The FWORD

So much of my life has happened by chance,” says Sue Kedgley. She might be known most recently as a Green MP, but as one of New Zealand’s original women’s liberationists, her feminist influence in this country cannot be underestimated.

And as she welcomes us into her Wellington home to talk about her latest book, Fifty Years a Feminist, the 73-year-old says it feels like the right time to look back on her journey. From a passionate young woman pushing for change in the ’70s, to her place now as one of this country’s most tireless campaigners, her book sheds new light on her extraordinary path.

It’s an autumnal Tuesday afternoon that I climb the stairs to the Oriental Bay home Sue has shared with her husband, lawyer Denis Foot, for a decade. Inside, it’s filled with the art and artefacts the couple has amassed over the years, including stunning works by Sue’s twin sister, artist Helen Kedgley. We settle in the living room with cups of liquorice tea, and try not to be distracted by