Kerre McIvor: Policies, not ovaries

Talkback host and columnist Kerre McIvor adds her voice to the ever-lengthening list of those critical of Labour's proposed Man-Ban. Under the heading Policies count, not ovaries McIvor opines:

Who on Earth does Labour hope to appeal to with its proposal to have some electorates run women-only candidate selections?
This woman voter certainly wouldn't be ticking a candidate's name purely on the basis that the candidate has ovaries.
And why does Labour need to make women a protected species?
I could understand it if the party had a history of chauvinism or tokenism when it came to women MPs, but this is the party that produced one of the toughest and most effective party leaders in New Zealand's political history.
Nobody was putting baby in the corner when H1 and H2 - as Helen Clark and her aide Heather Simpson were known as - were running the show.
Focusing on policies rather than window-dressing the selection process would serve Labour better in the long run.

Kerre McIvor is dead right here, and Labour would do well to take heed of what she is saying. Labour needs to focus on its policies and not its composition to make itself electable. 

And the Labour leadership needs to actually prove that Labour is a party worthy of the support of the electorate. Daft policies such as the Man-Ban are not the way to do that.