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Women hold up a quarter of the sky |
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Women hold up a quarter of the sky
Liz
Gordon
Annoyed campaigner for more women MPs.
There is an old saying that women hold up
half the sky. So what are we to make of the ‘modern’
National Party’s 2011 list? Some facts for
you:
• The list has 75 places, and 24 of these are
allocated to women.
•
• Only ten women are
allocated places in the top 40, while 14 women are in places
41-75.
•
• Most of these (9 out of 14) are in
places 61-75 and have no hope of election this
year.
•
• National will probably enter the next
parliament with a smaller proportion of women MPs than in
2008.
•
• Even National’s own leader has
protested against this state of
affairs!
•
•
MMP brought about a large
increase in the representation of women in Parliament. This
was expected. Lists are issued months in advance and people
have the opportunity to examine them.
What was not
expected was that, fifteen years after MMP, one of the two
pivotal parties in the Parliament would still only manage a
grudging quarter of its list to be allocated to
women.
I have heard it said that we want people
selected on talent, not gender. But any scrutiny of the
National Party list will demonstrate that it is not a result
of a talent quest, but of highly conservative, status quo,
bloke politics.
To give three examples.
Shane
Ardern has been in Parliament since 1996 and is known only
for trying to drive a tractor up the steps. He is number 27
on the list. Rising star Amy Adams is 28. Go
figure.
What about Eric Roy, veteran person, at 25,
compared with Nicky Wagner, who has done so much to help the
citizens of Christchurch in the wake of the earthquakes, at
42.
Michael Woodhouse (31) (I had never heard of him)
or Nikki Kaye (33), the high-profile Auckland Central
MP?
John Key was all over the radio this morning
saying that he wanted more women MPs. He could not have
wanted them enough, in my view. It has always appeared to
me that what John wants, John gets. His wanting is
therefore a cop-out – he should have demanded more women
on the National
list.
ENDS
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