Let me make a prediction for you on this pay equity drama that's been playing out for the last 24 hours - the Government is going to pay for this in a big way.

I reckon that this could become one of the defining moments of this Government when we look back on it in years to come.

Kind of like the 'Mother of All Budgets' came to define Ruth Richardson and Bolger's Government and the way the cup of tea came to define David Lange's Government - I think this is a moment for this Government.

Not because it's the wrong thing for this Government to do, but because of the underhanded and sneaky and cowardly way that they have done it.

Now, I personally think that the pay equity system did need an overhaul. I mean, I think it is ridiculous to have librarians, as I said yesterday, compare themselves to engineers to justify similar pay.

You can see those jobs are not even the same, right?

But I do not think that it should have been rushed through with the shock and awe that it has been. ACT, in particular, has spent so much time in the past criticizing the previous Labour government for using parliamentary urgency to get around normal processes and keep people out of deliberations.

And yet, here they are doing exactly the same thing because it suits them. And this is significant.

It should have been flagged with people because it affects so many people - and yet, there was no indication whatsoever until yesterday that this was going to happen. 

Where was it on the list of the Prime Minister's action plans for the first quarter, or even the 2nd quarter or any quarter? It's just popped up absolutely out of nowhere and it's taken everybody by surprise.

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And what's more, they need to stop pretending in Government that this isn't being done in a hurry to have an impact on the Budget.

This is being done in a hurry to save money for the Budget. We know that - because David Seymour said so yesterday.

So everyone, and especially the National Party, needs to pretend that this is being done for some sort of principle, when actually what it's being done for is to save billions and billions and billions of dollars.

The primary problem here, I think, is cowardice. It feels like these guys are rushing this through as quickly as possible with as little notice as possible, so they do not have to own their own decision.

They should own it. It's not a bad decision, but they're making it feel like a bad decision. 

And I'll tell you what, oppositions can sense weakness - and they know that these guys are weak on this and they're going to strike on it, which is why I think this Government is itself making this a defining moment.

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