This year’s theme of equality has led us into a range of events. In February we joined Wanganui NCW to listen to actress and producer Daisy Boulton speak about the plans for an upcoming film about New Zealand suffragists and the vote. (Listen more about this in her RNZ interview on 6 February 2026.)

In April, the Palmerston North City Library invited us to be part of their Heritage Month presentations. For this, four NCW Manawatu members shared a panel session outlining women’ place in the history of egalitarianism, New Zealand government policies, the development of NCWNZ, women’s job roles and education. A lively discussion followed. We have been invited to continue presenting within the Heritage month events.

Presenters and supporters at the NCWM Heritage Month presentation. Photo courtesy of Anne McCarthy.

Whanganui had a successful lunch celebrating 130 years of NCWNZ at the end of May. We had 40 women attend, including a group from the Palmerston North branch.

Suzanne Manning accompanied by Emma, a NCWNZ intern, were our guests. Unfortunately on their way from Wellington to Whanganui, they came across a serious car accident which blocked the road and access north. This however did not deter them. They found the Otaki Library and set up their laptops there. With help from some IT savvy women at our end, we were able to see and hear Suzanne on our large screen.

178 people received honours in the King’s Birthday list. Again, as with the 2024 and 2025 King's Birthday lists, men received more awards than women: this year, 53% (95) compared with 47% (83). Another disappointing result for women who received 47% of the honours, again most noticeable in the higher awards where only 43% went to women. See the full list at https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/kings-birthday-honours-list-2026.

Manukau and Hibiscus Coast Branches are excitedly preparing to host everyone for this year’s Conference `Our Voices, Our Power, Our Future – 130 Years of National Council of Women’. We have an exciting programme for our day and a half together at the Jetpark Hotel and Conference Centre, 63 Westney Road, Auckland, 2022.

We are looking forward to seeing you on the 12th and 13th September this year to celebrate our 130th Anniversary together in person. Any questions regarding the conference, please contact Angela Dalton (President Manukau) on [email protected]

Te Kaunihera Wāhine o Aotearoa/National Council of Women of New Zealand Wellington Branch (NCWNZ) is deeply concerned by the Government funding cuts that will force the closure of RespectEd Aotearoa, a specialist sexual violence prevention organisation that has spent more than a decade delivering education and prevention programmes across Aotearoa.

RespectEd has delivered consent, healthy relationships, and violence prevention education in schools, workplaces, prisons, and community settings throughout New Zealand. Their work has focused on addressing harmful attitudes and behaviours before violence occurs, which is a much needed mahi that stops harm before it happens and prevents trauma in our communities.

On Thursday May 14th, I had the honour of attending one of three sessions moderated by the United Nations Special Rapporteur Reem Alsalem to consult on assessment, prevention and protection of violence against older women. The sessions were intended as a follow-up to the written submission process in April this year to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Violence Against Older Women, in which NCWNZ participated.

Each session was three hours, involving different participants. At the session I attended, there were a total of seventeen women from Europe, Africa, India, South America, the Middle East, Australia and two of us from Aotearoa New Zealand. We were advised of the topics ahead of time.

Ms. Reem made clear in her preamble to the session that although sessions were recorded and transcribed, these materials would not be made available to participants. We introduced ourselves, said who we represented, then dived into the first question. I spoke first, making sure to highlight that I was presenting the contributions of our members. There were some very smart people on the call, and Reem guided everyone competently and efficiently, while also being approachable and warm.

The New Zealand (NZ) Salvation Army, State of the Nation Report 2026 makes sombre reading. One statistic, unfortunately, a recurring theme, is that gender-based violence (GBV), in particular intimate partner violence (IPV) against women by men was at its highest since at least 2018. Estimates suggest nearly one in three NZ women experience forms of intimate partner violence (IPV), family violence (FV), and/or sexual violence (SV) over their lifetimes and, at the extreme, femicide (death resulting from GBV). In a shadow report to the UN (August 2024) submitted by the Coalition for the Safety of Women and Children for CEDAW examination, our high rate of GBV, is identified as a violation of women’s human rights. As such, GBV is not simply a problem of a few individual errant men, states and institutions are also liable. It is evident that much of the global point-in-time survey data on GBV, IPV and SV tends to focus on and target strategies towards the 15–49 age range. This is also the case in NZ. But what are the possible effects and manifestations of IPV on the lives of older women 50+ years of age? Using our EIAH lens, we argue that financial and economic abuse and its cumulative effect is one such manifestation of gendered abuse. This often-invisible form of abuse has significant consequences for older women 50+ in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Salom, Shalom, Nei Hou, Ni hao

The past two months have been a whirlwind of International Women’s Day activities and preparing for the end of the financial year and the annual reporting process. The operational business of focusing on what we have achieved last year is a good reflective process, particularly when it informs our future directions. The Board is continuing to consider our strategic direction and prepare for the transitions ahead.

Last Circular I talked about the organisational value of being courageous. This Circular I would like to reflect on the value that 'inclusivity is the core of our mahi'. NCWNZ has long considered ourselves to be inclusive, that is, welcoming everyone, advocating on behalf of a wide range of women. Yet it is worth examining how well we actually do this. Being inclusive means not just saying we include everyone but going out of our way to make this possible. It means educating ourselves about cultural attributes that differ from our own cultures, finding out about the impacts of different (dis)abilities, considering whether our processes (times, spaces, channels of communication etc.) present barriers to some people. In short, it means mahi – work – on that part of us who are already in NCWNZ to include those who would like to join us.

Our recent beading night brought together 44 people for a sold-out, feel-good Friday evening. With a table full of colourful beads there were endless options for creating creative jewelry.

The atmosphere quickly became lively, with people chatting, laughing, and comparing designs as they worked on their jewellery. We added a light touch with a few beading facts displayed around the room, highlighting how beadwork is used in different cultures worldwide. They were there for anyone interested, without taking away from the relaxed, social feel of the night.

NCWNZ was invited and funded to attend the Women Power Forum by the Hong Kong Federation of Women (HKFW). Suzanne Manning and Kerri Du Pont represented NCWNZ at this Forum which was held on 1-2 April 2026.

The Women Power Forum is a biennial event organized by the HKFW and the Golden Bauhinia Women Entrepreneur Association. It focused on women’s empowerment, bringing together leaders from different sectors in Hong Kong, China, and internationally for networking and sharing ideas. This was the 4th Forum, the first one being in 2019.