New Zealand Labour Party parliamentary caucus now and then
Seeing new New Zealand Labour Party MPs posting their photos of the new parliamentary caucus on Facebook prompts me to post this photo taken on the steps of New Zealand Parliament of the New Zealand Council and headquarters staff of the NZLP. As David Lange is in the photo as Deputy Leader of the Party, the date would be somewhere between November 1979 and February 1983.
The photo shows Bill Rowling, the Leader at the time, and Jim Anderton, the Party President. Those familiar with the period will recognise many faces, including former MPs Stan Rodger, Jack Elder, Bill Jeffries, Pete Hodgson, Reg Boorman, and Aubrey Begg, and former NZLP President Mike Williams.
Looked at in a 21st Century context, the lack of diversity is striking. There were three women on the Council in the photo: Marianne Shaughnessy from Christchurch, Paula Clark, and me. There was no Maori Vice-President, nor were there Vice-Presidents from other sectors of the Party. There were only a senior and a junior vice-president. The three other women in the photo include Pam Nuttall who was the women’s officer, and Joan Sim, a long time staffer at the Party’s Head Office.