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Story: Women’s labour organisations

Opposition to the charter

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Opposition to the charter

Once the Federation of Labour and the Labour Party had adopted the Working Women’s Charter’s provisions as policy in 1980 opposition was very active. The anti-abortion lobby and traditional churches led a campaign that included the claim that the charter was a communist document. This pamphlet was produced by a group calling itself ‘The Tortoises’, who believed the family was threatened by ‘inherently totalitarian forces’.

Using this item

Auckland Council Libraries − Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau, Sir George Grey Special Collections

Reference: Eph.WomensIssues1983

Permission of Auckland City Libraries Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Megan Cook, Women’s labour organisations – Women and unions, 1970s–2020s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/26393/opposition-to-the-charter (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Megan Cook, published 22 March 2011.