Gender pay gap still growing – of course

Written By: - Date published: 12:18 pm, March 7th, 2015 - 42 comments
Categories: feminism, human rights, national, sexism, wages, workers' rights - Tags: , , ,

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day. A good day to ask why the gender pay gap in NZ is still growing.

One of the first legislative acts of the current National government was to abolish the Department of Labour’s Pay and Employment Equity Unit. (This action was completely in accord with their record on equity: “One of the first acts of the incoming National Government in 1990 was to dump pay equity legislation in place at that time”, and in 2002 it was Brash’s policy to abolish the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.)

Predictably, the fruits of this indifference:

GENDER PAY GAP GROWS TO $4

The pay gap between men and women in New Zealand continued to grow last year. By December 2014 women earned $4 less for every hour worked than men.

In December 2014 men earned an average of $30.67 for every hour worked while women earned $26.55.

TEU women’s officer Suzanne McNabb says that is just one reason why International Working Women’s Day, which this year takes place on Sunday 8 March, remains such an important event.

A combination of poor employment law which harshly affects the types of jobs where most women work, and abandoning active measures to address structural barriers and promote employment equity mean that New Zealand’s pay gap is getting wider.

“The pay gap was measured four times last year, and four times it grew. The average woman earns less than 87 cents for every dollar the average man earns. This is no good for women or for our economy.” …

National are no friend of women, so why vote for them?

42 comments on “Gender pay gap still growing – of course ”

  1. Foreign waka 1

    As NZ is getting economically closer to countries with a record of discrimination and lets just say it out openly, atrocities – the local society will change to adopt to the pattern of its imported culture. Its not a matter of a immediate appearance but a slow progress. NZ has a choice and can act on it. But I wouldn’t give it a lot of hope.
    Women in the western world are progressively becoming more and more the new version of slaves, bit by bit, expectation by expectation, non paid work increasing, “volunteering” a measure of “pride”. No wonder the young females are getting less educated but more violent.

  2. infused 2

    Have you bothered to work out how they come up with those stats?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1

      Have to bothered to work out that if you have something to say, say it rather than expecting people to play your boring stupid twenty questions game?

    • Tracey 2.2

      Men are just worth more aye infused.

      • infused 2.2.1

        It was explained below. NZ stats have been explained before for this. They will always show a gap.

  3. I’d be interested in hearing your proposed mechanism to account for how the closure of the Pay and Employment Equity Unit caused an increase in the gender pay gap.

    The most likely explanation for the increase is in the linked article: “…poor employment law which harshly affects the types of jobs where most women work…” And that poor employment law has nothing to do with the National Party’s attitudes to women, rather its attitude to people who work for wages. That attitude means people shouldn’t vote National, regardless of whether they’re women and regardless of whether there’s a gender pay gap or not.

    The gender pay gap exists mostly because women are more likely to want part-time work, more likely to take their full parental leave entitlement, less likely to train for skilled work and less likely to push for advancement and additional responsibility. Those things aren’t the government’s fault; it may be that they’re in a broader sense “men’s” fault, but the government’s role in causing it and ability to do something about it is minimal.

    • Tracey 3.1

      Cool, thanks for putting that to bed.

      • Psycho Milt 3.1.1

        Anyone who has even a vague acquaintance with the use and misuse of statistics can spot what a steaming turd the “gender pay gap” is, when put in the hands of people who draw cartoons of male and female children looking at their genitalia and declaring it explains the “difference” in their wages. Sneering “mansplaining” doesn’t actually alter that situation.

  4. Foreign waka 4

    The current gender pay gap 2014 is across all countries measured – women earn 77% of men earnings. Once women get older this increases and when in retirement the decrease really becomes an issue. My assertion is that it is the fight for the full trough that is dominated by the “strong” gender (not a compliment on those terms).
    BTW, world wide reports IPLO to Forbes will show the same figures.

  5. Chooky 5

    imo…More than anything there is the need for a UBI

    http://www.bigkahuna.org.nz/universal-basic-income.aspx

    This would free up those of both genders to look after children , the elderly, the disabled…. and artists to follow their creative pursuits….from this there would be more gender equality ie more men would be willing to take time out from careers to look after children….and get involved in the caring professions eg nursing , teaching , which have been largely dominated by women….although they are not necessarily the best at it

    …scarcity creates salary inequality ….ie those able to work huge hours and / or have time consuming specialist training…..women are often excluded from the most lucrative careers because they look after children and have breaks in careers and /or training commitments

  6. nadis 6

    I’m not quite sure what I am supposed to be outraged by here, perhaps someone could link to info about how these pay gap stats are calculated/interpreted?

    As far as I can tell there is little difference in pay between men and women in the same occupation with similar training/experience. Is the gender pay gap because we are comparing higher paid male dominated occupations (say mechanic, builder etc) with lower paid female dominated occupations (say cleaner, rest home worker). I suspect a male cleaner gets paid the same as a female, and a male builder gets the same as a female, but builders in general earn 3 times as much as rest home workers.

    I know there is no gender pay gap in (say) teaching, or the police, there was none between female and male managing directors at banks I used to work at. I know plenty of law firm partners – male and female – who all get paid according to the same formula, and sex is not an input. I know plenty of primary school teachers and none of them gets paid more or less because of their sex. But teachers (call it 80% female) do get paid less than senior lawyers (call it 80% male). Is that the gender gap? A function of educational choice, child rearing choices, choice of preferred occupation etc? Or is it something different.

    Given these trends, I suspect the current male bias in the law profession (for instance) will disappear pretty soon.

    http://my.lawsociety.org.nz/in-practice/practising-law/legal-profession-statistics/gender-ratio-in-new-zealand-legal-profession,-september-2013ap determined?

    • I’m not quite sure what I am supposed to be outraged by here, perhaps someone could link to info about how these pay gap stats are calculated/interpreted?

      Given that the link to the statistics is right there in the post, I can only assume your comment is utterly disingenuous and an unsubtle attempt to undermine the concept of the gender pay gap, which has been thoroughly researched, documented and explained for decades.

      • nadis 6.1.1

        no I’m serious – please put some links in that I can follow.

        The NZ stats data is not interpreted in the way you think, perhaps you should click on the link and understand – I know I have and do. This gender data is calculated (for women) as total wages earned by women/total hours worked by women, and likewise for men. It doesn’t take into account differences in the type or quality or base pay of the occupation.

        I’ve no doubt that the 23% gap exists but that isn’t what you call the gender gap. That is a very clear misuse of statistics. Its analagous to saying that the average SAT score of white university student graduates is higher than the average SAT score of black students who drop out of high school at age 14 – therefore black people are less intelligent.

        Now if the argument is about access to higher paid occupations, or gender domination of certain occupations I get that – but all those NZ stats data show is that the average wage for men is higher than the average wage for women, with no adjustment for selection bias. An error so glaring and ridiculous, a first year stats student making it would get thrown out of class.

        So if those stats are the entire evidence for the argument then, by making it, you expose yourself as someone entirely bereft of common sense and basic statistical knowledge.

        I’m genuinely asking for links to a decent explanation of the issue – one that talks about bias when the comparison adjusts for selection factors, or for bias within the same occupation. As I say, I get the access arguments, which fortunately are changing – and you can see that from the law society data, and from anecdotes within my own family (I won’t bore you).

        But if you want to make this a shallow argument with gross misuse of statistics, and conflating two separate issues (access to certain occupations, how gender dominated occupations are valued and why) then go ahead. I’d prefer if you actually helped educate people who are mystified when they see such shallow arguments as outlined in the preamble to this posting.

        Surely the real arguments lie around why do women tend to choose (on average) crappier paid occupations than do men?

      • nadis 6.1.2

        Actually Stephanie, don’t bother responding.

        Ovid’s link below gives much of the info I am looking for, and given the detail of different indicators will probably show where the problems lie in NZ.

        You will note however the obvious difference between the NZ Stats data and the WEF report – wage levels are adjusted so like for like (male versus female) work are compared, not gross levels.

        From a very quick look at the report, looks like NZ would rank higher if we had fewer part time (and more full time) female workers, as full time workers earn more. So the reasons why women choose part time work over full time work probalby lie at the root of the gender gap. I note another coiuple of things about the report – NZ’s raw score is actually higher than it was in 2007 (pre gfc) and that we rank extremeely high in things like # of women in professional and techincal jobs, educational opportunity and attainment.

        But please, don’t use the 77% argument, that’s just stupid.

    • Tracey 6.2

      “As far as I can tell there is little difference in pay between men and women in the same occupation with similar training/experience. ” Great, I feel much better now. Thanks

      • Chooky 6.2.1

        the difference is that women to get into the top paying jobs either dont have children or have a partner who looks after the children or paid child care…nannies etc…eg very difficult to train to become an anesthetist and have a family at the same time…male anesthetists usually have wives who look after their family

  7. Ovid 7

    2014 was the first year New Zealand was not in the top 10 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (large PDF). NZ has fallen to thirteenth place.

    The top 20 are:

    1. Iceland
    2. Finland
    3. Norway
    4. Sweden
    5. Denmark
    6. Nicaragua
    7. Rwanda
    8. Ireland
    9. Philippines
    10. Belgium
    11. Switzerland
    12. Germany
    13. New Zealand
    14. Netherlands
    15. Latvia
    16. France
    17. Burundi
    18. South Africa
    19. Canada
    20. United States

    So what are the Nordics doing right, and how can we emulate them?

    • Chooky 7.1

      note the first five countries have something akin to a UBI…certainly childcare is shared more equally between the genders and childcare facilities would be very affordable

    • Tracey 7.2

      A few of them have longer paid annual leave than us too.

      • thechangeling 7.2.1

        And centralised wage fixing systems with multi-employer collective agreements the norm, across both the public and private sectors.

    • TheContrarian 7.3

      The Nordics do a lot of things right. The Nordic model of social democracy is, in my opinion, the best model.

  8. Nothing to see here woman-persons, just move along please…Actually – shut up. And don’t you dare use “man-splaining” – women explain things too, you know. In fact – feminists are really mean. And they make stuff up – like this article! Yeah – go away with your women’s days and your unreasonable complaints about stuff that’s really your own fault (your choosing part time work for example). Now can we talk about important things – things that impact on men.

    • If you don’t like one of my comments, there’s a “Reply” button there for your convenience. As an alternative to whining because you don’t like it when someone ( a man! What a sexist!) points out an obvious example of misuse of statistics, have you considered maybe mounting an argument in favour of that misuse of statistics?

      • marty mars 8.1.1

        You are the whiner bud and a bore with your mansplaining.

        • Psycho Milt 8.1.1.1

          So, you get to spout obvious and egregious bullshit and anyone who points this out is “mansplaining?” Fuck you. Present a persuasive argument or accept that people are going to be unconvinced.

          • te reo putake 8.1.1.1.1

            Man gets angry late on Saturday night … yeah, that’s never happened before 🙄

          • marty mars 8.1.1.1.2

            Take it up with the author of the post – some men are always unconvinced with anything apart from what THEY think with this type of topic.

          • r0b 8.1.1.1.3

            PM, your arguments explain part of the effect, but not all of it – there is no misuse of stats. It’s too late for me to cover this properly, but some quick readings for you…

            American example:
            http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/upshot/the-pay-gap-is-because-of-gender-not-jobs.htm

            Pay Gap Is Because of Gender, Not Jobs

            Are women paid less than men because they choose to be, by gravitating to lower-paying jobs like teaching and social work?

            That is what some Republicans who voted down the equal pay bill this month would have you believe. “There’s a disparity not because female engineers are making less than male engineers at the same company with comparable experience,” the Republican National Committee said this month. “The disparity exists because a female social worker makes less than a male engineer.”

            But a majority of the pay gap between men and women actually comes from differences within occupations, not between them — and widens in the highest-paying ones like business, law and medicine, according to data from Claudia Goldin, a Harvard University labor economist and a leading scholar on women and the economy.

            In NZ
            http://stoppress.co.nz/blog/2012/12/ywca-and-ddb-wage-war-gender-pay-gap

            A number of recent studies show women in New Zealand are paid on average ten percent less for doing the same job as men—and the pay gap is widening.

            Another
            http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0905/S00357.htm

            Women in New Zealand are paid on average at least 12 per cent less than men doing the same jobs. In the public sector the gap is as much as 35 per cent. The Government has agreed for example, that female social workers in Child, Youth and Family, are paid 9.5 percent less than male employees doing work of the same level. They have already seen the investigation into this discrimination halted, been told that they cannot have fair pay because it would cost too much, and now the unit charged with monitoring and guiding pay equity in the public sector has been axed

            Another
            http://www.ywcapayequity.org.nz/demandequalpay.html

            Many believe pay gaps form when women start to have children, but we’re seeing it occur much earlier than this. In fact, within the first three-five years of graduate employment. The NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants surveyed its own industry to discover that male chartered accountants with five years’ experience or less earn $3,605 more than their female counterparts. And this kind of evidence is not uncommon across the private sector,”

            There is a real problem here.

            • Murray Rawshark 8.1.1.1.3.1

              +1
              Well explained, but I suspect the mansplainers will not be moved by it.

            • Psycho Milt 8.1.1.1.3.2

              The comment about misuse of stats referred to propaganda like “that explains the difference in our wages” and “paid 12% less because you’re a woman.” It’s very much a misuse of stats to pretend averages tell you something about any particular individual.

              However, it’s also a misuse of stats to take some average difference and make it a political tool without doing the work to figure out what factors account for the difference. For example, if we were to take the difference in incarceration rates for Maori and Pakeha and declare that it means Maori commit more crimes and what’s the government doing to crack down on Maori crime, that would definitely be a misuse of statistics. The fact that in this case it’s the “good guys” misusing the statistics doesn’t make it OK.

              As to your links: if the CTU really has evidence that “Women in New Zealand are paid on average at least 12 per cent less than men doing the same jobs,” they should make it available to the women involved. Existing equal pay legislation means those affected could keep the employment courts busy for decades. However, I notice the release is careful further on not to refer to the “same jobs,” but to “work at the same level,” which is open to wide interpretation.

              Even the link about chartered accountants’ pay doesn’t tell much without knowing how chartered accountants are paid – eg, if they’re paid salaries by employers, yeah that’s pretty damning; but if they’re paid according to hours worked, on commission etc, the difference is a “so what?” issue. Our universities are full of social scientists who get paid to research stuff like this, but “research” involves a bit more than finding an average difference and making shit up about what it means.

              • miravox

                Re: work to the same level

                A matter of law it seems, not wide(r) interpretation. The eventual employment court outcome of this case will be fascinating

                Last October, the Court of Appeal upheld the Employment Court’s decision. It found the test for determining whether a predominantly female workplace had complied with the Equal Pay Act involved comparing female employees’ remuneration with what a hypothetical male, with the same or substantially similar skills, responsibility and service performing the work, would receive.

                In making this comparison, courts may take account of remuneration evidence from other employers and sectors, where male employees from the target employer are not appropriate comparators. In addition, where there is evidence of a systemic undervaluation of the work on grounds of sex, this must also be considered in assessing whether the employer has complied with the Act.

                • Much as it’s nice to see some low-paid workers getting a good result, this approach seems to assume there’s some objective, identifiable “value” for a particular job – which there isn’t. Also, although this is being presented as a gender gap, the article points out that the people who stand to benefit from it work “…in industries that operate on slim margins funded largely by public grants..” Any compelling evidence that it’s not this, but gender, that accounts for the low pay?

                  There have been attempts to assign an objective financial worth to particular jobs via job evaluation systems. In my own public sector workplace, that resulted in the librarians and the software developers being on the same pay grade. Which was OK for the librarians, but not so great for the software developers. And because software developers, unlike librarians, are in high demand in the private sector, the nett outcome was high turnover among the IT staff and the inability to attract top candidates.

                  • Ergo Robertina

                    ”this approach seems to assume there’s some objective, identifiable “value” for a particular job – which there isn’t.”

                    You’ve ignored the very premise of Bartlett’s case, which contends the economy under-values caring because it’s a female dominated profession. The courts say it’s valid to compare the sector with male-dominated industries which have similar levels of skill, service and responsibility. Of course that will be challenging, but they wouldn’t make the ruling if there was no point in seeking relevant comparisons to try to determine value.

                    ”’And as most potential equal pay claimants work either in the public sector or in industries that operate on slim margins funded largely by public grants, any awards are likely to have significant ramifications for the funding structure of the relevant organisations.”

                    When you quoted this you missed the second bit of the sentence, which says any awards will have big funding ramifications. It’s kind of obvious, but surely you realise many people are funded from the public purse, including highly paid doctors, bureaucrats, and politicians?

              • Foreign waka

                How about women starting to charge for domestic services that men dare not do because its “female work”.
                You wont be able to pay for that even if you are in a high paying job.
                Your argument is fraught by 18th century attitude and reminds me on the on the treatment women have had in the Irish potato famine.
                What has really changed? Nothing, other then technology has given men another dimension of suppression. Anything, anything but no change please seem to be your motto.

  9. I think this gender pay gap and the additional outrageous fact that it is growing!!! to be utterly unacceptable. This is inequality in action and in front of EVERYONES eyes. ffs imo there are NO acceptable reasons for this gender pay gap – it is a glaring example of our patriarchal society and I repeat utterly unacceptable!!

  10. Chooky 10

    +100 marty mars…and it would be great to have karol on here posting/commenting….also i wonder how many of the commenters here ( much as their analysis is appreciated) are females…this in itself would be very interesting…and would say much about women’s role in society…imo one of the reasons why women get lower paid is because they dont have a voice in society unless they shout very loudly above the men ….and even then they are often ignored

    ( good questions as to why: patriarchal society?… still imbued with patriarchal monotheistic religious values about women?…eg. for a long time the Catholic Church opposed equal pay for equal work ….and also opposed married women going out and working)

  11. Heather Grimwood 11

    Three great speeches from UN 59th Commission on Status of Women will interest participants in this column, particularly as NZ has slipped in order of
    achieved implementation of goals.
    Lydia ALPIZAR..AWID executive
    Helen CLARK…..UNDP
    Phumzila MLAMBO-NGCUKA Exec -Director UN Women ….interview on France 24, all powerful, but this last, possibly because a video, is unforgettable.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • EV road user charges bill passes
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April.  “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Bill targets illegal, unregulated fishing in international waters
    New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • Reserve Bank appointments
    Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates.  Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Stronger protections for apartment owners
    Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Travel focused on traditional partners and Middle East
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend.    “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says.   Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Keep safe on our roads this Easter
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Cost of living support for over 1.4 million Kiwis
    About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Tenancy reviews for social housing restart
    Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary plan halted
    The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Cutting all that dam red tape
    Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track.  “Dam safety regulations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Drought support extended to parts of North Island
    The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Passage of major tax bill welcomed
    The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Lifting economy through science, tertiary sectors
    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government announces Budget priorities
    The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says.  The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government to consider accommodation solution
    The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government approves extension to Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care
    Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says.                                         “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • $18m boost for Kiwis travelling to health treatment
    The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.   “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM’s Prizes for Space to showcase sector’s talent
    The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Concerns conveyed to China over cyber activity
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government.     “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry
    Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function.  The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Brynderwyns open for Easter
    State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the Infrastructure Funding & Financing Conference
    Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Parliamentary network breached by the PRC
    New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • NZ to provide support for Solomon Islands election
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ-EU FTA gains Royal Assent for 1 May entry to force
    The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union.    “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • COVID-19 inquiry attracts 11,000 submissions
    Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says.  “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Families to receive up to $75 a week help with ECE fees
    Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Unlocking a sustainable, low-emissions future
    A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Chief of Army thanked for his service
    Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders
    25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government commits nearly $3 million for period products in schools
    Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech – Making it easier to build.
    Good morning, it’s great to be here.   First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning.  I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Pacific youth to shine from boost to Polyfest
    Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • 2024 Ngarimu VC and 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial Scholarships announced
    ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Breast Cancer Foundation – Insights Conference
    Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Kiwi research soars to International Space Station
    New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the New Zealand Planning Institute
    Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Support for Northland emergency response centre
    The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed.  “Northland has faced a number ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Celebrating 20 years of Whakaata Māori
    New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Some commercial fishery catch limits increased
    Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-28T18:29:33+00:00