ACT's Simon Court

The ACT Party has defended the Government’s controversial move to pass changes to pay equity law under urgency — a move that immediately halted all current claims and raised the bar for future ones. The Government argues the new rules will provide more “clarity” and prevent costly legal disputes, while unions and advocates say the bill is a rollback of hard-won gains for women in low-paid sectors.

Critics also slammed the lack of consultation and the speed of the legislative process, while questions are raised over whether the move was made to plug a hole in the upcoming budget. For our weekly catch up with the ACT Party, Producer Evie spoke to Simon Court about why ACT supports the Pay Equity Amendment Bill, and whether it risks undermining efforts to close the gender pay gap.

They also discussed a National Party member’s bill that would ban under-16s from using social media — a proposal ACT has declined to back for now. National says the ban would protect young people’s mental health, while ACT argues it raises serious questions about freedom of speech and parental responsibility.

In his role as regulation Minister, David Seymour is moving to simplify regulations for Early Childhood Education Centres by the end of this year. 

This involves a review containing 15 recommendations, which cabinet has accepted. These recommendations concern a vast number of things, from simplifying licensing criteria for pre-schools to lowering qualification requirements for early childhood educators. 

Both of these areas have sparked concern within the sector, with some educators concerned the review is simply a cost cutting exercise that will result in tamariki being put at risk. 

For our weekly catch up Producer Evie spoke to ACT’s Simon Court about the review. 
They also spoke about New Zealand First’s Members Bill aiming to have the biological definition of a woman and man defined in law. 

And finally they discussed a clash between the party and National’s Scott Simpson over an ACC plan to reduce injury for Māori and Pasifika workers. 

After months of hearings, submissions and debate, the Justice Select Committee has released its report into the Treaty Principles Bill, recommending that the bill not proceed. 

The report found that of all submissions, nearly 90% were opposed, around 8% in support and just over 3% were unstated. 

Despite this final damning backlash against the bill, David Seymour and the ACT party maintain that there is a place for the bill in Aotearoa, saying submissions often don’t reflect the majority view of the country. 

For our weekly catch up, Producer Evie spoke to ACT’s Simon Court about the report, and what the ACT party intend to do next. 

They also spoke about the tariffs imposed on trade by Donald Trump last week, and how the government expects them to impact New Zealand. 

Finally, they spoke about an unfolding situation concerning ACT MP and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard. An RNZ investigation late last week found a potential conflict of interest between the minister and his sister who is the executive director of a dairy company. The investigation found that her company had lobbied against the minister's office introducing tougher regulations on baby formula. 

Last week the ACT Party announced that they were going to stand candidates in the local elections for the first time. 

The party is calling for a ‘clean out’ of councils, slating them for failing to make change. The claims have been met with backlash from councillors who say David Seymour and the party don’t understand the work that goes into local government. 

For our weekly catch up Producer Evie spoke to the ACT Party’s Simon Court about what decisions lead to the move, and what the party hopes to achieve in local government. 

They also discussed ACT MP Mark Cameron who made headlines last week for saying National was leaving farmers and rural communities worse off than James Shaw did due to their higher emission reduction promises. 

And finally we also discussed David Seymour failing to inform Education Minister Erica Stanford that a key school lunch provider was going into liquidation.