Midday Report Essentials for Wednesday 4 June 2025
In today's episode, a new poll shows more New Zealanders oppose rather than favour the government's pay equity shakeup, demolition crews are racing against the tide to remove the burnt-out wreck of an historic ship on the Paihia waterfront in Northland, the government is investing over $15 million to upgrade infrastructure and enhance conservation in Milford Sound, and a strong wintry weather blast is starting to be felt in parts of the country with flights in and out of Christchurch and Nelson being cancelled.
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RNZ News
27 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'Once a poster girl, now an international laggard': Pay equity appeal goes to UN
Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi A pay equity advocacy group is making an urgent appeal to the United Nations (UN) to investigate the government's changes to pay equity laws. The Pay Equity Coalition Aotearoa (PECA) has made a formal submission to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to investigate what it calls a "historic and deliberate regression" of women's economic and political rights in New Zealand. In its appeal, PECA outlines how the Equal Pay Amendment Act has dismantled the country's pay equity system , cancelling 33 live claims covering more than 180,000 women, many of whom are low-paid essential workers in care, health, education, and public services. The group's Dame Judy McGregor told Nine to Noon it had informed Prime Minister Christopher Luxon of the request about a fortnight ago, which had been done "in a spirit of desperation". "It's an unprecedented step," she said. After pleas to the government to review and potentially repeal the legislation, it felt dialogue between the independent CSW and the government would be useful, Dame Judy said. "Perhaps a country visit in which a committee member can hear the stories and witness personally the anger and despair… thousands of women, many of whom are Māori and Pasifika migrant women workers who really now are condemned to decades and, in some cases, a lifetime of poverty wages." The submission stated $12.8b previously set aside to address pay equity claims had been diverted by the government for other budgetary purposes. The group believed the legislation breached Article 11 of the UN's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which guaranteed women the right to equal pay for work of equal value, as well as Article 2(3)(a) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which ensured access to effective legal remedies. Dame Judy bemoaned New Zealand's reputational slide on gender equity issues. "I think New Zealand has gone from being a poster girl for gender equality now to probably an international laggard," she said. PECA alerted Luxon of the submission about a fortnight ago "as a courtesy". Dame Judy McGregor. Photo: "Given women weren't given that courtesy in relation to pay equity, we felt at least the government should," Dame Judy said. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Women's Minister Nicola Grigg had also been alerted. No response had been received from the prime minister's office, other than receipt of the correspondence. The group was also considering filing a complaint to the UN's Optional Protocol to the CEDAW. In a statement, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) said it backed PECA's appeal. Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges said cancelling pay equity for more than 180,000 working women was a "flagrant attack on their economic and political rights". "PECA are right to call for action from the United Nations to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand lives up to its reputation on the world stage. "Overnight our world-leading system was gutted without consultation or normal checks and balances. What remained in its place is a series of roadblocks, thresholds and obstacles masquerading as pay equity." NZCTU said New Zealand was once proud to be world leaders for making progress on ensuring women were paid what they were worth. "It is shameful that our government has such low regard for women's rights," Ansell-Bridges said. "This government refuses to listen. We must use every forum to pressure them to restore pay equity claims. In June I raised pay equity at the International Labour Organization conference, and support taking the fight to the UN." Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden earlier this week said the pay equity changes were made to ensure genuine instances of pay inequity are identified and resolved. "As a government, we want to be sure that the pay equity process is robust, workable and sustainable and getting the settings right for claims that demonstrate genuine sex-based discrimination," van Velden said. "Equal pay is here to stay. Pay equity remains open as a process and the law is more robust." When the changes were rolled out earlier this year, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said claims the government was "cutting pay for women" were incorrect . "Equal pay remains, no change. Pay parity remains, no change. Collective bargaining remains, no change. Settlements that have already happened under pay equity, no change." RNZ has sought comment from Peters, Griggs and Luxon. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Embassy staff in contact with Kiwi woman detained in US immigration facility
A GoFundMe has been set up for New Zealand woman Sarah Shaw and her six-year-old son Isaac. Photo: GoFundMe New Zealand Embassy staff have made contact with Sarah Shaw, the New Zealand woman being detained with her son at a US immigration facility. The pair were bundled into a van at the Canadian border three weeks ago . The public servant was being held at a South Texas facility in what her union the Washington Federation of State Employees called "horrible conditions". RNZ learned on Wednesday morning the New Zealand Embassy was now involved, and that it was only made aware of the case through media reports. Foreign Minister Winston Peters' office said nobody made contact before then. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it had been in contact with Shaw, it said it would not release further information for privacy reasons. Shaw's lawyer Minda Thorward on Wednesday told RNZ her detention was legal, but unreasonable and unnecessary, and her son Isaac's detention was not legal at all. They had gone to Vancouver to drop two other children off for a flight back to New Zealand on 24 July. Vancouver is about a 2.5-hour drive away from where they live in Everett, Washington State. Thorward said Shaw used to have a spouse petition but her marriage ended amid allegations of domestic abuse. Shaw filed an application for her status to be adjusted. Thorward said that application has been pending since 2022, but she was eligible to work in the US and travel during this time. "She received what is called a combination card. It's one physical card that looks like a work permit but it also says it functions as a travel document," she said. The card expired in May, but before then Shaw and her lawyer submitted a renewal application in March. A receipt of that was issued and Thorward said once that happened, the validity of the work permit was extended. "Miss Shaw mistakenly believed that the entire card, both her travel document and her work permit, had been extended," Thorward said. "She did not have a valid travel document, so she left the US to take her kids to the airport to fly direct to New Zealand to see their grandparents. "And then realised once she was out of the country that she may not actually have a travel document that will allow her to re-enter." Shaw alerted her lawyer to this, and Thorward told her to tell immigration officials at the border about it and that she had a pending application. She told her to ask for "humanitarian parole" under the regulations. "And that is something that is routinely used in situations like this, or at least prior to the Trump administration," Thorward told RNZ. She said immigration officials refused and detained Shaw and her son, and transferred them to the family detention centre in Texas. Thorward said the detention did not surprise her. "Unfortunately, no, especially under this administration. I mean we see abuses by Border Patrol and ICE and just sort of a very draconian abusive enforcement of immigration law, especially now," she said. "And so, I was disheartened and I was upset that she had been detained because it was completely unnecessary - but I was unfortunately not surprised." Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel Thorward said she and Shaw were waiting to hear back about whether a petition to US Citizenship and Immigration Services was approved and if removal proceedings could be terminated. "And if it is approved then she is immediately eligible to address her status and her kids who have separate applications, their applications should be approved simultaneously with her petition," she said. "Then we'll just have to figure out whether or not she'll have to address her status in court or if we can terminate her removal proceedings affirmatively." Thorward has also filed a motion to terminate Shaw's son's proceedings because he had a lawful travel document. "He is admissible and he is unlawfully detained in a removal process. I am very hopeful that we will be able to resolve all of this." Thorward hoped for adjudication "within the next couple of weeks" given what she said was pressure from the media coverage and elected officials. Peters' office told RNZ embassy staff learned of the case through the media and nobody had made contact beforehand. Shaw's friend Victoria Besancon told RNZ the New Zealander was absolutely terrified when she and her son were bundled into a giant white van with no markings. She said conditions at the detention facility were "very similar to a prison". "She is in a locked room with five bunk beds, she is allowed to walk around the facility from 8am to 8pm, but outside of that she is locked in a cell with other families." They were among the only English speakers at the facility. "I remember her on the phone being absolutely panicked. She originally thought she was being kidnapped, she did not even realise she was being detained originally." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
35 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Suspension of salary 'unjustified', Fiji's chief prosecutor Christopher Pryde says
Fiji's suspended chief prosecutor, New Zealander Christopher Pryde Photo: Christopher Pryde Fiji's chief prosecutor claims the President's suspension of his FJ$250,000 (approximately NZ$184,000) salary is illegal and unjustified. Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu stopped Christopher Pryde's pay and benefits over two weeks ago after a public backlash about his absence from office. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka called out the director of public prosecutions last month for failing to turn up for work for almost seven months after he was reinstated in January. Pryde - living in self-imposed exile in Aotearoa - told RNZ Pacific the suspension was unlawful. "I am still the director of public prosecutions, the suspension of my salary is in breach of my contract and illegal under the Constitutution," he said. On Monday Pryde released a copy of the President's letter, claiming "excerpts" from it previously run by local media were "false and defamatory". The crux of Ratu Naiqama's argument is that the 60-year-old was meant to resume work on 20 January, after a Tribunal exonerated him from a "misbehaviour" charge. Two days later he was hit with corruption charges, and the Judicial Services Commission extended his reporting date until 9 May. "I understand you failed to do were still on full pay while not working. You have breached clause 1 of your 4 September Service Agreement," the President wrote. "Pursuant to section 117(5) of the constitution, and acting upon the recommendation of the JSC, after having consulted the acting Attorney-General, your salary and other benefits are suspended forthwith until further notice." The decision came just before Fiji's anti-corruption agency (FICAC) announced plans last week to extradite Pryde on corruption charges. Pryde told RNZ Pacific that the President's decision was "unlawful, since the Constitution does not permit the suspension of my salary". Pryde, hired during the reign of convicted former president Frank Bainimarama, claims they are "bogus" and designed to intimidate and get rid of him. He believes the Fijian government wants to stop him prosecuting those maligned in a Commission of Inquiry report into the former head of the agency. Pryde wrote a lengthy response to the president on 4 August, and said his decision was unconstitutional and "legally flawed". "The suspension is arbitrary and a clear breach of natural justice, particularly in the absence of a formal suspension," he wrote. "It is clear to me that you received and acted upon wrong legal advice on this issue. "The decision by the JSC to recommend to you the suspension of my salary whilst at the same time refusing to deal with the complaints against me demonstrates malice by members of the JSC.... and is an attempt to intimidate me into resigning my position." Pryde said the JSC had an obligation to address the corruption charges he was facing, by either dismissing them or establishing a Tribunal to formally investigate the complaints. He said the JSC was the only legally-mandated commission to determine complaints against him and could not delegate this function to FICAC. Pryde, who lives in Christchurch, said he had already explained his absence from the job in a statement on 24 July. "As outlined in my previous statement (11 April 2025), I remain ready to return to work as soon as the JSC and FICAC have concluded their investigations into further allegations against me, raised by the acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva, just prior to my intended resumption of duties in Fiji. "I need an assurance from the JSC that these allegations will not result in a sudden suspension from office and a cutting off of my salary, as happened last time," he wrote. "I also need an assurance that I will not be arbitrarily arrested upon my return to Fiji and served with a stop departure notice. "I can only speculate that the reason for the unconscionable delay in making any decision on these fresh charges against me is a deliberate ploy to ensure I remain outside Fiji and am unable to make any decisions on the results of police investigations stemming from the COI report." Pryde was suspended from the role on full pay in April 2023, pending an investigation into allegations of "misbehaviour" by the then-President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, under direction of the Prime Minister. He was charged after being he was seen talking to the former Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a cocktail party in February 2024. Sayed-Khaiyum was under police investigation at the time they met and his file had been forwarded to Pryde's office, although he claimed he had not yet read it. Fiji's Attorney-General at the time, Siromi Turaga, said their meeting was tantamount to misconduct. In April last year he was also charged with receiving superannuation payments that had not been approved by the JSC. Pryde's superannuation ceased; then his salary and all contractual benefits were "unilaterally' cut off by the Fijian government in July 2024. However he was cleared of all allegations last December, following a week-long investigation by a Tribunal, which recommended he not be removed from his position.
