We have a Prime Minister who thinks people using food banks do so because they make poor choices and an Acting Minister of Women’s Affairs who thinks women like school support staff working in jobs that are undervalued and who are struggling with the family budget in the face of ever rising prices should be “grateful that there is a National Government focused on lifting economic performance, and ensuring the well being of families and communities”
They are all heart! They have no idea what it is really like for low and middle income New Zealanders!
In relation to Kate Wilkinson’s comments I say (a) there is no plan to lift economic performance, (b) the economy is going backwards – increasing unemployment and real wages falling, (c) her words will not give women confidence that this Government actually intends to do anything about the gender pay gap and (d) being grateful won’t help put food on the table or balance the budget.
Yesterday was Red Bag Day, a day started by Business and Professional Women in 1988 to highlight the gender pay gap internationally. The Minister cited the NZ Income Survey to say that the gender pay gap has closed but she then disputed the same statistics series when I outlined that it showed that real wages have declined, which of course makes a mockery of her crowing about the gender pay gap closing.
This Government have failed women in so many ways. In relation to pay equity they have scrapped the Pay Equity Unit, halted pay and employment equity investigations and failed to honour commitments to groups like Education Support Staff who work with special needs children. This is effectively ignoring the proven inequality this group faces. In tough economic times with high unemployment and reducing pay, low incomes due to discrimination have even greater impact on women and their families.
It is certainly inappropriate for the Acting Minister of Women’s Affairs to celebrate falling wages and to tell women they should be grateful.
It’s not nice for those women
“They have no idea what it is really like for low and middle income New Zealanders!”
Possibly, but then neither do the Labour MPs who regularly post on this site. According to them, low to middle income people are useless incompetents incapable of finding their own way without government intervention.
It’s patronizing, and it’s disgusting. The small demographic that fit the ‘useless incompetent’ description don’t read political blogs, so I’m not sure what your plan is.
No, I am sorry, but I have to disagree BR – whats disgusting and patronizing is to suggest that those on low incomes are useless incompetents – your words – not Labs. Your statement leads me to believe that as a society we should just leave those who need help to flounder and fail – and thats a pretty sad indictment on anyone who would think that way.
Thats not the world our kids should inherit – woe be us if that comes to pass. Turn a blind eye at your own peril. ITs in everyones interest to have a successful society – success should not be the bastion of the few.
There is a plan: 2025 Taskforce, Tax Working Group, Welfare Working Group, Savings Working Group, they know what needs to be done and instead are only maintaining Labour’s spending levels for craven political reasons… Which is crap but better than having you lot in adding billion after billion of low quality spending and make work jobs onto our children’s credit card…
And Labour’s plan apart from borrowing more, taxing higher earners more and giving a tax free threshold is..? The bottom line is nothing can be done except reduce government involvement in the economy to allow private sector jobs to be created…
Why won’t they..? What would you do..? Reintroduce the Pay Equity Unit, increase pay and employment equity investigations and payments to groups like Education Support Staff – all with borrowed money of course, when in the next sentence you talk about what tough economic times we are in..?
And neither will pretending to have answers and borrowing more for make work jobs…
A recent study showed that NZ is ranked 5th in the world in gender equality, there has been consistent improvement over time… The simple fact of matter is part of the gap currently exists in no samll part due to the undeniable fact that women are significantly more likely to the pregnant party in a relationship…
Given that almost 60% of Uni students are women, according to your logic, we should be setting up a Ministry of Men’s Affairs with it’s own Pay Equity Investigation Unit for when unsuccessful maledom is earning 90% of the women…
Paul, I wasn’t suggesting that those on middle to low incomes are useless incompetents, I am on a low to middle income.
I’m not a Labour supporter, but I think Labour really needs to stop pushing the “oh the poor poor people, being beaten down by the rich pricks” meme
If you give bring the carrot to the animal every day, he doesn’t get up to eat the grass in the paddock, the carrot bringer should only be a last resort, the animal needs to partake in the paddock under their own steam.
What? Have they run out of cake or something?
2025 taskforce
They know what needs to be done 
Now that’s funny :p
Unqualified cheap shots are the pinnacle of a convincing argument Al1ens…
So, well done… You get a gold star in your little red workbook…
Wow, that was simple to do – cheap shots are easy..! Making a case on the other hand might actually take a bit of thought, eh..?
Whats the difference between a right-wing ideologist and a fantacist. The ideologist lives with the delusion that his fantasy could come true in real life, if only others also believed in it, the fantacist just enjoys the fantasy knowing it to be what it is.
No cheap shot, Jezza. Just laughing at what you believe will get this country ‘back on it’d feet’.
If it wasn’t so patheticly funny, I’d have let it go.
Pathetically :blush:
The word you’re looking for Al1ens is oops!
Now those women just don’t count because they don’t make the list!
I’m still not seeing a case against what I’ve said, just calling me an pathetic fantasist…
Since seemingly you two can’t form one I’ll leave it to neutral readers to ascertain which of us are the idelogically driven, pathetic, fantasists and which has a researched, logical argument…
John Key’s strategic plan: let’s give all the money to the rich people.
@Plutonian, here’s an idea, how about giving some of the money back to the people that Labour taxed the hell out of for 9 years – the middle income earners, nurses, lecturers, teachers, police. Ooh hang on they are rich under Labours tax policies aren’t they?
Happy to let anyone make their mind up on whether agreeing with brash and douglas, an advocate, on what’s best for NZ, is actually what’s best for NZ.
That you do, is certainly cause for a giggle at your expense, especially on a Labour blogsite.
You, quite clearly, are eminently capable of ticking your own boxes
Al1ens, your post doesn’t appear to make proper sense to me unless you’e referencing something I’m not aware of…
This is a (relatively) open forum, if people have argument against what I’ve said then we can debate positively, it seems that you are incapable of doing that and seek simply to muddy the waters by posting irrelevancies… IMO it’s hardly convincing…
@Al1ens, my first sentence was referring to your last…
I seem to be having trouble with my blockquotes, try gain:
Posting from a place of fear and hatred doesn’t change minds
@BR – having a paddock to find the carrot in to begin with is the issue – the rate we are going they will all have been sold off so no chance of seeing ‘hyde nor hair’ (pun intended) of elusive carrot.
@Jeremy – I would be interested in the study you spoke of, because I read the report on pay equity and the glass ceiling is very much in evidence when you look through the various industries – as for a mens group – go for it – its a democratic world we live in – but do tell – what would the terms of reference be? In a recession, says other research – the first group to lose out are women – esp pacifica.
Our young women and daughters are being subjected to so much rubbish that paints them into thinking they should be pretty little toe nail painting clones waiting for the bloke to do ‘his thing’ – and thats pathetic – I dont want mine or anyone elses daughter/granddaughter/nieces/aunty/mum/wife/neighbors girl etc ect thinking thats ok – what rubbish. btw – have a look at parliament – would you say that both major parties are equitable in the number of woman who are MPs? Equity does not exist – not here – not anywhere.
You also mentioned that Labs plan is to borrow more? National – pot – kettle – very soot laden and black! The nats plan has failed!
@paul – I’m so pleased that you owned your pun, I always want to scream out when people say “no pun intended” why not pun intended?
Agreed about women, valueing what’s on the inside is important. Not cringeworthy radio broadcasts about top 5′s.
You will note spud that I never claimed It as a good pun tho!
ps re women – I dont think the issue is whats on the outside or the inside – its about society, equity and getting real. so much was made about what Helen looked like – no one cares about what Key looks like – except to suggest hes sexy!! God forbid we actually looked at either of them for their actual skills and leadership abilities!
So true! This country is crumbling around our ears and we need to be hearing more about that!
Ok, jez. Last time of trying. :goodgrief:
You champion the brash vision for NZ (2025 taskforce) as our way forward, even though it is destructive and will have a terrible effect on low income earners, the unemployed, struggling kiwi families, the workforce as a whole etc… etc… And all on a Labour party blogsite.
If that aint funny, I don’t know what is.
Also in your last couple of posts you’ve mentioned my login name and quoted text.
It should be noted that these are not my statements you’ve quoted.
“Given that almost 60% of Uni students are women, according to your logic, we should be setting up a Ministry of Men’s Affairs with it’s own Pay Equity Investigation Unit for when unsuccessful maledom is earning 90% of the women…”
According to your logic with that number of graduates pay parity will be happening, well, as soon as they graduate. 50% of female law graduates 20 years ago were female. 50% of partners in law forms today are not women, so what was your point JMH?
Perhaps you were being deliberately obtuse?
The report JMH refers t is here
http://www.mwa.govt.nz/
“Moreover, while the level of female participation in tertiary education has steadily increased, a study carried out by Statistics New Zealand in 2005,found that males’ incomes were consistently higher than those of females five years after finishing their studies. This applied across every field of study and indicates that equality in education does not guarantee pay equity. Such discrepancies are perpetuated in both the public and private sectors. Over
the last four years, 67 pay and employment equity reviews have been completed in the public sector. All of the reviews, except one, found gender pay gaps that varied in size from percent to 35 percent.Common findings from the reviews were that women and men had unequal starting salaries for the same job and that there were persistent gender inequalities in pay progression and performance pay.”
http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/speechpapers/Gender%20Equality%20in%20the%20Workforce.pdf
Jeremy, about the taskforces having answers and being a plan…
“…National believes the families of New Zealand want action, not more reports from Labour-appointed bureaucrats.” 2005