Parties differ on wooing women voters

Press, 13 July 1984, Page 16

Parties differ on wooing women voters

General Election

By

KARREN BEANLAND

The Labour Party has set out to woo women voters at the General Election.

Even before the snap election was called last month, the Labour Party had planned a programme to attract women voters. The programme was modelled on a campaign conducted by the Australian Labour Party during the election there in 1983.

Although the Australian campaign was cut short because of an early election, it was regarded as successful. Equal numbers of men and women voted Labour for the first time and three-quar-ters of young women voters opted for the party. Party sources in New Zealand believed a similar campaign here would boost Labour’s chances of winning, since 51 per cent of New Zealand electors are women.

They say that research on past elections has shown that there are higher numbers of women than men among the floating voters and that canvassers have reported a similar trend this election.

The party held a conference last November where it decided on many of the points in the women’s policy. It was planned to release the policy this month and follow it up during the five months before a November election with an intensive programme of visits to marginal electorates and women’s organisations. The snap election cut the progrqmme short, but the party’s spokeswoman on women’s affairs, Mrs Ann Hercus, has tried to make up some of the ground by mailing the policy to women’s groups throughout New Zealand and speaking to as many groups as possible.

The message which is being given to women in the home, in community organisations, and in the workplace is that issues which are important to women have been left aside by the Government, but that Labour plans to pay attention to them and is aware that women must be in-

volved in general Government policy decisions. Mrs Hercus said the Labour members of Parliament and candidates had made a “tremendous” effort over the last four weeks to speak to hundreds of women’s groups throughout New Zeland. “All candidates have followed a particular strategy of ensuring that when they talk to public meetings they talk specifically about issues of interest to women and to make sure the general issues are seen from a women’s perspective as well as from men’s. We have insured that all Labour candidates have good background information,” she said.

She believed that a combination of factors in Labour’s strategy would make the party attractive to women voters. These included the number of women Labour candidates in safe and winnable seats, the party’s emphasis on policies that are attractive to women and the reference by the Labour leader, Mr Lange, in his campaign opening to the fact that women’s contribution had been undervalued.

Labour’s policy package includes the setting up of a Ministry of Women’s Affairs, an affirmative action programme to encourage women in the workplace and in public affairs, the appointment of more women judges and justices of the peace, a review of rape legislation, and financial support for rape crisis and refuge centres.

It also promises to ratify the United Nations Convention on the elimination of discrimination against women, with reservations where appropriate, enforce equal pay provisions, and outlaw discrimination on the grounds of family responsibility. The National Party has

not campaigned directly for women’s votes and has not put out a specific policy for the election. However, it believes in equal opportunity for women in all facets of New Zealand society and says that women must be in a position to make their own choices.

The Government recently announced that it would set up a positive action programmme for women, aimed at more training for women in the workplace, and job placement and counselling for the unemployed. Ratification of the United Nations Convention will be a matter for a conscience vote in Parliament. The party’s woman vicepresident, Mrs Margaret Murray, believes the Government has a good record in legislation for women in a host of fields in recent years. She said the important thing was to get more women in Parliament and in decision-making positions. This could only be done by women themselves. “The performance of women has been abysmal. No Government can legislate to make women take their righful place in politics and in the workplace. It is an attitudinal problem,” she said. She believes progress will be made at this election, with more women likely to become members of Parliament. The New Zealand Party is strongly committed to a policy of not having policies for separate interest groups, such as women and ethnic groups. The party believes it will create the opportunities for any individual to take advantage of. It says that its plan to introduce a written constitution and a Bill of Rights will outlaw discrimination in any form. Social Credit’s policy provides for implementation of equal pay, equal opportunity, and the removal of sexist language. It will work towards setting up day-care centres in places of work and will allow self-defence to be taught in schools. It has not yet decided on the ratification of the United Nations Convention.