with ASEAN to shape the kind of region we all want. 'We reiterated our concern about the situation in Myanmar and tensions in the South China Sea, discussed security issues in the Middle East, and the increasingly serious challenges to the stability of the Indo-Pacific.' Mr Peters also held bilateral talks with ministerial counterparts from Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, the United States and Viet Nam. The Minister also met with alumni of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme. 'As New Zealand strengthens its ties with Southeast Asia, it is important we build on our existing people-centred connections. Our Manaaki Scholarship Programme is a key part of this,' Mr Peters says. This week's visit by Mr Peters to Malaysia was the 36th by New Zealand Ministers to Southeast Asia since February 2024. 'New Zealand continues to significantly lift effort and engagement in Southeast Asia in order to enhance New Zealand's security and prosperity. 'We are grateful to ASEAN Chair Malaysia for its hosting of this week's meetings. We look forward to continuing to build our bilateral relationship.' Mr Peters arrives back in New Zealand later today (12 July).

No need for bill protecting campus free speech, unis and legal experts say
No need for bill protecting campus free speech, unis and legal experts say

RNZ News

time8 hours ago

  • RNZ News

No need for bill protecting campus free speech, unis and legal experts say

Paul Rishworth KC says academic freedom is already protected in the Education Act, and the Bill of Rights protects free speech. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson Universities and legal experts say there is no need for a bill protecting free speech on campus . But the legislation's supporters say universities can't be trusted to uphold freedom of expression. Parliament's Education and Workforce Select Committee has been hearing submissions on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No. 2). If passed, it would require universities to develop a freedom of expression statement and complaints procedure, and report annually on it. The Law Society told the committee the bill created "needless complexity" because freedom of expression was already protected by law. Paul Rishworth KC said freedom of expression was of the utmost importance, but the bill was not necessary. He said academic freedom was already protected in the Education Act and the Bill of Rights protected free speech. "So, to add in to the Education Act a requirement that there be a statement on freedom of expression, introduces a needless complexity," he said. University staff warned the bill would force universities to host speakers spreading misinformation and hate speech. Tertiary Education Union co-president Julie Douglas told the committee there was a lack of evidence that universities were limiting free speech. "What we have now is a functioning model which does not need this level of monitoring," she said. Douglas said universities were special places but were being undermined "with a disregard for science, with a disregard for evidence , with a disregard for expert opinion". "I fear that this sort of move by the government with this sort of clause is meddling in a place where it's just not required," she said. University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson and Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan appeared before the committee together. They said the law was unnecessary, but if it was to go ahead universities wanted to reduce the associated compliance requirements. "We don't think it's either necessary nor a proportionate response to the issues that are there," Robertson said. Whelan said a similar complaints system in the UK had been "weaponised". New Zealand Initiative senior fellow Dr James Kierstead said staff and student surveys and 21 separate cases proved that universities were not protecting freedom of expression. Kierstead said the problem included staff fearful of losing their jobs if they voiced unpopular opinions and speakers refused the right to appear on campus. "It suggests that university senior management cannot be relied upon to uphold their obligations to academic freedom. If we have plentiful evidence that ordinary academics and students feel stifled and no evidence that senior management is going to solve the problem, then legislation is the only solution." Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling said the organisation was sad the legislation was needed. Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith He said students could cope with hearing challenging ideas and opinions. "We should not let a small group of students use their vulnerability... and work with university managers to stop other students hearing views that they think are dangerous," he said. "Free debate, free and open to ideas is part of being an academic, it is part of being a student and universities need to allow that." Canterbury University biological sciences professor Tammy Steeves told the committee should not be required to host any event or speaker . She said academics could judge whether ideas were robust and evidence-based. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said the legislation was likely to backfire. "It will actually make it worse for free speech on campus, it will politicise it, it will mean that opposing speech on campus will become a political act because it will be seen as opposing the government and I think it will be bad." Geddis said he was on a committee that drew up the university's free speech statement and statement of institutional neutrality. He said translating those statements into legal requirements would be a mistake. "I don't think actually it's the role of government to be trying to impose views on how universities as institutions ought to work. I think that's a dangerous imposition into the autonomy of them as institutions." Geddis said maintaining a culture of free speech would be more effective than making laws. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer
New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer

Scoop

time8 hours ago

  • Scoop

New Zealand And Southeast Asia Growing Closer

New Zealand's relationships in Southeast Asia have never been more important for our security and prosperity, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. 'As we deal with the current challenging, uncertain and disordered security environment, New Zealand is working ever more intensively with Southeast Asia,' says Mr Peters, who is currently in Malaysia for the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting. 'In 2025, we celebrate 50 years of dialogue relations between New Zealand and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN),' Mr Peters says. 'We are working towards agreeing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, and this week's meetings in Malaysia have been an important step towards achieving that goal by October 2025. 'This week's engagements have enabled New Zealand to commemorate a half-century of dialogue with ASEAN and reinforce our position as a reliable and valuable partner,' Mr Peters says. Yesterday's meeting was Mr Peters' tenth engagement with the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers since his attendance at the inaugural Foreign Ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur in December 2005. 'New Zealand is honoured to be among the original countries to establish the East Asia Summit as the region's premier ASEAN-led strategic forum. Dialogue and cooperation between partners are more important than ever. New Zealand remains committed to our enduring partnership with ASEAN to shape the kind of region we all want. 'We reiterated our concern about the situation in Myanmar and tensions in the South China Sea, discussed security issues in the Middle East, and the increasingly serious challenges to the stability of the Indo-Pacific.' Mr Peters also held bilateral talks with ministerial counterparts from Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, the United States and Viet Nam. The Minister also met with alumni of the Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship Programme. 'As New Zealand strengthens its ties with Southeast Asia, it is important we build on our existing people-centred connections. Our Manaaki Scholarship Programme is a key part of this,' Mr Peters says. This week's visit by Mr Peters to Malaysia was the 36th by New Zealand Ministers to Southeast Asia since February 2024. 'New Zealand continues to significantly lift effort and engagement in Southeast Asia in order to enhance New Zealand's security and prosperity. 'We are grateful to ASEAN Chair Malaysia for its hosting of this week's meetings. We look forward to continuing to build our bilateral relationship.' Mr Peters arrives back in New Zealand later today (12 July).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store