Pay equity overhaul: Govt minister ‘surprised’ by rights watchdog pushback

Brooke van Velden says she is surprised the Human Rights Commission would claim her pay equity changes risk undermining human rights. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Workplace Relations and Safety Minister is pushing back at claims by the Human Rights Commission that pay equity changes undermine human rights, as it conducts more work on the matter.

Brooke van Velden, who this week announced she would not be contesting the 2026 election, said she is “surprised” by opposition to the changes from the commission.

Parliament passed the Equal Pay Amendment Act under urgency last May, before Budget 2025.

The overhaul stopped 33 active claims and lifted the threshold for proving work had been historically undervalued.

Last year’s Budget revealed savings from changes to the regime saved the Government about $12.8 billion over four years.

The commission is now aiming to survey young people’s understanding of pay equity to inform its future work on the topic.

Documents show an indicative budget for the survey of between $30,000 and $65,000, and outline that understanding how young people make sense of issues such as pay equity is “critical” to “building durable public support for pay equity and gender equity”.

In a statement, the commission said its position is that the amendments “undermine human rights in Aotearoa New Zealand, including the specific human rights dimensions of te Tiriti o Waitangi”.

It said the planned research is part of its “ongoing core work programme”, adding “pay equity, or equal pay for work of equal value, is a fundamental human right”.

It also said the Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner, professor Gail Pachecho, has the statutory responsibility of promoting “equal employment opportunities”, including pay equity.

Van Velden told Newstalk ZB she was surprised the commission would claim changes made to the legislation would undermine human rights.

“The Acting Attorney-General concluded at the time that the Equal Pay Amendment Bill was consistent with the Bill of Rights Act. I am also satisfied that the changes are consistent with New Zealand’s Treaty of Waitangi and international obligations, as I advised Cabinet at the time,” she said.

Van Velden wrote to and met with the Human Rights Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner last year “to relay these exact points”.

“Anyone who cares about the durability of the pay equity system would support the Government’s changes, which are focused on identifying genuine cases of sex-based discrimination, and which improve the affordability of the system so that it may endure for years to come,” van Velden said.

She recently said former MPs were “free to hold their own opinions” about the policy, reiterating “equal pay is here to stay”, after the launch of a “people’s select committee” report criticising the reform.

After announcing she would not be contesting the next election, van Velden told media she stood “hand on heart” by her policy decisions, including the changes to pay equity.

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.