Dame Marilyn Waring: former National MP on the ‘people’s select committee’ she's formed on pay equity

Dame Marilyn Waring says a high-powered committee of 10 former MPs has the know-how to lead debate on the Government's revamped pay equity system. 

Waring's established the 'people's select committee' to do the job she says Parliament failed to carry out by passing impactful pay equity law changes under urgency. 

That includes receiving submissions, and interviewing oral presenters.

She says it'll be in the interests of both the Government and the opposition to have the proper evidence going forward. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A group of former female MPs have set up an
official and unofficial Sorry Select Committee Group to interrogate the
government's changes to pay equity law. The group includes Nanaimahosa
from Labour, Sue Bradford from the Greens, Rear Bond from
New Zealand First, Joe Hayes from National, et cetera, et cetera,
and it's being led by Dame Marilyn Wearing. Marilyn, Hello,
lovely to talk to you. It's great to have you.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
What's the point of this? Are you guys trying to
exert pressure here to force a U tune?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
We're trying to collect the evidence that should have been
before Parliament before the legislation was considered. So I'm a
researcher of old and I like riga and I like evidence,
and when it affects that vast number of women, I

(00:49):
was very concerned that it wasn't there, and I thought
what might be a device effectively to gather all of
that evidence that should have been in front of parliament.
So I approached a group of other former women members

(01:10):
of Parliament who frankly jumped at the opportunity to work
in this way. We know that the government has said
they're going to continue some pay equity claims. We know
that the opposition is saying they're going to overturn things.
I think it will be in both their interests to
have the information that we can now gather.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Are you expecting anybody from the government to talk to
you guys.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Not in particular, but I'm not sure that that worries
me very much. I mean, from now on, because of
the nature of the budget, we'll be able to access
the examination of estimates both in the House and in
select committees. We can use official information requests to get

(02:00):
material where there's some obstinacy. We can definitely use members
of Parliament to lodge written questions where we can't uncover material.
So we're not you know, we're we're feeling very confident.
We also expect that both from the public and private sector,
material will fall off the back of a truck, so

(02:21):
I don't think that will lack for.

Speaker 1 (02:25):
I'm so sure that have you had the old wink wink,
nudge nudge from people were.

Speaker 2 (02:31):
The the site went live this morning and it's already
being the set with emails and office of donations to you. Well,
I don't know that's one of the wonderful things you see.
I don't have to, I don't monitor that, I don't
see that so but but I've been told that there's

(02:55):
a flood coming in and people who know me and
who have my email addresses and things there also, you know,
coming in quite solidly. And one of the things I
noticed before you know this was even announced was and
following media commentary, I was amazed at how many men

(03:16):
were really upset about this. And I just got on
the planes from Wellington to Auckland and it was men
who were grabbing me and saying, well done. I'm very
excited with what you've done. And I think that the
public feel like they need a space for this information

(03:38):
to be made available. So that's what we're trying to do.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
Marilyn, thank you as always, lovely to talk to you,
Dave Marilyn Wearing, former National Party MP.

Speaker 2 (03:46):
For more from Heather Duplassy Allen Drive, listen live to
news talks. They'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.