‘50 per cent women is within grasp’
Political parties need to promote more women on their lists, Helen Clark says.
The former prime minister was speaking on a panel at Parliament yesterday on efforts to make Parliament more familyfriendly.
Parties were the gateways through which most people entered Parliament and needed to be ‘‘the greatest champions’’ for equality.
Party lists were also crucial because research showed fewer women make it into electorate seats, she added.
Clark’s call raises the spectre of Labour’s call for a ‘‘man ban’’ in 2013. The party was ridiculed when it considered nominating only women as candidates for some seats, in a bid to get a gender balance in its caucus.
Women make up almost 39 per cent of New Zealand’s Parliament.
‘‘Fifty per cent is within grasp; it needs another heave or two probably but if political parties pay attention and start looking at the construction of their lists it can be done.’’
Clark first entered Parliament in 1981, when there were just eight female MPs. She described an ‘‘old boys club’’, in which the men socialised by playing billiards and drinking in the bar, while women sat on armchairs behind a curtain.
‘‘A lot has changed, and for the better.’’
She was speaking on a panel at the Presiding Officers and Clerks’ Conference.
Also on the panel was Labour MP Kiritapu Allan, who wants a rule change to allow more taxpayer-funded travel for the partners of politicians.
‘‘There are some real challenges to a young parent operating as a parliamentarian. We travel a lot and we work very long hours.’’
She pointed to a 2014 amendment to the travel rules that meant only spouses – not caregivers – could accompany MPs on parliamentary business.
‘‘For us, as new parents, that was very challenging because the allocation is 20 trips per year . . . It meant we had to spend a lot of time apart in those first few months.
‘‘I did look into the rationale for why there was a change and I didn’t really understand it myself . . . those types of limitations, sometimes they sound a little bit good to get tough on the entitlements of MPs.’’
Her daughter, Hiwaiterangi Allan-Coates, will celebrate her first birthday next month and was in the room for the session.
Allan is one of seven serving MPs – including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – with infants younger than one.
Speaker Trevor Mallard told the session about his efforts to make Parliament more familyfriendly, including proxy voting to let young parents be absent.
He has also opened up its recreational areas – like the swimming pool – to children.