Pillay Lynne: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Pillay Lynne: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to stand and speak in support of this bill. I acknowledge the previous speaker and commend her for her praise and support for the advancement of women and for non-discrimination against women. I also put on record in this House that it is a pity that not all of her caucus share that view. 
I commend the Minister of Women’s Affairs who spoke earlier today. She was very happy to take up this bill which it has been acknowledged was previously a member’s bill. She saw that not only would it make progression of the bill through the House faster and more efficient—the longstanding debate on the Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Bill was holding up its progress on the Order Paper—but also it would elevate the bill to the level I believe that it should have been at. I am really pleased for the support given by the Minister of Women’s Affairs in bringing this bill forward which was firstly my member’s bill but I really think the appropriate recognition for what the bill stands for is as a Government bill. So I am very happy to see it in its final stage and to speak to it today. 
The bill is all about supporting and celebrating women. I would also like to commend this Government for supporting and celebrating a Ministry of Women’s Affairs. This institution has been questioned by members in this House—certainly not by members of this party but by members of the National Opposition—as to whether there is the need for such an organisation in New Zealand. I think there is no question about the work done in advocacy for women by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and long may it continue. 
I want to thank the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee for a very clear and affirming report on this bill and for some common-sense recommendations that have enabled the bill to come back with all the principles that were the reasons for the bill unchanged. I also want to thank this House for the unanimous support this bill has received. Indeed when a bill is about recognising rights that concern discrimination sadly we often do not engage the full support of this House but very happily this is not one of those occasions. I am most appreciative of the support of all parties for this bill. 
When the Human Rights Act was passed in 1993 the New Zealand armed forces still had a policy of not allowing women to serve in combat roles. The Act provided an exemption for the armed forces that covered sexual discrimination in employment matters. I am very happy to say and as Lianne Dalziel before me acknowledged that the armed forces very progressively abandoned that policy in the year 2000 but the exemption in section 33 of the Human Rights Act remained. Although the provision about the right to discriminate has not been applied it has still remained like a blot on our statute book. I am very pleased that we are now able to remove that blot and quite rightfully put our status right up there where it should be for us as New Zealanders in leading the charge for women on the world stage. 
We are very proud of the fact that as we know New Zealand was the first country where women won the right to vote. Since that decision in September 1893 we have passed a comprehensive set of laws designed to protect human rights not just for women but for all New Zealanders. I refer to Acts such as the Human Rights Act the Care of Children Act the Civil Union Act the Relationships (Statutory References) Act and the New Zealand Sign Language Act and most recently we have had the Disabled Persons Employment Promotion Repeal Act. These can be seen as ongoing legislation that this Government and indeed former Governments have introduced to ensure that human rights in this country are in the place they should be—that is at the forefront. Unjustified discrimination is not acceptable in any society least of all in New Zealand which is leading the way. 
New Zealand women have provided so much good service. I think it is quite fitting that this bill is in its final stages not long after Anzac Day. I think that whilst acknowledging that women did not take part in combative roles in the army in previous wars—and that is not a sad thing—it is also very appropriate to recognise the extraordinarily good role that women played both in the forces and indeed in supporting their menfolk who were at the front line. So I think it is really significant that this bill is before the House at this time and as I said before I am very very proud to stand in support of it. 
History shows that the armed forces have not been as progressive as the army is now. Like Lianne Dalziel I want to acknowledge the three young women representing each branch of the armed forces who came to Parliament today. They were very heartened about the new legislation although I have to say happily they were not aware of the discrimination. I think our women are already making up quite large numbers in the roles they are playing—indeed in our peacekeeping forces overseas—and that is very good to see. 
I cannot end without saying how proud I was when I went to a conference on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women held in Geneva and was able to talk about this bill before our Parliament to remove our final reservation. The meeting was an opportunity to talk about the role that members’ bills can play in promoting change in legislation for women that may be discriminatory. Indeed there were women representing many countries where there was much discrimination so it was a very heartening and inspiring example for them. As I said before it is even better to see this bill elevated to the level that it is at now. 
I believe that this bill is based on a belief in our society that unjustified discrimination on the basis of gender is indeed a thing of the past as are racial discrimination and age discrimination. As I said before this is not a controversial bill. It has engaged support from everyone in this House and that is very much a commendable thing. 
I also want to say very briefly that I attended an open day at Whenuapai very recently and I acknowledge what a wonderful day it was. There was camaraderie and a very egalitarian relationship between the men and women officers who were obviously enjoying the day. It was very clear to see that there was very much an equal relationship that extended from the ability to be promoted to just that ordinary way of relating as comrades in the armed forces. That really highlights how times have changed today. 
In many of our institutions being a woman was not as easy; it was difficult. There were many barriers and many not too subtle ways of undermining the role that women played. I am really proud to say that certainly from what I have observed in the armed forces from the bottom up—in the ranks and between the comrades there—that is not the case now. I think we have armed forces to feel very very proud of and I know that for these women and men who represent New Zealand so well both here and overseas this bill will enhance the role that women play. It is a pleasure to stand and speak in support of this bill. Thank you.