Dyson RuthHon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills): Although the Electoral Act of 1893 accorded women the right to vote we weren't allowed to stand for Parliament—it's hard to imagine that in this day and age. This finally became possible when the Women's Parliamentary Rights Act was passed in 1919. It's appropriate that 100 years on we reflect on our progress and our future challenges. I am very proud to be a woman member in the New Zealand Parliament and I'm very well aware of the footsteps in which many of us now tread.I want to particularly recognise Elizabeth McCombs: the first woman elected to Parliament. She was elected to represent Lyttelton in 1933—that's the electorate I was elected to represent in 1993 just 60 years later. Elizabeth was also the first out vegetarian in our Parliament and as a fellow vegetarian I want to acknowledge that we're less in the closet these days. She was elected following the death of her husband James. Despite her credentials as a city councillor as chair of the city's electricity committee as a North Canterbury Hospital member as a member of the Christchurch tramway board and she was a justice of the peace it was still feared by her party—and I'm sorry to admit it was our party: Labour. Labour hesitated to confirm her as their candidate because they couldn't imagine that a woman would be able to hold the seat particularly given that it had such a shaky majority under her husband: just a 32-vote majority. But their concerns were not warranted.Her opponent who was an independent Labour candidate said at one meeting I believe the difficulties of the country are too great for women to grapple with." The Press our esteemed daily paper noted that the handicap of being a woman would likely count more against her than any special feminist support that she might receive. A woman probably from Ilam electorate wrote to the paper and said "We shall not see anything better in our Parliament because a woman is there. For all the good or harm any woman in Parliament will … do she would be a thousand times better engaged in attending to her natural domestic duties." As it turned out Elizabeth McCombs was an effective Opposition MP frequently speaking out in support of women's rights and reforms to help the unemployed. Again back to our esteemed daily paper. With the election of Elizabeth as New Zealand's first woman MP it was time for important questions to be asked. "Will she wear a hat or will she not?" The Press earnestly inquired. "Will the Governor-General in the speech from the throne address the House as 'Honourable Lady and Gentlemen' or will he compromise with 'Honourable Members'?" Well Parliament was never the same again. The "Ladies Not Admitted" sign had to be removed from the restaurant and billiard room at Bellamy's and on her first day an unaccompanied sight of bouquets brightened the debating chamber.As well as Elizabeth I also want to acknowledge another woman from my electorate Gladys Boyd who was one of the first two women elected to the council in 1947. We have some pensioner cottages named after her: the Boyd Cottages in Lyttleton. At the reopening ceremony for them recently after their post-quake repairs were completed her family member told a story of Gladys' husband walking back from the waterfront where he worked and his mate yelled out from across the road: "So where's Gladys tonight?" And he said "I don't know. She's on every board except the blimmin ironing board."Lots of progress has been made on issues for equality in New Zealand but we have big challenges ahead. The two most pressing from my perspective are addressing the scourge of domestic violence and sexual abuse in our country and the second is pay equity—equal pay for work of equal value. It doesn't feel like a big ask but we're not there yet. I was only the 37th woman elected to our Parliament. I'm delighted to see the change that has occurred during my short 26-year tenure so that our Parliament is increasingly a House of Representatives. It needs more but I think we've come a long way and I'm really enjoying hearing the contribution of other women members of Parliament in this debate. Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker."