Labour leader Chris Hipkins says it was a “mistake” for the party to quote from a controversial opinion column, that used the C-word.
He says it has now become a “distraction” from the Government’s pay equity changes.
MP Jan Tinetti quoted a line, which did not include the C-word, from the controversial Sunday Star-Times article, while she asked a question in Parliament yesterday.
The use of the column prompted a ferocious response from the Government benches, with Minister Brooke Van Velden describing the column itself as “clearly misogynistic”.
Tinetti stood by her decision to quote from the column yesterday, with the question having gone through Labour’s usual processes for receiving sign off.
But Hipkins changed tack today, saying it had become a “distraction” from the issue of the Government’s pay equity changes, which affected hundreds of thousands of women.
“I think we need to get back to that issue now, rather than the other things, in so far our quoting from a rather controversial comment yesterday meant that the Labour Party was contributing to the distractions around that. I think we will own that,” Hipkins said.
“It would have been better if we had quoted from something else, rather than from that particular column. I’ll leave it up to the newspaper itself to defend the particular column.
“I think us quoting from it contributed to a distraction that took the issue away from where it needs to be, which is the plight of low-paid women who are simply asking to be paid fairly.”
Parliamentary debate hears outrage after a columnist used the c-word in an article about the Government ministers. (Source: 1News)
‘We made a mistake’
Tinetti’s question yesterday was: “Does she agree with Andrea Vance, who said about the Equal Pay Amendment Bill, “It is a curious feminist moment, isn’t it? Six girlbosses—Willis, her hype-squad Judith Collins, Erica Stanford, Louise Upston, Nicola Grigg, and Brooke van Velden—all united in a historic act of economic backhanding other women”.”
Later, Van Velden used the C-word herself when slamming the column.
“I do not agree with the clearly gendered and patronising language that Andrea Vance used to reduce senior Cabinet ministers to girl bosses, hype squads, references to girl math and c****s,” she said in Parliament in response to Tinetti’s question.
“I actually think it’s very curious — and it’s a very curious feminist moment — when a former minister for women repeats parts of a clearly misogynistic article in this House.”
Brooke van Velden became the first MP to use the word in the House of Representatives as she quoted a Sunday Star-Times article. (Source: 1News)
Asked why Labour had shifted its position on the question’s appropriateness, Hipkins said: “This has now become a big distraction that’s taking away from what is a very fair issue.
“We made a mistake there. I think when people who are affected by this see politicians fighting with each other and making it all about themselves, as we’ve seen in the last 24 hours, I think they’ll feel somewhat despondent and dejected.
Labour MP Willie Jackson ejected as the culture clashes continue in the House. (Source: 1News)
“We should get back to talking about the issues that affect them.”
Tinetti told 1News yesterday the focus of her question to van Velden was to highlight that “women were taking pay away from women”, adding that she deliberately chose a quote from the column that was not misogynistic.
Labour has been hammering the Government over its pay equity changes in the past week, which were passed under urgency and raised the threshold to make a claim.
Managing director of Stuff Masthead Publishing, Joanna Norris, said in a statement that the column and the C-word were “carefully” considered as part of “robust” debate around the pay equity legislation. “Stuff has published a spectrum of commentary on the pay equity issue, including a reply to the column this week from the Minister of Finance.
“The issue of sex based discrimination, and the Government’s changes to pay equity legislation under urgency, have caused robust debate on all sides.
“This is not the first time our editors have allowed the use of this word — it is carefully reviewed by experienced editors and, on this occasion, it was decided it was acceptable usage in the context of this column.”
Norris said Vance, and her editor Tracy Watkins, “have received both strong support for — and criticism of — the column’s views and the manner in which they were expressed”.
