Face of the Day

Nicola Willis says Brooke van Velden ‘felt the outrage many women in parliament felt this week’ when she dropped the c-bomb in the House.

Nicola Willis, who just made a social investment pre-budget announcement in Auckland, was also asked about Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden using the slur “c...s” in the House.

She said she doesn’t think the slur should’ve been used against ministers in the first place, in a newspaper column. “I think Brooke van Velden felt the outrage that many women in the parliament felt this week when that word is used a term of abuse for women, no matter what side of politics you are on, we should say it is not ok.”

She said she was “dismayed” the opposition brought the column into the House in the first place, when it used a different quote as part of a line of questioning towards van Velden. 

“I would like to be idealistic and think some things are bigger than that politics and am disappointed more people didn’t speak out about the use of that language in that column.”

Stuff