Latest news with #payEquity
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Group of former MPs not letting pay equity overhaul go quietly
politics about 1 hour ago The government may be keen to move on from the pay equity overhaul and the uproar it caused - But a cross-party group of former MPs is not letting it go quietly. Dame Marilyn Waring is leading the group which will hold its own unofficial 'people's select committee' process. The former National MP said women have become collateral damage in pursuit of balancing the budget. Political reporter Russell Palmer has the details. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Budget 2025 decisions 'strange and unnecessary'
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has trashed the government's priorities in the Budget, and said his party will work toward restoring pay equity (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Labour's leader has used his second speech in a series of regional conferences to attack the government's budget as a series of "strange and unnecessary decisions". Addressing party faithful in Wellington on Saturday afternoon, Chris Hipkins said some of those decisions included scrapping the Dawn Raids reconciliation programme and axing a key part of the pest eradication programme Predator Free 2050. As well as "spending $33 million on a boot camps policy that not only failed last time but is failing again right now, ending contracted emergency housing, and scrapping the Māori housing programme and stopping some families getting Best Start, which helps mums with new babies". Hipkins said the coalition government had also cut funding for RNZ, "while funding the local journalism it railed against at the last campaign". The changes to pay equity, signalled to save $12.8 billion over four years, were "a disgrace", he added, saying his party would not stop fighting until pay equity is restored. However he said it was too early to put a figure on how much it would cost to reverse that move, saying a lot could change in two years. On Friday Labour's finance spokesperson told RNZ the party would find the nearly $13 billion needed to reverse the law change, but Hipkins hedged more cautiously in his latest statements. "The government still haven't released the breakdown yet of how that $13b figure was even arrived at," he said, "so what we've said is that we'll reverse the changes, and we'll find the money to do that. But we're not in a position to write a budget that wouldn't take effect till two years from now, right today." Labour's plans included rolling out new policies in the second half of the year, Hipkins said, but he was staying tight-lipped on the details: "We'll be focused on jobs, health and homes, so there'll be more policies in those areas, and I've also said that we will be releasing our tax policy before the end of this year." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Teenagers grapple with govt decisions made for budget
'Don't just invest in stats and numbers, invest in us.' That's the message from a group of teenagers grappling with some of the decisions made by the government in this year's budget. They came together on Friday along with child advocates, researchers and other rangatahi to unpack the budget, with Kiwisaver, pay equity, employment and climate change all top of the discussion. Louise Ternouth reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Budget 2025: Finance Minister Nicola Willis
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Finance Minister Nicola Willis on the choices and trade-offs in yesterday's budget. A promised boost to health, education, and law and order and defence, plus tax breaks for businesses to boost investment But $12.8 billion came from funds set aside for pay equity claims to boost 180,000 mostly female, low income workers. There's also pared back government contribution to KiwiSaver less support for Best Start, and shifting responsiblity to parents to pay for unemployed 18 and 19 year olds. Meanwhile a return to surplus keeps getting pushed out further- the books expected to stay in deficit until 2028, with a wafer thin surplus of $200 million forecast for 2029. Nicola Willis joins Kathryn.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Analysis: Finance Minister delivers 'nip and tuck' Budget
It was a nip and tuck budget delivered by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, writes RNZ political editor Jo Moir. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Analysis: After a Budget of trade-offs, middle income New Zealanders may well be feeling shortchanged. Yes, there was the promised boost to health, education, and law and order, but much of that will be spent simply keeping the lights on. The cuts or "reprioritisations" required to make that happen are more tangible: less support via KiwiSaver or Best Start, or the onus shifting to parents to pay for unemployed 18 and 19 year olds. And for the 180,000 workers who were pursuing pay equity claims, the cost could be significant. It was a nip and tuck budget delivered by Finance Minister Nicola Willis, with wins in some areas paid for with losses in others. More than 100 initiatives have been canned or halted to allow the government to spend an extra $5.3 billion a year - the cancellation doing the heavylifting was, as expected, the pay equity changes the government blindsided many with two weeks ago. Of the new spending, $2.7 billion has come from putting a halt on 33 pay equity claims already underway and threshold changes affecting future claims. In total Willis revealed on Thursday $12.8b over four years had been added to the Crown accounts from pay equity - a significant "blowout" from an initial cost of $3.7b expected in 2020. Just how much has been set aside for contingencies for pay equity claims is unknown, with Willis refusing to say due to commercial sensitivities. These are all numbers that would have added some useful context to the government's argument for pay equity changes two weeks ago, which instead descended into an 'explaining is losing' situation for Willis and her colleagues. Ministers will insist it was better to make those announcements on Budget Day to show what the money was going to instead, but in reality it's just given more oxygen to the opposition's claims that women are paying for the Budget, except now they can say by exactly how much. Pay equity protestors voiced their disatisfaction outside Parliament on Budget Day. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi For the government, its focus is on its flagship policy 'Investment Boost' - a new rule allowing businesses to write off 20 percent of the value of new assets like machinery and tools from their tax bill. While it's forecast it could boost GDP by 1 percent and wages by 1.5 percent, those metrics aren't expected to be met for two decades and rely heavily on the depreciation benefits ultimately encouraging investment. A welcome spend in the Budget will be roughly $400m on early childhood and school education, with a focus on extending the early intervention service, including 560 more early intervention teachers and specialists to help an additional 4000 children. Extra money will also go to learning support coordinators and resources for children with the highest needs. It's an area Willis said she was proud to deliver a boost in - making a difference for the children most in need. In health it was another record spend - as they all are given the constant haemorrhaging the sector endures year after year. A billion dollars of new capital spend will see fixes and upgrades to crumbling hospital infrastructure, while other new money will go to a number of already announced or expected initiatives, such as increased access to urgent and after-hours care, and training more doctors and nurses. ACT got to once again deliver a health win. First it was news pseudoephedrine would be allowed back on shelves last winter - part of the party's coalition deal with National - this time round it's easier access to presecriptions moving three-month repeats out to 12-months. And New Zealand First got its signature SuperGold card extension - support for an extra 66,000 retirees to claim rates rebates. It was a Budget of take from here to give over there. Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will have a big job ahead over the coming weeks and months to convince New Zealanders it has lived up to its name of 'The Growth Budget'. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
