21 September 2009
PRESS RELEASE

116 years on, the work of NCWNZ continues

One hundred and sixteen years after women achieved the right to vote, the National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) is still working to ensure that women count, that was the message at this years annual meeting held in Wellington over the weekend.

“Even though women can now vote, NCWNZ continues to serve the women of New Zealand, as our mandate states, by educating women, collecting their opinions and representing those opinions to the decision makers,” says NCWNZ National President, Elizabeth Bang.

This weekend women from all over the country gathered to share their opinions and focus on the importance of financial independence and sustainability at the NCWNZ National Executive Meeting.

The women of the NCWNZ National Executive passed four new policies that will now become the backbone to the work of the Council.

1. That NCWNZ requests the Government to assess all people as Individuals when they apply for an unemployment, sickness or invalids benefit, irrespective of their marital or family status.

2. That NCWNZ requests that all school buses, while conveying children to and from school display distinctive and active signage, including the maximum speed at which a vehicle may pass a stationary school bus.

3. That NCWNZ requests that the Minister of Justice increase the basic allowance paid to jurors.

4. That NCWNZ urges the Government to reinstate full funding to all Adult and Community Education (ACE) programmes.

These four new resolutions will join the thousands of other resolutions passed by NCWNZ since the first meeting in 1896. The policy of the Council continues to be true to the words of Kate Sheppard, who said in 1897 that “Our humanity must taken precedence over our womanhood. Whatever affects the well-being of the commonwealth is our concern”.

ENDS

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