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A madness has long ripped New Zealand, a madness
spawned by a team of bruising men clad in black. Make no mistake, this is
much more than a crazed passion for sport. In the land of the long white
cloud rugby is a religion, its high priests are warriors ordained to ruck,
maul and intimidate their opponents into abject submission.
SYNC RUGBY FAN:
EVERY NEW ZEALAND KID WAS BROUGHT UP ON RUGBY. MY
DAD SAID TO ME STRAIGHT, HE SAID "RUGBY'S THE WAY".
They call this place the house of pain because of
the punishment the All Blacks meat out to their opponents here. Testosterone,
aggression and machismo bounce around this stadium. It's nothing if not a
male domain. But away from New Zealand's rugby pitches, men are not nearly so
dominant, the fact of the matter is this is a country run by women.
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A short flight from Dunedin's house of pain is
another house, and another game. In the windswept capital Wellington,
politics is a contest of choice and in the nation's parliament the captains
of the major teams, as well as many of their star players, are women.
SYNC JENNY SHIPLEY:
THIS MAN HAS MESSED UP THE DEBATE RIGHT THROUGHOUT
THE WEEK, HE MESSED IT UP, CALLED THE SPEAKER BACK, WASTED TIME AND NOW WE'VE
GOT THIS COCK-UP.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
PERHAPS IF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION HAD MORE
REGARD TO PUBLIC OPINION SHE MIGHT BE SITTING HERE AND I MIGHT BE OVER THERE.
Most nations appear to be years away from having
their first woman leader but in New Zealand, they've already had two. Labour's Helen Clark is the current prime minister and
before her opposition leader Jenny Shipley held the nation’s top job. A range
of key ministers are women, as are thirty percent of the parliament and a
host of senior bureaucrats.
The chief justice of the high court, the governor
general, the boss of the largest company In the country and a brace of city
mayors; they're all women. No other country in the world has as many women in
powerful positions and they relish it.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
SHE KNEW THAT WAS NOT TRUE, SHE KNEW, SIR, THAT THIS
LEGISLATION PRESERVES THE RIGHT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL WORKER TO NEGOTIATE THEIR
OWN CONTRACT AND THAT IS A COURT ORDER BILL.
SYNC JENNY SHIPLEY:
THIS OPPOSITION HAS TAKEN THIS GOVERNMENT TO THE
WIRE, THEY ARE FURIOUS THAT THEY ARE STILL HERE ON SATURDAY NIGHT. WE MUCKED
UP THEIR PARTY PLANS, WE MUCKED UP THEIR TRAVEL PLANS, AND WE MUCKED UP THEIR
FAMILY PLANS.
Today the country's first woman attorney, Margaret
Wilson, has had a big win, pushing through a major bill on labour market
reform.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
NO DOOR IS CLOSED TO WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY, WOMEN
HAVE GOT TO BE PRIME MINISTER, THEY'VE BEEN APPOINTED AS GOVERNOR GENERAL,
THEY'VE GOT TO THE TOP OF THE JUDICINAL SYSTEM, THEY'RE RUNNING THE BIGGEST
COMPANY, THEY'VE HEADED MOST OTHER PROFESSIONS NOW. YOU CAN DO IT, YOU CAN
REALISE YOUR DREAMS.
So, what Is it about New Zealand that has enabled so
many women to rise to the top? Who better to ask than the head of state,
another woman, Dame Sylvia Cartwright.
SYNC DAME SYLVIA CARTWRIGHT:
ALL OF THE WOMEN THAT YOU HAVE MENTIONED HAVE GOT
THERE TOTALLY ON MERIT. THE TWO WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN PRIME MINISTERS, THEY
WERE VOTED IN. IT'S NOT AS IF ANYONE SAID "OH, WE BETTER HAVE A WOMAN
AND PUT THEM IN THAT POSITION". OUR CHIEF JUSTICE IS ONE OF OUR BEST, IF
NOT ONE OF OUR BETTER, LEGAL BRAINS IN THE COUNTRY, THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT
THAT AND SO THESE ARE WOMEN WHO HAVE ACHIEVED OUT OF SHEER COMPETENCE, THEY
ARE HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE MANY OF THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
YOU DON'T WANT THE WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT TO GET UPSET
WITH YOU, TOM.
SYNC TOM SCOTT:
WELL, HER NOSE IS NOT THAT BIG BUT YOU HAVE TO
EXAGGERATE SOMETHING.
In his home overlooking Wellington, cartoonist Tom
Scott is typically irreverent about politicians but thinks there is something
in the national psyche that has led to so many women taking to the public
stage.
SYNC TOM SCOTT:
WE'RE EARLY ADOPTERS OF CERTAIN TRENDS, WE'RE THE
FIRST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD TO GIVE WOMEN THE VOTE, I SAID IT WAS A MISTAKE AT
THE TIME BUT NOONE LISTENED. WHEN NEW ZEALAND DECIDED TO BECOME ANTI-NUCLEAR,
WE BECAME PASSIONATELY ANTI-NUCLEAR, WHEN WE DECIDE WOMEN SHOULD START HAVING
A SAY IN ANYTHING, BANG, THEY ARE RUNNING THE SHOW. I CAN'T THINK OF ANY
SINGLE HIGH JOB NOW THAT WOMEN AREN'T RUNNING.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
WHAT IMPACT HAS IT HAD ON POLITICS IN THIS COUNTRY?
SYNC TOM SCOTT:
OH, IT'S BEEN DEVASTATING, IT'S HAD A DREADFUL
EFFECT ON NEW ZEALAND'S POLITICS. FOR A START, THEY'RE ALL HARD WORKING,
THEY'RE ALL SOBER, THEY'RE ALL INTELLIGENT AND IT'S BEEN WRECKED, IT'S A FAR
MORE SENSIBLE, HARD WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND I'M REALLY DISTRESSED.
Away from the corridors of power in the country's
economic backwaters, life takes on a much harder edge. Violence, unemployment
and drug abuse, especially amongst young Maori men, Is on the rise. Its women
and children who suffer because of it.
Mary Tate runs New Zealand's largest women refuge
and is now running for mayor of Wellington.
SYNC MARY TATE (SPEAKING PUBLICLY):
BUT IT IS NOT SOLELY A MAORI PROBLEM, ALL WOMEN AND
CHILDREN OF THIS COUNTRY MUST BE ABLE TO LIVE IN VIOLENCE FREE HOMES AND
VIOLENCE FREE COMMUNITIES.
A tireless campaigner, this evening she's taking her
message to the streets.
SYNC MARY TATE (SPEAKING PUBLICLY):
AND UNTIL WE PUT ARE WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST, WE
PUT AT RISK THE FUTURE OF OUR RACE.
While her plain speaking has made her enemies, Mary
is adamant New Zealand men have let women down badly on Issues like domestic
violence.
SYNC MARY TATE:
WOMEN WHO ARE IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THIS
COUNTRY DO TEND TO SPEAK OUT ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES, I'D LIKE TO SEE THE MEN OF
NEW ZEALAND SPEAKING OUT IN A FAR MORE FORTHRIGHT WAY. SO I'M SAYING, I'M
LOOKING TO THE MEN FOR SOME LEADERSHIP NOW.
New Zealand women aren't doing nearly as well both
when it comes to wages parity and this Is an issue which effects even those
at the very top.
Take the legal profession were Dame Sylvia made her
mark, women still earn twenty five percent less than their male counterparts
and still struggle with the conflicting demands of career and parenting.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A SUPERWOMAN? CAN YOU HAVE
IT ALL?
SYNC DAME SYLVIA:
IT WAS SUGGESTED TO ME RECENTLY THAT YOU CAN HAVE A
HUSBAND, AND A CAREER AND CHILDREN, BUT YOU CAN ONLY SUCCEED AT TWO OF THOSE
AND THAT HAS A CERTAIN RING OF TRUTH TO IT, I DON'T HAVE CHILDREN. BUT NO,
THAT WAS A SACRIFICE NOT A CHOICE.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
I NEVER DECIDED TO HAVE CHILDREN, THAT'S THE
CRITICAL THING. I DIDN'T DECIDE NOT TO, I JUST NEVER CAME TO THAT POINT OF
DECISION, I'VE ACTUALLY HAD A GREAT LIFE DOING THE THINGS I'M DOING AND
CHILDREN WOULDN'T HAVE FITTED INTO THAT.
And just to dispel any remaining notions that New
Zealand is an oasis of gender harmony, a raging controversy reared Its head
this year which threatened to reignite the battle of the sexes.
SYNC WOMAN:
WEARING MY CHRISTINE RANKIN EARRINGS AND MY SHORT
SKIRT.
SYNC WOMAN:
QUITE A FEW PEOPLE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE LENGTH OF
MY SKIRT AND THAT IT'S SHORTER THAN CHRISTINE'S.
SYNC WOMAN:
ALL I'M DOING IS SUPPORTING MY RIGHT TO WEAR WHAT I
LIKE.
The Christine Rankin controversy polarized New
Zealand, former head of the department of work and income, Miss Rankin didn't
have her contract renewed, the government claimed this was because of her
performance. Miss Rankin claimed it was blatant sexism, that she was sacked
because of the way she dressed. The media had a field day.
SYNC NEWS REPORTER:
IT WAS THE TURN OF THE THREE MEN MISS RANKIN CLAIMED
WERE THE MOST CRITICAL TO HER DEMISE TO HAVE THEIR SAY IN COURT.
SYNC MAN:
I WAS OUTRAGED BY HAVING SOMEONE SIT INFRONT OF ME
DISPLAYING AS MUCH AS SHE WAS DISPLAYING AND I FOUND IT OFFENSIVE.
SYNC JUDGE:
DO YOU STILL FIND IT OFFENSIVE TODAY? BECAUSEE SHE'S
WEARING THE SAME DRESS TODAY.
SYNC MAN:
SHE'S NOT, SHE'S NOT,
SYNC JUDGE:
SHE INSTRUCTS ME THAT SHE IS, DO YOU THINK YOU'VE
GOT A BIT OF A MEMORY LAPSE THERE?
SYNC MAN:
WELL I'LL HAVE TO TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT.
SYNC JUDGE:
DOES THAT MEAN YOUR STANDARDS HAVE CHANGED?
SYNC MAN:
NO, IT MEANS THE ANGLE I'M LOOKING AT HERE IS
DIFFERENT. I WAS SITTING TO HER SIDE AND EVERYTIME SHE MOVED I FOUND THAT I
WAS HAVING TO SEE AN EMBARRASSINGLY LARGE AMOUNT OF BREAST EXPOSED. I DIDN'T
LIKE IT.
SYNC NEWS REPORTER:
CROSS EXAMINATION SAW MANY OF CHRISTINE RANKIN'S
CLAIMS ANSWERED.
SYNC CHRISTINE RANKIN:
MY HANDWRITTEN NOTES OF THIS MEETING RECORD HIM OF
HAVING SAID FUCK AT LEAST FOUR TIMES, IN ADDITION HE REFERRED TO NUMEROUS
PEOPLE AS PRICKS.
SYNC MAN:
I MAY WELL HAVE SWORN BUT LET ME BE ALSO EQUALLY
CLEAR, IT IS NOT MY PRACTICE TO SWEAR IN PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS, IT WOULD BE
THE ABSOLUTE EXCEPTION AND NOT THE RULE.
SYNC CHRISTINE RANKIN:
AND THAT MY EARRINGS AND TERMS OF THE DARWIN THEORY
AND THE NAKED APE WERE A SEXUAL COME ON.
SYNC MAN:
NO, IT'S COMPLETE NONSENSE. I DID SAY THAT I HAD A
RECOLLECTION THAT DESMOND MORRIS SEEMED TO THINK THAT EARS AND EARRINGS MIGHT
HAVE SOME SEXUAL CONNOTATION.
SYNC CHRISTINE RANKIN:
AND HE WENT ON TO EXPLAIN THE REASONS IT WOULD BE
PLATONIC, BECAUSE HE TOLD ME, ACTUALLY, THAT HE WAS CELIBATE.
SYNC MAN:
I WAS RATHER BEWILDERED AND SUBSIQUENTLY DISTRESSED
AT SOME OF THE REPORTING ABOUT THAT, WHICH IS A CONSIDERABLE
MISREPRESENTATION OF THE SITUATION.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
MISS RANKIN SET OUT TO MAKE IT A GENDER ISSUE, IT
WAS NEVER THAT, HOW IT COULD BE WITH THE WAY NEW ZEALAND IS RUN. IT WAS AN
ISSUE ABOUT PERFORMANCE AND COMPETENCE WHICH SHE ENDEAVOURED TO TURN INTO ONE
ABOUT CLOTHES AND STYLE, THE JUDGE SWEPT ALL THAT ASIDE AND JUDGED IT ON THE
PERFORMANCE ISSUE.
SYNC JENNY SHIPLEY:
IT HAS DENTED THE CONFIDENCE OF SENIOR WOMEN IN THE
PUBLIC SECTOR AND IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, IT'S ALSO BEEN VERY INTERESTING WITH
YOUNGER WOMEN, THEY'RE QUITE PERPLEXED ABOUT HOW SOME OF THESE MALES WHO HAD
TO GIVE EVIDENCE ON THIS CASE COULD HARBOUR SUCH OPINIONS.
In the end, the judge ruled that the government was
within its rights not to renew Miss Rankin's contract. But what about the
government’s own performance? Has having so many women in powerful positions
made a difference on the political and economic fronts?
SYNC TOM SCOTT:
THE GOOD NEWS IS, THEY'RE MAKING ALMOST AS MANY MISTAKES
AS WE USED TO BUT THEY DON'T GO ON THE TURPS AS MUCH SO THEY'RE NOT AS MUCH
FUN TO COVER IN POLITICS.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
AND MEN DON'T FEEL BELITTLED AT ALL THAT THEY'VE
BEEN SHUNTED TO ONE SIDE? WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THE MALE EGO?
SYNC TOM SCOTT:
WELL SOME OF THEM MIGHT DO. WELL IF SOMEONE CAN DRAW
A PARALLEL, WE HAVEN'T WON AS MANY RUGBY TESTS SINCE WOMEN TOOK OVER.
Men's rugby tests that Is. Given their impressive
achievements in public life, it comes as no surprise to discover that even in
the country's last bastion of male supremacy, women are also making Inroads.
Women's rugby in New Zealand is going from strength to strength and unlike
the faltering all blacks, the black ferns are reigning world champions.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
RUGBY'S GOTTA BE ONE OF THE MOST MALE DOMINATED
SPORTS, WHAT'S THE ATTRACTION FOR WOMEN OF PLAYING RUGBY?
SYNC FEMALE RUGBY PLAYER:
OH I DON'T KNOW, I THINK IT'S THE PHYSICAL NATURE OF
THE GAME YOU KNOW, I THINK A FEW WOMEN IN OUR TEAM LIKE TO GO OUT THERE AND
GIVE IT A GOOD BASH.
SYNC INTERVIEWER:
YOU'RE A BETTER SIDE THAN THE MEN'S SIDE AT THE
MOMENT.
SYNC FEMALE RUGBY PLAYER:
OH NO, I THINK IT GOES WITH THE TRADITION OF WOMEN'S
RUGBY, YOU KNOW, WOMEN'S NEW ZEALAND RUGBY SET A HIGH STANDARD, THE BLACK
JERSEY MEANS EVERYTHING AND PERHAPS MAYBE THE ALL BLACKS HAVEN'T REALLY GOT
THAT PRIDE IN THE BLACK JERSEY AT THE MOMENT, I DON'T KNOW.
Helen Clark may need a males helping hand with her
baton work but when it comes to running the country, she's still the maestro
and even If she should fall at the poles, waiting in the wings Is the next
generation of women.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
YES, WE'RE ON A ROLL HERE AND I THINK THE GREAT
THING IS THAT YOUNGER WOMEN CAN SEE THAT THEY CAN ASPIRE TO ANYTHING THEY
WANT TO DO. I REMEMBER BACK IN THE SEVENTIES THERE USED TO BE POSTERS THAT
SAID GIRLS CAN DO ANYTHING BUT IN A WAY IT WASN'T QUITE REAL. BUT NOW IT IS
REAL.
SYNC HELEN CLARK:
OK, THANKS EVERYONE, GOOD LUCK.
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