The SME Stream

Labour's Finance spokesperson won't commit to delivering a surplus by 2029/30 if it's at the expense of restoring pay equity. 

Barbara Edmonds says she is confident Labour could deliver both. 

"For example, a choice that we would not make is $300 million for a tobacco excise tax cut." 

Labour will release its fiscal plan in coming weeks. 

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I’m all for pay equity for women, but. Which I’ll get to.

First, though. At a public meeting in Christchurch last night, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was asked what the most important thing a Labour-led government would do for girls and women.

He said reversing last year’s pay equity changes. And that he would do it within his government’s first 100 days in office.

He said: "I think probably the most reprehensible thing I have seen in my time as a member of Parliament was the Government's decision last year with no notice, with no warning, with no consultation, to pass under urgency a law that cancelled pay equity for tens of thousands of women."

I agree with him there. The way it played out was appalling.

There were about 180,000 workers with pay equity claims underway. They were all dismissed pretty much overnight under urgency.

Hipkins went on to say: "I want to give you a reassurance that within the first 100 days we are back in Government we will reverse that change."

Adding that care and support workers will be first in the queue, because he says they have waited long enough.

That’s because when the coalition rushed through its pay equity changes, and there were those tens of thousands of workers with pay equity claims underway, about 80,000 of them were care and support workers.

It was May last year when the Government announced it was pulling the plug on any existing claims and was going to make it harder for any future claims to get through.

Saying it was doing it because the pay equity rules were “muddied and unclear”.

The truth was, it was doing it to save $12.8 billion and save Nicola Willis’ skin. Because it was just days out from the Budget.

ACT leader David Seymour was even crowing that Brooke van Velden had single-handedly rescued the Budget.

So it was smoke and mirrors and, the way it was done, was an absolute shocker.

I’m all for pay equity. I find it so dismissive of people who say “Oh yeah, equal pay and all that but, sorry girls, we just can’t afford it.”

So no argument from me that something needs to be done to make good for that appalling move by National, ACT and NZ First.

But I can’t support the way Chris Hipkins wants to go about it.

And, instead of the usual 100 days’ nonsense, I want to see this thing looked into properly.

I want to see a thorough select committee process, or something similar, used to get the facts. Which would then allow an approach to be developed to sort out real inequities in a realistic way.

So it’s a yes from me. But do it properly. Don’t rush it.

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Housing is set to be a buyer's market for a while longer.  

The Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update shows housing price growth will peak at 3% by March 2028, down slightly from 3.2% in the budget update.  

Cotality Chief Property Economist Kelvin Davidson told Mike Hosking the further out you go, the more uncertainty there is, but there's potentially a general change underway in the market at the moment, and so growth may look lower in the future.  

He says there's a variety of reasons why this could play out —including higher supply, debt to income ratio changes and lower interest rates— and it's not so good for homeowners. 

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Why did Chris Hipkins choose to announce that he will restore the pay equity regime within the first 100 days of a Labour-led Government? Why did he do that?

I'm really confused by it because it's not as if there was a special event or venue that he tied the announcement to. He was just at a public meeting in Spreydon and then seemed to blurt it out.

This is hugely consequential for the Labour Party.

What it's done is change the focus. It should be about the PREFU and about holding the Finance Minister's feet to the fire over why she's still taking on more debt and why she's trying to sell us a set of figures based on, quote, "heroic assumptions" that essentially ignore the current price of oil and bond yields.

But instead of doing that, Chippy has inserted himself into the conversation.

Rather than focusing on Nicola Willis, what I'm now much more interested in is this: where is Labour going to find the apparent $13 billion needed to fund its pay equity promise?

I don't know if you've seen what's in the PREFU but even though the outlook is much rosier than it was four months ago, we're still borrowing as a country and will continue to do so for the next three to four years. And that's based on optimistic, even heroic, assumptions.

We are still, to quote Nicola, "borrowing for groceries". We are still on track to pay $13.7 billion a year in interest costs on our existing debt. And that's without Chippy adding even more to it.

So where is he going to find the money for this pay equity promise if it's not going on the debt? Or is it going on the debt?

This is the weirdest strategy from Chippy.

Frankly, up until now I expected Labour's announcement to be that it would ditch this policy, just as it ditched the so-called landlords' tax policy, albeit for different reasons. Labour has clearly demonstrated it's willing to change its mind and scrap policies that simply aren't going to work.

The books have just been opened and shown that we have no money and that our debt is already costing us a fortune. Yet here we are, wondering where Chris Hipkins is going to find another $13 billion for pay equity.

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How much cash will we get back from tax cuts?

Nicola Willis will soon an announcement about their timing and potential value, if they get back to the Treasury benches.

The good news out of yesterday's PREFU is that the books are out of structural deficit this year.

That means when the government borrows new money going forward, it will be for capital spending, not to keep the lights on.

We've essentially been borrowing money by issuing bonds to pay for day-to-day spending.

Fixing potholes with a credit card when the cost of borrowing is heading north is not a particularly smart way to run the books.

The books are helped by the economy growing. When the economy grows, our wages grow with it.

Inflation pushes our wages into a higher tax bracket.

It's what they call bracket creep.

You ed up paying more tax because the tax brackets don't change, even when our wages do.

So, the government's books are improving off the back of kiwis paying more taxes.

How much is that worth?

The PREFU reckons around one third of the extra revenue comes from bracket creep.

Patrick Smellie at Business Desk estimates $15b will be collected over five years.

That creates about $3 billion a year in a potential tax cut kitty created by wage inflation.

So, the question now is when might cuts happen and will Nicola's coalition partners allow them?

As the old saying goes, to the victor goes the spoils.

Taxpayers are the real victors here, the real heroes, and more money in the pocket to offset higher prices will surely be a welcome thing.

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A fun, self-reflective one. Scott and Mike break down the three archetypes of business owner — Visionary, Craftsman and Hustler — and how understanding your own type changes who you should hire and how you should lead.

You'll learn:

-The three main owner types and their classic strengths/weaknesses 

-A simple test to identify your own type 

-Why you should hire for the tasks you don't enjoy, not just your weaknesses on paper;

-The Platinum Rule — treat people how they want to be treated, not how you do;

-and why calling your team "family" is a bigger promise than most leaders realise.

Beer: Punk Heads Hammer Head West Coast Pilsner (6%) & Richard Cranium Hazy IPA (6.4%)
Pie: Gold Crust Pies — Pepper Steak with Mushroom Sauce

 

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What makes a mediation effective, and how do you know when to fight, negotiate, or settle?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Emma Butcher and Angela Evans, partners at BE Employment Law, for a practical conversation about employment law, mediation, negotiation, and resolving workplace disputes.

Emma and Angela describe themselves as self-confessed law nerds, and their approach combines technical legal expertise with a strong focus on fairness, commercial judgement, and the human dynamics behind every employment relationship.

The conversation explores what good mediation preparation actually looks like, why chronology and facts matter more than a scripted opening statement, how employers can assess legal and commercial risk, and why understanding the person on the other side can completely change the strategy.

They also discuss why mediation isn't always about settling on the day. Sometimes the value lies in allowing both sides to be heard, testing positions, managing expectations, and creating the conditions for settlement later.

From private mediation and pre-mediation negotiation to AI-generated claims, settlement strategy, virtual mediation, and the concept of "unjustified disappointment", this episode offers a candid and highly practical look at what really happens behind the scenes of employment disputes.

What You'll Learn

• Why employment law requires both technical expertise and human judgement

• How fairness can remain part of the strategy even during difficult disputes

• When legal advice may be different from what a client wants to hear

• Why second opinions and competing advice can complicate employment disputes

• How AI is influencing employee claims, expectations, and negotiation positions

• Why risk analysis should include the person on the other side, not just the legal merits

• How to decide whether to fight, negotiate, or settle

• Why some clients need the mediation process before they're ready to settle

• How to prepare effectively for mediation

• Why chronology and documentation matter more than a scripted statement

• How to use different personalities and roles effectively in the mediation room

• Why managing expectations is more useful than trying to prove the other party wrong

• How the mediator can become an important part of the negotiation strategy

• Why pre-mediation offers need to be handled carefully

• When private mediation may be worth the additional cost

• Why mediation can still be valuable even when no settlement is reached on the day

• How humour, authenticity, and de-escalation can help move a dispute towards resolution

• The advantages and limitations of virtual mediation

Key Takeaways

• Employment law is technical, but employment disputes are always human.
• Fairness and commercial judgement can sit alongside strong legal advocacy.
• Being legally right does not automatically mean litigation is the best business decision.
• The most valuable legal advice often comes through risk and cost analysis, not simply explaining what the law says.
• Understanding the employee's circumstances, motivations, and likely response is an important part of dispute strategy.
• AI can reinforce people's existing positions and make disputes more entrenched before mediation even begins.
• Good mediation preparation starts with knowing the facts, chronology, and supporting documents inside and out.
• Don't overload a mediation with every possible argument. Focus on the points most likely to land.
• The employer's own voice can sometimes have more impact than lengthy legal submissions.
• Mediation is not always about reaching settlement immediately. Sometimes the process needs time to do its work.
• Any offer made before mediation may become the starting point for future negotiation.
• An unmeritorious claim can still cost significant time and money, so commercial strategy matters.
• Honesty with your lawyer or HR adviser is essential. Hidden facts usually surface eventually.
• Authenticity, humour, and de-escalation can materially change the tone of a mediation.
• Virtual mediation can be highly effective, particularly when speed and accessibility matter.

About Emma Butcher & Angela Evans

Emma Butcher and Angela Evans are partners at BE Employment Law, a specialist employment law firm they founded together in 2021 after working alongside each other for more than a decade.

Their practice is built around fairness, integrity, technical expertise, and commercially pragmatic advice.

Emma and Angela advise employers on employment law, workplace disputes, mediation, negotiation, restructuring, and complex employee relations matters.

Together, they bring a combination of deep legal knowledge and practical judgement, helping clients navigate difficult situations while balancing legal risk, business outcomes, and the human realities involved.

Why This Episode Matters

Workplace disputes are rarely as simple as right versus wrong.

Even when the legal position appears strong, leaders and HR professionals still need to consider cost, timing, relationships, organisational culture, precedent, and the likelihood of settlement.

This episode provides practical insight into how experienced employment lawyers think through those competing considerations.

Whether you're an HR professional preparing for your first mediation, a business owner dealing with a grievance, or a leader responsible for managing complex people issues, Emma and Angela offer practical guidance on preparing well, managing expectations, and making better decisions when the stakes are high.

Resources & Links

• BE Employment Law: https://belaw.co.nz/
• Connect with Emma Butcher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-butcher-325b9037/
• Connect with Angela Evans on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-evans-a4178636/

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Our red meat sector appears to be sitting pretty amid a turbulent global market. 

The sector's gathering in Wellington today for a conference focusing on resilience to market shocks, export demand, and geopolitics in supply chains. 

Exports continue to surge, with combined receipts forecast around $12.6 billion across 2026 and 27. 

Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Nathan Guy told Mike Hosking it's a success story given exports are still flowing while two wars rage. 

He says the UK, China, US, and Europe markets are all performing well. 

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A former Finance Minister's hailing today as extremely important as Treasury opens the Government's books. 

This afternoon's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update will show the levels of Crown debt, revenue, and expenditure. 

Budget 2026 predicted a return to operating surplus in the 2028/29 financial year – a year earlier than had been signalled. 

Steven Joyce told Mike Hosking things could change quickly, but it's a helpful snapshot. 

He says it's the best anchor, that shows where things are at, to help parties explain how they'll pay for their election promises. 

Joyce is warning to 'proceed with caution' though – saying it'll be better than people think, but there are dangers with that too.  

He acknowledges it may be a vote of confidence in the Government's short-term economic management, but the big issue still remains as to how to drive debt down. 

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Built around a Richard Branson quote — employees first, customers second — this episode is a deep dive into how to identify, keep, and lead A-grade talent, even in a tight labour market.

You'll learn:

-What actually defines an "A-grader" (and why they'll leave a B-grade environment no matter the market);

-The annual "Keep Test" — would you fight to keep this person, or feel relief if they left?;

-The Goal-Role-Remind leadership framework for keeping any team aligned and engaged;

-What motivates people beyond pay (autonomy, acknowledgement, purpose); and why "catch it quick, catch it small" applies just as much to praise as to problems.

Beer: Behemoth Hophemoth Triple Hazy IPA (10%) & Urbanaught Altamira Bright Double IPA (8%)
Pie: Hangi pies from Blue Rose Café, Sandringham (pork belly, pumpkin/kūmara & more)

 

Liked this one? Make sure you catch the next episode - hit subscribe and check us out here:

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Want an in-person 6 day business program that gives you a tried and tested playbook to grow? Check out: Business Growth School

Want better content? Check out: Blacklime

The company that uncomplicates business growth. Check out: Point 16

Get to know us! Mike Burke & Scott Douglas

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.