Arena Williams

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Arena Williams
MP
Arena Williams.jpg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Manurewa
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byLouisa Wall
Personal details
Born1990 (age 31–32)
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewww.arenawilliams.co.nz

Arena Williams (born 1990) is a New Zealand politician. As of 2020, she is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.[1]

Early life and career[]

Williams has affiliation to Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāi Tahu.[2] She studied law and commerce at the University of Auckland, and was active within the Princes Street Labour. In 2012 she was president of the Auckland University Students' Association.[3] In 2012 she and other university students staged a campus protest to highlight the issue of rising student debt. The under-dressed students begged people passing on the street for clothing, graphically depicting how students have to "borrow to live".[4][5]

Williams began her career working as a probations officer in Panmure, encountering many people in the court system for relatively minor offences, prompting her advocacy for justice reform.[5]

Political career[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–present 53rd Manurewa 58 Labour

Williams stood for the Hunua electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 election for the Labour Party where she placed second, losing to Andrew Bayly by the large margin of 17,376 votes.[6] Aged 24 she was Labour's youngest candidate at that election.[3]

In November 2019 Williams was appointed as a member of the Waitematā District Health Board.[7]

Williams as well as Ian Dunwoodie both nominated to challenge Louisa Wall for the Labour Party selection for the seat of Manurewa.[8] The selection was scheduled to be held on 21 March 2020, but was delayed due to a complaint about whether some new party electorate branch members lived in Manurewa and were eligible to vote in the selection process.[9] In May, Wall's partner and lawyer Prue Kapua contacted the national party council, claiming that Williams' application was late, and warned that legal action would be taken if it was not rejected.[10] The selection was rescheduled to 30 May, but Wall withdrew her application on 29 May, to instead run as a list-only candidate. Williams was selected as the Labour candidate.[11]

During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, she beat National candidate Nuwi Samarakone by a margin of 17,179 votes.[5][12] Williams is one of twenty-three new Labour Party MPs in the 53rd Parliament.[1][13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". Newstalk ZB. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020 – via The New Zealand Herald.
  2. ^ "Election 2020: PM Jacinda Ardern launches campaign to keep Māori seats". 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ a b Hunt, Elle (20 June 2014). "The next wave: Labour's Arena Williams". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Naked students protest debt". Stuff. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Keogh, Brittany (18 October 2020). "Lawyer and new Labour MP for Manurewa Arena Williams to focus on justice reform". Stuff. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. ^ Electoral Commission (10 October 2014). "Official Count Results – Hunua". Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Board meeting" (PDF). Waitematā District Health Board. 18 December 2019. p. 28. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. ^ Fonseka, Dileepa (12 February 2020). "Labour's Louisa Wall faces challenge for Manurewa selection". Newsroom. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. ^ Young, Audrey (13 March 2020). "Labour delays Manurewa candidate selection to look at membership issues". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ^ Sachdeva, Sam (11 May 2020). "MP and Labour Party face court fight over Manurewa". Newsroom. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Labour's Louisa Wall pulls out of Manurewa selection". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Manurewa - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  13. ^ Lynch, Jenna (6 November 2020). "NZ Election 2020: Judith Collins will 'definitely not' stand down as leader despite National's crushing defeat". Newshub. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Louisa Wall
 Member of Parliament for Manurewa
2020–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from ""