Ministers copping the blame for deeds of predecessors

Transport Minister Simon Bridges is among those copping blame for the deeds of their predecessors. Photo / Stuart Munro

Women's Minister Louise Upston and Transport Minister Simon Bridges are among those copping blame for the deeds of their predecessors after analysis named and shamed ministers with low rates of appointing women to boards.

Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Jackie Blue released information showing the percentage of women appointments to boards in ministerial portfolios, broken down by individual ministers.

However, the analysis was based on appointments in the 2014 year and many were before the election resulted in a reshuffle of portfolios.

That means many ministers are now either benefiting from or being blamed for the deeds of their predecessors.

While Health Minister Jonathan Coleman is basking in the glory of being in the top three because of a 56 per cent women appointment rate in 2014, that was largely down to his predecessor Tony Ryall. Meanwhile Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee is languishing in the bottom three partly courtesy of Dr Coleman's time in the defence portfolio during which just under a third of those appointed to defence boards were women.

However, Mr Brownlee's own record is far from glowing - fewer than one quarter of appointments to Canterbury earthquake-related boards were women. Brownlee also left new Transport Minister Simon Bridges to take the flak for a very low 15 per cent female appointment rate in the 40 board appointments in the transport portfolio last year. A spokeswoman for Mr Bridges said since he took over transport in October last year he had made five appointments, of which three were women. In a double blow for Bridges, Michael Woodhouse is benefiting from Bridges' previous work in the Labour portfolio in which almost 60 per cent of those appointed last year were women.

Others include Women's Minister Louise Upston, who is ranked in 8th place. Although five of six people appointed to the board in the Women's Affairs portfolio in 2014 were women, just six of 19 appointments to boards in the Land Information portfolio now held by Ms Upston were women - less than a third. Ms Upston pointed out the analysis was based on 2014 appointments and she only became a minister after the September election. Since then she has not made any appointments to boards in the Land Information portfolio. The 19 appointments in question were made by her predecessors in the role - Maurice Williamson and Michael Woodhouse.

Ms Upston said the data in question should have been presented broken down into portfolio areas rather than by the names of ministers. Ms Upston said she was focussed on lifting the number of women on state sector boards. "I know I've got some challenges as the Minister for Land Information and I'll be looking very carefully at it." She said she was working with the department to lift the number of women on those boards as spaces opened up.

She said in some sectors there were a low number of women who were involved and part of her work was to try and get more women involved. She had urged all ministers to be mindful of lifting female representation.

Two ministers who inherited portfolios from self-proclaimed feminist Judith Collins were also copping blame for low rates of women appointments. In the justice portfolio just one third of 231 appointments in 2014 were women - a portfolio held by Ms Collins until she stood down at the end of August. A spokesman for Justice Minister Amy Adams said since she took over Justice after the election Ms Adams had made 52 appointments of which 29 were women - a 56 per cent rate.

ACC Minister Nikki Kaye took over as ACC Minister after the election, another portfolio held by Collins. That had a 33 per cent appointment rate for women in 2014 - of 15 appointments in 2014, five were women.