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New Zealand’s incoming parliament will be the most inclusive in its history, with multiple people of color, members of rainbow communities and large numbers of women taking their political seats in the capital.
The Labor Party won a historic victory in the 2020 elections, setting it up to form the first majority government in the MMP era.
With about 98 percent of the votes counted, Labor appears poised to win 49 percent of the party’s votes, giving the party 64 seats in Parliament. At least half of its deputies will be women.
While a full breakdown of MPs and their identities had not yet been produced, it was shaping up to be much more diverse than previous governments, said Dr Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi, pākehā and Tarara) of the University of Auckland.
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Labor had really tried to bring in people from various backgrounds in their rankings on the list, Greaves said.
The incoming government also had the highest number of LGBT + members in history, he said. “It will be great to see a full breakdown, but it looks really promising at the moment.”
Supplied
Dr. Lara Greaves says the incoming government looks “promising” in terms of the number of women in Parliament and growing ethnic diversity.
These included candidates from the Green Party list such as LGBT + academic and activist Elizabeth Kerekere (Te Whānau a Kai, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, and Ngāti Oneone) and gay migrant of color Ricardo Menéndez March, who He will also be the New First Latin American MP from Zealand.
Labor list candidate Ibrahim Omer will be New Zealand’s first African MP and Terisa Ngobi has become the first person from Pasifika to win Ōtaki’s electorate.
Labor’s Vanushi Walters will become New Zealand’s first Sri Lankan MP after winning Auckland’s Northwest seat in Upper Harbor, previously held by retired National MP Paula Bennett. During the campaign, Walters, who is a board member of Amnesty International, said he was passionate about the electorate because of their “diverse” and “warm” communities.
MONIQUE FORD / Things
Labor MP Ibrahim Omer says he is the first African MP.
Greaves said having politicians who can bring their lived experiences to Parliament is important for creating inclusive policies.
“People look at the world through the lens of their identities and experiences,” he said. “And they can sit there and say, hopefully, at the cabinet table … be able to reflect on their experiences or think about things from a different angle, and I think that’s a good thing for policy making.”
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Elizabeth Kerekere is number nine on the Green Party’s list.
Tabby Besley, CEO of InsideOut, an organization that works with rainbow youth, said it was “amazing” to see rainbow MPs being elected. Both Labor and Greens had strong rainbow policies, he said, but added he was looking forward to seeing them put into action.
Max Tweedie, director of Auckland Pride and a supporter of the Green Party, said greater diversity in Parliament could help alleviate discrimination and promote acceptance.
“It gives me a lot that this representation means that there will be many things on the agenda that will start to happen, like banning conversion therapy,” he said.
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Labor MP Terisa Ngobi won the Ōtaki seat with a majority of 1,267 votes over National’s Tim Costley.
Tweedie, who had lost his voice in Saturday’s celebrations at the Green’s headquarters, also praised Chlöe Swarbrick’s victory in Auckland Central.
“Having a seat in the hands of National changes Green and a young queer woman who doesn’t apologize for who she is, that’s historic,” he said.
New Zealand National Council of Women President Lisa Lawrence (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Ruapani) said that having leadership roles filled with people from “all walks of life is in itself a great place to start, for the next term. of government”.
Ryan anderson
Chlöe Swarbrick has won Auckland Central’s electorate, beating her closest rival by a few hundred votes.
Greaves said that, however, it remains to be seen whether this diversity is reflected in the cabinet.
“In the Cabinet, in general, there is underrepresentation of women,” Greaves said. … it’s really important at that higher level of decision-making for people, especially from different ethnic communities and also for women, to be able to have that input in any decision and impact that policies have on groups.
“I think there’s a better chance that someone would stop and say, ‘Hey, what about women or Maori?’ “
STUFF
Labor got a big head start and never let it go when the votes came in. This is how election night unfolded.
