Katherine O'Regan
Encyclopedia
Hon Katherine O'Regan , QSO
(born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand
politician. She was a MP
from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party
She served as a Minister for the National Government for 6 of those years. Katherine was born to farming parents at Te Mata, on the west coast of the North Island and attended Hamilton Girls High School. She chose a nursing career but regretfully had to leave it.
as MP for Waipa
, replacing the retiring Marilyn Waring
. She had served as Waring's personal assistant since 1975. She held the electorate of Waipa for twelve years until it was abolished in 1996.
On her entry to parliament O'Regan sought to highlight the plight of children with specific learning disabiliies by introducing a private members bill seeking recognition by the education system of children with these disabilities.It was not successful but the bill was carried over by the Labour Party in government.It was finally discharged after 1990.
In the 1990 election Prime Minister Bolger appointed her Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minster of Social Welfare and Associate Minister of Women's Affairs-these remained her portfolio's until the 1996 election with Minister of Youth Affairs added briefly at the end of 1996.
She became Associate Minister of Women's Affairs under Minister Jenny Shipley
on 2 November 1990. The ministry had existed since 1984 (first held by Ann Hercus
), but the Associate Minister's position was newly created and first held by O'Regan. She held this role until 12 December 1996, when a new (National) government was formed with NZ First Party following the first MMP 1996 general election. The Associate Minister role was vacant for almost a year and next held by Deborah Morris
.
In 1994 Hon O'Regan led the New Zealand Delegation to the UN Population and Development Conference in Cairo and also gave the Second Country Report to CEDAW at the UN in New York.
A supporter of human rights, as Associate Minister of Health she amended the Human Rights Act to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and having organisms in the body which might cause disease.
In the 1996 general election
, she unsuccessfully contested the electorate of Tauranga
against Winston Peters
, but remained in Parliament as a list MP. She was appointed the Chairperson of the Internal Affairs select committee from 1996 -1999.O'Regan continued her interest in population and development issues by establishing with the help of Family Planning International a New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development
In the 1999 general election
, she again challenged Peters, and came within 62 votes of defeating him — had she won, the New Zealand First
party would have lost all parliamentary representation. Labour's
candidate Margaret Wilson
, who came third in the electorate, requested a recount. The final result was a 63 votes majority for Peters. O'Regan attempted to oust Peters from the electorate by encouraging voters to vote tactically
, and vote for her rather than the Labour's Wilson. However, according to Wilson, O'Regan's plan backfired, and Peters was re-elected but with a much reduced margin. Unlike in 1996, O'Regan was not high enough on National's party list
to remain in Parliament without winning an electorate. She was 27 on the list, and the last list seat went to Marie Hasler
, who was placed 24th. Both Arthur Anae
and Alec Neill
, who were placed 25th and 26th on the list, replaced retiring National Party members during the term of the 46th Parliament
, and O'Regan would have been next had a third person from her party resigned. O'Regan has not returned to Parliament since 1999.
She has been the chair of the Te Awamutu
Community Public Relations Organisation.
She has been Chair of the Human Ethics in Research Committee for eight years at Waikato Institute of Technology and is currently serving on the NZ Law Society Waikato/Bay of Plenty Complaints Committee.
Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order was established by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, awarded by the government of New Zealand "for valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the public sector, whether in elected or...
(born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
politician. She was a MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
She served as a Minister for the National Government for 6 of those years. Katherine was born to farming parents at Te Mata, on the west coast of the North Island and attended Hamilton Girls High School. She chose a nursing career but regretfully had to leave it.
Political career
Previous to entering parliament she was the first woman to be elected in 1977 to the then Waipa County Council where she served as a county councillor for 8 years.She was involved in community organisations like the NZ Plunket Society, SPELD and Hamilton Speech Therapy Association. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 general electionNew Zealand general election, 1984
The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 41st New Zealand Parliament. It marked the beginning of the Fourth Labour Government, with David Lange's Labour Party defeating long-serving Prime Minister Robert Muldoon of the National Party. It was also the...
as MP for Waipa
Waipa
Waipa is a former Parliamentary electorate in the Waikato Region of New Zealand, which existed for various periods between 1876 and 1996.-History:Waipa existed from 1876 to 1890, 1893 to 1896, then from 1954 to 1969, and then from 1978 to 1996....
, replacing the retiring Marilyn Waring
Marilyn Waring
Marilyn Waring, CNZM, D.Phil., D.Litt. is a New Zealand feminist, a politician, an activist for female human rights and environmental issues, an author and an academic, known for her contributions to feminist economics....
. She had served as Waring's personal assistant since 1975. She held the electorate of Waipa for twelve years until it was abolished in 1996.
On her entry to parliament O'Regan sought to highlight the plight of children with specific learning disabiliies by introducing a private members bill seeking recognition by the education system of children with these disabilities.It was not successful but the bill was carried over by the Labour Party in government.It was finally discharged after 1990.
In the 1990 election Prime Minister Bolger appointed her Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minster of Social Welfare and Associate Minister of Women's Affairs-these remained her portfolio's until the 1996 election with Minister of Youth Affairs added briefly at the end of 1996.
She became Associate Minister of Women's Affairs under Minister Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
on 2 November 1990. The ministry had existed since 1984 (first held by Ann Hercus
Ann Hercus
Dame Margaret Ann Sayers Hercus DCMG, BA, LLB , best known as Ann Hercus, is a New Zealand politician and diplomat...
), but the Associate Minister's position was newly created and first held by O'Regan. She held this role until 12 December 1996, when a new (National) government was formed with NZ First Party following the first MMP 1996 general election. The Associate Minister role was vacant for almost a year and next held by Deborah Morris
Deborah Morris
Deborah Morris-Travers is a former New Zealand politician. She was a list MP for New Zealand First from 1996 to 1999.-Member of Parliament:Morris was an MP from 1996 to 1999, representing the New Zealand First party...
.
In 1994 Hon O'Regan led the New Zealand Delegation to the UN Population and Development Conference in Cairo and also gave the Second Country Report to CEDAW at the UN in New York.
A supporter of human rights, as Associate Minister of Health she amended the Human Rights Act to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and having organisms in the body which might cause disease.
In the 1996 general election
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...
, she unsuccessfully contested the electorate of Tauranga
Tauranga (New Zealand electorate)
Tauranga is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Tauranga is Simon Bridges of the National Party, who won the seat in the 2008 New Zealand general election, after the previous MP, Bob Clarkson of...
against Winston Peters
Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters is a New Zealand politician and leader of New Zealand First, a political party he founded in 1993. Peters has had a turbulent political career since entering Parliament in 1978. He served as Minister of Maori Affairs in the Bolger National Party Government before being...
, but remained in Parliament as a list MP. She was appointed the Chairperson of the Internal Affairs select committee from 1996 -1999.O'Regan continued her interest in population and development issues by establishing with the help of Family Planning International a New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development
In the 1999 general election
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
, she again challenged Peters, and came within 62 votes of defeating him — had she won, the New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
party would have lost all parliamentary representation. Labour's
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
candidate Margaret Wilson
Margaret Wilson
Dame Margaret Wilson DCNZM is a New Zealand academic and former politician. She was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives during the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. She is a member of the Labour Party.-Early life:...
, who came third in the electorate, requested a recount. The final result was a 63 votes majority for Peters. O'Regan attempted to oust Peters from the electorate by encouraging voters to vote tactically
Tactical voting
In voting systems, tactical voting occurs, in elections with more than two viable candidates, when a voter supports a candidate other than his or her sincere preference in order to prevent an undesirable outcome.It has been shown by the Gibbard-Satterthwaite theorem that any voting method which is...
, and vote for her rather than the Labour's Wilson. However, according to Wilson, O'Regan's plan backfired, and Peters was re-elected but with a much reduced margin. Unlike in 1996, O'Regan was not high enough on National's party list
Party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
to remain in Parliament without winning an electorate. She was 27 on the list, and the last list seat went to Marie Hasler
Marie Hasler
Marie Bernadine Hasler is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1990 to 1993, and then again from 1996 to 2002.-Early life:...
, who was placed 24th. Both Arthur Anae
Arthur Anae
Arthur Anae is a New Zealand politician who currently serves on the Manukau City Council. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999, and again from 2000 to 2002...
and Alec Neill
Alec Neill
Alexander George Neill is the former Chairman of the Canterbury Regional Council and a former New Zealand National Party politician. He was an Electorate Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1996, and a List Member for two terms in 1999, and from 2001 to 2002. He was born in Dunedin, and attended St...
, who were placed 25th and 26th on the list, replaced retiring National Party members during the term of the 46th Parliament
46th New Zealand Parliament
The 46th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined by the 1999 elections, and it sat until the 2002 elections....
, and O'Regan would have been next had a third person from her party resigned. O'Regan has not returned to Parliament since 1999.
Outside politics
O'Regan is a former council member of Family Planning New Zealand. She favours compulsory sex education from age ten and condom vending machines in all secondary schools and public toilets.She has been the chair of the Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
Community Public Relations Organisation.
She has been Chair of the Human Ethics in Research Committee for eight years at Waikato Institute of Technology and is currently serving on the NZ Law Society Waikato/Bay of Plenty Complaints Committee.