Chris Hipkins says equity law changes are not getting the scrutiny they deserve. Photo: Reece Baker
Labour leader Chris Hipkins is slamming the ACT Party for championing better lawmaking the same day the coalition rushes through law changes under urgency, calling it "absolute hypocrisy".
David Seymour announced on Wednesday that Cabinet had signed off on a proposal for the Regulatory Standards Bill that sets out new checks and balances for what constitutes good law making.
It came on the same day the government is rushing legislation through urgency that will make it harder to argue for equal pay in sectors with predominantly female workers.
Minister of Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden's equity law changes have been under fire, particularly for the speed at which they are being pushed through, and the lack of consultation.
A report that often accompanies bills, known as a regulatory impact statement, had not been done on the effects the pay equity changes could have.
Hipkins was scathing in his assessment of the lack of opportunity to scrutinise the bill.
"They still haven't released the advice that they relied upon in pushing through this law change.
"So not only is this law change not getting the scrutiny it deserves, the government aren't even explaining properly why they are doing it."
He also said it highlighted the "absolute hypocrisy of the ACT Party".
"On the day David Seymour's talking about the need to improve regulatory systems in New Zealand his government are ramming through a law change that's had no regulatory scrutiny whatsoever."
Hipkins said Seymour seemed to think that regulatory scrutiny was something that should apply to "other people".
"Because whenever the ACT Party wants to do something, they're quite happy to simply abandon a good regulatory process and ram things through parliament under urgency."
Hipkins slammed Seymour as a "total and utter hypocrite".
"He goes on about the fact there needs to be good process, that law changes shouldn't be rushed, and yet whenever something comes up that he wants to do, he rams it through with no real scrutiny."
Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick also said the hypocrisy was "abundantly clear".
"The pay equity stuff in particular came as an absolute blindside to the hundreds of thousands of women who have been actively engaged in negotiating in good faith for years now, and to have all that cancelled in fewer than 24 hours - it's abhorrent."
But Regulation Minister David Seymour defended the decision to bypass an impact statement.
"They also know that the regulatory impact analysis regime allows [us] to do analyses after the fact, and that's what's being used in this particular case.
"That's always been part of the rule, all governments of all stripes have used it."
He also said he did not think there needed to be a lot of analysis when restrictions were being taken away.
"It's when we're putting restrictions on people's lives, that's when the government should be properly disciplined and have to put its cards on table."
National Party Cabinet Minister Chris Bishop said ultimately the government had made its own decision.
"Ultimately, governments make decisions. The government decided that one wasn't required.
"The government decided that we need to provide legal clarity and certainty, and do so expeditiously and quickly. We have done that."
Bishop said the government always "has the right to do that" if Parliament agreed.
"Lots of laws don't have regulatory impact statements attached to them actually, sometimes Parliament just has to act and we are acting."
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who was acting prime minister at Parliament today, said far too many people were panicking about the law changes.
"We're going back to the law of 2017 which got the nurses $2 billion, so all of this panicking and fearmongering is dispersed by the last time this law was in effect."
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