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- Date published:
10:43 am, August 2nd, 2025 - 5 comments
Categories: Brooke van Velden, Christopher Luxon, Judith Collins, nicola willis, Unions, workers' rights -
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It certainly appears so.
Yesterday there was a dump of information about the cancellation under urgency of pay equity claims earlier this year.
The timing is suspicious. A Thursday dump immediately before a Parliamentary recess week means that the response is somewhat more muted.
Radio New Zealand and the Herald have both been able to analyse the documents.
The changes were worked on in secret. They were pushed through under urgency. And, despite Nicola Willis’s earlier rhetoric, the changes saved the Government over $12 billion and the embarrassment of failing to address Government budget deficits.
They could have thanked the women (and men) who work in jobs that are underpaid for their contributions to Government coffers, just so that landlords could get significant tax cuts, Phillip Morris could get a tax break and Crown entity board members could get significant increases in their fees.
What is really interesting is that the papers reveal when the decision to smash through the changes under urgency was made, and who was responsible.
From Adam Pearse at the Herald:
Now, documents released yesterday showed urgency hadn’t been raised by officials in the months of preparation through 2024 before potential reform.
Urgency first appeared after Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met with van Velden, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Public Service Minister Judith Collins between 9pm and 10pm on March 4 this year.
Documents showed the meeting had been set by Luxon’s office, overriding plans van Velden’s office had to speak with Collins and Willis about the changes around the same time.
Looks like Luxon’s fingerprints are all over the decision to use urgency.
He personally should be blamed for the upending of pay equity claims that had been worked on for years. And using the jackhammer of urgency to smash them through and preventing workers and unions from even being able to point out through the select committee process how awful and retrograde a decision this was.
Luxon, Willis and Collins were up to their necks in it. What a cover-up. Project 10 – I mean really? And call out Winston too and – of course ACT goes without saying. If they think this won't follow them right to the election, they are wrong. The People's Select Committee submissions close on Monday.
I wonder if they have secret names for each other, like Willis could be Lady Penelope and Luxon could be (gasp) The Hood.
"Hood calling Lady Penelope. How's Project 10 coming along? I'm flying to Papua New Guinea in Thunderbird 1. No, not going to the Cook Islands. I figure if we snub them, they'll like us more. Same strategy as we use at home"
It’s another Coalition ram-raid on NZ and its people. Secrecy rules, transparency and accountability are inconveniences.
Their President says we don't see Luxon's humanity. True we don't.
Oh, the humanity! Thanks Patricia for a lol moment. Has it really been only 2 years?