Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: General Debate 
Laban Luamanuvao Winnie: General Debate 
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Hon LUAMANUVAO WINNIE LABAN (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) 
: 
 Kia ora talofa lava and warm Pacific greetings. It is a bit rich for that member Nick Smith to talk about climate change and to be a strong advocate when his leader only recently called climate change a hoax. How do we wear that contradiction? 
However I am humbled to rise this afternoon and speak in this debate today 114 years after our women fought and won the right to vote. Suffrage Day is a significant part of not only the history of New Zealand but also the history of the modern age. I pay tribute to Kate Sheppard and the other early suffragettes for their participation and for gaining the vote for women. They achieved what was right and what was just: political equality for women. 
Politics is about participation and representation. That is the Labour-led Government’s way. As the first Pacific Island woman elected to Parliament and as a proud Labour member I—along with all our women parliamentarians—can trace my very presence in this institution back to these wonderful brave progressive women leaders. 
We all know that week by week day by day and without fanfare our women are largely doing the majority of the work involved in the raising of children the running of households and helping out in the community. This Government’s recognition of this very important contribution and unpaid work is acknowledged and appreciated. I am proud to be in a Labour-led Government that is serious and genuine about women’s issues such as more jobs affordable housing affordable health increased investment in education childcare and out-of-school services and that is committed to the policies of Working for Families. 
I also pay a special tribute today to all our Pacific and Maori women. Importantly the Pacific name for the ocean that surrounds our country New Zealand is Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa and that ocean is woman. She reminds us that we are all of the Pacific and that New Zealand is a Pacific nation. She connects us she sustains us she protects us and she feeds us. She is a constant ever-present force of life much like our Pacific women. 
Our Pacific women are the backbone of our Pacific families and communities. Pacific families and communities are built on the courage determination and wisdom of Pacific women. These feminine values are not made up; they have been passed down by our ancestors through our families and our communities. My world view as a Pacific woman was shaped by my heritage my family and my politics. These Pacific values—like those of Kate Sheppard and the early suffragettes—are closely aligned to the values of the Labour Party. These are the values of social justice responsibility collectivity reciprocity community and a respect for all members of our society. 
I have many role models to draw on for inspiration role models who act on these values and commit to leadership and working to make a difference. My role models are our Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark; Labour’s Iriaka Ratana who became the first Maori woman MP in New Zealand in 1949; my mentor and friend the late Sonja Davies; my mother Emi Tunupopo Zimmerman Laban; and my history teacher Mother Pabst. 
There has also been a long history of women’s participation and leadership in the Pacific. One of my other role models from the Pacific is a woman called Salamasina. She was the first person 400 years ago to hold the four paramount titles and to be called O le Tafa’aifa. This was a colossal achievement at the time and it still is today. 
Our Pacific women have a legacy of leadership but at some point we stopped believing we had the right to lead and indeed that we could lead. I am concerned at the lack of Pacific women leaders in New Zealand today. To help overcome this our Labour-led Government recently launched the Pacific Women’s Economic Development Plan. The plan focuses on four key areas of development for our women: leadership education workforce development and business development. The overall aim is to increase the economic participation and the power of our Pacific women. 
Overseeing this plan is the Pacific Women’s Economic Development Board. The board is made up of highly talented New Zealand - born Pacific women who display leadership and intellect. Thank you very much.