Bill English was in Dunedin over the weekend, where he was faced by some angry young women protesting Nationals scrapping of the Department of Labour’s Pay and Employment Equity Unit. His response? "Pay equity is not a priority".
And there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth: National does not care about women. It regards an issue of fundamental fairness as something which is merely "nice to have", and ranks it behind "more important" government business such as building cycleways and giving more money to rich people. Those women in Dunedin were right to be angry at that attitude.
English also repeatedly called the protestors "out of touch". I'd suggest the opposite: that it is English and his party of dead white males who are out of touch - with the modern world. Because this sort of systematic gender discrimination is simply not acceptable in the modern era - and neither is defending it.
