10. SUE MORONEY (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Women's Affairs
What highlights, if any, on gender equality and women’s empowerment will she report to the United Nations special general meeting in March?
Hon PANSY WONG (Minister of Women’s Affairs) Link to this
I am surprised that the Labour spokesperson for women’s affairs has not read the New Zealand Government’s response—[ Interruption]
Mr SPEAKERIn fairness, the question simply asked what highlights, if any, on gender equality and women’s empowerment she will report to the United Nations special general meeting in March. It is not an excuse for the Minister to be surprised about anything that Labour might be doing. It is asking what the Minister is planning to do. To deviate from telling the House what the Minister is planning to do is to treat the House with some contempt.
The highlights, etc., are contained in the New Zealand Government’s response to the United Nations questionnaire on gender equality and women’s empowerment, October 2009. I would seek leave of the House to table this 19-page document but I know you would disallow it, Mr Speaker, because it is publicly available. The member can go to www.un.org\womenwatch.
Will she report that last year 27,000 women lost their jobs in New Zealand, that 60 percent of the newly jobless are women, and that she stood by while her Government axed the pay and employment equity unit?
Unfortunately, the period covered is the last 10 years, so the recent occurrence of the recession is just on the edge of that report. That is why our Prime Minister, the Hon John Key, has placed so much focus on economic growth in his Prime Minister’s statement. Part of that unemployment figure was due to the growing workforce, because the number of jobs has not decreased significantly.
Will she, then, report that now New Zealand is out of recession, her Government will reinstate pay equity investigations for school support staff and for social workers, which her Government axed last year because of the recession?
The National Government does not operate in looking through a rear vision mirror. We forge forward. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs got $2 million over 4 years to construct four work streams that will absolutely take our women forward, not backwards as would happen under Labour.
Was she so desperate to claim any achievement for women under her Government that she instructed her officials to report to the United Nations—
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. A member cannot ask a question with that sort of inflammatory material at the front of it. The Standing Orders are very clear, just as you were with the Minister about ensuring that answers are straightforward; that member equally needs to follow the same Standing Orders.
Again, I think the Minister has raised a reasonable point that, although the language was not in itself objectionable, the assertion that a Minister might have been desperate is not an acceptable way to start a question. I invite the member to reword that question.
Why has she instructed her officials to report to the United Nations that paid parental leave was extended to 14 weeks in 2009, when, in fact, that happened in 2005, under Labour, and National voted against it?
Unlike Labour, we never instruct our officials. They do their research and they put it forward objectively. We do not instruct for any cover-up, unlike Labour.
I seek leave to table a document from the New Zealand Government’s response to the UN questionnaire showing that it has reported to the United Nations—
Leave is sought to table the New Zealand response to that questionnaire. Is there any objection? There is no objection.
I seek leave to table a document from the Business and Professional Women of New Zealand on Red Bag Day, 18 February 2010. This is the document—
The member will resume her seat. The practice that the member has just adopted is unacceptable. She should describe what the document is before she goes into a lengthy diatribe about what is in it, so that the House at least hears what the document is.
This is from the Parliamentary Library, a statistical bulletin on salary and wage rates. I note that the Minister said that she would table a document—
I want to establish whether this document is a document provided in response to a request from the member to the library.
It is a statistical bulletin, salary and wage rates, showing that in 2008 the male-female wage gap was 13.8 percent, and in 2009, it was 14.8 percent.