logo
‘Anger, integrity and passion': Whanganui protest targets Equal Pay Amendment Bill

‘Anger, integrity and passion': Whanganui protest targets Equal Pay Amendment Bill

NZ Herald09-05-2025
'Considering how quickly this has been pushed on us, I think it was an incredible turnout,' she said.
'We know there were protests all over the country today that were pulled together really quickly, and that shows me that New Zealand is angry.'
Melser believed Whanganui should be concerned about the amendments because it had a lower average household income than the national average.
'Our cost of living is dramatically increasing and ... we rely on these roles that are predominantly filled by women to support our community.
'This legislation change is something our community should be really worried about.'
Bates said 'context is important' when considering the law changes.
The Equal Pay Amendment Bill does not remove the possibility of sector-wide claims being made, but it makes the requirements stricter.
The changes include raising the threshold for work 'predominantly performed by female employees' from 60% to 70%; stricter guidelines on the use of comparators; and adding more ways in which employers can meet pay equity obligations.
'What we did this week was take the legislation back to be more representative of the amendments that National was in support of in 2020 to make sure that we have a sustainable, robust system of pay equity,' Bates said.
'The amendments this week had no impact on equal pay and the National Party remains committed to equal pay and pay equity.'
Since the bill passed, a petition supported by unions, such as E tū, New Zealand Writers Guild, Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association and more, has amassed almost 55,000 signatures.
Bates did not make an appearance at the protest because of a prior commitment to attend the Rural Nats Forum in Rotorua, but said he welcomed anyone with questions and concerns to speak to him.
Melser hoped Bates would attend to gain insight into the process of the amendments. She also had concerns about the bill being passed under urgency.
Bates said urgency used to keep the legal process smooth.
'If the Government had said 'this is happening' and there was a long period of time before it actually happened, it could create challenges around those legal processes for all involved.'
The Equal Pay Amendment Bill does not officially become law until it receives royal assent, via the Governor-General, which is likely to be given early next week.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Business case flawed: Brooking
Business case flawed: Brooking

Otago Daily Times

time9 hours ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Business case flawed: Brooking

The release of a "flawed" business case means more information is needed before Labour decides whether it would dump the planned Waikato Medical School, a Dunedin MP says. Last Monday, Health Minister Simeon Brown announced Cabinet had approved $82.85 million in government funding to build the country's third medical school at the University of Waikato — the institution was expected to contribute more than $150m to the project. Dunedin MP Rachel Brooking, of Labour, said she was "very sceptical" about figures used by the government to make its decision. The project's detailed business case was made public on Friday evening, part of a document dump which revealed the cost of producing GPs at the graduate-entry Waikato medical school would be $50 million a year cheaper than at the existing medical schools at Otago and Auckland universities. "The business case has really been written with an outcome in mind and not traversed all of the options, and that's just bad decision-making," Ms Brooking said. "It's bad way to make use of taxpayers' money, and it seems that in general, this all will cost more." She said the "flawed" business case would have consequences for the Otago Medical School: "those are difficult to predict exactly". However, Labour had "no plans at the moment" to dump the medical school, Ms Brooking said. "The issue is that we don't think the business case is credible. "So we'll keep asking questions about that and try and make any assessments on good information when we're in a position to do so." Taieri MP Ingrid Leary said "the so-called business case is really just a public relations document, given the outlandish assumptions and comparators". In a statement last Monday, Mr Brown said the project was an innovative model "that supports our focus on strengthening primary care, making it easier for people to see their doctor — helping Kiwis stay well and out of hospital". Waikato University would begin construction on new teaching facilities later this year. A full cost-benefit analysis was presented to Cabinet before any proposal was finalised, as part of the National-Act New Zealand coalition agreement, he said. Green MP Francisco Hernandez said the government's cost-benefit analysis used to "ram through" the Waikato Medical School made assumptions revealing the "lack of objectivity". Mr Hernandez said the document "falsely assumed" Otago and Auckland universities could not have negotiated a four-year rural graduate programme similar to Waikato University's proposal. "This assumption enables the government to claim that Waikato University will train medical students 'cheaper' because Waikato is assumed to have a four-year programme," he said. The government had also assumed Waikato University was more likely to produce GPs "even though Otago and Auckland could have also done a rural graduate programme". "Fundamentally, these flawed assumptions stem from the government's failure to run a transparent tender process from the start," Mr Hernandez said. "Rather than putting out an open tender to every university in New Zealand, they gave Waikato University a sweetheart deal." He called for the government to "be up front and honest about the actual costs" of the project and release the full agreement with Waikato University with all relevant advice. "The government's failure to rule out further handouts or to release the actual agreement raises questions on whether there were further sweetheart deals negotiated behind closed doors in the agreement that might end up with the taxpayer bailing out Waikato University."

Te Pāti Māori, Greens outraged at 'marginalising' passport changes
Te Pāti Māori, Greens outraged at 'marginalising' passport changes

RNZ News

time2 days ago

  • RNZ News

Te Pāti Māori, Greens outraged at 'marginalising' passport changes

Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Te Pāti Māori says the government's changes to passports are an attempt to whitewash the national identity. The government confirmed on Friday New Zealand's passport is being redesigned to place the English words above the te reo Māori text. The new look won't start being rolled out until the end of 2027. Since 2021, passports have had "Uruwhenua Aotearoa" printed in silver directly above New Zealand Passport. Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said the positioning of text on passports will change to reflect the government's commitment to using English first. She said the redesign - which would be unveiled later this year - was being done as part of a scheduled security upgrade, ensuring no additional cost to passport-holders. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the change diminishes the visibility of tangata whenua. "Our passport is not just a travel document, it's a statement of who we are as a nation. So, the stripping down of te reo Māori, or marginalising our indigenous identity, reflects this government's sad obsession with erasing Te Tiriti o Waitangi and dragging us back to a monocultural past," she said. Ngarewa-Packer said the move undermined Aotearoa's reputation as a leading nation in recognising indigenous rights. "Restoring our reo took a long time. I mean imagine doing this in Ireland, imagine doing this to the Welsh. This was hard fought for. It's not re-ordering of words, the reformatting is deliberately done to undermine the mana [and] to sideline us tangata whenua." Benjamin Doyle Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle said the move is not what New Zealanders need from the government. "We are seeing day by day, the rights and dignities of minority communities being stripped away while they leave the majority of New Zealanders suffering under the government's current decisions," Doyle said. "This is not a positive vision for Aotearoa, this is not a positive step towards unifying kotahitanga and it's not benefiting anyone. Really, its just dog-whistling politics. It's the tail wagging the dog." The ACT Party celebrated van Velden's move on social media, saying the change would "restore English before te reo Māori - without costing taxpayers". The change comes as part of a deliberate push by the coalition to give English primacy over te reo Māori in official communications. New Zealand First's coalition agreement with National stipulates that public service departments have their primary name in English and be required to communicate "primarily in English" except for entities specifically related to Māori. It also includes an as-yet-unfulfilled commitment to make English an official language of New Zealand.

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