Rosemary Du Plessis – on presenting to the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity

I presented the NCWNZ oral submission during the third hearing of the Committee on Monday 25 August, as lead writer Irene Ryan was unavailable. Although actively involved in the full submission, coordinating the Ōtautahi Christchurch Branch response and as an Economic Independence Action Hub member, it was a bit daunting to present to such a high-powered set of women, and to condense our key points to the allocated fifteen minutes in total -- and we needed to leave time for questions/discussion.  For submissions and recording see:

• NCWNZ Submissions: NCWNZ Submissions;S25.15_ORAL_People's_Select_Committee_on_Pay_Equity.pdf and  S25.15_People's_Select_Committee_on_Pay_Equity.pdf
• Select Committee recording: YouTube https://share.google/CR4YgbDYcvab71f2z see 2.09.50 - 2.29.06

Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025

On 6 May 2025, the Government passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 under urgency, replacing the 2020 legislation without consultation or a Regulatory Impact Statement. This abrupt legislative change discontinued 33 active pay equity claims—some close to settlement—and made future claims significantly harder to pursue. The new law raised the threshold for female-dominated work to 70% over 10 years (previously 60%), introduced a 10-year bar on repeat claims for the same employees, and gave employers greater control over claim eligibility and the right to opt out of multi-employer claims. It also restricted the selection of comparator occupations, making it harder to demonstrate pay inequities across sectors, and prohibited review clauses in settlements—undermining long-term accountability.

Following the TVNZ documentary "Escaping Utopia", NCWNZ membership and member organisations began collaborating on a call for action to ensure the protection and safety of women and children in the religious cult of Gloriavale. The Safety, Health and Wellbeing Action Hub in collaboration with three other Action Hubs (Economic Independence, Education, and International) were supported by the NCWNZ Board in leading this effort. The publishing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care report in July (see more on this in another Circular article here) spurred this initiative to contact ministers directly.  See the NCWNZ news item posted here on the NCWNZ website.

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, Hauraki-Waikato

The 2023 election result has brought new women into Parliament but sadly not in sufficient numbers to reach equality. Final election results show that there will be 123 seats in Parliament, instead of the usual 120. The overhang is caused by (a) Te Pāti Māori winning more electorate seats than it would otherwise from its share of the party vote, and (b) result of the Waikato by-election.

This increased total representation for Te Pāti Māori marks the beginning of a political career for Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, 21, the youngest woman ever to win a seat in Parliament.

Paid parental leave is a government payment to help make up for lost income when you, an employee, has a new baby. It is also available to the self-employed. As usual criteria apply, but it is a legitimate right for all. Right?

Well, no, actually. Stuff reporter Uma Ahmed articulated this when she published an article "Directors hitting a bump when it comes to parental leave" on 8 February 2022 (reprinted in the Southland Times on February 9, 2022, and then followed up with "Why directors not being eligible for leave is an equity issue" (21 March 2022). Persons in elected positions, e.g., territorial authorities or directors of companies, are not eligible as they are not considered to be employees: they are contractors.

Who knew? Well some elected young women didn’t think to ask the question until after they declared their pregnancies. What did they find? There are no universal protocols to cover this situation.