A ballot for four Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn:
- Election Access Fund Bill (Chlöe Swarbrick)
- Oranga Tamariki (Parent’s and Guardian’s Responsibility) Amendment Bill (Barbara Kuriger)
- Employment (Pay Equity and Equal Pay) Bill (Denise Lee)
- Health and Safety at Work (Volunteer Associations) Amendment Bill (Harete Hipango)
Despite the hopeful title, Denise Lee's bill is
National's pre-election bill designed to overturn caselaw and make pay equity and equal pay claims more difficult. It was widely criticised, and allowed to lapse by National when Parliament was dissolved for the election, which tells you a) how little support there was for a pro-employer framework; and b) how little National really cared about it anyway. I'm sure we can expect a lot of tub-thumping from them about how the government is opposing pay equity by voting it down, and it should put the pressure on them to introduce their own legislation ASAP.
There were 68 bills in the ballot today, so its back to running near capacity again.
