Lianne Dalziel
3 May, 2007
Women in the Armed Forces Bill
Speech notes for Third Reading of Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill
I move, that the Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.
Madam Speaker
It is my privilege, as Minister of Women’s Affairs, to move an amendment that will remove the last statutory discrimination against New Zealand women thereby enabling the government to lift the reservation to The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – or CEDAW - which we have in place due to this provision.
The reservation reads:-
The government of New Zealand, the Government of the Cook Islands and the Government of Niue reserve the right not to apply the provisions of the Convention in so far as they are inconsistent with policies relating to recruitment into or service in
(a)the Armed Forces which reflect either directly or indirectly the fact that members of such forces are required to serve on armed forces aircraft or vessels and in situations involving armed combat
or
(b) the law enforcement forces which reflect either directly or indirectly the fact that members of such forces are required to serve in situations involving violence or threat of violence.
When the Human Rights Act was passed in 1993 the New Zealand Armed Forces still had a policy of not allowing women to serve in combat roles and therefore it needed to include an exemption for the Armed Forces covering sexual discrimination in employment matters.
Since then attitudes and practices have again moved on: In 2002 the Chief of Defence Force lifted all restrictions on the deployment of women in combat roles and asked individual Service Chiefs to establish procedures for the employment of women in trades, from which they were previously excluded, with a goal of full integration by 2005.
The Navy have already opened the Diving Branch to women in February 2000 thus removing the last restricted trade with that service. For the Army the issue was more complex and it followed a phased implementation
Thus the purpose for which the exemption in 533 of the Human Rights Act was granted by this House no longer exists and we are able to remove it.
It is a small change, but an important one symbolically because it completes the objective of equality before the law. With this change New Zealand will be able to fully meet our international obligations in relation to the rights of women, and we will move quickly to remove the one remaining reservation under CEDAW. We will be able, at last, to confirm that New Zealand gives unqualified support to the Convention.
CEDAW is often described as an international bill of rights for women.
This Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. It defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."
By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:
- to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;
- to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and
- to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organisations or enterprises.
Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations. New Zealand has already submitted its written report, and will be appearing in front of the CEDAW Committee in August this year.
New Zealand’s reservation to CEDAW also extends to the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. Tokelau and Niue are covered by the law change and have agreed to be associated with New Zealand’s action to withdraw the reservation. The Cook Islands has now acceded to the CEDAW Convention in its own right and may withdraw its reservation independently if it wishes.
I should point out that although we can be proud of achieving this change in our law and our ability to fully comply with CEDAW, it is also important that we recognise that full equality before the law, and full equality in practice, are different things.
It is relatively easy to change laws; it often takes much longer to change the culture, attitudes and behaviour that lead to discrimination.
We can see this lag in areas like equal pay for equal work where discriminating on the basis of sex has been unlawful for over 30 years, but a stubborn pay gap still remains – a gap that cannot be fully explained by time out of the workforce and gender segregation in employment.
The Armed Forces have themselves recognised that simply saying to women ‘you are no longer banned from this job’ is not enough. They have been making the other necessary changes, ranging from changes to equipment to remove strength barriers to such employment, to measures to prevent bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment.
Even with these changes, the pace at which women enter these non-traditional roles will be slow, just as they have been slow to enter traditionally male trades and professions in other parts of the economy. Nevertheless, society will continue to change, and over time I am sure we will see many more women in our Armed Forces, including taking more leadership roles.
In recommending this legislation to the House I would like to again acknowledge those who have helped bring us to this point. The leadership of the New Zealand Defence Force deserve credit for their action in changing their own rules and procedures to remove discrimination against women. I want to thank Warrant Officer A J Pereira, (Army) Corporal Anj Ball (Airforce) and Lieutenant Paula McKenzie (Navy) for coming today. Between them they have served in Sinai, East Timor and Afghanistan.
I appreciate their willingness to represent women in each arm of the Defence Force on this important occasion and also to acknowledge the service they undertake on behalf of their country
The Member for Waitakere, Lynne Pillay, deserves particular credit for bringing this matter before the House as a Member’s Bill. I acknowledge the support of my colleagues in government for supporting the adoption of this measure as a government bill, and particularly for the support of the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Defence.
Finally I commend the Select Committee for their constructive consideration of the Bill; and all Members of this House for their support for the proposition that no New Zealand women should be discriminated against in law.
The CEDAW Committee’s concluding comments after considering New Zealand’s fifth report urged New Zealand “to expedite the steps necessary for the withdrawal of its remaining reservation to the convention”.
It will be with considerable pride, as New Zealand’s Minister of Women’s Affairs to report that we have done so when I appear in front of the CEDAW committee in August this year.
I commend the Bill to the House
