NZ FIRST POLICIES WITH VISION

  • Robyn McDonald
Consumer Affairs

Waikato University
Hamilton

I am delighted to be here today to participate in what I hope will be a very informative and productive panel discussion on policies and issues impacting on women.

New Zealand First has policies with a vision.

Without a vision, policies become meaningless.

And, in many cases, defunct because they do not meet the practical needs of those they impact upon.

When we went into Coalition Government negotiations, NZ First women MP's were determined to realise as much of our vision for New Zealand women as possible within the Coalition Agreement.

Our vision is of a society where women are equal in all areas.

Where progress by women is not considered "exceptional" but is accepted as our due.

We have had to put up with years of male dominance and paternalism in society's attitudes, in the political environment and in the workplace.

Such dominance and paternalism is not acceptable as we move into the next century.

New Zealand, led the world by giving women the vote on the 19th September 1893. I believe we now lag behind the world again in recognising women as equals.

NZ First wants to see full equal status become a reality.

That is why we cannot implement policies without a vision.

I know my female parliamentary colleagues will agree with me that for years, we have had men as decision makers on policies impacting on women.

NZ First is changing that. Our policy decisions are made by our women.

So we need you to be very active and vocal in what you want to achieve individually and collectively.

We are listening to concerns and issues that should be dealt with.

We want our vision to work alongside the vision of New Zealand women.

It took a new political system - mixed-member proportional representation to achieve the increase in the number of women now in parliament.

MMP has its detractors - we must make it work. And work not only within Government ranks, but also across-party boundaries.

We have to build on this opportunity together.

Women in all areas are frequently sidelined and not seen as a valuable partner.

Isn't it amazing that even today, women still need to "break the ground" in key occupations.

Even in key managerial and decision-making roles.

We have always had the talent.

We have always had the skills and abilities.

And we have always had the knowledge.

All we require is the experience.

That is why, as a NZ First MP and Minister, I am proud to say that in my party forward thinking policies for women are developed by women, including women in the community.

Ensuring equal status of women will benefit all New Zealanders.

In New Zealand First, we have a superb team of talented focused women.

My colleagues, Ann Batten, Jenny Bloxham and Deborah Morris and I, are working closely to achieve positive results for women.

And as I said earlier, in achieving results, we must reflect what women want.

We intend to create changes.

Not only in the political environment, but also in business and social environments.

But we have to ensure that our policies can be achieved on a practical level too.

We have already formed a Coalition Government women MP's caucus and we are forging close working relationships in key policy areas between the Coalition women.

Deborah Morris is Associate ACC with Jenny Shipley;

Ann Batten is working constructively with Chris Fletcher in Womens Affairs; and

I work closely with Georgina Te Heuheu on our Maori Affairs Select Committee.

NZ First is particularly concerned with integrating gender analysis into government policy formation.

But also we want to see positive steps taken to deal with the issue of pay equity.

We know that women on average earn only 73% of what our New Zealand men earn.

We have to do better than that.

It deals not only with Government policy but also the fact that a lot of our issues are affected by society's attitudes.

As a working mother, I have first hand experience of the difficulties of keeping a career going and fulfilling my own objectives as a mother.

And in the same way, I also see that women who choose to stay at home to take on the nurturing role full-time as a mother, are often penalised for that choice.

Men and women have to change their attitude towards families and choices parents make.

I challenge business to start developing family-friendly work environments.

Where both mothers and fathers are helped in their choice of either staying at home or continuing to work.

It means removing barriers and ensuring that we can make choices which suit us.

I see child-care policies as needing greater integration with the business community.

So that if a parent wants to carry on working, they have ready access to quality child care.

I also think business should encourage management to accept that family is important.

I want to see parental choices not penalised, as unfortunately in my view they are, particularly for women.

We have come a long way with the introduction of parental leave but we need to extend it into flexibility of working hours.

The public sector is very good at encouraging such flexibility.

But I believe the private sector needs to adopt the public sector approach.

I am hopeful that we can make progress on the establishment of a Women's Commissioner and this could possibly be an area to be looked at.

We also have concerns about ensuring our health and education policies meet the needs of women.

In turn, I know that the big issue coming up is the Retirement Savings Scheme Referendum.

My message is for you not to make up your mind until the Design Team have reported back, which I understand will be 7th July.

And I know that one issue is the concern about women and their obviously intermittent income earning capacity, due to, in many cases, family commitments.

But rest assured, I believe women will be well considered by the Design Team and will not suffer any penalties in the new scheme.

The referendum is an opportunity for New Zealanders, and women, to have their say.

I personally support compulsory superannuation.

And I want to deal with some myths as to the impact on women, which are currently being promoted.

Myth: Women need to save between 11 and 14% of their current income.

Response:

The scheme requires savings of up to 8% of income;
People will receive a guaranteed government top-up;
Tax cuts will be delivered.
The point to be made here about the current scheme is that the inevitable drop in NZ Super payments for women is what is bad.

Myth: Only 10% of women and 50% of men will save $160,000 by 65 years of age.

Response:
Government will guarantee a top-up to $160,000; and All New Zealanders who reach 65 years will have access to an annuity equal to the current super payout.

The key issue, is to wait for the Design of the scheme to be released.

Look at both sides of the superannuation debate and then make up your mind.

It is also essential that women take the opportunity to cast their vote in the referendum.

Have your say.

In ending, I would like to touch on society's attitudes towards women.

To achieve equal status, we need a fundamental shift in attitudes, not just by men, but by media and most of all for women to be vocal about what is acceptable and what is not.

One example is in advertising.

In a recent well-known monthly magazine, I saw an advertisement.

It showed the naked torso of a woman on one page.

Turning the page, the woman's body was supposed to be related to a European car.

Advertisers still want to portray naked women to sell products, we need to do something.

Are we still boycotting products that use such methods?

It is not "artistic licence".

It is inexcusable and demeaning!

It sends the wrong messages to everyone.

Let us work together to create positive and practical changes for women.Waikato University
Hamilton

I am delighted to be here today to participate in what I hope will be a very informative and productive panel discussion on policies and issues impacting on women.

New Zealand First has policies with a vision.

Without a vision, policies become meaningless.

And, in many cases, defunct because they do not meet the practical needs of those they impact upon.

When we went into Coalition Government negotiations, NZ First women MP's were determined to realise as much of our vision for New Zealand women as possible within the Coalition Agreement.

Our vision is of a society where women are equal in all areas.

Where progress by women is not considered "exceptional" but is accepted as our due.

We have had to put up with years of male dominance and paternalism in society's attitudes, in the political environment and in the workplace.

Such dominance and paternalism is not acceptable as we move into the next century.

New Zealand, led the world by giving women the vote on the 19th September 1893. I believe we now lag behind the world again in recognising women as equals.

NZ First wants to see full equal status become a reality.

That is why we cannot implement policies without a vision.

I know my female parliamentary colleagues will agree with me that for years, we have had men as decision makers on policies impacting on women.

NZ First is changing that. Our policy decisions are made by our women.

So we need you to be very active and vocal in what you want to achieve individually and collectively.

We are listening to concerns and issues that should be dealt with.

We want our vision to work alongside the vision of New Zealand women.

It took a new political system - mixed-member proportional representation to achieve the increase in the number of women now in parliament.

MMP has its detractors - we must make it work. And work not only within Government ranks, but also across-party boundaries.

We have to build on this opportunity together.

Women in all areas are frequently sidelined and not seen as a valuable partner.

Isn't it amazing that even today, women still need to "break the ground" in key occupations.

Even in key managerial and decision-making roles.

We have always had the talent.

We have always had the skills and abilities.

And we have always had the knowledge.

All we require is the experience.

That is why, as a NZ First MP and Minister, I am proud to say that in my party forward thinking policies for women are developed by women, including women in the community.

Ensuring equal status of women will benefit all New Zealanders.

In New Zealand First, we have a superb team of talented focused women.

My colleagues, Ann Batten, Jenny Bloxham and Deborah Morris and I, are working closely to achieve positive results for women.

And as I said earlier, in achieving results, we must reflect what women want.

We intend to create changes.

Not only in the political environment, but also in business and social environments.

But we have to ensure that our policies can be achieved on a practical level too.

We have already formed a Coalition Government women MP's caucus and we are forging close working relationships in key policy areas between the Coalition women.

Deborah Morris is Associate ACC with Jenny Shipley;

Ann Batten is working constructively with Chris Fletcher in Womens Affairs; and

I work closely with Georgina Te Heuheu on our Maori Affairs Select Committee.

NZ First is particularly concerned with integrating gender analysis into government policy formation.

But also we want to see positive steps taken to deal with the issue of pay equity.

We know that women on average earn only 73% of what our New Zealand men earn.

We have to do better than that.

It deals not only with Government policy but also the fact that a lot of our issues are affected by society's attitudes.

As a working mother, I have first hand experience of the difficulties of keeping a career going and fulfilling my own objectives as a mother.

And in the same way, I also see that women who choose to stay at home to take on the nurturing role full-time as a mother, are often penalised for that choice.

Men and women have to change their attitude towards families and choices parents make.

I challenge business to start developing family-friendly work environments.

Where both mothers and fathers are helped in their choice of either staying at home or continuing to work.

It means removing barriers and ensuring that we can make choices which suit us.

I see child-care policies as needing greater integration with the business community.

So that if a parent wants to carry on working, they have ready access to quality child care.

I also think business should encourage management to accept that family is important.

I want to see parental choices not penalised, as unfortunately in my view they are, particularly for women.

We have come a long way with the introduction of parental leave but we need to extend it into flexibility of working hours.

The public sector is very good at encouraging such flexibility.

But I believe the private sector needs to adopt the public sector approach.

I am hopeful that we can make progress on the establishment of a Women's Commissioner and this could possibly be an area to be looked at.

We also have concerns about ensuring our health and education policies meet the needs of women.

In turn, I know that the big issue coming up is the Retirement Savings Scheme Referendum.

My message is for you not to make up your mind until the Design Team have reported back, which I understand will be 7th July.

And I know that one issue is the concern about women and their obviously intermittent income earning capacity, due to, in many cases, family commitments.

But rest assured, I believe women will be well considered by the Design Team and will not suffer any penalties in the new scheme.

The referendum is an opportunity for New Zealanders, and women, to have their say.

I personally support compulsory superannuation.

And I want to deal with some myths as to the impact on women, which are currently being promoted.

Myth: Women need to save between 11 and 14% of their current income.

Response:

The scheme requires savings of up to 8% of income;
People will receive a guaranteed government top-up;
Tax cuts will be delivered.
The point to be made here about the current scheme is that the inevitable drop in NZ Super payments for women is what is bad.

Myth: Only 10% of women and 50% of men will save $160,000 by 65 years of age.

Response:
Government will guarantee a top-up to $160,000; and All New Zealanders who reach 65 years will have access to an annuity equal to the current super payout.

The key issue, is to wait for the Design of the scheme to be released.

Look at both sides of the superannuation debate and then make up your mind.

It is also essential that women take the opportunity to cast their vote in the referendum.

Have your say.

In ending, I would like to touch on society's attitudes towards women.

To achieve equal status, we need a fundamental shift in attitudes, not just by men, but by media and most of all for women to be vocal about what is acceptable and what is not.

One example is in advertising.

In a recent well-known monthly magazine, I saw an advertisement.

It showed the naked torso of a woman on one page.

Turning the page, the woman's body was supposed to be related to a European car.

Advertisers still want to portray naked women to sell products, we need to do something.

Are we still boycotting products that use such methods?

It is not "artistic licence".

It is inexcusable and demeaning!

It sends the wrong messages to everyone.

Let us work together to create positive and practical changes for women.