Non-Union Teacher Pay offers and Phase Two of the Royal Commission COVID-19 Inquiry w/ The National Party's Ryan Hamilton: 17 March, 2026

Last week, amid negotiations between the Public Service Commission and the NZEI Te Riu Roa union over pay for primary school teachers, the government moved to offer pay rises to primary school teachers on individual agreements. The move has been criticised by the union as undermining negotiations, but the government has defended the move as simply offering those teachers what the union has already turned down.

Last week also saw the release of Phase two of the Royal Comission Inquiry into the COVID-19 response. The results were, by and large, positive towards the response, but with key points of debate still remaining.

This week, Wire Host Alex spoke to National MP Ryan Hamilton about all of these topics, beginning by discussing the pay offer for Primary School Teachers.