Suzanne Sinclair (New Zealand politician)

Suzanne Mary Sinclair ONZM (born 4 May 1946) is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Suzanne Sinclair ONZM
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
Personal details
Born	(1946-05-04) 4 May 1946 Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Occupation	Teacher

Early life

Sinclair was born in Auckland.[1] Before entering politics, Sinclair was a teacher and a special needs tutor.

Politics

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1993–1996	44th	Titirangi		Labour

In 1980 she stood unsuccessfully for the Auckland City Council on a Labour Party ticket.[2] Sinclair was later elected to the Council in the late 1980s.[3] She was a Labour Party MP from 1993 to 1996, representing the Titirangi electorate.[4] She was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election as MP for Titirangi when she beat the incumbent, National's Marie Hasler.[5] 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.[6] Sinclair was also a list candidate ranked at 27, but Labour did not win sufficient votes for her to remain in Parliament.[7]

After politics

For 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.[8] She was appointed by the Minister of Transport, Mark Gosche, to the chairmanship of the Road Safety Trust in March 2001,[9] and she stepped down from this role in December 2007.[10] 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.[11]

In the 2020 New Year Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the community and governance.[12]

Notes

1. Temple 1994, pp. 83.
2. "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald. 29 October 1980. p. 9.
3. "Record Description". Auckland Council. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
4. "Women in parliament 1933–2005". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
5. Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place (Technical report). Chief Electoral Office. 1993.
6. "Waitakere 55" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
7. "Part III - Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
8. Rudman, Brian (11 March 2002). "Rudman's city: Passenger numbers confound critics of public transport". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
9. Gosche, Mark (9 March 2001). "Road Safety Trust Chair Appointed" (Press release). Wellington: New Zealand Government. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
10. Sharp, Yvonne (2008). "Nineteenth Annual Report of the Road Safety Trust" (PDF). Road Safety Trust. pp. 1, 27. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
11. "Board Members". WALSHtrust. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
12. "New Year honours list 2020". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.

References

• Temple, Philip (1994). Temple’s Guide to the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: McIndoe Publishers. ISBN 0 86868 159 8.

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Marie Hasler	Member of Parliament for Titirangi 1993–1996	Vacant Constituency abolished, recreated in 1999 Title next held by David Cunliffe