National released its party list yesterday. And as expected, it is full of dead white males:
| 2017 Rank | Name | 2014 Rank | Difference |
| 1 | Bill English | 2 | +1 |
| 2 | Paula Bennett | 9 | +7 |
| 3 | David Carter | 3 | - |
| 4 | Steven Joyce | 5 | +1 |
| 5 | Gerry Brownlee | 4 | -1 |
| 6 | Simon Bridges | 18 | +12 |
| 7 | Amy Adams | 15 | +8 |
| 8 | Jonathan Coleman | 10 | +2 |
| 9 | Chris Finlayson | 8 | -1 |
| 10 | Michael Woodhouse | 20 | +10 |
| 11 | Anne Tolley | 12 | +1 |
| 12 | Nathan Guy | 16 | +4 |
| 13 | Nikki Kaye | 19 | +6 |
| 14 | Todd McClay | 23 | +9 |
| 15 | Nick Smith | 13 | -2 |
| 16 | Judith Collins | 6 | -10 |
| 17 | Maggie Barry | 40 | +23 |
| 18 | Paul Goldsmith | 30 | +12 |
| 19 | Louise Upston | 27 | +8 |
| 20 | Alfred Ngaro | 34 | +14 |
| 21 | Mark Mitchell | 42 | +21 |
| 22 | Nicky Wagner | 25 | +3 |
| 23 | Jacqui Dean | 36 | +13 |
| 24 | David Bennett | 37 | +13 |
| 25 | Tim Macindoe | 28 | +3 |
| 26 | Scott Simpson | 45 | +19 |
| 27 | Jami-Lee Ross | 29 | +2 |
| 28 | Barabara Kuriger | 58 | +30 |
| 29 | Matt Doocey | 56 | +27 |
| 30 | Brett Hudson | 39 | +9 |
| 31 | Melissa Lee | 31 | - |
| 32 | Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi | 32 | - |
| 33 | Jian Yang | 33 | - |
| 34 | Parmjeet Parmar | 48 | +14 |
| 35 | Jonathan Young | 38 | +3 |
| 36 | Joanne Hayes | 47 | +11 |
| 37 | Ian McKelvie | 41 | +4 |
| 38 | Simon O'Connor | 43 | +5 |
| 39 | Andrew Bayly | 55 | +16 |
| 40 | Chris Bishop | 49 | +9 |
| 41 | Sarah Dowie | 57 | +16 |
| 42 | Nuk Korako | 50 | +13 |
| 43 | Todd Muller | 59 | +16 |
| 44 | Maureen Pugh | 52 | +8 |
| 45 | Shane Reti | 60 | +15 |
| 46 | Alastair Scott | 61 | +15 |
| 47 | Stuart Smith | 62 | +15 |
| 48 | Nicola Willis | -- | - |
| 49 | Agnes Loheni | -- | - |
| 50 | Paulo Garcia | -- | - |
| 51 | Matt King | -- | - |
| 52 | David Hiatt | -- | - |
| 53 | Matthew Gregory | -- | - |
| 54 | Adrienne Pierce | -- | - |
| 55 | David Elliot | -- | - |
| 56 | Katrina Bungard | -- | - |
| 57 | Bala Berram | -- | - |
| 58 | Carolyn O'Fallon | -- | - |
| 59 | Euon Murrell | -- | - |
| 60 | Simeon Brown | -- | - |
8 penises in the top 10, and 20 in the top 30. This is not the list of a party dedicated to reducing discrimination and systematic inequality. But I guess they'd just say that Nick Smith is more talented than most of their female candidates.
The other obvious point is that end-of-term retirements mean that National's incumbents are all pretty safe, and on expected voter levels they'll be bringing in a healthy group of new MPs as well. Contrast this with Labour, whose MPs cling desperately to their salaries, with the result that they're always the same old faces, with no chance at bringing in new blood. And then they wonder why people don't vote for the same people who have failed them time and time again...
