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Jo Hayes
New Zealand politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Joanne Kowhai Hayes (born 1959)[1] is a former New Zealand politician who served as a New Zealand National Party List MP in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2014 to 2020.
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Early life and career
Hayes' whakapapa is to the Whanganui-Rangitikei area.[2] She was raised in the farming sector.[3] Before being elected to Parliament, she worked in the health industry, as well as at Māori development organisation Ngā Tai O te Awa.[4]
Political career
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During the 2011 general election, Hayes ran for National in Dunedin South,[5] and was ranked 64th place on the party list.[6] Hayes was defeated by Labour incumbent Clare Curran by a margin of 4,175 votes.[7]
In Government, 2014–2017
In December 2013, National Party President Peter Goodfellow announced that Hayes would enter Parliament on the party list following the resignation of National MP Katrina Shanks,[8] which took place on 22 January 2014.[9] She was sworn in as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives on 28 January 2014.[10]
During the 2014 general election, Hayes sought to be National's Wairarapa candidate but lost to Alastair Scott.[11] Instead she was selected to contest Christchurch East against Labour's Poto Williams. Hayes lost to Williams by a margin of 4,073 votes but was re-elected as a list MP.[12]
During the 51st New Zealand Parliament, under the Fifth National Government, Hayes served as the National Party's Third Whip, as a member of the Māori Affairs and Local Government and Environment Committees, and as the Chair of the Social Services Committee.[13]
In April 2017, a private members' bill in Hayes' name was introduced into Parliament.[14] The Minors (Court Consent to Relationships) Legislation Bill sought to prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from being pressured or coerced into legal and cultural marriages by amending the Marriage Act 1955 to require the marriage be approved by a Family Court judge.[15] The Bill was supported by all parties represented in Parliament and completed its final reading in August 2018.[15]
During the 2017 general election, Hayes contested Christchurch East against incumbent Poto Williams and was defeated by a margin of 7,480 votes.[16] However, she was re-elected on the National Party list.[17]
In Opposition, 2017–2020
In the 52nd New Zealand Parliament, National was in Opposition and Hayes served as her party's spokesperson for Māori development and Whānau Ora.[13] During her second term in Parliament, Hayes also voted against the Abortion Legislation Act 2020[18] and the End of Life Choice Act 2019.[19]
During the lead up to the 2020 general election, Hayes unsuccessfully sought to stand as National's candidate in both Palmerston North (which she lost to 17-year-old William Wood)[20] and in Te Tai Hauāuru (the party did not stand candidates in Māori electorates).[21] Ultimately, Hayes was selected as National's candidate for Mana.[22]
During the 2020 election, she lost to Labour's candidate Barbara Edmonds by a margin of 16,224 votes.[23] She also failed to get in on the party list due to National's landslide defeat.[3][24]
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Post-parliamentary career
Three days after the 2020 election, Hayes was announced as the general manager of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust, a post-settlement governance entity for the Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua iwi.[25][26]
Hayes was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2022 Masterton mayoral election.[27]
Personal life
Hayes is of Ngāti Porou, Ati Haunui A Paparangi, and Rangitane ki Wairarapa descent. She is married, and has two sons and three grandchildren.[22]
Notes
- Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Shanks resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Hayes.
References
External links
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