By Ally Mullord and Lloyd Burr
Twenty-five fresh faces will be seen in Parliament over the next three years – six from the Green Party, six from New Zealand First, four from Labour and nine from National.
All of them make it to Parliament on the party list, with the exception of six National and three Labour members who won electorate seats for the first time.
Here is a list of the new faces:
Greens
Eugenie Sage (list, 6) is an environmental consultant who lives in Diamond Harbour, Christchurch. She has been an Environment Canterbury councillor and a long-time environmental campaigner for Forest and Bird, and counts conservation, Resource Management and sustainable land management as core policy interests.
Jan Logie (list, 9) is a development manager for the New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities. She has worked extensively with Women’s Refuge and other support services, and non-violence, public and youth health and sustainable cities are among her policy strengths.
Steffan Browning (list, 10) lives in Blenheim and has been an organic grower for the past 18 years. He is Organic NZ’s spokesperson for Soil and Health, and his main policy interests are primary production, genetic engineering, safe food and biosecurity.
Denise Roche (list, 11) is a former Auckland City councillor, and has also spent 16 years as a union official. Waste sector reform, industrial relations and promoting healthy food in schools are some of her main policy interests.
Holly Walker (list, 12) is a current political advisor to the Greens, was an Oxford Rhodes Scholar, and is an advocate for cycling as a primary mode of transport. She spent the first few years of her life living in a council flat and says she is “motivated primarily by a strong commitment to social justice, and an understanding that this is inextricable from environmental and economic justice”.
Julie Anne Genter (list, 13) is a transport specialist and Berkeley scholar who grew up in Los Angeles, which she says has made her passionate about finding environmentally and socially friendly transport solutions. She is also interested in urban planning and development and economics, and is a certified yoga teacher.
Labour
Andrew Little (list, 15) is the former head of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union and the former president of the Labour Party. He was the president of Victoria University Students’ Association and the co-president of NZUSA. He is also a lawyer.
Rino Tirikatene in the new MP for the Te Tai Tonga electorate, edging out the Maori Party’s incumbent Rahui Katene. He is the former CEO of the Federation of Maori Authorities and spent time as a commercial lawyer. He is of Ngai Tahu and Ngati Hine descent and has led a number of non-governmental projects between Maori and the Pacific.
Megan Woods in Labour’s new candidate for Wigram in Christchurch. She has been involved in local-body politics for the last decade and came second to Bob Parker in the Christchurch mayoral elections in 2007. In 2005, she contested the Christchurch Central electorate for the Progressive Party and came forth.
David Clark is Dunedin North’s new MP, replacing Labour’s outgoing MP Pete Hodgson. David is a trained Presbyterian minister and is the warden/master of Selwyn College (hall of residence) in Dunedin. He has worked in Treasury and is a former advisor to David Parker.
New Zealand First
Tracey Martin (list, 2) is a mother of three with a background in credit control and community representation. She is passionate about local issues and trade and exports, where she says New Zealand should be focusing on niche markets like organic agriculture.
Andrew Williams (list, 3) was mayor of North Shore from 2007 to 2010 and served as North Shore Hearings Commissioner for nine years, gaining experience in local government regulations and the Resource Management Act. His policy interests include youth unemployment and increased focus on New Zealand’s export economy.
Richard Prosser (list, 4) has spent ten years working as a viticulturist and winemaker, and has a long association with the rural and farming sectors. He is also a qualified Reiki master and is an advocate for individual freedoms, and for New Zealand’s Defence Force and Returned Services.
Brendan Horan (list, 6) is a former TVNZ weatherman who was controversially made redundant when TVNZ overhauled their weather presentation. He has represented New Zealand in several sports including waterpolo and outrigger canoe, and has been involved in surf lifesaving from a young age. He is passionate about the future of Tauranga, and says New Zealand needs a transparent economic plan.
Denis O’Rourke (list, 7) is a former Christchurch City Councillor and is a commercial and statutory lawyer. He has served on many company and governmental boards ranging from Postbank to Christchurch Airport. He is currently the chairperson of Christchurch’s Central Plains Water Trust.
Asenati Taylor (list, 8) is a Samoan community leader from Manukau East. She says Labour’s Ross Robertson has left her electorate in neglect and has “taken it for granted” for too long.
National
Jian Yang (list, 36) is a political studies lecturer and chair of the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, who has written two books on China’s foreign relations. His areas of interest include foreign policy and advocacy for New Zealand’s Asian community.
Alfred Ngaro (list, 37) has an extensive background of community-centred roles, including community work, youth work and chairing the Pacific Health Committee of the Auckland District Health Board. He hopes to offer a “grass-roots and community led development perspective” on economic growth and social investment.
Paul Goldsmith (list, 39) has been a ministerial press secretary and Auckland City councillor, and is now a business historian and biographer. His vision for New Zealand is “a dynamic society and economy where it is natural to strive for excellence and our children have the opportunities they want”. He is a 2nd dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Maggie Barry is the newly elected North Shore MP. She is an award-winning news and current affairs broadcaster and the owner of a specialist travel company. She is also the patron of Hospice NZ and Alzheimers and Chair of the NZ Book Council.
Ian McKelvie is National’s new Rangitikei MP. He is the current mayor of the Manawatu District, the chair of Farmers Mutual Finance, and chairman of Special Olympics New Zealand. He has an agricultural background and is interested in sustainable agriculture and promoting environmentally friendly economic development.
Mark Mitchell is Rodney’s new MP. He spent 14-years in the police force, followed an extensive international business career, including in executive management for several global companies. His interests include generating economic growth locally and internationally, safe neighbourhoods, and high standards of education.
Mike Sabin in the new MP for Northland. He has worked in the Navy and the police, and founded the MethCon Group, which aims to combat the drug P. He supports building strong communities throughout New Zealand.
Scott Simpson is National’s new MP for the Coromandel. He live in Thames, is a justice of the peace and the former CEO of children’s charity Make-a-Wish. Other businesses he has been involved with are Protector Safety and Caroma Industries.
Simon O’Connor is the new MP for Tamaki. He is trained as a catholic priest, is currently the contracts manager for Southern Cross Healthcare and previously held roles within the Ministry of Social Development. He also heads Monarchy New Zealand and was a list candidate for National in 2008.
3 News
source: newshub archive
