Jo
Moir, Political Editor
Analysis:
The government’s sudden decision to massively
rewrite the pay equity regime – making it harder to
lodge claims – brought out two very different sides of the
coalition on Tuesday.
While ACT ministers were popping
champagne corks and lauding their Workplace Relations
Minister Brooke van Velden for single-handedly “saving the
Budget”, National Party ministers were on the defensive and
contradicting soon-to-be deputy prime minister David
Seymour’s victorious claims.
So aware of the optics of
halting
pay equity claims for sectors with high rates of female
workers to plug a billions of dollars-sized hole in her
second Budget, Finance Minister Nicola Willis headed to the
media gauntlet flanked by four female ministerial
colleagues.
Judith Collins, Erica Stanford, Lousie
Upston and Nicola Grigg were there for support, but did not
speak, as Willis denied the move was about making her Budget
add up.
Willis said the government believes in the
principle of pay equity, where women are able to prove
it.
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“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.”
She noted that Treasury had been forecasting
increases in costs around pay equity claims, but had revised
that figure down by “billions” as a result of the changes to
the threshold the government is making.
Willis won’t
be ring-fencing those savings for women impacted by the
changes, but says they’ll benefit from it when the funding
is reprioritised into frontline health and education
services.
Across the way from Willis was her boss
Christopher Luxon, who got terse when it was suggested the
law change was about making the government’s Budget add
up.
“It’s got nothing to do with the Budget, this is
about making sure we have a piece of legislation that is
incredibly workable and not as complex as it has
been.”
The prime minister, who stopped doing Tuesday
afternoon media conferences some months ago, had
unexpectedly appeared to do damage control, knowing full
well Act would be on a victory parade.
So what of the
timing then?
The legislation reforms haven’t been
considered urgent, or even raised by Luxon or Willis in the
past 18 months as being necessary.
Two weeks out from
Budget Day, National ministers would have it believed the
legislation has become so unworkable so quickly that it
needs to be fixed under urgency in Parliament within 24
hours of the public being notified.
It’s
retrospective, meaning 33 claims currently underway will be
stopped in their tracks and the new threshold will apply to
any new claims from this point on.
Protesters furious
at the speed the legislation was progressing, and without an
opportunity for feedback or consultation, prompted hundreds
to spontaneously gather on Parliament’s forecourt as MPs
started to make their way to Question Time.
Nurses,
care workers, and many more spoke of being shocked,
appalled, and devastated after being blindsided by van
Velden’s announcement.
Yet Willis says Cabinet
ministers were comfortable with the evidence van Velden put
forward, adding “we believe the minister provided a very
principled case”.
A principled case that didn’t
warrant first hearing from those who would be most directly
impacted.
There’s been a gaping hole in Willis’ Budget
that promises increases in health, education, law and order,
and defence, along with a targeted cost of living relief
package.
Plenty has been committed to – at least $10
billion in new defence spending for one – but with no new
taxes and no specific targets for public service cuts, there
has been endless speculation about how it might add
up.
Killing Kiwisaver government contributions hasn’t
been ruled out while putting an end to winter energy
payments has been.
On Tuesday a big missing piece of
the puzzle was unveiled by van Velden.
The Opposition
will use this as a stick to bash government ministers with,
saying they don’t care about women and low-income workers
are the sacrificial lambs for whatever pet projects get a
greenlight in the Budget to be revealed on 22 May.
Act
will be praised by its supporters for finding the biggest
cuts and doing the heavy-lifting on the government’s path to
fiscal prudencey.
It’s Willis and Luxon, however, who
will be judged most harshly for how the government has got
there.
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