Helen White (politician)

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Helen White
MP
Helen White.jpg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Personal details
Born1967/1968 (age 53–55)[1]
Political partyLabour
Children3
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewww.labour.org.nz/helenwhite

Helen Ione White is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 she became a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.[2]

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

White and her family originally lived in Kawerau before moving to Auckland in 1971 where the school she attended was 98% Polynesian students.[3] She grew up in Freemans Bay, Auckland and became a barrister, specialising in employment law. She lives in Auckland and has three children.[4]

Early in her legal career, White worked with the EPMU Union for a period alongside future Labour leader Andrew Little.[5]

Political career[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–present 53rd List 48 Labour

In 2009 White attempted to gain the Labour nomination in the Mount Albert by-election to replace former Prime Minister Helen Clark, but lost to David Shearer.[6] Eight years later in February 2017, White won the Labour Party nomination to stand in Auckland Central at the general election in 2017, winning preference over other contestant Shanan Halbert.[4] White was ranked 40 on Labour's party list.[7] Despite not being elected to parliament in 2017, White was selected to stand in Auckland Central again in 2020.[8]

White received some criticism after mocking her electorate opponent, the Green Party's Chlöe Swarbrick, as a celebrity candidate and describing herself as the serious candidate,[9] despite the fact that Swarbrick held a seat in Parliament (as a List MP) while White didn't. A Newshub poll conducted in September 2020 had White with a large lead over her main competitors 42.3 to 26.6 for National's Emma Mellow and 24.2 for Swarbrick.[10] By October the race had tightened. White remained in the lead but dropped to 35 percent to Mellow's 30 and Swarbrick's 26.[11] White did not win the Auckland Central seat, losing to Swarbrick by 1068 votes, but was allocated a seat in Parliament via Labour's party list.[12][13]

References[]

  1. ^ "Compare the candidates for Auckland Central — NZ Election 2020". Your complete guide to NZ Election 2020 — Policy.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ Smith, Anneke (2 October 2020). "NZ Election 2020: Helen White, Emma Mellow and Chlöe Swarbrick in a three-way race for Auckland Central". Radio NZ. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Helen White Labour's 2017 candidate for Auckland Central" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  5. ^ Elliot, John. "Impressive new Labour candidate for Auckland Central". Ponsonby News. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  6. ^ Young, Audrey (27 April 2009). "Goff thinks fresh face has winning edge". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Labour selects lawyer Helen White as Auckland Central candidate". The New Zealand Herald. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  9. ^ Palmer, Scott (26 July 2020). "Chlöe Swarbrick defends herself from Labour's Auckland Central candidate Helen White". Newshub. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. ^ Satherley, Dan (19 September 2020). "Auckland Central poll puts Labour's Helen White way out in front". Newshub. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  11. ^ Manch, Thomas (4 October 2020). "Auckland Central electorate race tightens in new poll". Stuff. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  12. ^ "Election Results - Auckland Central". Electoral Commission. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  13. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums - Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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