Louisa Wall, in her parliamentary office, will begin her new job on May 2. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Louisa Wall, in her parliamentary office, will begin her new job on May 2. Photo / Mark Mitchell
MP Louisa Wall is set to become an ambassador for Pacific gender equality, and will also promote LGBTQI equality when she leaves Parliament on May 1.
She will work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the new role, which will be Auckland-based.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has announced the role, saying New Zealand was committed to lifting engagement with Pacific partners on gender equality.
The role promoting LGBTQI rights will be broader than the Pacific, with 70 countries in the world still treating homosexuality as a criminal offence.
Wall, a list MP, last week announced her intention to resign after 14 years in Parliament.
She championed a marriage equality bill in Parliament which passed comfortably in 2013 after a cross-party campaign, and she has since married her partner, Prue Kapua.
"Our Pacific resilience strategy reinforces our commitment to support increased representation of women in leadership, politics and decision-making, and to support partners in achieving sustainable development goals," Mahuta said.
"New Zealand has an important part to play in supporting gender equality and the advancement of women and girls in the Pacific, and this role will be central to that."
The role would also have a key focus on identifying partnerships and new activities to support Pacific sports diplomacy.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wall's title will be Ambassador for Gender Equality (Pacific) Tuia Tangata.
"Louisa is a strong advocate for girls and women's rights and is passionate about human rights and equality," said Mahuta.
"Her extensive experience in community engagement, sports diplomacy, LGTBQI+ rights, and women's participation, make her uniquely suited as our ambassador for regional engagement on these issues."
Wall has worked effectively with other parties in Parliament but has frequently rubbed up against elements of her own party with her direct and sometimes abrasive style.
Wall had been the MP for Manurewa but in 2020 was being challenged by two people including young Māori lawyer Arena Williams, who was eventually successful.
The new job is part of the managed deselection process in which Wall withdrew from the nomination on the understanding she would get a winnable list spot and retire during the current term.
The appointment in a thematic ambassadorial role is not dissimilar to one offered by the National government of the day to former Labour MP Shame Jones.
He left Parliament in 2014 to become Pacific Economic Ambassador, based in New Zealand, before returning to Parliament in 2017 as a New Zealand First MP.
As with the Jones position, Wall's job is a political appointment advanced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs but Wall will be answerable to the secretary of Foreign Affairs, Chris Seed.
The role is linked to New Zealand's work toward the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by UN countries in 2015.
It is specifically linked SDG 5 on gender equality and women's empowerment, and SDG 10, to reduce inequality within and among countries. Women's empowerment has been a central part of New Zealand's development assistance in the Pacific in successive Governments.
Of the World Bank's latest data on the representation of women in lower houses of representatives, eight of the bottom 20 are Pacific countries.
Wall will give a valedictory speech to Parliament on April 14.
She will be replaced on Labour's list by Lemauga Lydia Sosene.
