Upston LouiseHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. This morning it was a fantastic opportunity with the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians to celebrate 125 years of suffrage. We were honoured to hear from two of our fantastic former members of Parliament—and former Ministers—Dame Ann Hercus and of course Dame Jenny Shipley as a former Prime Minister. They both had really important messages for us to reflect on on the 125 years that have been and—more importantly I think—the 125 years that are ahead of us. So I am proud to have been presented with this white camellia Madam Deputy Speaker made by Robyn Watchorn from your electorate. It recognises my place in this House as the 108th female MP—which doesn't sound like a lot.One of the things that we do today is we celebrate our female Prime Ministers and I think as a country we are leading many other countries. But before we get too excited it is the 52nd Parliament and we are on our third female Prime Minister. So my comments have a bit of a you know positive and a negative and I think we need to always make sure that we focus on yes what we've achieved but the fact that there is still a lot of work to be done and—[Bell rung]DEPUTY SPEAKER: Oh sorry—wrong button.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: Thank you. That was going to be very short! With Nicola Willis entering Parliament earlier this year we've achieved 40 percent of our Parliament being women which is a significant achievement. This is our highest and one that many other countries around the world recognise. The last Cabinet in the 51st Parliament had a strong line-up of women and this has flowed through to the front bench of the Opposition: Paula Bennett Amy Adams and Judith Collins—three of the Opposition's top five and fantastic examples of women leaders each powerful competent capable and unique women leaders.It's a fact that in the National Party we have a number of very smart formidable women who have carved out careers both before entering Parliament and while they've been here. Madam Deputy Speaker you spoke in your contribution about the footsteps that you followed in. In my electorate which covers a number of towns I follow in the footsteps of Rona Stevenson of Marilyn Waring and of Katherine O'Regan and also—in part of the electorate—Dame Tariana. I think it's really important that each and every one of us in this House particularly those women MPs focus on the message that we leave for the women that will follow our footsteps and we make sure that we wedge the door wide open and make sure that their work in this place is made easier by our work in this place.Kate Sheppard and pioneering women and men who have worked tirelessly and fought for the right of women to vote gave us a place as a world leader in gender equality and I want to recognise the efforts of women across New Zealand and how far we have come. We've got to continue to blast through the barriers and take even more steps to equality. I was fortunate to serve as the Minister for Women and I want to acknowledge the current Minister for Women who is on maternity leave the Acting Minister for Women and those that have formerly held the role.I would often get asked the question of why do we still have a Ministry for Women and the answer of course is simple. We still have a gender pay gap of 9.2 percent. We are well under-represented in senior management and leadership roles and this is particularly sharp in the private sector. Women are twice as likely as men to be victims of family violence and most of that abuse and assault occur in their very own homes. Until we can say we have equal rights equal choice equal opportunities and that women are valued equally we still need a ministry dedicated to working for all New Zealand women and we need every New Zealand woman and every New Zealand man from one end of this land to the other to stand up for equality. Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker.