Sue Wood became National’s first woman president in 1982. Photo / Michael Craig
Former National Party president Sue Wood has described the Government’s retrospective repeal of pay equity claims as an affront to democracy, calling it a “dastardly deed done in the dead of night”.
Wood became National’s first female president when she was elected to the role in 1982.
Two years later, she was at Sir Robert Muldoon’s side when he called a snap election, slurring his words at an infamous late-night media conference at Parliament.
During her time on the executive, Wood fought for legislation on equal pay and the fair division of matrimonial property. Now, she says she no longer recognises the party to which she dedicated so much of her life.
“Any signs of arrogance that you know best and you’re not listening to people is not good,” she told the Weekend Herald.
“I felt very comfortable [in National] because it was such a broad church. There was room for all opinions and respect across the divide. I think I’d be quite uncomfortable now.”
The Pay Equity Amendment Bill was rushed through under urgency in May, in a move Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said could save billions of dollars.
Thirty-three current claims, representing thousands of workers, will be dropped, and applications must be made to start them again.
Wood criticised the Government for a lack of consultation and clear communication about why such a drastic course of action was justified.
“Retrospective legislation is always chilling,” she said.
“I have real sympathy for the parlous economic state that the country’s in and how tough it is to govern right now, but I was both shocked and hugely disappointed in the way it was managed.
“You’ve got to be really careful that you take people with you when you’re making big, tough decisions. I was very hurt by the fact that the Treaty Principles Bill even got into Parliament, for the same reason.”
Wood, a former teenage national swimming champion and Onehunga High School head girl, was a feminist and social liberal in her early 30s when she was elected as president of the National Party, despite opposition from the more conservative old guard.
Initially, Muldoon welcomed her as a fresh voice, and the pair worked closely together. However, his decision to go behind her back with an early election call backfired on them both.
Wood, who had strongly advised against any premature move, was left with one month to run an election campaign at a time when National was short of funds and riven by internal divisions.
Muldoon then turned on her savagely when Labour swept into power. He was later rolled from the leadership by Jim McLay.
Despite facing concerted attacks, including a protracted defamation case that was eventually dropped, Wood stayed on as president for a further two years, stepping down in 1986 on the National Party’s 50th anniversary.
Now living on Waiheke Island, the 76-year-old has begun writing her memoir of a colourful life that put her on an international stage.
A longtime critic of MMP and the influence it has given to minor parties, she believes the current political structure has also undermined access to a genuine voice in Parliament.
“I’m not sure the extent to which members of political parties, certainly the major parties, are listened to now in the same way.
“The power is centralised around the respective caucuses and the machines that are funded to support them.
“MMP was the worst they could have chosen. I’m not saying go back to first past the post, at all, but it’s not serving us well. I don’t believe political parties should have that power over representation.
“I’m affronted that half the members of Parliament now are not accountable to real people and real electorates. That is not how democracy is meant to work.”
‘It was a snake pit’ - read the full feature interview with Sue Wood in the Weekend Herald.