MBIE chief executive to submit to cross examination on pay equity changes

Friday, 3 July 2026

Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) chief executive Nic Blakeley will undergo cross-examination over changes to pay equity law, a High Court judge has ruled.

The application to cross-examine Blakeley was made by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Public Service Association, the Post-Primary Teachers' Association, the Tertiary Education Union and NZEI Te Riu Roa, with Justice Paul Radich ruling to allow it this week.

Blakeley was deputy secretary for Labour, Science and Enterprise at MBIE when the pay equity decision was made and was involved in crafting the policy options for ministers.

The cross-examination is part of a wider court action by the unions seeking a Declaration of Inconsistency under the Bill of Rights Act, over the pay equity reform announced at the 2025 Budget.

The pay equity changes were made in May last year and saw live pay equity claims dumped, the threshold for future ones narrowed and sparked fury from unions.

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A declaration of inconsistency would have no binding power but would force a debate in Parliament on the issue.

The unions' case is that the amendment wasn't genuine law reform but a “fiscally driven exercise” designed to make pay equity claims effectively impossible short-term and as difficult as possible in the long-term.

Lawyers for the Crown argued that the Government was focused on achieving a better regulatory framework for pay equity.

The judge saw this as a “factual dispute” that needed to be resolved, making the cross-examination useful.

The Crown pushed against this, arguing there was no real factual dispute but instead a question of statutory interpretation.

The cross-examination will be limited to questions about fiscal motivation, whether Blakeley himself proposed the changes, whether departmental advice was “evidence based,” and the way in which the changes came about.

The judge has ruled that the reported $12.8 billion in savings from the law change is admissible evidence.

Attorney-General Chris Bishop declined to comment.

MBIE has been asked for comment.

The substantive hearing on the matter will take place on August 3.