Following the formation of the
National-led coalition government, van Velden became Minister of
Internal Affairs and Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety.
Remuneration policies As Workplace Relations Minister, she introduced legislation repealing the previous Labour Government's
Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 on 19 December 2023. Van Velden claimed that fair pay agreements "were never about fairness" but forced "a minority of union worker's views on all affected workers and businesses." On 1 February 2024, van Velden, as Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, confirmed that the Government would raise the minimum wage by two percent to NZ$23.15 an hour from 1 April 2024. On 2 February Van Velden, as Minister of Internal Affairs, confirmed that the Government would expand the scope of the
Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned to include the use of multiple lockdowns, vaccine procurement, the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional and national levels, the cost-effectiveness of the Government's policies, disruptions to public health, education and businesses caused by the Government's policies, and whether the Government response was consistent with the rule of law.
Holiday Act changes In March 2024, van Velden confirmed that the Government was planning to overhaul health and safety regulations and amend the
Holiday Act 2003. She criticised the previous Labour Government's minimum wage increase, designation of
Matariki as a public holiday and doubling of sick leave entitlements for creating business uncertainty and raising the costs of doing business. While
Business NZ welcomed the proposed changes,
First Union New Zealand described the proposed changes as an attack on workers. In early June 2024, van Velden confirmed that an exposure draft of the Government's proposed changes to the Holidays Act would be released in September 2024 including shifting annual leave from an entitlement system to an accrual system. She later confirmed that she and officials were working to develop a system of pro-rated sick leave but ruled out reducing sick leave from ten to five days. In September 2025, van Velden confirmed that the Government would introduce a new hours-based sick and holiday leave accrual system for part-time employees and contractors as part of its reform of the Holiday Act.
Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 On 6 May 2025, van Velden announced that the Government would raise the threshold for making pay equity claims, stating that a 2020 law change had "created problems." As a result, van Velden confirmed that 33 pay equity claims had been stopped. The
Public Service Association's national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons opposed the changes, claiming that they would make it "impossible for people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly." That same day, the Government introduced urgent legislation to raise the pay equity threshold. The
Equal Pay Amendment Act 2025 passed under urgency on 7 May, with the support of the governing coalition parties. Opposition parties opposed the bill. In early May 2025, the
Labour Party's leadership apologised after the
Whangaparāoa branch published and deleted a
Facebook post depicting van Velden in a
Nazi military uniform. The post was made in response to the National-led government's legislation raising pay equity thresholds; which van Velden had sponsored. Van Velden described the post as offensive since her grandfather had experienced the
Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. On 14 May, van Velden expressed disagreement during a Parliament debate with
Stuff journalist
Andrea Vance's op-ed newspaper column criticising her and National MPs
Judith Collins,
Erica Stanford,
Louise Upston and
Nicola Grigg for supporting the Government's pay equity legislation, which Vance argued disproportionately affected predominantly female professions. During the debate, van Velden quoted a passage from Vance's column mentioning the word "
cunt."
New Zealand First leader
Winston Peters criticised van Velden for using what he regarded as inappropriate language while ACT leader Seymour defended van Velden's parliamentary conduct.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee advised MPs on their use of language in Parliament.
Employment Relations Amendment Bill On 17 June 2025, van Velden confirmed the Government would be introducing the Employment Relations Amendment Bill into Parliament. Key provisions include changing the distinction between employment and contracting, overhauling the personal grievance process, and allowing employers and employees to negotiate "beneficial terms and conditions." While BusinessNZ director of advocacy Catherine Beard said the proposed legislation would provide more clarity around contract work, the
Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons and the
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Richard Wagstaff expressed concern that the proposed law changes would undermine workers' rights, pay and safety. On 17 February 2026, the
Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026 passed its third reading. It tightened the criteria for personal grievances claims, created a "gateway test" for differentiating between employees and contractors, ended payouts for employees dismissed for "serious misconduct," and eliminated a 30-day rule extending automatic collective agreement terms to new employees. She argued that the new legislation would "maximise business confidence" and accelerate business growth. By contrast,
E tū union national secretary Rachel Mackintosh and Green workplace relations spokesperson
Teanau Tuiono criticised the bill for favouring corporations and employers over workers.
Road cone tipline In early June 2025, the workplace safety agency
WorkSafe New Zealand launched a new
road cone online tipline. As Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, van Velden said that the new tipline reflected a new shift from "strict enforcement" towards collaboration with businesses and individuals. By early June 2025, the hotline had received over 650 reports, with
Auckland Transport receiving nearly 200 reports. By late July 2025, WorkSafe had received 217 reports, with the majority occurring in the
Auckland,
Wellington and
Canterbury Regions. On 19 December 2025, the Government shut down the road cone hotline scheme due to deceasing usage and a low volume of valid complaints. The hotline had received about 1,300 notifications over a six-month period and had cost about NZ$150,000. While Labour transport spokesperson
Tangi Utikere described the road cone hotline as a waste of taxpayer money, van Velden argued "that it gave the public a voice, identified the root causes of concern and clarified WorkSafe's role in temporary traffic management."
Miscellaneous In July 2025, van Velden introduced the Government's proposed online casino legislation, which would introduce 15 licenses for online casinos operating in New Zealand. The bill passed its first reading on 15 July with the support of the ruling coalition and the opposition Green parties.
Retirement On 24 March 2026, she announced her retirement from politics and that she wouldn't be running for parliament in the
2026 New Zealand general election. == Views and positions ==