Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Election 2022: Bay of Plenty 'well below' national average for female representation

Kiri Gillespie
By Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Rotorua Daily Post·
7 Sep, 2022 08:00 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Woman are the minority running in this region's local elections this year. Photo / NZME

Woman are the minority running in this region's local elections this year. Photo / NZME

A minority of candidates standing in the Bay of Plenty regional, Rotorua, and Western Bay of Plenty council elections are women, prompting "significant concern" among some of those running.

In 2019, women made up 42 per cent of elected members in local government. Yet, the number of women standing in the Tauranga constituency for the regional council in this year's elections makes up just 11.7 per cent.

Seasoned regional councillor Paula Thompson and newcomer Kat MacMillan are the only women running, out of 17 candidates. There are just five seats for that constituency.

The trend is reflected, though not as starkly, in Rotorua and the Western Bay of Plenty.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In Rotorua, three of the seven candidates standing for the district's mayoralty are women, and in the general constituency, women make up eight of its 19 candidates.

Of the eight candidates running for the Western Bay mayoralty, Suaree Borell is the only woman. She is also one of 10 women out of 35 Western Bay candidates. There were also 18 women out of 40 candidates running for the district's community boards.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council candidates Paula Thompson and Kat McMillan are the only two women out of 17 candidates running for a Tauranga seat. Photos / NZME, Mead Norton
Bay of Plenty Regional Council candidates Paula Thompson and Kat McMillan are the only two women out of 17 candidates running for a Tauranga seat. Photos / NZME, Mead Norton

The Western Bay's Te Puke Community Board was the only constituency of all councils in which there were more women than then men running for a seat. Tauranga City was not having elections this year.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick, who is not seeking re-election, said taking part in local government could be a juggling act for many women between parenting, work and personal life.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"And there are other considerations - they see the impact of social media, the swipes, the hatred and misinformation. Being brave doesn't always cut it. Unfortunately, it can activate the bullies."

Chadwick said women viewed things "in [their] own way, through a different lens that adds diversity to a governance team".

Discover more

Comment: Why New Zealand should study wiping student loans

29 Aug 09:00 PM

Tánczos asks supporters to stop tagging opposition election signs

30 Aug 08:53 PM

'Ridiculous': Cost of Rotorua reserves proposal to date revealed

02 Sep 01:43 AM
New Zealand

Rotorua's miserable motel mile - PM in 'complete denial' of housing failure - National

05 Sep 02:10 AM

Thompson said the lack of women running in the elections was of "significant concern".

"Councils should reflect their communities, and we are talking, of course, of the need for diversity. We haven't quite got the recipe quite right in terms of attracting women to stand for local government - obviously for regional council in particular."

MacMillan said the only way to create more diversity in local government was by standing, but there was a perception local government was a tough place, particularly for a woman.

"When you look at it, it doesn't look that diverse. Our community doesn't look equally representative in the candidates," she said.

Minister for Women Jan Tinetti. Photo / NZME
Minister for Women Jan Tinetti. Photo / NZME

"I think there are plenty of female politicians and some diversity in central government, but when I look at local government trends, it looks like we are not there yet."

MacMillan said the best person for the job should ultimately get it, regardless of gender.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Politics is politics. It isn't an easy job, that's what I'm learning. But at the same time, we need to put best practice in place and make it hard because it's a hard job, not because it's hostile."

In May, Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta confirmed concerns for women considering local politics when she made it possible for candidates to use other contact means instead of a physical address on campaign material.

"I have heard growing concerns that candidates who publicise their home addresses may face undue risk to their physical safety, particularly for women and visible minorities, and that this is likely to discourage democratic participation," said Mahuta.

Minister for Women Jan Tinetti said communities "could benefit from investigating what barriers women in the region face to being elected on councils and developing means to address them".

Asked how communities could balance a push for greater female representation while ensuring each candidate was fairly selected regardless of gender, Tinetti responded: "You can't be what you can't see".

"If we ensure our leadership better reflects the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, a greater range of New Zealanders will believe they can be part of that leadership," she said.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says sometimes being brave as a woman in local politics doesn't always cut it. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says sometimes being brave as a woman in local politics doesn't always cut it. Photo / Andrew Warner

"As a society, we must promote confidence in employing capable and empowered women and setting the tone for an inclusive and safe workplace."

Earlier this year, Local Government New Zealand, in collaboration with Taituarā (Local Government Professionals Aotearoa) and the Department of Internal Affairs, established a Vote 2022 campaign to encourage people from different sectors of society to consider running in the election.

LGNZ president Stuart Crosby, who is seeking re-election on the regional council, said the campaign was now focused on getting people involved in researching candidates and voting.

"There's a thing in governance called 'group think'. If you have people from the same background, they all tend to think the same way. You need a range of views to test and challenge a particular policy. It's important," Crosby said.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

16 Jun 07:30 AM
Premium
Opinion

Why Rotorua's First XV victory over Hamilton is one for the ages

16 Jun 05:01 AM
Rotorua Daily Post

'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

16 Jun 01:59 AM

How one volunteer makes people feel seen

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

Tribesmen's alleged 'hotbox' murder after gang member's unauthorised online shopping

16 Jun 07:30 AM

Mark Hohua, known as Shark, was allegedly beaten to death by fellow gang members in 2022.

Premium
Why Rotorua's First XV victory over Hamilton is one for the ages

Why Rotorua's First XV victory over Hamilton is one for the ages

16 Jun 05:01 AM
'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

'Do what's right': Shaken witness' call after hit-and-run

16 Jun 01:59 AM
BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

BoP dairy targeted by armed robbers

16 Jun 01:00 AM
Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka
sponsored

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP