Hipkins sets 100-day timetable to reverse pay equity changes

Opposition leader Chris Hipkins has promised to reverse the Government's pay equity law changes in the first 100 days if Labour is elected.

He gave the commitment at a public meeting in a community hall in Spreydon, Christchurch, on Monday 28 September 2026, RNZ reported.

Close to 200 people attended. The hall was full, with some spilling out the doors.

Hipkins said care and support workers would be first in the queue to negotiate a settlement once the changes were reversed. He said restoring pay equity was the most important thing his government would do to support women and girls in New Zealand.

The pledge firms up an earlier Labour promise. In February, Labour said it would repeal the changes but did not set out a full replacement plan, Interest reported. At that point Hipkins could not say whether the old principles would stay the same. The overhaul has been strongly disputed. The Prime Minister and Hipkins have clashed over who is lying about the system, RNZ reported in May last year.

In practical terms, the timing is what matters for people who follow politics. A 100-day promise is a law-making deadline. It would put repeal at the top of the list for a new Cabinet, with officials told to start drafting straight away.

In my view, the order matters too. Putting care and support workers first points to the group linked to past settled claims and claims that were stopped. It shows where Labour would use its energy first, and where critics will press on cost and process.

The broader context here is campaign method and what comes next. A packed weeknight hall in Spreydon is face-to-face politics. It tests lines with supporters before tough questions from the Press Gallery and close checks by a select committee, the small group of MPs that examines new laws. Repeal still needs a new law, and settlements need funding approved by Parliament and a workable system for claims. The promise sets the timetable and the queue.