Logie JanJAN LOGIE (Green): On the back of hearing how great the economy is for New Zealanders I want to lay down a challenge for this Government: I want it to turn its economy to working for women. When this Government first came to power one of the first things it did was shut down the gender pay equity employment unit within the State Services Commission and it stopped plans to end the underpayment—otherwise called exploitation"—of school support staff amongst other women workers in the Public Service. There was a brief moment ahead of the 2011 election in the wake of public outrage over a business leader suggesting that women get paid less because we bleed and have babies when John Key strode through the outrage to say that National would have a look at the bill I have in front of the House this evening.But then the Government intervened on behalf of the employers when it came up against Kristine Bartlett and her union and other caregivers wanting equal pay. It was only when court after court ruled in favour of those women that the Government decided it was time to start negotiating their fair pay. So we need to be clear that up to this point this Government has been no friend to women.The Government was forced to settle with caregivers and there is no mistaking that this is a phenomenal victory that will go down in the history books—a victory for working women. But I have to say that it is not pay equity and that is explicit in the agreement in the settlement. The money will still be phased in over 5 years and this is despite the Employment Court ruling that economic arguments were used to justify slavery and as such were not appropriate considerations when it came to ending the exploitation of women's labour. The Government ignored that point and all of the options that were available to it to immediately end the exploitation of those incredibly hard-working people.But on the heels of all the amazing energy around that settlement and the public congratulations the Government has now put out the draft for its new equal pay legislation. And you might hope that that would continue on in the vein of that settlement but no. What it does is make it harder for women coming afterwards to get equal pay. This bill overturns a key court ruling. It introduces an additional criterion that women will have to prove in order to be able to make their case it only allows women access to employer information once they have proven the merit of their claim it removes the standard right for back pay if the dispute is resolved by determination and not to mention it restricts the right to strike for pay equity.The Government says it wants to make it easier for women to claim pay equity without having to go to the court but it is neglecting the fact that this settlement for the Kristine Bartlett case was not made in the court. It was made through negotiation proving that the decisions of the Employment Court actually work in the environment of the Employment Relations Act. So why is the Government messing with this model which has delivered? This ruling is how the 55000 women got paid more and now the Government is seeking to undermine those very rulings that are delivering for women just like it did with family carers.So tonight in this House my member's bill is coming up for a vote and tomorrow consultation on the Government's dodgy draft bill will close. The Green Party is fighting for women to be paid more with real solutions that will make a difference. This is an opportunity for the Government to do something to be on the side of women for once. The Government had to settle the equal pay claims of Kristine Bartlett and 55000 others—it had no choice. Now the Government has a choice on two bills and the choice needs to be for women."