--- description: The Speaker said they were out of order title: Female New Zealand Lawmakers Ejected After Disclosing Sexual Assaults image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88793413ff5ec334/69887092cf40a88d69c409c3/new-zealand-john-key.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [New Zealand](/tag/new-zealand/) ## New Zealand Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Female New Zealand Lawmakers Ejected After Disclosing Sexual Assaults by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 11, 2015 6:43 PM CUT  New Zealand Prime Minister John Key delivers his 2015 State of the Nation speech to the Auckland Rotary Club at the Stamford Plaza on January 28, 2015 New Zealand Prime Minister John Key delivers his 2015 State of the Nation speech to the Auckland Rotary Club at the Stamford Plaza on January 28, 2015Phil Walte—Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 11, 2015 6:43 PM CUT Several female lawmakers were [ordered to leave](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/new-zealand-female-mps-mass-walkout-pm-rapists-comment "undefined") New Zealand’s parliament on Wednesday after revealing that they were victims of sexual assault. The women were responding to New Zealand Prime Minister John Key’s comments on Tuesday about a fight over detained New Zealanders, the _Guardian_ reports. Key had told opposition members that they were “backing the rapists” after a fight over the detention of certain New Zealanders by the government of Australia. On Wednesday, Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei told the Speaker, David Carter, that she was deeply offended by Key’s remarks. “As the victim of a sexual assault, I take personal offense at the prime minister’s comments, and ask that you require him to withdraw and apologise,” Turei said, according to the paper. A number of other MPs joined the call for an apology, referencing their personal experiences of assault. Carter said he found Prime Minister’s comments unparliamentary, NBC [reports](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/new-zealand-lawmakers-booted-over-sexual-abuse-stories-n461246 "undefined"), but said it was too late after the remarks to demand an apology. After repeated warnings, Carter ejected several lawmakers for being out of order, according to the _Guardian_. A number of MPs also walked out in solidarity. “It’s deeply disappointing that the speaker and the Prime Minister do not take the concerns of sexual survivors seriously,” one lawmaker, Judie Logie, told the [New Zealand _Herald_](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c%5Fid=1&objectid=11543744 "undefined"). “It’s completely unacceptable to trivialize the concern and experiences of so many New Zealanders in the way that has happened today.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Female New Zealand Lawmakers Ejected After Disclosing Sexual Assaults","datePublished":"2015-11-11T18:43:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:31:29.535Z","description":"The Speaker said they were 'out of order'","url":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/","keywords":["New Zealand","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88793413ff5ec334/69887092cf40a88d69c409c3/new-zealand-john-key.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt88793413ff5ec334/69887092cf40a88d69c409c3/new-zealand-john-key.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Prime Minister John Key Makes State Of The Nation Speech","caption":"Prime Minister John Key Makes State Of The Nation Speech","creditText":"Phil Walte—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-zealand/","name":"New Zealand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/","name":"Female New Zealand Lawmakers Ejected After Disclosing Sexual Assaults"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League","description":"In April, 23 Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the University mishandled sexual assault cases","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/o8izpqKu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-14T14:51:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o8izpqKu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/","duration":"PT6M50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4108508/new-zealand-ministers-sexual-assault/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```