6 July 2001

Opposition Leader Jenny Shipley today joined women around the country in Christine Rankin Day by wearing a pair of large dangly earings and the "shortest skirt she could find in her wardrobe".

"I completely respect Christine Rankin's right to dress the way she does and I have dressed this way today because I demand the right to dress the way that suits me.

"When Christine Rankin was selected to head Work and Income on merit no one raised how she looked as any sort of limitation to the job. Women in New Zealand like Christine have got to the top levels on merit not on what they chose from their wardrobes in the morning.

"I would like to know what has changed since Christine Rankin was selected on the merits of being the best person for the job at the time.

"New Zealand is not a religious country which limits what women wear and how they must behave and act. I will not stand by and remain silent and rights women have fought for be erroded by this Labour Government on a senior public servant.

"That a woman has to put up with scathing comments about her dress and style is absolutely outrageous in this day and age. The Labour Government must be ashamed of itself that it is taking us back 20 years in our perceptions of women and they way they dress," Mrs Shipley said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>