Happy Suffrage Day!

Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, September 19th, 2007 - 5 comments
Categories: national - Tags:

10bucks.jpgAnother of New Zealand’s proud firsts: we were the first to give women the vote in national elections.

Clearly as a society we’ve made huge progress in the last 114 years – New Zealand’s even now got a Ministry dedicated to furthering Women’s issues to help ensure that they stay on the agenda. It’s a real shame that we’ve still we’ve got people like National’s Judith Collins making statements like:

“National has indicted that it will extinguish the Ministry of Women’s Affairs. The ministry has been in existence since 1984 and has produced nothing of benefit for women.”… “It is time… to… get rid of a sexist relic.” (SST – Nov 2003)

For a moment there I had thought that the relic to which she was referring might be the National Party itself. No such luck though. Judith is hardly a cheerleader for progress on women’s issues but she’s right in step with her Party which has voted againt Parental Leave legislation, against legislation to raise the minimum wage, against Working for Families, against setting up the Families Commission, and against the Care of Children Bill…

One wonders how much of a voice the 11 other female MPs in National actually have. By the looks of things, not a lot. On the other hand, if they all sound like Judith perhaps that ain’t such a bad thing.

5 comments on “Happy Suffrage Day! ”

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  1. principessa 1
    19 September 2007 at 3:56 pm

    Sorry but I couldn’t resist- I’ve been having fun with the translator all day- the link is:- http://www.capstrat.com/go/pirate/

    The above quote in pirate speak is:-

    “National has indict’d that tharrrit will extin’uish th’ Ministrrry o’ Women’s Affairrrs, and a bottle of rum! The ministrrry has been in existence since 1984 and has prrroduc’d nothin’ o’ benefit ferrr women, and a bottle of rum!”. “It be time. to. get rrrid o’ a sexist rrrelic, and a bottle of rum!”

  2. bff 2
    19 September 2007 at 4:17 pm

    Hmmm, Judith Collins’ perversely negative attitude towards the Ministry of Women’s Affairs reflects a broader National Party view that any acknowledgment of difference or particular interests (in this case women, but the same is true of Maori interests, students’ interests, etc.) must be objectionable positive discrimination. If Collins genuinely believes that the Ministry of Women’s Affairs is no more than a ‘relic’, I wonder what she has to say about the distinct absence of women at the top levels of many professions. Things are good for women, especially under a Labour Government. But they can always get better. And National Party ‘we’re all the same’ policies would be a definite backward step. Shame, Judith.

  3. all_your_base 3
    19 September 2007 at 4:33 pm

    Arrrr bff! Shiver me timbers ye have clear hit th’ nail on th’ ed.

  4. all_your_base 4
    19 September 2007 at 4:45 pm

    principessa, you’ve clearly mastered pirate-speak – you’re obviously a very gifted linguist. It’s a real shame that you’re going to have to wait another 364 days to show off your skills again though. Perhaps you should think about forming a club of some sort?

  5. principessa 5
    19 September 2007 at 9:54 pm

    Aye, but I be not a trrrue pirrrate, I’m jus’ havin’ fun exposin’ th’ pirrratism o’ th’ National Parrrty, and a bottle of rum!

    This blog’s a bottle of rum and a bag of chips 🙂

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