Category: Media releases

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Budget 2024 fails to deliver investment that New Zealanders need

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Budget 2024 is placing this governments ideological wants before real New Zealanders’ needs.

“Tax cuts and spending cuts are favoured over addressing the cost-of-living crisis and delivering the investments that New Zealanders need,” said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney.

“Nicola Willis has failed her own tests that she set herself, such as when she said her tax cuts would “not require any additional borrowing” said Renney. According to Treasury, the Government will borrow an additional $17.1bn by June 2028. Tax cuts will cost nearly $10bn. Future taxpayers are going to pay for tax cuts today.

“Willis also claimed that she would be able to deliver on all National’s election promises. Yet the tax cut programme doesn’t include the Working for Families changes promised by National in opposition. The gambling tax changes were supposed to bring in $716m over the next four years. They now bring in $190m. It’s now clear that the tax package isn’t being delivered as promised.

“The Budget also fails the test of not cutting front-line services. Real terms cuts are made to operating grants to education. Vote Customs sees only cuts, no investment at all. The same is true for Agriculture, Biosecurity, Fisheries, and Food Safety, as it is for Māori Development and Pacific Peoples.

“The Budget fails the test of helping to end child poverty. Officials now forecast that  targets on child poverty will be missed significantly. The Government states that, “A key driver of child poverty is living in a benefit-dependent household”. In reality, the key driver of living in poverty is being poor – something that is not helped by real terms cuts to the minimum wage, and cuts to welfare payments.

“This Budget fails the test of preparing New Zealand for the future. Investment to support business, science, and innovation is cut by $1.4bn – and only $700m is returned. This includes cutting large elements of the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, which improves the energy efficiency and health of New Zealand’s ageing housing stock. Tackling climate change is no longer a concern, with $180m cut from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. The National Resilience Plan, established to help with future natural disasters, is ended.

“The Government has clearly signaled its values with this Budget. Short-term benefits for some in the form of tax cuts will come at the cost of long-term borrowing, rising child poverty, and increasing insecurity from challenges such as climate change and rising unemployment.

“This is a Budget for the few. It doesn’t deliver for the people who need it most. The Government has failed the most important test of all – delivering a better future for Aotearoa,” said Renney.

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MEDIA RELEASE: InsideOut Hide Inappropriate Award-Winning Poem

Source: Family First

InsideOut has tried to ‘hide’ poetry that won an award as part of Out on the Shelves because many people on social media said that there were potentially underlying themes of sexual innuendo, incest and self-harm.

The poem entitled “Father and Son” was the winner of the Under-16 Poetry section. Despite the supposed theme of smoking, when it was shared on Facebook and users were asked for their opinion on its appropriateness, many parents were horrified by the underlying themes running through it.

Significantly, since being publicised, the poem has been withdrawn from the InsideOut website. These are poems and stories that are recommended to all school students, including primary school.

Problematic lines include “we hastily pull ‘it’ out of our trousers”, “turning the Jesus portrait face-down”, “as it bobs between our lips”, “excess spits out on our dewlaps”, “as the cardinal sin leaves our busted lips in a long, languid, stream of white”, “Two light bringers who’s rather hide in the dark: Father and Son”, “hide the moon shaped marks that still burn against my skin”.

Another award winner in a separate older section talks about a trans ‘recipe’ involving pronouns, binding, and “their sh*t taste buds”.

Other books recommended as part of the campaign for primary age children are also problematic.

  • I’m Not a Girl is about a transgender girl;
  • My Shadow is Purple considers gender beyond binary in a vibrant spectrum of colour;
  • This Is Our Rainbow includes a story about a tween girl navigating a crush on her friend’s mum;
  • The Every Body Book – “When babies are born, one of the first questions people ask is whether the baby is a boy or a girl. They are actually asking about the biological sex of the baby. Biological sex is assigned or labelled, when babies are born, based on the visible parts they have.”
  • Alice Austen Lived Here – “Sam is very in touch with their own queer identity. They’re nonbinary, and their best friend, TJ, is nonbinary as well. Sam’s family is very cool with it…”

The Ministry of Education, as part of Pride Week in schools next month, is also recommending a School Journal story entitled Break-Up Day by  transgender author Kyle Mewburn which chronicles his discovery in year 8 that nobody realised he was actually a girl and was in the wrong body – “a girl in a boy-shaped box”.

A recent poll by Curia Market Research found there is strong opposition to gender ideology being taught to young children. Only 15% think primary age children should be taught they can choose their gender and that it can be changed through hormone treatment and surgery if they want it to be, while more than two out of three (69%) say they shouldn’t. Opposition to gender ideology has grown significantly from a similar poll in 2019 where only 54% said children should not be taught this, and 35% said they should.

As with most of the content of InsideOut in schools, when parents are made aware of the nature of the content, they quickly become concerned. It is disturbing that the Ministry of Education is promoting this material also. It is time that the coalition Government delivered on their promise of removing InsideOut material and gender ideology from schools.

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NZCTU calls on Wellington councillors to vote against airport privatisation

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff backs the thinking of 74% of Wellingtonians in rejecting the airport privatisation.

“This is an important public asset, and the council share has reliably generated returns for Wellingtonians. In the last year alone, it generated $20.4m,” said Wagstaff.

“The best thing we can do is maintain control over a public monopoly like the airport to make sure that it is run in the public interest.

“There has never been a financial case for the sale, and the poll shows that there is no popular demand for it either.

“Instead of selling our shares, we should be using our shareholding and presence on the board to make sure that the airport is great employer, is committed to decarbonisation and that it continues to be great public asset for the benefit of Wellingtonians.

“Under the companies act our 34% shareholding prevents the airport from making any strategic decisions that would harm Wellingtonians. It also gives us 1/3 of all seats on the board.

“The privatisation of assets in Christchurch and the ports of Auckland have been rejected by Councillors there because they don’t stack up. It doesn’t stack up here either and Wellington council should follow their example by voting against a share sale that there is no mandate for.

“As a nation, we need to secure our future through building economic resilience and a just transition to a low-emissions economy. That means keeping public assets in public ownership,” said Wagstaff.

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2:1 Support for NZ First’s ‘Bathroom’ Bill – Poll

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

15 May 2024

A new poll has found majority support for the “Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill” which has been introduced as a private members bill to Parliament by NZ First.

The independent survey by Curia Market Research and commissioned by Family First NZ found that 56% of respondents support a requirement for all new public buildings to have male, female and unisex toilets. Only 26% (1 in 4) were opposed, and 18% were unsure.

Interestingly, support for the proposal had majority support based on political party vote at the last election from Green and Labour voters.

35% of respondents backed the 2nd provision of a fine for not using toilets that match your biological sex, with 46% opposed.

The bill has two main provisions:

* A building code requirement for all new non-residential (public use) buildings to have single sex toilets for males and females, and a unisex toilet

* A maximum $2,000 fine for using a toilet not of your designated biological sex

NZ First said that the bill was primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, and about finding a balance between fair inclusion and fairness for all.

Last week, the UK government announced that new restaurants, public toilets, shopping centres and offices in England will be required to have separate male and female toilets under proposed legislation as part of a push “ending the rise” of gender-neutral toilets. A consultation highlighted concerns from women, elderly and disabled people who felt “unfairly disadvantaged” by toilets being converted into gender neutral facilities sharing cubicles and sinks.

 Labour spokesperson Shanan Halbert said that for the law to be workable, we would need a “gender register which we don’t currently have.” This is incorrect. We do have a ‘gender register’. It’s called a birth certificate which now allows for ‘gender identity’. Labour can now support the bill.

“This poll shows there is significant support for a bill despite the wholesale attack on it by the media since the bill was announced. Contrary to that coverage, this bill does not ban unisex toilets, doesn’t fine people for using a unisex toilet, is not an attack on anyone’s mana, and does not ‘fine people who use public bathrooms and are not of the designated sex’,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First.

“What it does do is treat everyone with dignity and respect, and will remove the concerns and privacy of particularly women and young girls.”

[The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for Family First. It is a random poll of 1,000 adult New Zealanders and is weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between 12 May and 14 May 2024, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1. The full results are at FamilyFirst.nz]

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MEDIA RELEASE: Two Years and $2.2m, Yet No ‘Conversion Therapy’ Complaints

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE
14 May 2024

The $2.2m taxpayer-funded complaints centre set up by the Human Rights Commission for receiving complaints about ‘conversion therapy’ has struggled to obtain any formal complaints about the use of ‘conversion therapy’ in the two years since the new law was passed, despite significant advertising about its services, and they have referred no complaints to the Police.

The NZ Police have also acknowledged that they have received no direct complaints which have warranted an investigation over the past two years.

This is consistent with numbers before the law was passed. The Human Rights Commission in response to an Official Information Act request from Family First NZ in March 2021 admitted that there had only been one informal complaint and no formal complaints in the past 10 years in relation to ‘conversion therapy’. The Office of the Health and Disability Commissioner, in response to a similar inquiry, was also unable to provide any specific numbers. An informal search of 1400 decisions dating back to 1997 suggests that there have been no complaints around ‘conversion therapy’. Even some of the politicians who supported the new law admitted they’re also not aware of any cases of involuntary ‘conversion therapy’ in their communities.

“The taxpayer via the Human Rights Commission has spent $2.2m looking for a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

“But what the politicians and these activist groups have done is make it difficult for parents, counsellors and therapists to support troubled adolescents who identify as ‘trans’ or ‘gender diverse’.”

As an Australian family law and child protection expert warned during the debate two years ago, some mental health professionals will refuse to see young patients with sexual orientation or gender identity issues who have other serious mental health concerns. This could lead to an increase in the mental health burden on already very troubled young people, and may lead to increased suicide attempts.

Parents who want to protect their children who are struggling with gender identity issues risk prosecution and jail sentences under the law. This is leading to huge distress for parents who are already experiencing very difficult circumstances. The recent NHS report by Dr Cass suggests that concerned parents have been right all along.

In response to an Official Information Act request on the 2nd anniversary of the controversial law, the Human Rights Commission’s new “Conversion Practices Response Service” has admitted that of the enquiries to the service, none have proceeded to a formal complaint, and there have not been any forma complaints about receiving non-affirming medical care or counselling services.

During the select committee process considering the new law, the Ministry of Justice’s Regulatory Impact Statement  admitted that there was little evidence of ‘conversion therapy’ actually happening – using phrases “lack of baseline data” “limited data” “no data” “no reliable data”. It was very reliant on media reports only – which is not that reliable.

We also asked them what engagement had there been over the past 2-3 years by the HRC with individuals who made submissions against the new law and who had positive experiences of receiving counselling to deal with unwanted sexuality and gender confusion issues?

Despite claiming that they wanted to ensure that they “regularly hear from diverse lived experience voices”, they admitted, “The Commission has not knowingly had any engagement with individuals who made submissions against the new law and who had positive experiences of receiving counselling to deal with unwanted sexuality and gender confusion issues.”

There is no acknowledgement from the Human Rights Commission that some people personally and willingly desire and choose change in their sexuality and their gender dysphoria. Their rights aren’t important according to the Human Rights Commission.

All New Zealanders should be protected from coercive, abusive or involuntary psychological or spiritual practices. However, participation in psychological assessments, counselling sessions, prayer meetings and other therapeutic practices is almost always an expression of voluntary behaviour and personal freedom. Under this new law, people are prevented from getting help to live the lifestyle they choose. And parents could be criminalised for encouraging their children to embrace their biological sex.

Ironically, while gender and sexuality is supposedly ‘fluid’, activists want the law to stipulate that it can only go in the direction they approve. Conversion therapy is still legal. It’s practiced in schools by groups such as InsideOut and Rainbow Youth.

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SURVEY: Opposition To Puberty Blockers & Gender Ideology For Children

Source: Family First

Poll shows strong opposition to puberty blockers & gender ideology for children.

MEDIA RELEASE – 25th Apri 2024

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

  • 69% oppose gender ideology in primary schools, just 15% support
  • 62% support ban on puberty blockers for children, only 19% opposed
  • 53% support ban on gender affirmation treatment (puberty blockers, cross sex hormones & surgery for minors <18), 24% opposed
  • 53% want primary focus on mental health treatment, 10% want focus on blockers/hormones
  • 68% oppose taxpayers funding gender change surgery or hormone treatment, 16% support

A new poll just released has found strong support for a ban on puberty blockers, and also support for a ban on the use of ‘gender affirmation’ chemical & surgical treatment for under-18s.

In the poll of 1,000 New Zealanders commissioned by Family First and surveyed by Curia Market Research, respondents were asked a number of questions around gender ideology and the treatment of children who experience gender confusion.

SUPPORT FOR BAN ON PUBERTY BLOCKERS FOR <16

 Respondents were asked: The UK health service (the NHS) has stopped the use of puberty blockers, which begin the gender transition process, for children under 16 as it deemed they are too young to consent. Do you support or oppose a similar ban in New Zealand on the use of puberty blockers for young people 16 or younger?

 Almost two out of three (62%) respondents support banning puberty blockers for children aged 16 or younger, with just 19% opposed. A further 19% were unsure or refused to say. Opposition to puberty blockers has grown since Dec 2020 when a similar poll showed 51% support for a ban and 28% opposition.

The NHS now states “Puberty blockers (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues) are not available to children and young people for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria because there is not enough evidence of safety and clinical effectiveness.” Recent comparisons have found that the prescription of puberty blockers in New Zealand is “less controlled” and more than ten times as frequent in New Zealand than in the UK.

In July 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US issued a warning label about the risk of puberty blockers after six minors (ages 5-12) experienced severe symptoms. The minors, who were all biologically female, suffered from symptoms of “pseudotumor cerebri” (tumor-like masses in the brain), including visual disturbances (seeing bright lights that aren’t there), headache or vomiting, papilledema (swelling of the optic nerve), increased blood pressure, and abducens neuropathy (eye paralysis).

SUPPORT FOR BAN ON ‘GENDER AFFIRMING’ TREATMENT FOR <18’s

Respondents were also asked: Some people have proposed banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and physical sex-change surgeries for children under the age of 18 who identify as transgender. Would you support or oppose this kind of ban?

A majority (53%) of respondents support banning puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and physical sex-change surgeries for children under the age of 18m, with just 24% opposed. 23% were unsure or refused to say.

COUNSELLING, NOT CHEMICALISING, FOR GENDER DYSPHORIA

 Respondents were asked: If a young person says they want to change their gender, should the treatment be primarily based on providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, or should the treatment primarily focus on dealing with the gender dysphoria and any other underlying mental health issues.

A majority (53%) of respondents think treatment of young persons who want to change their gender should primarily focus on mental health treatment rather than chemical treatment. Only 10% support chemical treatment being the primary focus and 37% are unsure or refused to say.

Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) is reviewing all transgender medical treatment in the wake of the CASS review which found such treatment is built on “weak evidence.” The landmark final report released by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass is the result of a major independent review on children and gender identity commissioned by the NHS in 2020. Cass is a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Dr Cass said “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress… The evidence we do have for gender medicine is built on “shaky foundations.” She also concluded: “Puberty blockers should no longer be prescribed to children except in the context of research due to these powerful drugs’ effects on brain development and bone health… Cross-sex hormones — estrogen and testosterone — should be prescribed to trans-identifying 16 and 17-year-olds only with an “extremely cautious” approach, and there should be a “clear clinical rationale” for not waiting until the teen is 18.”

The CASS review also said that “Young people facing gender-related distress had no significantly different levels of suicide risk to other young people with similar levels of complex presentations” and that there was “No evidence that gender-affirming treatment reduces suicide risk.”

OPPOSITION TO GENDER IDEOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

The poll found that while there is disagreement as to whether gender identity and sexual orientation should be taught in primary schools, there is strong opposition to gender ideology being taught to young children.

Only 15% think primary age children should be taught they can choose their gender and that it can be changed through hormone treatment and surgery if they want it to be, while two out of three (69%) say they shouldn’t. Opposition to gender ideology has grown significantly from a similar poll in 2018 where only 54% said children should not be taught this, and 35% said they should. In April 2014, it was evenly split at 42% for and against!

However, 44% of respondents support prohibiting teaching sexual issues at primary school, with 40% opposed. The difference is not statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

“This polling confirms that New Zealanders are becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the gender ideology curriculum and agenda being rammed down in some schools. It fails to take into account the emotional and physical development of each child and the values of the families, and the polling echoes the general public rejection of radical gender ideology being targeted at young children,” says Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First NZ.

REJECTION OF TAXPAYER FUNDING FOR SEX CHANGE TREATMENT

The poll also asked: Do you think the taxpayers should fund surgery or hormone treatments for adults who wish to change their gender? Only 16% of respondents support taxpayers funding gender change surgery or hormone treatments, with 68%opposed.

Labour’s budget in 2022 included an additional $2.2 million for gender affirming care and $2.5 million to train GPs in advising trans youth. They had previously pledged $3 million over four years in their 2019 budget.

Family First is calling on the government and the Ministry of Health to pause the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and operations for minors while further research is undertaken.

“It’s time we put first-do-no-harm medicine and credible research ahead of ideology and an agenda to push gender fluidity indoctrination. It’s time we had watchful waiting, therapy, and healing of the mind rather than chemicals, castration and confusion,” says Mr McCoskrie.

This latest poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for Family First. It is a random poll of 1,000 adult New Zealanders and is weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between 17 April and 21 April 2024, has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

READ THE FULL POLL RESULTS

Other recent surveys

SPORTS PARTICIPATION BASED ON BIOLOGY

In terms of sports participation, a 2023 poll found that just 13% of respondents agree that “boys who identify as girls be allowed automatic right of access to girls sports teams such as netball or girls rugby or football (and vice versa)” (dropping significantly from 39% in a similar poll in 2018) and two in three (68%) disagree (rising significantly from 39% in 2018). [In 2018, the question was “Should children play in sports teams based on their gender identity or their actual biological sex?”]

USE OF TOILETS AND CHANGING ROOMS BASED ON BIOLOGY

A 2021 poll found that only 22% of respondents think boys who identify as girls should be allowed automatic access to girls toilets and changing rooms and almost two in three (61%) disagree – much stronger opposition than in a similar poll in 2019 found that 46% v 36% said that biological sex should trump gender identity.

PARENTAL NOTIFICATION

In a 2022 poll, respondents were asked – “The Ministry of Education tells teachers that schools do not have to disclose to parents that their child is identifying as transgender in class and using a different name and preferred pronouns. Would you support a law requiring schools to notify parents if their child is identifying as transgender in class?” A majority (55%) would support a parental notification-type law, with only 29% opposed. A further 16% were unsure or refused to say.

PROTECTION FOR TEACHERS

A nationwide poll last year found significant opposition to a decision which resulted in a teacher losing his teaching licence for refusing to recognise a student’s gender ‘identity’ and using the students preferred pronouns. Only 16% of respondents think a teacher should lose their teaching licence for misgendering a trans student – with 65% opposed.

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NZCTU launch project to set out alternative vision for Aotearoa

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has today launched Reimagining Aotearoa Together, a long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments.

“Reimagining Aotearoa Together is a response to the continued failure of government to deal with the inequality and unfairness at heart of Aotearoa New Zealand’s society and economy,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“We will be reaching out to workers, tangata whenua, community allies, NGOs and interested New Zealanders to develop transformative policies that get to the heart of the change that is so desperately needed.

“We will also be growing a movement of people who are ready to go out and lobby political parties to adopt the policies in the lead up to the next election.

“Together we need to secure a vibrant, aspirational future that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and works for the many, not the few.

“Successive governments have failed to tackle the generational crises that confront us, from inequality, to climate change, and the future of work.

“We know that if we continue down the path of the past few decades, we will get more of the same – people working longer hours, and still not having enough to pay the bills and keep a roof over their heads. The wealthy getting richer while the rest of us suffer. A polluted natural environment and increasingly unstable climate.  

“People are sick and tired of what seems like an endless cycle of failure to meet these challenges. It’s like being stuck on a revolving conveyer belt with no off ramp.

“That’s why it’s time we stepped up and set out a comprehensive vision for change that can’t be ignored by those in power.

“A better way is possible. The future is not set in stone. It will be determined by the choices we make now,” said Wagstaff.

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MEDIA RELEASE – ‘Perfect Storm’ Of Rock-Bottom Marriage & Fertility Rates

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE  5 May 2024

Family First NZ is warning that the declining marriage and fertility rates and high family breakdown rates are setting up a ‘perfect storm’ for negative social consequences in New Zealand. According to statistics just released, the general marriage rate dropped to a record low in 2023 of only 9 couples per 1,000 people eligible to marry (unmarried people aged 16 years and over).

In 1971, the marriage rate was approximately 45 and the divorce rate was 5 per 1,000 people. Today, the rates are almost the same with marriage plummeting to 9 (one-fifth of the 1971 peak) and the divorce rate at almost 8.

483 were same-sex marriages or civil unions, 2.5% of all marriages, and bolstered by overseas couples marrying in New Zealand (207).

New Zealanders are also marrying about eight years later in life on average. In 1971, when marriage rates peaked, the median age at first marriage was approximately 21 years for women and 23 years for men. In 2023, the median age of females marrying was 32 years and 33 years for males.

We should all be concerned that marriage rates are at a shocking all-time low. The weakening of marriage is one of the most important social issues we are facing. A 2016 report on child abuse and its causes argued that the ‘elephant in the room’ is family structure, and that the growth of child abuse has accompanied a reduction in marriage and an increase in cohabiting and single-parent families.

The report follows on from an earlier report on child poverty and its similar link to family structure, and a report on imprisonment rates (released in June 2018). That report stated that if the government doesn’t want to keep building more prisons, it needs to look to the children who are potentially tomorrow’s offenders and acknowledge the role family stability plays.

The statistics are clear on marriage. Children being raised by their married biological parents are by far the safest from violence – and so too are the adults. But whenever marriage is promoted, it has often been labelled as an attack on solo or divorced parents, and that has kept us from recognising the qualitative benefits of marriage which have been discovered from decades of research. In virtually every category that social science has measured, children and adults do better when parents get married and stay married – provided there is no presence of high conflict or violence. This is not a criticism of solo parents. It simply acknowledges the benefits of the institution of marriage.

As a likely consequence of falling marriage rates, New Zealand’s fertility rate has also reached an all-time low, with an average of 1.58 births per woman in the year ending September 2023, well below the population replacement level of 2.1 required, and the lowest on record.

This should also be sounding alarm bells for politicians and policymakers in New Zealand. With a declining fertility rate comes a reliance on migration to provide for an aging population – but all countries around the world will be competing for that migration, because most countries are facing the same dilemma. We need a younger population to provide a workforce for economic growth. An aging population will also place a burden on the economy through increasing health care, aged care, and other fiscal costs such as the government pension.

Lindsay Mitchell, author of “Families: Ever Fewer or No Children, How Worried Should We Be?“ – a recent report from Family First NZ – says “Without population replacement or growth, economies decline. A nation’s strength lies in its young: their energy, innovation, risk-taking and entrepreneurship. The new blood drives the exchange of ideas and experimentation. If these attributes aren’t home-grown, they have to be imported. At an individual level, single person households are the fastest growing household type in New Zealand. Increasingly people face old-age with few or no family supports.”

Marriage isn’t perfect, but we ignore its benefits at our peril, including the effect on our fertility rate and the social and fiscal costs of weak family formation and family breakdown.

It’s time we promoted the best model possible.

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MEDIA RELEASE: Public Support for Phone Ban In Schools

Source: Family First

Family First says that the new phone ban in schools has widespread support from parents and the general public.

A survey done by Curia Market Research before the General Election last year found that 67% of respondents support a cellphone ban for students in schools, and 30% opposed.

For parents with children, support was at 61%. Based on political party support, all voters except Green Party voters had strong support for the ban. Males were more in favour of the ban than females.

Respondents were also asked in the same poll whether they thought the standard of education in New Zealand is declining, improving or remaining about the same. 63% of respondents think the standard of education in NZ is declining. 22% said it was the same, and only 7% said it was improving. Concerns about standards dropping were shared across voters from all political parties.

The nationwide poll was carried out 22/23 August 2023 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

VIEW THE FULL POLL RESULTS

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NZCTU calls on Govt to reverse disestablishment of Pay Equity Taskforce

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is calling on the Government to reverse their decision to disestablish the Pay Equity Taskforce team, as it will result in gender and ethnic pay disparities persisting as pay equity claims go unaddressed.

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Secretary Melissa Ansell-Bridges is calling on the Government to reverse their decision to disestablish the Pay Equity Taskforce team, as it will result in gender and ethnic pay disparities persisting as pay equity claims go unaddressed.  

“We are deeply concerned by the disestablishment of the Pay Equity Taskforce. It sends a message that the government is washing its hands of responsibility for ensuring that working women aren’t being discriminated against in their pay,” said Ansell-Bridges.

“It is shocking and totally unacceptable that the Government is essentially saying that there is no role for government in resolving pay equity claims and getting rid of discriminatory gender pay gaps. 

“We must ensure that all communities are free from discrimination, paid fairly and have good incomes. That means addressing pay equity claims as a matter of urgency.

“The Taskforce was already understaffed, and claims were already taking too long. This decision will greatly compound the problem and undermine the progress toward pay equity in the public sector.

“This decision is reckless and isclearly part of the Government’s widespread public service cuts, which are undermining essential services in order to pay for tax cuts for landlords and the most wealthy.

“The Taskforce is still needed. There are numerous claims still unresolved, and all resolved claims still need to be reviewed regularly, which means there must be a continued role for government.

“Everyone deserves good work that pays well, and that means we must not tolerate anyone being paid less because they work in industries that have been historically undervalued by virtue of being female dominated.

“This is another attack on working people from this Government, which has shown no regard for workers’ rights. They must reverse these changes and uphold the principle of fair pay for all people,” said Ansell-Bridges.