Mapp Wayne: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Mapp Wayne: Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:638;Page:8761] 
Dr WAYNE MAPP (National—North Shore) 
: 
 One should not debate this bill today without of course reflecting on Anzac Day. I am sure every member in this Chamber would have had duties to perform on Anzac Day and they are very very important duties. It is a time when we pay respect to those people men and women who have served our country; it is not a time to politicise. I do note the Minister in the chair today the Hon Judith Tizard and I remind her of that fact as certainly from what I have been told by my colleagues and from everything I have read she perhaps took an unduly political approach to that day— 
Hon Judith Tizard 
: No I was objecting to a political— 
Dr WAYNE MAPP 
: She is in fact nodding to that. Minister Tizard for the benefit of listeners took an excessively political approach. Because in truth all members of this Parliament irrespective of whether they are constituent or list members represent the people of New Zealand. In representing the people of New Zealand we pay respect to their service.  
When we are considering this bill which is a forward-looking bill dealing with amendments to the Employment Relations Act as it affects women in the armed services we have to acknowledge that the issue is not just a matter of looking forward. Men and women have served our country over a very very long period indeed and have shown great sacrifice. In fact my colleague Judith Collins referred to the example of Nancy Wake and her service to our country. My colleague was extremely disappointed that this Government out of the hundreds of awards that it makes every year does not have the bigness of heart to recognise Nancy Wake’s service. That is one of the reasons one uses the awards system and the Government is failing to do that.  
I remind the Minister in the chair that some years ago the Prime Minister did in fact recognise the service of— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Part 2 is very narrow. 
Dr WAYNE MAPP 
: I just want to complete the point that the Prime Minister did recognise the service of Lieutenant Colonel Curly Blyth. I am sure the Minister knows whom I am talking about. It was recognition of service given over a very very long period of time. So I say that if it is good enough for Lieutenant Colonel Curly Blyth it is certainly good enough for Nancy Wake.  
The Chairperson has reminded me about Part 2 “Consequential amendments to Employment Relations Act 2000” and clearly those do need to be changed because our law has to conform across the board. We do have one law for all citizens and indeed the Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill is all about one law for all citizens—that all citizens are treated equally before the law. I might add for the Minister in the chair that that applies also to all members of Parliament list or constituency. They all have their role to play in representing citizens in New Zealand.  
Clause 6(3) which refers to section 106(2)(a) of the Employment Relations Act is specifically about the exclusions that existed in the Employment Relations Act that would have exempted this Act from applying to women in the armed forces. They obviously have to be excluded because now those provisions are no longer appropriate. It is appropriate that the legislation—the Employment Relations Act—applies to men and women equally.  
So it is important even in the context of a narrow debate to understand why we are here today; to understand that we are recognising the role of women in our contemporary armed forces and the full role that they play. Any of us who read the various service journals and follow and talk to our service people know the incredibly important jobs they are performing for our country literally across the world. I think everyone in this Committee would applaud the service that they give to our country. Not many people when they take employment serve our country by putting their lives at risk.