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.

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  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    3 days ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    4 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    4 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    5 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    5 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    5 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    5 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    6 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    6 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago

  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago
  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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