By ramming through divisive pay equity reforms under urgency without a whisper of public consultation, the National-led Coalition of Chaos has exposed its contempt for democratic process. The coalition’s pattern of bypassing scrutiny, seen also in their “Kiwi
Killing Bill” and Regulatory Standards Bill shenanigans, reveals a
government allergic to accountability. This isn’t governance; it’s arrogance personified. But thankfully, former National MP Dame Marilyn Waring has stepped up, assembling a “People’s Select Committee” to do what this government refused: hear the voices of New Zealanders on the gutting of pay equity laws. This move is a bold rebuke to a coalition that has little concern for democratic fairness.
Waring, a trailblazing feminist economist and former MP who once stared down Robert Muldoon’s authoritarian tendencies, is no stranger to fighting entrenched power. Her committee, comprising a cross-section of seasoned ex-MPs like Nanaia Mahuta, Sue Bradford, and Jo Hayes, brings over a century of parliamentary experience to scrutinise the coalition’s hasty changes to the Equal Pay Act. These reforms, spearheaded by ACT’s Brooke van Velden, extinguished 33 existing pay equity claims and raised the threshold for female-dominated professions, making it harder for women to seek fair pay. Passed under urgency, the changes dodged select committee scrutiny, leaving workers, mostly women in undervalued sectors, silenced. As Waring pointedly asks, “Where was the evidence?”
Didnt you get the memo @NicolaWillisMP.
— Catherine (@MrsMacNZ) May 7, 2025
I saw you falling over your words to say it wasnt needed to balance the budget but little Snapchat davey says otherwise. Looks like brooke van velden has single-handedly saved your budget. You must be eternally grateful to her. pic.twitter.com/fd3giKdQPF
The coalition’s justification? Van Velden claims the reforms make the system “simpler and more robust,” but without a regulatory impact statement or public input, this smells like a cost-cutting exercise dressed up as policy. The $13 billion reportedly saved smells more like wage theft than fiscal prudence, especially when Finance Minister Nicola Willis’s budget required these savings just to balance the books. This is the Coalition of Chaos at its worst, promising tax cuts for the wealthy and handouts to landlords while slashing equity for low-paid women, effectively sacrificing decades of progress for short-term political wins.
Waring’s initiative isn’t just grassroots resistance. Her committee, backed by the PSA and CTU, will hold public hearings starting August 11, 2025, in Wellington, with Zoom sessions to ensure nationwide access. They’re inviting submissions until July 31, giving voice to the 33 claimant groups and others sidelined by the coalition’s “constitutional vandalism,” as PSA’s Fleur Fitzsimons aptly calls it. This isn’t just about gathering evidence; it’s about exposing the coalition’s disregard for democratic processes which are the foundation of a functioning democracy.
As the Coalition of Chaos barrels forward, trampling democratic norms with reckless abandon, Marilyn Waring’s People’s Select Committee stands as a beacon of hope and defiance. Her fight isn’t just for pay equity...it’s for the soul of New Zealand’s democracy, a reminder that power unchecked is power abused. With only 42.5% of women backing this government, as per the April 2025 Roy Morgan Poll, the coalition’s mandate is shaky at best. Waring’s hearings, amplifying the silenced voices of low-paid women, are a rallying cry for every Kiwi who values fairness over expediency. Let this be the moment we reclaim our democracy, proving that when the powerful turn their backs on the people, the people will rise up, louder and stronger than ever before.
