Lynne Pillay
Encyclopedia
Barbara Lynne Pillay, known as Lynne Pillay (born 14 August 1950) is a 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, and member of the Labour Party
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....

.

Member of Parliament

She was first elected to Parliament in the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...

, winning the Waitakere
Waitakere (New Zealand electorate)
Waitakere is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Waitakere is Paula Bennett of the National Party. She has held this position since the 2008 election....

 electorate. Her main rival was Alliance
Alliance (New Zealand political party)
The Alliance is a left-wing political party in New Zealand. It was formed in 1991, and was influential in the 1990s, but has since declined and has no representation in parliament. It suffered a major setback after Jim Anderton, the party's leader, left the party in 2002, taking several of the...

 leader Laila Harré
Laila Harré
Laila Jane Harré is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was a Member of Parliament for the left-wing Alliance party, and became the party's leader for a brief period after the group experienced a schism in 2002.-Early life:...

. Pillay had previously contested the safe National
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:...

 seat of Tamaki
Tamaki (New Zealand electorate)
Tāmaki is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The electorate is named after the Tamaki River that runs immediately east of the seat...

  in the 1999 elections
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...

, and had missed out on election as a list MP by only one place. Before entering politics, she was a nurse, and had been active in the New Zealand Nurses Union. She was born in Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...

.

In 2006, Pillay's Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill removed the legislative ban on women serving in combat roles in the New Zealand Defence Force
New Zealand Defence Force
The New Zealand Defence Force consists of three services: the Royal New Zealand Navy; the New Zealand Army; and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The Commander-in-Chief of the NZDF is His Excellency Rt. Hon...

. The bill was subsequently adopted by the government before its third reading, and passed unanimously as the Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Act 2007
Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Act 2007
The Human Rights Amendment Act 2007 is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 2007. It removed an exemption from the Human Rights Act 1993 which barred women from serving in combat roles in the New Zealand Defence Force....

.

In the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

 Pillay was defeated by National
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:...

 candidate Paula Bennett
Paula Bennett
Paula Lee Bennett is a New Zealand politician and member of parliament for the National Party. She is a Cabinet minister with the roles of Minister for Social Development and Employment, Minister for Disability Issues and Minister of Youth Affairs.-Early life:Bennett was born in 1969 to Bob...

, with a margin of 632 votes. Pillay was ranked 32 on the Labour Party list so remains in the 49th parliament as a list MP.

On 3 December 2009 Pillay announced that she would retire at the next election.

External links

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