Deborah Morris

Deborah Morris-Travers[1] (born 9 August 1970) is a former New Zealand politician. She was a list MP for New Zealand First from 1996 to 1998.

Morris-Travers in 2012

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1996–1998 45th List 9 NZ First
1998–1999 Changed allegiance to: Independent

Morris was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing the New Zealand First party. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1996 election as a list MP,[2][3] and when her party formed a coalition with the National Party, she became a Minister. Her most prominent role was as Minister of Youth Affairs, where her own relative youth was seen as an asset — she was understood to be the youngest person ever appointed to ministerial rank (at the age of 26). In 1996 she caused controversy by suggesting that young New Zealanders should have better access to contraceptives. Her suggestion was publicly opposed by the Governor-General Sir Michael Hardie Boys.[4]

When the coalition collapsed, and New Zealand First itself began to split up, Morris was one of the first MPs to leave the party, saying that she could no longer accept the "perpetual state of crisis" generated by its leader, Winston Peters.[5] Unlike some other New Zealand First defectors, Morris did not make a deal with the National Party to keep her ministerial portfolios, resigning from her position on 18 August 1998. Morris remained an independent until her resignation from Parliament in 1999. As she had been elected on the New Zealand First list, her replacement, Gilbert Myles, was also drawn from that list.

Life after politics

Since leaving Parliament, Morris has worked in public relations and as an advocate for New Zealand children. After time living and working overseas on disarmament issues with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, she returned to New Zealand to work for non-governmental organisations. She worked at Plunket, Barnardo's, Save the Children and UNICEF New Zealand, leading the movement for children. She helped establish Every Child Counts and then the Tick4Kids networks, working to get child abuse and child poverty onto the public agenda. In 2007, she was awarded the Vodafone World of Difference grant. She lent her support for the controversial repeal of Section 59, which removed the defence of reasonable force in child discipline.

At the 2013 local authority elections Morris-Travers stood for, and was elected to, the Paraparaumu Raumati Community Board.[6]

In 2016, Deborah Morris-Travers delivered her Ted talk to TedX Wellington.[7]

She later became the Green Party Chief of Staff.[8] In 2017, she left her position as Chief of Staff due to disagreements over Metiria Turei's public admission to historical benefit and electoral fraud which eventually caused a loss of support for the party and led to Turei's resignation.[9] Later Morris ruled out a bid for the co-leadership in the election to replace Turei.[10]

Republicanism and electoral reform

In 1994, Morris was a founding member of the Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand, and supports a New Zealand republic.[11] She was also part of the campaign for proportional representation, achieving MMP.

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References
  1. "Every Child Counts – Every Child Counts Project leader wins major award". Retrieved 3 January 2007.
  2. "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place – Hutt South, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  3. "Part III – Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  4. Mclean, Gavin (October 2006), The Governors, New Zealand Governors and Governors-General, Otago University Press, p. 281
  5. "Russell Brown's HARD NEWS, 21st August 1998". Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  6. "Deborah Morris-Travers". Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  7. "Hearing The Voices Of Our children – Deborah Morris-Travers – TEDxWellington". TEDxWellington. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  8. "Hon. Deborah Morris-Travers new Greens Chief of Staff". Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  9. Kirk, Stacey (22 August 2017). "Top Green Party staffers move on as turmoil hits party's backroom". Stuff. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  10. Bracewell-Worrall, Anna (4 February 2018). "Greens co-leadership race: Marama Davidson first off the blocks". Newshub. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  11. "Deborah Morris – Setting out on the republican road". Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
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