Maori Women’s Welfare League 55th National Conference

Copthorne Hotel
Paihia

E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga rau Rangatira ma
To all authorities, to all voices, to you all as leaders

Tenei te mihi ki a koutou
This is a greeting to you who have gathered here today.

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena ra tatou katoa.
Greetings, greetings, greetings to you all.

Thank you for the privilege of addressing your conference. It is a pleasure to be with you again this year.

Last year you gathered in the shadow of the passing of the late Maori Queen, Te Arikinui, Dame Te Atairangikaahu. This year, we remember her legacy of support for the League and for the development of Maori women, and look forward to a similar commitment under the reign of King Tuheitia.

To the Maori Women’s Welfare League, thank you Linda for the invitation and for your leadership; to past presidents of the League, and members gathered here today, a warm greeting to you all. Greetings also to my parliamentary colleagues Parekura Horomia, Winston Peters, Georgina te Heuheu, Metiria Turei, Nanaia Mahuta and Mahara Okeroa.

As Minister of Women’s Affairs I particularly value my relationship with the League and the role the League plays in ensuring the voices of Mâori women are heard. The League is one of my three social partner organisations with whom I meet regularly – the other two are PACIFICA and the National Council of Women. I welcome what the League has to say because I know that it is an authentic voice - you are connected to your members and your communities at a flax roots level.

You have asked me to address a number of issues, the first of which is leadership, something the League is known for. In that context I wish to acknowledge the role that Linda Grennell and Jacqui Te Kani played on your behalf to ensure that the voices of Maori women were heard by the UN Committee that has responsibility for CEDAW – the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

This was my first time appearing in front of a UN Committee, but I was proud to represent New Zealand, because we have a good story to tell. Women have made even further advances in the four years since we last reported and on this occasion I was able to report the lifting of the last remaining reservation to the Convention as well. The Committee has reported positively on the advances, which include the sorts of things the Prime Minister mentioned in her address – the extension of Paid Parental Leave, the introduction of the tax credits under the Working for Families Package, the 20 hours free Early Childhood Education package, the scrapping of interest on student loans, and the Taskforce for Action on Violence Within Families – to name the most significant of them.

But it was the role of the NGOs in the process that I was very pleased to see. The NGOs, represented as they were by the League, the National Council of Women and Pacific Women's Watch, made a presentation a couple of days before the formal country report was made and I believe this added real value to the process. NGOs provide different points of view from the official government perspective, which enables the Committee members to get a broader understanding of the issues that concern women in New Zealand.

As a result of the contribution of the League, I felt that the Committee was particularly alert to the issues that affect Maori women and the disparities that exist between Maori women and non-Maori women. I was very pleased to be able to report that the disparities were reducing so we are heading in the right direction, but I acknowledged honestly that we still have some way to go. I also made it clear that reducing the disparities remains high on this government's agenda in terms of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women as well as the broader agenda.

The government funds the NGOs to attend CEDAW; such is this government's commitment to the process. Not all countries do so. I believe it is an important investment in transparency and it helps to promote the status of women around the world by showing what is possible in a small country like Aotearoa.

Last year I spoke about my desire to promote the Modern Apprenticeship Programme to women, who were willing to consider some of the non-traditional areas of work. I remember one of the delegates saying that she wanted to make that transition and I am told she is working towards that and I want to encourage her to go for it. There are two reasons why I want to promote some cross-fertilisation within traditionally male and female roles. One is the pay gap and the second is the benefits that diversity brings in so many ways.

I mention the latter because I believe that men are often just as trapped by gender stereotyping about the sorts of jobs society says they should be doing; and by encouraging them to participate in fields dominated by women, we would increase male role models in primary education for example and encourage men to be seen as having a caring side to their nature in nursing for example.

But it's the effect pay rates where the difference would be positive for women. The
Ministry of Women’s Affairs did some research last year on pay rates in female dominated and male dominated trades. There were two very significant findings:

• in trades dominated by men, training was usually on the job and paid by the employer, while in female dominated jobs, the training was usually done first and they had to pay for it themselves;
• and while starting wages were similar in male-dominated and female-dominated jobs, wages rose much more quickly in male-dominated occupations, and after five years, the women were usually well behind. This is actually true of university graduates as well!

This gender segregation in employment is one of the main contributing factors in the gender pay gap, which remains at a stubborn 12%. Why does this matter?

My view is that the pay gap influences decisions well beyond how to spend and invest the weekly pay packet. For instance, when a couple is working and their child is sick and cannot go to Kohanga Reo for the day, who takes the day off work? Nine times out of ten it is Mum because it has less of an impact on the family income. That's just a small example, but it is very real.

The other contributor to the pay gap is that work traditionally done by women – the caring industry in particular – is under-valued and underpaid. This government has made enormous strides in this area, with approaches like the pay jolt for nurses and the ring-fencing of funding to home care workers' wages, but there is still some way to go.

I firmly believe that the Employment Contracts Act of 1991 set women back more than the 9 years that it was in place. I hope we never see the like of it in New Zealand again.

I want to reiterate my message of last year and that is that more Mâori women in the trades would help provide the skills the New Zealand economy needs to grow, and it would help further reduce the unemployment rate for Mâori women. This has already fallen significantly in recent years, as more Mâori have entered the workforce, but the rate is still too high.

Another area where I see leadership from Mâori women is in tackling our appalling rates of family violence.

I have talked a lot about family violence over the past few years, both because it is an issue to which I have a deep personal commitment and because it is something that the government is determined to address, with the support of the community and of organisations like the League. Government cannot do it alone. I know the League shares that commitment and you have been making a practical contribution for many years through things like your positive parenting programmes. I am so pleased that it is clear that that is where the interventions need to begin – right at the start of life. Babies nurtured in warm, loving, safe and stimulating environments will grow into strong, caring adults, capable of forming strong, caring relationships.

Babies who are neglected or 'incubated in terror', as one person described the effects of violent households on babies, have little chance of achieving their true human potential. We talk about a crime when someone steals property; but what is it to rob an innocent child of its future?

Helping parents understand the importance of those early years and teaching them the skills they need to nurture their child's potential is the most valuable work that can be done.

I know that the Prime Minister spoke to you about the Campaign for action on family violence and the simple message: Family violence is not ok, but it is okay to ask for help. I won't go over the ground she covered, but I do want to add the women's perspective on partner violence, because despite some of the reports you might read it is a gender issue. I am not saying that there is no violence against men, but overwhelmingly the victims of serious domestic violence are women and the perpetrators are men. This means we must listen to women when designing policies and community action to eliminate family violence.

The messages that came through the recent report commissioned by the Ministry of Women's Affairs on women's experience of protection orders are these – women's fears are the best predictors of the danger they face and perpetrators must be held accountable for their violence.

Every 5-6 weeks in this country a woman dies at the hands of a man with whom she had an intimate relationship and that is not ok.

The advertising campaign is only one part of the plan of action, because as you know the government cannot change attitudes and behaviours without the community leading the way. My husband uses an expression – red lights don't stop trains. Passing a law establishes what is illegal and provides for the consequences, if you get caught. So that's why I say the community must lead on this. The League has considerable influence and you are not afraid to use it.

On that note may I thank the League for its continuing leadership on the issues that are most important to Mâori women and Mâori communities and may I renew my commitment to working with you in my role as Minister of Women's Affairs.

And I want to thank everyone in this room today for your hard work and your dedication to making a positive difference in your communities.

'Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa taki tini ke.’

‘The achievements are not attributed to the individual, but to the many who have helped.’

May you continue to inspire your tamariki and mokopuna – the future of Aotearoa.