In 1990 National Party politician Ruth Richardson became minister of finance and her colleague Jenny Shipley became minister of social welfare and of women’s affairs. The following year the government announced cuts to benefits and a tightening of eligibility for financial assistance.
As this 1991 cartoon suggests, reaction from many women was furious. They argued that the cuts hurt the most vulnerable women and children. Shipley went on to become New Zealand's first woman prime minister in 1997.
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Garrick Tremain
Cartoon by Garrick Tremain
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