Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the last Circular for the year! I’d like to take the opportunity to thank Randolph for her continued dedication to bringing you the NCWNZ news and views every two months. It is always a pleasure for me to read about the happenings in our organisation, and I trust you find it equally enjoyable.

The Circular is one way we tell our stories to the world. The AGM and the NCWNZ Annual Report is another - thank you to all those who attended and who voted at the AGM. The amended Constitution that you passed will be uploaded with our Incorporated Society re-registration in the new year, so your participation in the AGM was essential.

The NCWNZ Hutt Valley Branch mourns the passing of Myra Harpham (8 May 1931 – 15 August 2025).

Myra joined the Hutt Valley Branch in the mid 1970s as the representative for the then Federation of University Women Hutt Valley, later becoming an Associate. Myra was awarded a Distinguished Service Award 2012.

The Wellington Speaking Union organises the Senior Premier A Grade, the top debating grade within the Intercollegiate debating competition. The winning school receives the John F Henning Cup, donated in 1961 by the then United States Ambassador to New Zealand. The best speaker in the Grand Final is presented with the Suffrage Cup, donated by the Hutt Valley branch of the National Council of Women of New Zealand.

This year the students debated the following moot: This House believes that social and political movement should utilise religious rhetoric in forwarding their cause (eg using religious texts, seeking support from religious leaders, etc.). This year’s finalists were Wellington College (affirming) and Scots College (negating).

Scots College debate team

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterresis indicated recently that the UN could end 2025 with a deficit of more than US$450 million, even after reducing the spending by nearly US$600 million. The United Nations is facing a liquidity issue as Member States are delaying or not paying their assessed contributions on time, particularly since 2024. This funding shortage impacts the UN's ability to operate effectively, as its budget relies on member contributions to cover expenses. These funding cuts threaten women's rights around the world -- not just by threatening access to women's humanitarian organisations but also choking off women's voices in humanitarian planning and policy decisions.

Since 1981 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has provided reporting procedures that clarify the activities of signatory nations relating to women's rights. New Zealand became a signatory in accepting CEDAW in 1985, committing to the principles laid out. In 2000 New Zealand also ratified the CEDAW Optional Protocols which allow individuals and groups to complain to the Committee about violations of the CEDAW and allows the Committee to investigate those abuses of women's rights. The Manatū Wāhine NZ Ministry for Women is responsible for administering the nation's official CEDAW reports and its Optional Protocol.

The liquidity situation has caused some CEDAW sessions to be cancelled, postponed, or changed to being online. For example, the Cook Islands were listed to report to the 93rd session from 22 Jun 2026 to 10 Jul 2026, but their slot is uncertain and is yet “to be confirmed”. The 94th session 27 Oct 2025 to 31 Oct 2025 where the Pre-Sessional Working Group (PSWG) was to develop the List of Issues Prior to Reporting was replaced by online informal meetings. Vaine Wichman, the President of the Cook Islands National Council of Women, presented their UN shadow report online (see their Facebook video here).

NCWNZ representatives were warmly invited by City Gallery Wellington Te Whare Toi to attend the launch of the inaugural Women’s Art Fund at Oriental Bay in Wellington. We are grateful to Liz and Robert of Foggy Valley Aotearoa Trust for hosting this special event and welcoming us into a space filled with enthusiasm for creativity, equity, and cultural leadership.

During the evening, we had the opportunity to hear from the inspiring women behind the Women’s Art Fund and their project and vision. The fund aims to provide vital financial support for the creation of new works by women artists and designers, and to address gender inequities in the arts, including the underrepresentation of women in solo exhibitions, gallery representation, and public commissions.

Speakers shared alarming statistics that highlighted the urgency of this initiative: although 70% of fine arts students in Aotearoa are women, only 37% of artists represented by dealers and 40% of solo exhibitions in public galleries feature women. A striking example illustrated this imbalance: in a fine arts class of 22 women and eight men, only four of the “successful” artists are likely to be female, giving men a 75% chance of success compared to just 18% for women. Men also have 30% more opportunities to exhibit in public galleries.

The Whanganui branch of National Council of Women of New Zealand held their annual Wynne Costley Research Essay Scholarship evening recently. Year 10 students from Nga Tawa were welcomed this year, joining students from Whanganui High and Whanganui Collegiate, the two schools which have regularly supported the scholarship since its inception.

This article is the second in a series of articles for The Circular by the members of the NCWNZ International Action Hub. The series highlights the many different international treaties to which New Zealand is a signatory and how this impacts women and girls.

One of the founding member organisations of the National Council of Women of New Zealand, the Women's Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand (WCTU NZ) led a campaign to contribute to an international initiative, "The Polyglot Petition for Home Protection." The 4,000+ signatories of women from New Zealand would have seen themselves as part of a global effort to convince heads of state to work together to address the scourge of violence resulting from the state support for and individual use of alcohol and drugs.

This world-wide campaign of the Polyglot Petition was the first global proclamation against the international trade in alcohol and drugs. The petition was initiated by the World Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1885, and its American president Frances Willard penned the petition to be submitted to national leaders. The destructive effects of the highly addictive version of opium used in the drug trade had funded and maintained several European empires through the nineteenth century. The Polyglot Petition was the first international campaign to raise awareness about the controls needed for opium and its derivatives as well as for the liquor trade.

Interacting with younger persons evokes feelings of amazement at their enterprise, wonder at their ability to absorb new ideas and pride in their achievements while working in challenging situations. NCWNZ Southland Branch has four activities which allow members to revel in these feelings while celebrating the value these young people bring to members’ lives.

Southland Social Science Fair

In the first instance the branch sponsors two prizes in the Southland Social Science Fair. It is open to students from year 5 to year 13, to create exhibits about a wide range of themes. From amongst this year’s 300+ presentations NCW judges had to find ones that featured women’s issues. 

This year’s winner was Yr 9 Tatum Wessel whose topic was Women in NZ Police. The presentation and research involved was outstanding. Tatum was the guest speaker at the Branch’s July meeting.

This is the fourth of a series of articles focusing on the NCWNZ Past Presidents Oral History Project with interviews by Carol Dawber in 2016. See the introductory article in The Circular at "NCWNZ Past Presidents oral history interviews from 2016" (August 2024).

Elizabeth Margaret Bang (née Ewart) was born in Palmerston North in 1942, growing up in a family where thrift, hard work and service were values carried through generations. Her father, Richard, was a Marlborough stock and station agent; her mother, Cora, had hoped to be a teacher but instead became an office typist. Those early experiences of economic constraint and community-mindedness shaped Elizabeth’s lifelong sense that care and fairness must guide public service.

After schooling in Waipukurau, Feilding and Palmerston North, she trained as a registered nurse in general and obstetrics and became a ward sister by her early twenties. She later moved south to Dunedin, combining nursing with study towards a Certificate in Social Work at the University of Otago and later a Diploma in Health Administration at Massey University. Her work in orthopaedics opened her eyes to the emotional toll of illness on families. “You could fix a bone,” she reflected, “but you couldn’t always fix what happened to people’s lives when someone was in hospital.” That understanding of both clinical and human dimensions would define her approach to leadership.

In 1966 she married Bryan Bang, then a geography student whose career would later span urban planning and law alongside his PhD. The couple made an early pact that one parent would always be home with their daughters, Catherine and Helen. Elizabeth worked evening nursing shifts while Bryan studied and read bedtime stories. “It was unusual then,” she said, “but it worked for us.” Their partnership, grounded in shared purpose, reflected the social changes taking place for women in 1970s New Zealand.

Southland Branch celebrated Suffrage Day in two parts this year.

The first was our traditional breakfast on 19 September at the Ascot Park Hotel where more than fifty persons mixed, mingled and chatted. They included students from local secondary schools who always respond very positively to the occasion. This year we especially welcomed Josh, Josh and Tom from Southland Boy’s High School, a first for that school. When asked, they said they enjoyed the breakfast, and the speakers and, yes, they would appreciate an invitation again next year. So that will happen.

Our guest speaker was Hannah Pascoe, a local blind athlete, who was accompanied by her cousin Kara Roderique-Wandless and friend and mentor Andrew Morton. The presentation format was Andrew interviewing Hannah and Kara, a process that worked very well. As the introduction said, ”We have a special guest today, Hannah Pascoe. Hannah will share her story of reality, courage, resilience, and success. Hannah is accompanied today by her cousin Kara and friend Andrew who will help with her story telling.”