Why are we so excited about the women’s World Cup win? Because they are women.

These women are strong and resilient. Women who have worked with grit and determination to get to the elite sporting level they are at. Each of these women has a story. It is these women and many others who need to be protected from having their teams and opportunities taken away from them. 

Young girls and women put their lives into training and resources to enter at competition level. Their sacrifice of hours, time, money, and energy needs to be protected.

Do we want to reject the very beauty and uniqueness of what it means to be a woman, to be female?

The conversation around the rapid rise of transwomen dominating women's and girls’ sports globally is heating up.  Debate on how to support non-binary people is on many minds all the while we fiercely protect girls and women. Trans activists have been calling on international sporting bodies and federations for increased inclusion and our traditional sex-segregated sporting events are under threat. 

The attempt to ditch male and female categories in place of the more controversial and subjective non-binary identities is an area New Conservative will continue to oppose.

When recently asked ‘what is a woman?” some of our government institutions seemed confused about how to answer. In fact, in New Zealand, we do not have any Ministers in Parliament prepared to stand up and define what a woman is, including the Minister for Women.

Is this fear of not being inclusive to people who are not biologically female rational? Appeasing small groups of society at the expense of the rights of all and what is objective reality must cease. “We are women, and we are female!”.

Biological males who self-identify as female will [not] change how we categorise what a female is.

Sports Minister Grant Robertson was at the stadium and said that “the experience was unbelievable”. That is only from his being an audience participant - imagine how much more unbelievable for those females who put their lives, blood, sweat, and tears into it.  Achievements like this are not something to be snatched away from women by activists who want to pressure sporting bodies to include biological males in female sports.

Robertson said we have a “responsibility to value the exceptional athletes, recognise those women, and to keep supporting them”.  But while Government Ministers look on and praise our women in sports, they are yet to stand up and protect women’s sports.

The only responsible thing to do is to ban transwomen from women’s sports, this is how we will recognise and support women as the unique people we are. Does that mean transwomen should not compete?  No, however, if they don’t want to compete in men’s events, those claiming to be non-binary and trans can compete in their own category.

New Conservative will support all people, but those who identify as non-binary and trans should have sporting options in their category while retaining and preserving sex-based sports. 

ENDS

Helen Houghton
New Conservative co-leader