Policies based on need?

We appear to have a new principle emerging in New Zealand politics, at least in contrast to what has dominated for some time and has been termed "political correctness". It has arisen as a direct response to a marked shift in the polls following a speech by Don Brash, leader of the opposition National Party on 27 January 2004.

The new principle is that policies should be based on need, not membership of a particular group.

In the cabinet reshuffle of 24 February 2004, following the departure of Leanne Dalziel, Ruth Dyson became Associate Minister of Labour, "handling policy issues such as work-life balance and family-friendly workplaces" (as reported in the Manawatu Evening Standard, 25 February 2004, p.7).

Ruth Dyson is also Minister of Women's Affairs.

A speech of hers dated 21 February 2004 can be found at: http://www.beehive.govt.nz/ViewDocument.cfm?DocumentID=19016

In it she mentions that "we" (i.e. the government) are launching an Action Plan for Women on 8 March 2004.

She also mentions:

• "the ‘whole of government’ approach called ‘reducing inequalities’ to reduce the inequities between Maori women and other women in New Zealand" (but not men)

• "the passing of the Prostitution Reform legislation – aimed at safeguarding the human rights of women in prostitution and protecting them from exploitation" (The NZ Herald of 28 June 2003 reported that over half the people arrested for soliciting in the past five years were men.)

• "Actions that benefit New Zealand women are to the advantage of us all – not to the detriment of men!" (echoes of the now rejected view in the Family Court that what is good for the mother is in the best interest of the child - "Judge Inglis rejected any idea that weight should be placed on the mother’s emotional and psychological wellbeing, "leading to the assumption that the happiness of the relocating parent will meet the best interests of the child’s welfare." That argument was rejected in "D v S" as "inconsistent with the wider all-factor child-centre approach required under New Zealand law."" http://www.courts.govt.nz/family/columns/column19.html)

• "women in the paid labour force has risen over the past years, but ... challenges to this include the persistence of a gender pay gap, occupational segregation and the increasing difficulty of achieving work-life balance." (is work-life balance not a problem for men?)

• "Work-life balance
  We need to tackle women’s family/whanau responsibilities.
  We have worked hard in this country for women’s participation, particularly in the paid labour market and there have been great improvements in that area. What we haven’t done yet is get the right balance between paid and unpaid work." (is work-life balance not a problem for men?)

• "Work-life balance is not just an issue for women. Overall, a decade of a deregulated and competitive environment has reduced the quality of life for many workers of both genders. A lot of men have more stress in their lives than is healthy.
  But women have paid the greater price because of the additional level of stress that accompanies our role as carers." (so men's fulfillment of caring responsibilities can continue to be ignored and/or obstructed?)

• "the sorts of things women need to function effectively in the paid workforce – like family-friendly policies and flexible working hours – are simply an essential part of managing a company’s most valuable resource – people" (so is family-friendly a people issue or a women's issue?)

• The Women's Action Plan "will give us a ‘whole of government’ approach to women’s issues, with a clear, commonsense framework for action." (so the approach is based on group membership, rather than need)

• One of the Plan's three main themes is "balancing our work, family, whanau and community roles" (again, the focus in the Plan is on these issues specifically in relation to women)

• On research into Pacific women, "I can assure you that Pacific women are involved at all stages of the research, both as researchers and on the project steering group." (but gender analysis, as described by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, does not even require consultation with men - see: http://econ.massey.ac.nz/cppe/papers/gpse.htm)

Stuart Birks

26 February 2004

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