The machinery that enabled women cleaners, teachers and social workers to fight for fair pay has been stalled. In its place? Lip service about “efficiency”, “affordability” and “red tape”.
They say they value opportunity for all, yet the Government’s Budget choices paint a different picture. Services that support wāhine Māori, young mothers and survivors of violence have been slashed or defunded altogether.
Funding for gender-based initiatives is minimal or non-existent. All while tax relief is skewed towards businesses and those least in need.
They say they are restoring accountability, yet they rush legislation through under urgency, sidestepping democratic process and public consultation.
Select committees, where many women’s groups have long had a voice, are being bypassed. It is a systematic unravelling of the very threads that bind gender progress to democratic practice.
In this political fable, the public is being asked to admire an invisible outfit – one stitched from half-truths, spin and empty slogans. But the weave is weak and the consequences are real.
It is time to say what we see: a government talking about equality while dismantling the systems that support it.
A caucus lauding democracy while undermining its foundations. The emperor, in this version, wears a banner of reform – but it is women, particularly the most marginalised among us, who are being stripped of hard-won gains.
This isn’t just about pointing out hypocrisy. It’s about insisting that gender equity is not ornamental, it is essential.
Putting more money in the hands of low-paid women doesn’t just support fairness – it stimulates the entire economy. It leads to higher household spending, boosts local business activity, increases tax revenue and reduces reliance on social services.
It improves child wellbeing, health outcomes and educational attainment. It helps break intergenerational cycles of poverty and builds long-term economic resilience.
We cannot afford to stand silently at the roadside, watching the parade of damaging policies go by. We must be the voice that interrupts the pageant. We must say, clearly and collectively: “This is not the future we were promised”.
When the emperor is exposed, it is not shame that follows – but the possibility of change.
