Suzanne Mary Sinclair ONZM JP (born 4 May 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She was an MP from 1993 to 1996, representing the Titirangi electorate.
Suzanne Sinclair | |
|---|---|
 Sinclair in 2020 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Titirangi | |
| In office 6 November 1993 – 12 October 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Marie Hasler |
| Succeeded by | Electorate abolished |
| Member of the Auckland City Council for Avondale Ward | |
| In office 11 October 1986 – 14 October 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Ward established |
| Succeeded by | Phil Raffills |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 May 1946 Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 1 |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Biography
editEarly life and career
editSinclair was born in 1946 at Auckland.[1] She was educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School before attending Auckland Teachers College where she attained a diploma in teaching. Subsequently, she had a career in education as a teacher, literacy tutor, and a tutor for the Hillary Commission. She had one son.[2]
Aside from education, Sinclair worked as an employment officer at the Department of Labour, a co-ordinator of the Friends of the Zoo programme at Auckland Zoo and managed a hire plant nursery business.[2]
Political career
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1996 | 44th | Titirangi | Labour | ||
Sinclair joined the Labour Party in 1975 and held party positions in the New Lynn electorate and Labour's Auckland Regional Council. She was also a member of Labour's New Zealand Council.[2]
In 1980 Sinclair stood unsuccessfully for the Auckland City Council on a Labour Party ticket.[3] She was later elected to the council after at large was abolished and replaced with a ward system. She was elected in 1986 as a councillor for the Avondale Ward. She was re-elected in 1989 and 1992 before deciding not to stand again in 1995.[4] She was also a member of the Avondale Community Board, the Portage Licensing Trust and the Auckland Institute of Technology Council.[2]
Sinclair was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election as MP for Titirangi when she beat the incumbent, National's Marie Hasler.[5][6] The Titirangi electorate was abolished when mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting was introduced for the 1996 election. In the 1996 election, Sinclair unsuccessfully contested the Waitakere electorate, when she was in turn beaten by Hasler.[7] Sinclair was also a list candidate ranked at 27, but Labour did not win sufficient votes for her to remain in Parliament.[8]
Career after politics
editFor some years before the Britomart Transport Centre opened in 2003, Sinclair was the head of the Britomart information centre, which was funded by Auckland City Council.[9] She was appointed by the Minister of Transport, Mark Gosche, to the chairmanship of the Road Safety Trust in March 2001,[10] and she stepped down from this role in December 2007.[11] Sinclair is currently relationship manager at the Ministry of Social Development (MSD). She chairs the WALSHtrust, an organisation in West Auckland supporting people with mental health, illness, and disability issues.[12]
Awards and recognition
editIn the 2020 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community and governance.[13] She is also a Justice of the Peace.[2]
Notes
edit- ^ Temple 1994, p. 83.
- ^ a b c d e Who's Who 1993, p. 72.
- ^ "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald. 29 October 1980. p. 9.
- ^ Bassett 2013, p. 70.
- ^ Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). Chief Electoral Office. 1993.
- ^ "Women in parliament 1933–2005". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
- ^ "Waitakere 55" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ "Part III - Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
- ^ Rudman, Brian (11 March 2002). "Rudman's city: Passenger numbers confound critics of public transport". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ Gosche, Mark (9 March 2001). "Road Safety Trust Chair Appointed" (Press release). Wellington: New Zealand Government. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ Sharp, Yvonne (2008). "Nineteenth Annual Report of the Road Safety Trust" (PDF). Road Safety Trust. pp. 1, 27. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ "Board Members". WALSHtrust. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ^ "New Year honours list 2020". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
References
edit
- Bassett, Michael (2013). City of sails: the history of Auckland City Council, 1989–2010. ISBN 978-1927262009.
- Temple, Philip (1994). Temple's Guide to the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: McIndoe Publishers. ISBN 0-86868-159-8.
- Who's Who in the New Zealand Parliament 1993. Wellington: Parliamentary Service. 1993.