Latest news with #Waring
NZ Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Letters: We need cross-party agreement to create the health system that is the best for our people
Health should not be a political football. Like what is trying to be achieved with infrastructure, there should be cross-party agreement to create the health system that is the best for our people. Bruce Owen, Drury. Waring a woman of wisdom Thank goodness for Dame Marilyn Waring, a woman who has the integrity, wisdom and commonsense to state publicly what many of us are thinking; that you should not rush through Parliament without consultation a pay equity bill that affects all the low-paid women in New Zealand. And she is doing something about it. I wonder what the well-paid women MPs in the National, Act and NZ First parties are thinking now, being shown up for their lack of solidarity. Of course, they have to toe the party line... and all three party leaders are men. M Minson, Highland Park. A reminder for drivers With speed limits in the headlines, it could be an opportune time to remind drivers that when using state highways or other roads with a 100km/h limit, that unless a right turn provision is marked on the road, it is illegal to slow down and turn right. The rule is to pull to the left of the road and wait for clear passage. I recently nearly ran up the back of a driver sitting stationary in the middle of the single lane with a right indicator going while I rapidly approached him at 100km/h. A road safety campaign seems prudent to draw this rule to the attention of some ignorant drivers putting others at risk. Margaret Anderson, Whitianga. Beware of the bill The Regulatory Standards Bill sounds boring and harmless, especially compared to the recent Budget, but it is, in fact, even more dangerous than the defeated Treaty Principles Bill. The Waitangi Tribunal has already identified the lack of consultation with Māori as 'a breach of the Te Tiriti/Treaty principle of partnership'. Worse, the bill surrounds future legislation with a large set of bureaucratic constraints clearly intended to lock in Act's neoliberal principles everywhere. It even creates a powerful Regulatory Standards Board. If this wasn't such a serious matter, I'd be tempted to compare the bill's impact with that of the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs in the BBC's Yes, Minister. But this is the real world, and the bill must be stopped. Submissions are open on the site and close at 1 pm on June 23. Brian Carpenter, Auckland. Some advice for the Speaker I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bruce Cotterill's Opinion piece in Saturday's Herald (May 24) and thought it was a superb take on just how low our parliamentarians have stooped in their demeanour and lack of respect for each other and, ultimately, New Zealand. They are not setting good examples of behaviour to our young people and I would hesitate to take a class to watch a parliamentary session as they would be left totally bewildered by the stupidity and rudeness they were witnessing. I suggest that our Speaker of the House contacts Sir Kerry Burke, a former Speaker of the House, and get some wise advice from him on how to sort out this current mess. Andrea Dorn, St Heliers. True nature of protests Israel's actions, in basically destroying Gaza, have been the subject of global horror and condemnation. That has led to the protests at various American universities for which the Trump administration has labelled the same as 'anti-Semitic' and then set about to punish those universities and the protesting students. The level of punishment has been extreme, including the withholding of federal grants to certain universities and the incarceration/exclusion of certain students, and in particular those from outside the United States. Trump's actions (labelling the protests as anti-Semitic) is contrived and is false. What is occurring in Gaza is not and never has been the fault of the Jewish community. The singular responsibility for the destruction of Gaza and the merciless harm being inflicted on the Palestinian people lies with the state of Israel and its far-right Government. The protests taking place in America and elsewhere are anti-Israel; they are not anti-Semitic (meaning anti-Jewish). Raymond S. Walker, Auckland. Children paying the price Israel attempts to deflect attention from the atrocities it is committing in Gaza each day by accusing Hamas of staging deaths and turning children into weapons of propaganda. Meanwhile, what is Israel turning children into? Bodies. Michael Rovers, Laingholm.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
‘Forgotten Where They All Came From': Councilor Lashes Out Over Pay Equity
An Invercargill councillor says the people who made changes to the Equal Pay Act have forgotten where they came from. Former-New Zealand First MP Ria Bond made the comments after it was revealed she was one of 10 former female MPs joining the 'People's Select Committee on Pay Equity'. The unofficial committee went public on Monday with its plan to take submissions and examine changes to the Act, which were passed under urgency earlier this month. The changes make it more difficult for those who believe they are being unfairly paid to make a claim. '(I) just feel really let down by this Government and the way that they chose to have it go under no scrutiny and through urgency, with no input from anyone that actually works in these sectors,' Bond said. 'I think they've forgotten where they all come from.' The new committee is spearheaded by former National MP Dame Marilyn Waring, with its members all volunteering their time. Bond was pleased the group had formed, and said it showed the power of people to "make a movement when things are so drastically wrong'. Waring and Bond are joined by former Labour MPs Lianne Dalziel, Steve Chadwick, Nanaia Mahuta and Lynne Pillay; former National MPs Jackie Blue, Jo Hayes and Belinda Vernon; and former Green MP Sue Bradford. Waring told reporters earlier today there was a good spread of women who wanted to hear the evidence Parliament should have heard. They would reach out to key parties that previously submitted on the legislation as well as 33 groups whose claims were affected by the changes, she said. Submissions to the committee are open until 31 July with an initial hearing to be held in Wellington on 11 August. More hearings will be announced at a later date with a draft report prepared before the end of the year. Bond was a member of parliament with New Zealand First from 2015 to 2017. She was elected to Invercargill City Council in 2022. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden announced the changes to the pay equity process earlier this month. Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors, she said at the time. The changes include raising the threshold of professions predominantly performed by female employees from 60 percent to 70 percent.
1News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- 1News
‘Forgot where they came from': Why Ria Bond joined pay equity inquiry
An Invercargill councillor says the people who made changes to the Equal Pay Act have forgotten where they came from. Former New Zealand First MP Ria Bond made the comments after it was revealed she was one of 10 former female MPs joining the "People's Select Committee on Pay Equity". The unofficial committee went public today with its plan to take submissions and examine changes to the Act, which were passed under urgency earlier this month. The changes make it more difficult for those who believe they are being unfairly paid to make a claim. '[I] just feel really let down by this Government and the way that they chose to have it go under no scrutiny and through urgency, with no input from anyone that actually works in these sectors,' Bond said. ADVERTISEMENT 'I think they've forgotten where they all come from.' The new committee is spearheaded by former National MP Dame Marilyn Waring, with its members all volunteering their time. Unofficial committee formed with former MPs from National, Labour, NZ First and the Greens. (Source: 1News) Bond was pleased the group had formed, and said it showed the power of people to "make a movement when things are so drastically wrong'. Waring and Bond were joined by former Labour MPs Lianne Dalziel, Steve Chadwick, Nanaia Mahuta and Lynne Pillay; former National MPs Jackie Blue, Jo Hayes and Belinda Vernon; and former Green MP Sue Bradford. Waring told reporters earlier today there was a good spread of women who wanted to hear the evidence Parliament should have heard. They would reach out to key parties that previously submitted on the legislation as well as 33 groups whose claims were affected by the changes, she said. ADVERTISEMENT Submissions to the committee were open until July 31 with an initial hearing to be held in Wellington on August 11. More hearings will be announced at a later date with a draft report prepared before the end of the year. Bond was a member of parliament with New Zealand First from 2015 to 2017. She was elected to Invercargill City Council in 2022. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden announced the changes to the pay equity process earlier this month. Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it was difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors, she said at the time. The changes include raising the threshold of professions predominantly performed by female employees from 60% to 70%. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden. (Source: Getty) ADVERTISEMENT Van Velden told 1News in a statement: "The Government does not intend to change the law, we believe we've made the law simpler and more robust. Pay equity remains and the new system is now in place. Van Velden said members of the public, including former MPs, were welcome to hold their own meetings. "Current parliamentarians have opportunity to question the Government and Ministers and public records are available for everyone to access. I have presented evidence during Committee of the Whole House, responded to oral and written parliamentary questions, answered at annual review hearings and we will receive further questions in scrutiny week shortly.' LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
Otago Daily Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Councillor criticises instigators of pay equity change
An Invercargill councillor says people who made changes to the Equal Pay Act have forgotten where they came from. Former New Zealand First MP Ria Bond made the comments after it was revealed she was one of 10 female ex-MPs joining the 'People's Select Committee on Pay Equity'. The unofficial committee went public today with its plan to take submissions and examine changes to the Act, which were passed under urgency earlier this month. The changes make it more difficult for those who believe they are being unfairly paid to make a claim and affect tens of thousands of women. '(I) just feel really let down by this government and the way that they chose to have it go under no scrutiny and through urgency, with no input from anyone that actually works in these sectors,' Bond said. 'I think they've forgotten where they all come from.' The new committee is spearheaded by former National MP Dame Marilyn Waring, with its members all volunteering their time. Bond was pleased the group had formed, saying it showed the power of people to "make a movement when things are so drastically wrong'. Waring and Bond are joined by former Labour MPs Lianne Dalziel, Steve Chadwick, Nanaia Mahuta and Lynne Pillay; former National MPs Jackie Blue, Jo Hayes and Belinda Vernon; and former Green MP Sue Bradford. Waring told reporters earlier today there was a good spread of women who wanted to hear the evidence Parliament should have heard. They would reach out to key parties that previously submitted on the legislation, as well as 33 groups whose claims were affected by the changes, she said. Submissions to the committee were open until July 31, with an initial hearing to be held in Wellington on August 11. More hearings would be announced at a later date, and a draft report would be prepared before the end of the year. Bond was an MP with New Zealand First from 2015 to 2017. She was elected to Invercargill City Council in 2022. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden announced the changes to the pay equity process earlier this month. Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors, she said at the time. The changes include raising the threshold of professions predominantly performed by female employees from 60% to 70%. • LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Pay equity: Former National MP Marilyn Waring assembles ‘people's select committee'
Waring said the unofficial but rigorous committee would investigate evidence through public submissions, official information requests and Parliament's library instead of 'high flying cliches.' The committee would accept submissions until the end of July and produce a report by the end of the year. 'We have definitely friends inside Parliament who will lodge questions for us if we can't get the information any other way. We are a group of rigorous researchers,' Waring said. 'I think the thing that affects me most as a former member of Parliament and as a policy researcher is watching the House make changes to legislation on something that significant ... and there not [being] evidence before the House on which to make those changes.' Anonymity would be offered to submitters who required it. Waring said she expected information from the public and private sector to be supplied anonymously. 'I just have a lot of difficulty as a researcher in seeing pieces of legislation of such magnitude passed without evidence before the House.' The Herald previously confirmed with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that there was no regulatory impact statement for the changes because of the tight timeframe. All 33 current claims would cease and those claimants would need to reapply under the new regime. Waring said those claimants would be invited to submit to the people's committee. Opponents to the Government's pay equity changes say it will make it harder for women in female-dominated industries to make a claim. But the Government has argued changes were necessary to ensure the workability of the regime, suggesting it was difficult to judge whether differences in groups' pay were down to sex-based discrimination or other market factors. In announcing the changes, van Velden said it was clear the current act was not working as intended while amendments made by the previous Labour Government had 'created issues'. 'Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors.' She said the 'new and improved' system would 'provide greater confidence that genuine pay equity issues will be correctly identified and addressed.' Claims that meet the new threshold are still expected to be eventually settled – though that may take years - but the total amount of money paid out in settlements will be smaller. A key question surrounding the changes and bubbling away in the minds of analysts in the lead up to Budget 2025 was how much money the Government would save through its tightening-up of the pay equity scheme and changes to how the Government approached the funded sector. On Thursday, Budget 2025 revealed $12.8b previously set aside over the forecast period had been returned. 'Significant Budget savings have resulted from fixing Labour's flawed pay-equity regime and removing an assumption that the Government would fully fund potential settlements involving non-Government employers,' Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in a statement.
