Kristine Bartlett was, to many, a hero.

She was a very likeable woman. She was a caregiver who argued her work was undervalued and she deserved more.

The Labour Party who love “feels” and are not exactly unfamiliar with the unions leapt all over it and the Equal Pay Act 2022 was born.

The downside was how to compare this so-called "underpaid work" like in nursing homes, where women dominate and a comparable profession dominated by men.

They decided at the time comparing mechanics to rest home workers made sense, even though it didn’t, and doesn’t.

That's why Brooke van Velden has announced pay equity is going to be, quite rightly, tipped up and sorted out.

Now, whether you can sort it out sensibly is your next issue.

Under current law the job must be performed by at least 60% of the same sex. That will rise to 70%.

On grounds that lead you to believe that the work is historically and currently undervalued you will need evidence, and they are looking at comparators. That's your apples and oranges, or rest home workers and mechanics.

The trouble with the Bartlett issue was twofold.

1) Part of the argument was if you paid people more you would recruit more easily. Turns out that’s wrong as after huge pay rises rest home gaps are still a disaster

2) The bill to reach this so-called equity was $2b. That's a lot of money then and a lot of money now.

I wish van Velden well. But the simple truth is the moment you try to engineer something, you tend to strike trouble.

Work is worth what work is worth, no matter who does it.

Some work pays more than other work. It's based on demand, or skills, or sales and revenue, or scarcity, or demand, or a combination of them.

Given no one makes anyone work in any given area, you strike extraordinary complexity in trying to gerrymander it.

It also singles out just one element of work —money— as being the sole reason for work. Which it isn't.

What we have doesn’t work, hasn’t solved anything and was done for poor reasons.

So reform is good. But reform to what is a bigger trick than they may realise.

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135 cardinals from around the world will take their picks on who the new pope should be.

They'll be locked in Rome's Sistine Chapel from tomorrow to decide who will replace Pope Francis.

There's no timescale for how long it'll take, but the last two papal elections lasted for two days.

Australian Catholic Journalist Mark O’Connor told Mike Hosking the cardinals know what they're looking for.

He thinks the cardinals want to have someone with charisma, who can connect with ordinary people.

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There's acceptance banning social media for under 16s may be easier said than done.

National has put forward a members’ bill to prevent under 16 year olds having social media accounts, with large corporations being responsible for technically regulating age verification.

The author, Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd told Mike Hosking she knows anyone can use a fake age to set up a social media account, but if companies fail to manage it, they'll face significant penalties

She says it's not going to be perfect, but this is a direction from the government that we need to do more to protect kids from online harm.

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On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 7th of May, Brooke van Velden talks improving the pay equity process and why it isn't, apparently, all about the Budget.

And we've got a National bill that wants to ban social media for under 16s. Possible or not?

Mark Mitchell and Ginny Andersen talk pay equity and the feasibility of the social media ban – and can we get through a whole segment without Mark putting himself on mute?

Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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MPs across the political spectrum are fired up over the latest proposal to overhaul —under urgency— rules around pay equity.

The proposed law, which would lift the threshold of pay equity claims of gender-discrimination, is expected to have its third reading this morning.

Labour's Ginny Andersen told Mike Hosking the Government was boasting about savings.

She says the women in these jobs need to know their wages have been undercut to pay for the Government’s budget.

Mark Mitchell says it's not that simple.

He says taxpayers are the ones funding the pay equity system, and so they need to ensure it’s sustainable.

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An observation the recession hasn't been felt evenly.

Stats NZ data out this morning could show unemployment has hit its highest point since 2016 during the March quarter – reaching around 5.2%.

ANZ Chief Economist Sharon Zollner told Mike Hosking she expects it will have bigger impacts on different age groups and communities.

She says young people as well as Māori and Pacific communities have always been on a bigger rollercoaster when it comes to the labour market.

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The US President and Canadian Prime Minister have had some tough conversations today.

Donald Trump and Mark Carney met at the White House and vowed to bring up tough points that are dividing their countries since Trump won office.

On Trump's desire to make Canada America's 51st state, Carney stated the country is not for sale.

US Correspondent Richard Arnold told Mike Hosking Donald Trump says the countries have a good relationship, and love each other.

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The more vape stores near schools, the more young people vape.

Fresh research from Auckland University shows almost half of schools across New Zealand are within a ten minute walk from a vape store

The government passed a law in 2023 banning specialist vape shops from opening within 300 metres of schools, but the laws didn't apply to hundreds of existing suppliers.

Study lead Ronan Payinda told Mike Hosking that walking past vape shops on the way to school increases the risk of vaping for those who have never done it before.

He says he's concerned this introduces a new generation to addictions that may last a lifetime.

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