Situations Vacant: Women Above the Parapet

Thank you for inviting me to open this workshop today. I bring apologies and greetings from the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, who was not available to come to Dunedin today. I am pleased to be here because this was the birthplace of both my parents, so any excuse to visit this beautiful city is welcome.

I want to congratulate Fliss Butcher for her initiative and for the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council for sponsoring the event.

Putting one’s head above the parapet is a colloquial expression that speaks of a willingness to express opinions and views that may invite criticism. Below the parapet there is a degree of safety from the “slings and arrows”, but as I often say: it’s a dirty job and someone’s got to do it.

Seriously though, the privilege of representing a people at the Council table or in Parliament, is one that never should be understated. And it is a privilege. I know that I can say this from the luxury of a safe seat that has only ever returned a Labour MP, but the minute anyone starts thinking that they have a right to the position or that they are more important than the position they represent, it is time to go.

Fortunately for me I have never felt that representing people was anything less than an honour. It is a privilege to serve the people; but it is one that must be earned, not just at election time, but every day.

This is hard when you have wider responsibilities, as I do being in Cabinet, as well as being the MP for Christchurch East. The same is for Council representation. On the one hand you have a governance role that means that you must think broadly across the City, but on the other you are an elected representative and you also serve the people. It is a system of representative democracy that our forbears chose for us and it is one that we must honour by never forgetting our past, but keeping our eyes firmly fixed on the future. Because as you know we hold our cities and our country in trust for future generations – what we do today at central and local government level, will impact on the choices our children and children’s children will have. It is an enormous responsibility.

So why do I think women should take up this responsibility in equal numbers alongside men? It is for the same reason that I think that Councils and Parliament should bring people of diverse cultures and skill sets to the table. It is because we have different perspectives. Sometimes we don’t see things the same way. I know as Minister of Women’s Affairs I have to remind my colleagues that although we have equal pay around the Cabinet table and within caucus, that doesn’t happen in the real world. There is a 20% pay differential out there that is not solely explained by what we call gender segregation, which really means women get the low-paid jobs.

I am a qualified lawyer and I know that professional women leaving university can start behind the eight ball without even knowing it and the subtle differences in expectations that apply between men and women in these professional areas would appal young women if they knew it was happening to them.

I also have to remind colleagues that it is the women who take primary responsibility for childcare. Even society sometimes frowns on Mum for making a decision to put a young child into care while a career is pursued, when there is a Dad who participated in that decision too, but no question of his right to pursue his career.

Because I don’t have children, I read a lot about this subject and everything I have read tells me that children that are raised in a safe, healthy, warm, nurturing and stimulating environment with parents and others who offer unconditional love are the ones who have the greatest number of choices in life and are likely to do well in every sphere of their life. That’s what my parents wanted for me.

I wanted to mention this early on, because the effect of public life on family is one of the things you need to think about before you make the decision to go down this path.

My first husband and I took advice from another MP and his wife, and although they warned us of the potential trials and tribulations, nothing really prepared us for the lengthy separations and the differences between us in terms of our interests that would eventually see us go our separate ways. It’s hard to have a marriage break up in politics – I remember the phone call but not the journalist’s name – who rang to ask if the rumours were true – I asked her if she enjoyed her job because I felt that I wasn’t the only one who should feel truly dreadful at that very personal moment in my life.

Please don’t get me wrong. I just wanted to let you know how hard it is to find another husband when you are a politician. Most men are too scared to even ask for a date, let alone imagine what you might be interested in. Luckily I met a man who was brought up on a diet of Labour politics and politicians and his dad’s story is one I want to come back to – sorry it’s not his mum’s story but it is a generation thing.

The reason Fliss told me she was organising this seminar was because fewer women are prepared to put their heads above the parapet in both local and central government and she told me that is true the further south we go.

Fortunately I come from Christchurch and we produced the first woman MP, Elizabeth McCombs, the first woman Cabinet Minister, Mabel Howard, the first Maori woman Cabinet Minister, Whetu Tirakatene Sullivan – who also happened to be the first woman to have a baby while a sitting MP. (I think you can count the number of the other women MP’s who have done so on one hand – Ruth Richardson, Liz Tennet and Katherine Rich). From a council perspective, Christchurch has several women councillors 6/13 plus the Mayor – not that I think this is an optimum number of councillors for a city that encompasses over 300,000 people. The governance may have improved, but the representation is lessened.

The hardest thing about Council is the same thing that makes it hard for electorate MP’s that are Cabinet Ministers. I opened the ODT this morning to see two of my colleagues, Pete Hodgson and David Benson-Pope, fronting up to their community on health and welfare concerns. They are Ministers but local MPs too.

When you become a Councillor you have to take off your ward hat and put on your Dunedin hat – because that’s what governance is all about, but unless you know what the issues are for your constituency, your ward, then how are you to understand what the issues are?

Geoffrey Palmer gave me good advice – never do in election year what you are not prepared to do in every other year. I always found the visit to the local Working Men’s Club hard, but the key is to be there for the important occasions. It’s true I accept invites from Corporate boxes at Jade Stadium for the odd Crusader’s game, but watching the final at the New Brighton Club is much more exciting (only when we win) and more satisfying because people remember that you shared that occasion with them.

It’s the little things that count.

On the other side you have to be prepared to be criticised for anything. My skin is not so thick as it appears, which is where a broad set of shoulders at home comes in. If we were in America, I could say get an analyst for the download, because you are regarded as not quite normal if you don’t have one there. But despite excellent work on the Like Minds Like Mine Campaign, there is still a long way to go.

Now you might be thinking how hard can it be? A few potholes in the road: a footpath that needs repairing: a slow traffic signal outside a school.

But my experience is that there is always a story – someone who fell on the footpath and had to have a hip replacement and the operation went wrong so they had to go back again and now they can’t get around as well as they could – and the bowls – their favourite game - they will never play again. Or the story of the child who died while crossing the road after school.

These are the real life experiences that bring people to your door and to my door and they say you cannot fix my problem (but some want you to and you have to help them through that), but the key for those who have moved on, is that it shouldn’t happen again. It brings meaning to what is otherwise a random act of fate.

When changes are brought about because of the role you play – even when that role is invisible to others – there will always be a sense of satisfaction that you have done your bit – and I think women do that much better.

Just as an aside. I helped a woman in Nelson get a petition together so she could do “something” about the unfairness of the rules around Superannuation when one spouse/partner goes into care. What she didn’t know is the amount of work I did behind the scenes to get the Minister to agree to this approach so that it would get into the Budget round. The local male MP several months later wrote to the Human Rights Commission about another case, so when the law change went through he told people it was he who had done it.

The local paper thought he was right even though they had written up the original story. The local Labour people were outraged and wrote letters to the editor and we arranged for Barbara White to be interviewed by the paper (because she was going to lodge a complaint with the Press Council). But all she wanted was to make sure people knew the rules were changed. All I wanted was for people to know that it was the Labour–led government who changed the rules.

We all got what we wanted. Women like win-win when sorting out problems – unfortunately that is not always the same of all our male colleagues, but this case exemplified this type of behaviour.

And it is why we need women; who bring their values to their roles and don’t leave them at Parliament’s front door and who are not afraid to tell people what they are about. I am Minister of Commerce and Small Business, who is a former Trade Union organiser, but that just means my perspective is different from theirs but it is valid – and it does help that I am a qualified lawyer.

I thought I would tell you why I entered politics because it wasn’t planned. This is a do as I say not as I do lesson though. Because I think people should plan their entry into local and central government.

My entry happened because I was in the right place at the right time and other people saw a potential in me that I couldn’t see myself. Even though it took hours for the selection to occur, it helped that I had been the union representative on the LEC and I had always stood up for the concerns of the union members I represented. I’m glad it took until 2am because that meant I was selected on Women’s Suffrage Day – a perfect day to start in politics especially as it gives me an opening for all my Women’s Suffrage speeches – this year is the 16th Anniversary of my selection.

In my maiden speech in Parliament I talked about my union background and who I was there to represent. We always use lofty words to express high ideals in our maiden speeches – mine was to be the face of the people who couldn’t be seen and the voice of the people who couldn’t be heard – and in all my portfolios, Commerce, Small Business and Women’s Affairs, I am living my dream.

My advice is, don’t shy away from your background, because it is part of what makes you who you are today. And people change over time – youthful exuberance gives way to more considered thought - but it is the values that have shaped you that don’t change. Always be proud of who you are and where you have come from.

There is a difference between central and local government and I think it is this:- Sitting in a caucus with people of like values is much more gratifying than sitting around a table of people who don’t share your values and whose agendas are motivated by things you cannot see – interest in development may prejudice someone against community consultation, interests in the community may prejudice against development.

But community accountability lies at the heart of the Local Government Act 2002 – local authorities have a role in promoting the social, economic, environment and cultural well-being of their communities – taking a sustainable development approach.

Democratic decision-making is hard when there is no party-political structure around the table. Most local authorities have gone that way – in Christchurch we build an over-arching structure called Christchurch 2021, which covers Labour, Green and Independents who share our values. Although I opposed it at the time – being a dinosaur as I recall – I had to accept that it was the right idea. In local government I don’t think there is room for more than 2 central voting blocks in order to negotiate through the myriad of deals that have to be done to settle the annual plan and now the LTCCP. Give and take – win – win – don’t just happen – they have to be negotiated. Your swimming pool – your tennis court – your safe zone outside schools. It’s a good idea to think about who you could work with in advance.

Finally: my husband’s father’s story. He stood for council and missed by one vote. His son’s in-laws (of the day) didn’t vote. They forgot. You must ask people to vote for you.

Jonathan Hunt gave me a book to read – “Everything is Local” by Tip O’Neill, Speaker of the House of Representatives (USA). He asked a neighbour if they had voted for him. They said no. Why? – “You didn’t ask” was the reply.

It’s the hardest part for me. I hate asking for anything. But “no” means nothing more than not asking. So if you do decide to stand – don’t be shy – ask people to vote for you and tell them that it’s important because you are a woman and because that makes a difference.