Next time I hear one of our government politicians banging on about New Zealand being the first country in the world to give women the vote, it will sound very hollow.  

Because while that might be something to crow about, what the Government’s doing in relation to equal pay for women, isn’t.   

You’ve got to, at the very least, give Brooke van Velden credit for taking one for the team yesterday and announcing that the Government is pulling the plug on any current pay equity claims and making it harder for any future claims to get through.   

And that’s exactly what it’s going to do. We know that because not only is the Workplace Relations Minister saying that the pay equity rules are “muddied and unclear”, the Prime Minister is also saying that these changes could save the Government “billions of dollars”. 

That’s because the majority of the women affected by this are government workers. But they won't be the only ones.  

There may be some people who like the sound of saving billions of dollars. Probably most of them blokes. But I’m picking the majority of people will find that kind of sales job appalling.  

I do.  

Especially when these changes aren’t going through the usual processes. There’s no select committee process. Within hours of Brooke van Velden making the announcement, it was all underway under urgency.  

And it’s going to mean that current pay equity claims in the system will be dropped and must be started again under the new rules, which are going to make the whole thing tougher and save us billions.  

The government’s reasoning —or the reasoning it’s talking about publicly, anyway— is that pay equity claims have been going through without what it describes as “strong evidence”.  

Apparently, after the announcement, ACT MPs were crowing that Brooke van Velden had single-handedly rescued this month’s budget with these changes.  

National MPs pushed-backed on that. With Finance Minister Nicola Willis fronting media —flanked by fellow female National MPs Judith Collins, Erica Stanford, Louise Upston and Nicola Grigg— denying that this is being done to balance the Government’s books.  

She said that the Government believes in the principle of pay equity when women can prove that they have been disadvantaged.  

She said: "What this is about is ensuring we are clear, transparent, and fair to ensure that where those claims are made they relate to gender-based discrimination and that other issues to do with pay and working conditions are raised during the normal employment relations process."  

Which is a fair and reasonable thing to say. But what isn’t fair and reasonable is the way the Government is going about this – leaving out the select committee process and rushing it through.  

Until the Government can convince me otherwise, I’m believing the ACT MPs who obviously think that this is all about saving money and nothing more. 

Next time I hear one of our government politicians banging on about New Zealand being the first country in the world to give women the vote, it will sound very hollow. &nbsp;
Because while that might be something to crow about, what the Government’s doing in relation to equal pay for women, isn’t. &nbsp;&nbsp;
You’ve got to, at the very least, give Brooke van Velden credit for taking one for the team yesterday and announcing that the Government is pulling the plug on any current pay equity claims and making it harder for any future claims to get through. &nbsp;&nbsp;
And that’s exactly what it’s going to do. We know that because not only is the Workplace Relations Minister saying that the pay equity rules are “muddied and unclear”, the Prime Minister is also saying that these changes could save the Government “billions of dollars”.&nbsp;
That’s because the majority of the women affected by this are government workers. But they won't be the only ones. &nbsp;
There may be some people who like the sound of saving billions of dollars. Probably most of them blokes. But I’m picking the majority of people will find that kind of sales job appalling. &nbsp;
I do. &nbsp;
Especially when these changes aren’t going through the usual processes. There’s no select committee process. Within hours of Brooke van Velden making the announcement, it was all underway under urgency. &nbsp;
And it’s going to mean that current pay equity claims in the system will be dropped and must be started again under the new rules, which are going to make the whole thing tougher and save us billions. &nbsp;
The government’s reasoning —or the reasoning it’s talking about publicly, anyway— is that pay equity claims have been going through without what it describes as “strong evidence”. &nbsp;
Apparently, after the announcement, ACT MPs were crowing that Brooke van Velden had single-handedly rescued this month’s budget with these changes. &nbsp;
National MPs pushed-backed on that. With Finance Minister Nicola Willis fronting media —flanked by fellow female National MPs Judith Collins, Erica Stanford, Louise Upston and Nicola Grigg— denying that this is being done to balance the Government’s books. &nbsp;
She said that the Government believes in the principle of pay equity when women can prove that they have been disadvantaged. &nbsp;
She said: "What this is about is ensuring we are clear, transparent, and fair to ensure that where those claims are made they relate to gender-based discrimination and that other issues to do with pay and working conditions are raised during the normal employment relations process." &nbsp;
Which is a fair and reasonable thing to say. But what isn’t fair and reasonable is the way the Government is going about this – leaving out the select committee process and rushing it through. &nbsp;
Until the Government can convince me otherwise, I’m believing the ACT MPs who obviously think that this is all about saving money and nothing more.&nbsp;

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.

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Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays. It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking. If it’s news you’re after, backing John is the combined power of the Newstalk ZB and New Zealand Herald news teams. Meaning when it comes to covering breaking news – you will not beat local radio. With two decades experience in communications based in Christchurch, John also has a deep understanding of and connections to the Christchurch and Canterbury commercial sector. Newstalk ZB Canterbury Mornings 9am-12pm with John MacDonald on 100.1FM and iHeartRadio.

Every weekday join the new voice of local issues on Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald, 9am-12pm weekdays.It’s all about the conversation with John, as he gets right into the things that get our community talking.

Canterbury Mornings with John MacDonald

John MacDonald: Don't crow about giving women the vote and then do this

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/e45441a2-b51d-4606-bba3-b2d6000cc93e/transcript