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Monday, October 2, 2023

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 2/10/23



Verrall is chuffed by govt’s latest push into pay equity while Woods enthuses about an $11m spend on EV chargers

The headline on a ministerial press statement curiously expresses the government’s position when it declares: Government shows further commitment to pay equity for healthcare workers.

Is it not enough to declare just one commitment?

Or is the government’s commitment to pay equity being declared sector by sector?

A fortnight or so ago, Health Minister Ayesha Verrall was announcing that maternity care assistants would soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service and New Zealand Nurses Association.

“Addressing historical pay inequities for our midwives is a key priority for this Government, and I am extremely pleased this proposed settlement has been agreed with the unions,” said Ayesha Verrall.

Early in August she was braying about Te Whatu Ora hospital nurses and midwives getting another pay jump under the latest pay settlement agreed between the Government and New Zealand Nurses Organisation.

“This Government is in it for nurses, and over six years we have delivered pay equity as well as regular increases to this historically underpaid group of predominantly women workers,” Ayesha Verrall said.

And:

“This is further positive news for our nurses and midwives following the nursing pay equity settlement announced on 31 July, and the increase in midwifery pay rates for pay equity announced on 6 July.”

This time Verrall is telling us the Government welcomes the proposed pay equity settlement that will generate significant pay increases for around 18,000 Te Whatu Ora Allied, Scientific, and Technical employees, if accepted.

The statement is sadly bereft of information about the cost to the public purse.

Verrall says only that if the proposed settlement is accepted,

… it will mean salary increases of approximately 20% for most of the workforce, an interim pay adjustment back dated to 30 November 2022, and a lump sum payment of up to $10,000.

There are no other dollar signs in the announcement.

In contrast, we learn the cost of the 100 new public EV chargers which are to be added to the national network.

Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods announced this one, resulting from lucky (for some) dips into a government trough.

Sixteen projects will receive $11 million in government co-funding (matched by $13.5 million in private investment) from the Low Emission Transport Fund, administered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

EECA research shows that 80% of people do more than half of their charging at home but

… Kiwis also need a range of options available to them while out and about, and especially on longer journeys.

How much research (do you think) was required to establish the need for a range of options?

New chargers will be situated at places like shopping centres where people may be parked for up to a couple of hours, Woods said.

To help with longer journeys, the government is co-funding high-speed chargers on main highways at 19 popular holiday routes including Bombay, Turangi and Wanaka.

Also included are the country’s first charging ‘hubs’ where up to ten high-speed chargers will sit alongside amenities like food options and toilets.

The government’s draft National EV Charging Strategy – Charging our Future – proposed a target for hubs to be situated about every 150-200km across the State highway network.

The only other new announcement comes from the ministry that mostly seems to be busy organising language weeks and farewell parties.

We refer to the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, whose website records these accomplishments so far this year:











The ministry’s PR team have not included anything related to the Public Service Commissioner’s criticism of nearly $40,000 being spent on a farewell for its departing chief executive in October last year.

On the Beehive website, Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds has announced that Tuvalu is in the spotlight as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week.

She did not mention how much of the ministry’s budget will be spent on these celebrations.

She did say Tuvalu – the fourth-smallest nation in the world – consists of nine inhabited islands with a population of approximately 11,000 people.

In New Zealand, there are over 4,600 people who identify as Tuvaluan and 48 percent are Te Gana Tuvalu speakers. 54 percent of our total population are New Zealand-born and only 25 percent of those under the age of 15 can speak the language.

“I’m encouraging everyone to get involved to celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu. Not only will you help sustain a vibrant language, but support our Pacific community to thrive,” Barbara Edmonds said.

Tuvalu Language Week runs from 1 October to 7 October. More information and resources can be found on the Ministry for Pacific Peoples website.

Latest from the Beehive

2 OCTOBER 2023


The Government welcomes the proposed pay equity settlement that will see significant pay increases for around 18,000 Te Whatu Ora Allied, Scientific, and Technical employees, if accepted

1 OCTOBER 2023


The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand…


Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton

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