Latest Politics Headlines
Greenpeace Serves Luxon A Mock Poisonous Porridge To Highlight Glyphosate Rule Change
Friday, 9 May 2025, 3:44 pm | Greenpeace
Our kids, and every New Zealander, have a right to safe food. But this Government is proposing to allow 100 times more of a probable carcinogen onto the grains that feed us every day. More >>
Moves To Amend Equal Pay Act 1972 Is An Abusive False Economy
Friday, 9 May 2025, 3:23 pm | Primary and Community Health Aotearoa
PCHA Board Chair Steve Chadwick says the government’s fast tracked changes to the Equal Pay Act 1972 and halting progress of any existing claims is a kick in the gut to the many nurses who work in primary and community healthcare. More >>
Government Fails Yet Again; Totally Ignores The Recommendations Of The Royal Commission
Friday, 9 May 2025, 3:19 pm | Cooper Legal
Cooper Legal’s Principal Partner, Sonja Cooper says the Government’s pre-Budget announcement regarding redress is a further kick in the guts for survivors. More >>
YWCA Aotearoa New Zealand Calls For Urgent Action Following Equal Pay Law Changes
Friday, 9 May 2025, 9:56 am | YWCA
The statement highlights the disproportionate impact these changes will have on young women, wāhine Māori, Pacific women, and those working in undervalued, female-dominated sectors across Aotearoa. More >>
ACC Backs Down Over Māori, Pasifika Injury Targets After ACT Pressure
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 6:37 pm | RNZ
ACT had accused the ACC of not complying with a directive that public services be delivered on the basis of need not race. More >>
Medical Council Fears Political Interference Over Doctor Shortage
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 4:48 pm | RNZ
Politicians should not be allowed to decide who can practise, the Medical Council warns. More >>
Current And Former Commissioners Call For The Release Of Equal Pay Amendments' Human Rights Analysis
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 3:28 pm | Human Rights Commission
Our parliamentary processes are in place to protect democratic participation rights and should not be circumvented, especially on an issue like this which has significant consequences for so many people. More >>
Police Commit To Removing Thousands Of Incorrectly Applied Historic ‘Hate Flags’
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 2:45 pm | Free Speech Union
Training previously released by Police to ‘recognise, record, and respond’ to ‘hate speech and hate crime’ was a reckless path to pursue. More >>
Government Passes Kiwi Killing Bill Under Urgency
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 2:09 pm | Greenpeace
Greenpeace says it’s the latest escalation in the Luxon Government’s war on nature and is calling for the immediate repeal of the amendment and for the Government to strengthen, not weaken, protections for the country’s endangered wildlife. More >>
Government’s Attack On Pay Equity A Major Setback For Māori And Pacific Wāhine
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 2:00 pm | PSA
Announced without consultation and passed into law last night, the rollback creates new barriers to pay equity claims and undermines hard-won gains in fairness and justice, says PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho. More >>
Democracy Blindsided
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 1:46 pm | St Peters on Willis Social Justice Group
The impact of this reduction in due process is being paid for by women across New Zealand as they strive to support themselves and their families. More >>
Protests Against The Government’s Pay Equity Legislation
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 12:47 pm | PSA
The changes will take money from underpaid, predominantly female workers to plug the gap in the Government’s budget caused by its reckless, unaffordable policies such as multi-billion dollar tax relief for landlords. More >>
Kindergartens Call On Government To Value Women
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 12:34 pm | Kindergartens Aotearoa
The pay equity process offered a way for low paid women workers to have their skills and effort valued properly. Kindergartens Aotearoa calls on the government to honour the contribution made by women and to reward them fairly for their work. More >>
Unions Otago To Join Nationwide Protests Against Government Attack On Pay Equity
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 11:40 am | Unions Otago
Unions Otago spokesperson Jen Wilson says the decision will halt current pay equity claims for thousands of workers in female-dominated occupations and make future claims significantly more difficult. More >>
Financial Statements Of The Government Of New Zealand For The Nine Months Ended 31 March 2025
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 10:48 am | The Treasury
Core Crown tax revenue, at $89.5 billion, was $0.2 billion (0.2%) higher than forecast. While GST and other individuals’ tax were both above forecast by $0.5 billion each, this was broadly offset by source deductions and corporate tax which were below forecast ... More >>
Social Media Ban: Parents Need To Step Up, Not The Government - Retired Judge
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 5:19 pm | RNZ
It should be the parents' job to police young people's social media use, an internet law expert says. More >>
Pay Equity Changes: Two Sides Of The Coalition Brought Out
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 5:15 pm | RNZ
Analysis: ACT ministers were popping champagne after the sudden announcement, but National's were on the defensive, writes Jo Moir. More >>
$19,480 And Rising: The Cost Women Workers Are Paying To Plug Govt’s Budget Holes
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 2:47 pm | PSA
With no new pay equity settlement being agreed, care and support workers have seen their hard-won pay equity settlement eroded by inflation and the failure to maintain relativity above the minimum wage. More >>
Greenpeace Slams PM’s Science Pick: "Polluters Are Running The Show"
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 2:08 pm | Greenpeace
Working with Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb, DairyNZ has pushed for a system called no additional warming to measure methane emissions. Greenpeace says this approach isn't grounded in science and is designed to justify doing less. More >>
Unions Launch Petition To Protect Pay Equity
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 1:43 pm | NZCTU
Unions behind the petition are home to tens of thousands of working people who’ve experienced the life-changing impact of pay equity - including hospital administrators, social workers, nurses, and Allied health professionals. More >>
Unemployment Data Shows Real Weakness Behind The Headline Rate
Wednesday, 7 May 2025, 12:34 pm | NZCTU
The weakness of current economic growth is also being reflected in the wage data. Total weekly gross earnings rose by less than inflation at 2.4% annually. Youth unemployment continues to rise. More >>
BREAKING: Luxon Government To Pass Law Tonight That Legalises Killing Kiwi
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 5:57 pm | Greenpeace
The amendment to the Wildlife Act, New Zealand’s foundational wildlife protection law, would allow the Director-General of Conservation to grant companies permission to kill native animals if they get in the way of projects like roads, mines or dams. More >>
Proposed Changes Will Halt The Social Service Workers Pay Equity Claim
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 4:58 pm | Te Pai Ora SSPA
These proposed changes to the Equal Pay Act add another layer of uncertainty and concern. Our kaimahi work tirelessly to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and whānau, and it is important that their efforts are recognised and fairly compensated. More >>
Mental Health And Addition NGO And Community Sector Shocked At Government Decision To Abolish Current Pay Equity Claims
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 4:34 pm | Platform Trust
“Platform Trust and the 95 NGOs we represent cannot understand why the Government would throw out years of extensive work we have done to move towards a fair settlement that values support workers for the work they do,” says Sally Pitts-Brown, Chairperson ... More >>
We Can’t Just Turn Off The Internet For Those Under 16
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 4:27 pm | NZ Council for Civil Liberties
The New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties opposes this bill as unreasonable in principle and unworkable in practice and believes it should not be progressed if selected for introduction. More >>
EEO Commissioner Says Equal Pay Act Amendments Undermine Progress For Pay Equity
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 3:32 pm | Human Rights Commission
Our parliamentary processes are in place to protect democratic participation rights and should not be circumvented, especially on an issue like this which has significant consequences for so many people. More >>
Prisoner Voting Ban Will Harm Rehabilitation And Weaken Our Justice System
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 3:11 pm | Criminal Bar Association
“There is no legitimate purpose for banning prisoners from voting. It does nothing to aid rehabilitation, keep communities safe, or even serve the interests of victims. In fact it does the opposite." More >>
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell Denies Pushing For Longer Prison Sentences
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 2:52 pm | RNZ
Experts and the opposition are urging caution after Mark Mitchell asked officials to look into scrapping short prison sentences. More >>
Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop Join Erica Stanford In Admitting They Used Personal Emails
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 2:44 pm | RNZ
The Education Minister is not alone in forwarding Parliament and ministerial emails to her personal account. More >>
Brooke Van Velden’s Mother’s Day Present Sets Gender Equity Back 53 Years
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 2:05 pm | Tertiary Education Union
Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says “this is discrimination at its worst and will set gender equity back 53 years to when the Equal Pay Act was passed.” More >>
"A National Embarrassment" - Workers First On Government’s Pay Equity Betrayal
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 1:16 pm | Workers First Union
Sheryl Cadman, Workers First Central Region Secretary, said that the plan announced today by Minister Brooke Van Velden reneges on decades of bipartisan work on pay equity because the current Government cannot manage the economy ahead of Budget 2025/26. More >>
Changes Will Gut The Equal Pay Act And Lock In Discrimination
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 12:54 pm | NZCTU
“It is shameful that the Government is cancelling pay equity for hundreds of thousands of working women in order to balance the budget,” said NZCTU Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges. More >>
Government Turns Clock Back On Pay Equity For Teachers
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 12:37 pm | PPTA Te Wehengarua
"The integrity of the pay equity process is now being undermined by political interference. Every step in this process has met legal and procedural standards, and was conducted in good faith under an agreement with previous governments." More >>
Government Move To Kill Pay Equity Process Is An Attack On Women Workers
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 12:24 pm | E Tu
The changes, announced by Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden, will raise the bar for proving historical undervaluation in female-dominated workforces – cutting off current claims and making new ones near impossible. More >>
Dark Day For Women As Government Slams Brakes On Pay Equity To Save Money
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 12:12 pm | PSA
"The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women. We will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all." More >>
New Zealand Media Proposes Compulsory Military Training
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 12:09 pm | Socialist Equality Group
The real purpose of CMT, as with the record increase in military spending, is to prepare for imperialist war to redivide the world. The ruling class is seeking to instil young people with nationalism and unquestioning obedience to authority, so ... More >>
Social Media Bill Should Be Government Bill
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 11:42 am | Family First New Zealand
First and foremost, there needs to be a community response where parents unite to ensure their young children are not exposed to social media, but there is also room for government support to empower parents, says Mr McCoskrie. More >>
Mental Health Workforce Crisis Exposed - Urgent Action Needed Now
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 11:22 am | PSA
The draft report said 1,485 more frontline mental health and addiction workers were needed right now, including 470 specialist nurses, 145 psychiatrists and 145 clinical psychologists. More >>
Trump’s Tariff Threat Should Be The Final Scene For Film Subsidies
Tuesday, 6 May 2025, 11:05 am | Taxpayers' Union
Film handouts have soared from $129 million in 2017 to $342 million in 2023. Treasury found nearly $500 million in subsidies delivered just $13.6 million in net benefit — an annual return of less than one percent. You’d get better returns from popcorn ... More >>
A ‘Trump Slump’ Has Lifted The Left In Canada And Now Australia – What Are The Lessons For NZ?
Monday, 5 May 2025, 4:34 pm | The Conversation
The ‘Trump effect’ has influenced elections in Canada and Australia. But the New Zealand left can’t bank on the same thing happening here. More >>
Mark Mitchell Wants Short Prison Sentences Scrapped In Hope Of Reducing Reoffending
Monday, 5 May 2025, 4:06 pm | RNZ
Labour's Justice spokesperson Duncan Webb says it's "depressing" the government can't come up with better solutions. More >>
New Report Illustrates Tax System Failures
Monday, 5 May 2025, 3:13 pm | Tax Justice Aotearoa
The report focuses on the transparency of public funding in the aged residential care sector, and shows how our tax system allows multi-national providers to avoid paying the taxes that the public would expect them to pay, demonstrating this through ... More >>
Majority Support For Bill Defining ‘Woman’ & ‘Man’
Monday, 5 May 2025, 2:45 pm | Family First New Zealand
The Legislation (Definitions of Woman and Man) Amendment Bill will provide clarity and consistency in New Zealand law by defining “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as “an adult human biological male” in the Legislation ... More >>
PSA Welcomes Increased Defence Spend On Civilian Salaries
Monday, 5 May 2025, 2:00 pm | PSA
The PSA has welcomed the news from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) that $33 million will be allocated to staff pay increases over the next four years as the result of last year’s industrial action. More >>
Australian Election A Warning Shot For Luxon’s Trump-style Agenda, Says Greenpeace
Monday, 5 May 2025, 10:02 am | Greenpeace
In Australia, Peter Dutton’s Coalition promised more offshore gas drilling. In Aotearoa, Luxon’s Government is repealing the oil and gas ban. In the U.S., Trump is gutting environmental protections to make way for fossil fuel expansion. More >>
Auditor-General Urged To Investigate Cuts To Experts Stopping Health Fraud
Monday, 5 May 2025, 7:06 am | PSA
The Audit and Assurance Directorate at Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora is a critical unit focused on ensuring some $12 billion of annual funding of the primary health care sector is paid out correctly and not subject to fraud. More >>
Fund Healthcare Not Warfare
Sunday, 4 May 2025, 6:23 pm | Peace Action Wellington
Clearly the money is there. It is a matter of priorities. Most New Zealanders would say their priority is a health system that is there for them if they get sick. Right now, that doesn’t exist. More >>
Mediawatch: Bad Stats And Stereotypes Boost Bootcamp Bid
Sunday, 4 May 2025, 4:32 pm | RNZ
A call to consider universal military service was enthusiastically endorsed in the media this week. But those backing it seized on stats that also tell a different story. More >>
On The Doctors Strike
Sunday, 4 May 2025, 1:48 pm | Socialist Equality Group
The austerity measures imposed by his government—and the previous Labour Party-led government—have produced the crisis of unmet need. More >>
EDS Report Highlights Urgent Need To Get On With MPA Reform
Sunday, 4 May 2025, 1:33 pm | EDS
“New Zealand is far behind international best practice for MPA legislation and practice and is far from meeting its international biodiversity obligations,” said EDS Policy Director Raewyn Peart. More >>
Tory Whanau Believes Politics Has Become A Lot More 'Toxic' Especially For Wāhine Māori
Saturday, 3 May 2025, 4:51 pm | RNZ
As a progressive mayor she has also had to deal with the "old guard" resistant to change, the outgoing mayor says. More >>
Prime Minister Rejects Claims That There Are Too Many Ministers
Saturday, 3 May 2025, 4:30 pm | RNZ
The size and make-up of any executive is set by the Prime Minister. More >>
Whanganui Iwi Leader Takes Place On Waitangi Tribunal
Friday, 2 May 2025, 8:22 pm | Moana Ellis - Local Democracy Reporter
Gerrard Albert has more than 20 years of experience in Treaty settlement negotiations, including a pivotal role in the Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River) Settlement, and more than 30 years in natural resource management. More >>
Greenpeace Calls On Luxon To Show Leadership On Dairy Pollution As Canterbury Floods Highlight Growing Climate Crisis
Friday, 2 May 2025, 3:18 pm | Greenpeace
Greenpeace Aotearoa spokesperson Will Appelbe, who is based in Canterbury, says: "The damage caused by this extreme weather event is real, and will impact communities in Canterbury into the future. But neither is this the last time we will see flooding ... More >>
Tick Tock: Net Core Crown Debt Will Hit $190 Billion Tonight. Now More Than $93k Per Household
Friday, 2 May 2025, 2:02 pm | Taxpayers' Union
Nicola Willis is borrowing nearly $48 million per day to fund her deficit spending. Tonight the total net borrowing ticks over to $190 billion. That's $93,381 debt for every New Zealand household. More >>
Regulatory Standards Bill Claim Accepted For Urgency By Waitangi Tribunal With 12,000 Claimants Signed On
Friday, 2 May 2025, 1:08 pm | RNZ
The group behind last year's Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti has been granted an urgent hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal regarding the Regulatory Standards Bill. More >>
Luxon Celebrates Trump's 100th Day In Office With A Spray Tan
Friday, 2 May 2025, 12:49 pm | Greenpeace
The Luxon government seems hell-bent on waging an all-out war on nature, but Governments don’t last forever, and if the Labour Party now commits to overturning seabed mining consents next time they are in Government, it would be the last nail in the coffin ... More >>
New Zealand Ruling Elite Escalates Preparations For War
Friday, 2 May 2025, 8:17 am | Socialist Equality Group
New Zealand’s National Party-led coalition government recently released a multi-billion dollar Defence Capability Plan that will nearly double military spending from just over 1 percent to 2 percent of GDP within eight years. This involves $NZ9 billion ... More >>
Iwi-Crown Relations On The Line After Scathing Audit
Thursday, 1 May 2025, 7:13 pm | RNZ
Iwi and hapū are legally entitled to their Treaty Settlements, but a new report from the auditor general has found widespread breaches by the Crown . More >>
Councillors To Have 'How-To' Guidebook On Staying Safe From Abuse
Thursday, 1 May 2025, 7:10 pm | RNZ
Abuse and harassment has been increasing and councils are concerned about a potential chilling effect on people standing in local elections this year. More >>