Motions — Women’s Suffrage—120th Anniversary

I seek leave to move a motion without notice in recognition of 120 years of women’s suffrage.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That the House recognise 120 years of women’s suffrage. On 19 September 1893 we became the first self-governing nation in the world where women won the right to vote. The passing of the Electoral Bill that day 120 years ago was the culmination of a process that took 24 years of discussions, rallies, meetings, and numerous petitions. The last of these, a monster petition, as Kate Sheppard called it, was brought into Parliament in September 1893. John Hall, a member of Parliament and women’s suffrage supporter, brought the petition, with over 30,000 signatories, into the House. He unrolled it down the central aisle of the debating chamber with such force that it hit the wall with a thud. Since then, New Zealand has celebrated many, many firsts and notable achievements for women: Governors-General, Chief Justice, Prime Ministers, Speaker of the House of Representatives, business and community leaders—wonderful trailblazers, each of them.

Although these women inspire us, they do not represent New Zealand as a nation using the talents and abilities of all women to their full potential. The challenge remains to achieve, first, a critical mass of women around the table and in the widest range of employment options, so that gender diversity can bring New Zealand the benefits that research shows are possible. Then we will be far further down the road to addressing equal numbers of women in leadership and governance roles. Then we will have addressed the overrepresentation of women in the statistics as victims of violence. Then we can say that women’s economic independence is improving, the gender pay gap has narrowed, and, better still, is no longer there.

We need to ask ourselves the question today: how much more can we do to ensure New Zealand is a nation renowned for fully recognising the talents of women, and in doing so, continues to lead the world? In the words of Kate Sheppard: “Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.” Our actions matter every day. These are the single drops that form the nourishing rainfall.

Labour joins with the Government in celebrating 120 years of women gaining the right to vote in New Zealand. It was a forward-looking decision that has helped shape our nation and continues to influence decision making in this country today. We were the first country in the world to make what must have been a very bold move 120 years ago. Just as the influence of Māori culture and the Pasifika influence of our international neighbourhood makes New Zealand unique, so does the early influence of women in shaping our country’s decision making. Early adoption of social security, our proud independent foreign policy, and policies that promote an egalitarian society can all find their genesis in women having early and prolonged influence over decisions by using their right to vote. It has indeed helped shape a nation with a unique identity.

From Labour’s Elizabeth McCombs, who was the first woman to be elected to Parliament in 1983—

💬 Grant Robertson: 33.

—1933—to New Zealand’s first elected female Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and the most recent female MP to be elected to Parliament, Meka Whaitiri, we honour them all. We all carry the hopes and aspirations of those women and men who worked so hard to ensure that women had the right to vote 120 years ago. I certainly had the portrait of Elizabeth McCombs on my work desk for many years before I even entertained the idea of becoming an MP.

We were the first in the world to achieve this, and that can never be taken away. However, the achievements made are not as secure. Would Kate Sheppard and the suffragists feel satisfied with the gender pay gap of 9.3 percent? Would they feel that their efforts in riding and walking the length and breadth of New Zealand gathering signatures were worthwhile, if they knew that more than a quarter of New Zealand women suffer sexual abuse in their lifetime? Would they accept 33 percent of their Parliament being women in the year 2013 as being truly representative, when women are 51 percent of the population? We all owe it to the vision and determination of those brave, fearless, pioneering women to ensure that we recognise that there is much work still to be done and to continue the fight to achieve this. Happy Women’s Suffrage Day to all.

It is a great honour to stand here today on behalf of the Green Party to mark 120 years of women being able to vote for the representatives in this House. It was not an easy battle back then for the suffragists—24 years, 31 petitions, seven failed bills, and decades of ridicule, abuse, and antagonism. But they kept fighting, not just for the right to vote but for the right to improve the status of women and children. We are here because of them. And the battle did not end in 1893. Groups of women have continued and still continue to fight for representation and equality.

We in the Green Party are proud to be in a party that gives voice to the human rights of all women on the planet. We are proud to be in a party with wahine toa, Metiria Turei as our co-leader, eight women out of 14 MPs, and gender balance in our party structure. We are proud to stand alongside our contemporary suffragists, like all the members of the Service and Food Workers Union who are fighting to end the exploitation of women living on poverty wages and doing the skilled and important work of aged care. We are proud to stand alongside all the women working in women’s refuges and the sexual violence sector who are still fighting for a space of safety for women in this country.

We are proud to stand alongside all the wāhine Māori working to reclaim tino rangatiratanga. We are proud to stand alongside all the women born and affirmed, with and without impairments, of all cultures who are still striving for a fair go in this country. We are proud to acknowledge Papatūānuku and give her voice to aspirations in this House. We are committed to honouring the efforts of our foremothers in moving forward together with the hopes of all those who have gone before us. Kia ora koutou.

New Zealand First joins other parties in celebrating Suffrage Day. In 1893 New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote. That event marked New Zealand as a leader in the emancipation of women, and provided an example for other nations to follow. Women in New Zealand gained the right to vote through a sustained campaign for progressive change, and that was an outstanding achievement. It is astonishing to think of how relatively recent that event was in terms of human history.

While celebrating this day let us also reflect that many women in New Zealand still have a way to go in achieving full equality in the workplace. Internationally, for a large part of the world’s female population, women do not have equal rights with men. A lot of work remains to be done. New Zealand First considers that it is important to mark this very significant day, and in this Parliament we must acknowledge those who fought and continue to fight for equal opportunities for women.

Motion agreed to.