Mojo Mathers
Encyclopedia
Mojo Mathers is a New Zealand
politician. She became known through her involvement with the Malvern Hills Protection Society
and helped prevent the Central Plains Water
Trust's proposal to build a large irrigation dam in Coalgate
. She has been a senior policy advisor to the Green Party
since 2006 and has stood for the party in the last three general elections. Her candidacy for the created significant media interest, as her high placing on the Green Party's list and the party's good performance in opinion polls resulted in the possibility of her becoming the country's first deaf MP. Based on preliminary results, Mathers is the highest placed list candidate who did not get returned, meaning that she will enter Parliament during its 50th term
should any of the Green MPs resign.
, UK in 1966.
Her parents named her after the Muddy Waters
' 1957 version of the song Got My Mojo Working
. She herself has three children. In her personal life, she "strive[s] to reduce [her] personal impact on the environment by being vegetarian
, supporting GE
free, non-toxic, organic
, fair trade
and local, [and] using public transport".
Mathers "was born profoundly deaf after oxygen was cut to her as newborn baby during a difficult birth". She is not, however, mute, and is a lipreader
. She only began to make significant use of Sign Language
in the late 2000s (saying she had "found it very useful for some situations"), preferring to lipread and communicate orally before that.
since 2006.
began when she settled in Coalgate
, a village in Canterbury Region in New Zealand. She became spokeswoman for the local community's opposition to the building of a large dam, proposed by the Central Plains Water Trust
as part of a broader project to "covert the local area into intensive dairy farming". She was a founding member of the Malvern Hills Protection Society
which "managed to stop the dam being built".
Mathers first stood for Parliament
in the 2005 election
in the Rakaia electorate
, when she was ranked 16th on the Green Party list, winning 1,631 votes. In 2008
she was ranked 13th and contested Christchurch East
, winning 1,843 votes. On neither occasion was she elected.
At the 2011 general election
, she was number 14 on the list, and stood again in Christchurch East. She finished third in her constituency, with 4.5% of the vote, but her main hopes had lain with being elected as a list MP. Indeed, opinion polls just prior to the election had indicated that the Greens could hope for up to fifteen MPs, and The Press
reported that Mathers was "poised to become New Zealand's first deaf MP". Mathers noted that, if she were elected, she would need "some sort of laptop or screen coming directly to me at the desk" in Parliament, along with a sign language interpreter. She suggested that "having sign language in Parliament" might help "enable the wider deaf community to access political debate". New Zealand Sign Language
is already one of the three official languages of New Zealand, but unlike the other two (English
and Māori
) it is not represented in Parliament. In the event, the Greens obtained enough votes for just 13 MPs based on preliminary results from counts on election day. The final counts, due to be released in early December 2011, may change the number of Green MPs.
Mathers has made submissions to Parliament on bills, opposing clauses of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill 2009
and arguing for the "setting of minimum environmental standards" across the country. She also wrote in opposition to the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill 2009, arguing it "would substantially weaken the existing emissions trading scheme
, reducing incentives to reduce emissions while providing large ongoing subsidies to climate polluters at enormous
cost to the taxpayer".
Mathers describes her areas of policy interest as "rural issues, biodiversity, forestry and water, as well as animal welfare, disability and women's rights".
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 became known through her involvement with the Malvern Hills Protection Society
Malvern Hills Protection Society
The Malvern Hills Protection Society is a grassroots environmental group seeking to prevent the construction of a new dam in the Canterbury region of New Zealand....
and helped prevent the Central Plains Water
Central Plains Water
Central Plains Water, or, more fully, the Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme, is a large-scale proposal for water diversion, damming, reticulation and irrigation for the Central Plains of Canterbury, New Zealand....
Trust's proposal to build a large irrigation dam in Coalgate
Coalgate, New Zealand
Coalgate is a locality in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave Coalgate's population as 276, and it is located roughly an hour west of Christchurch on State Highway 77...
. She has been a senior policy advisor to the Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
since 2006 and has stood for the party in the last three general elections. Her candidacy for the created significant media interest, as her high placing on the Green Party's list and the party's good performance in opinion polls resulted in the possibility of her becoming the country's first deaf MP. Based on preliminary results, Mathers is the highest placed list candidate who did not get returned, meaning that she will enter Parliament during its 50th term
50th New Zealand Parliament
The 50th New Zealand Parliament will be elected at the 2011 election. It will contain 121 members , and will serve from 26 November 2011 until another election is called, no later than early 2015....
should any of the Green MPs resign.
Private life
Mathers was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK in 1966.
Her parents named her after the Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
' 1957 version of the song Got My Mojo Working
Got My Mojo Working
"Got My Mojo Working" is a 1956 song written by Preston Foster and first recorded by Ann Cole, but popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Waters' rendition of the song was featured on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at #359 and was inducted in the Grammy Hall of...
. She herself has three children. In her personal life, she "strive[s] to reduce [her] personal impact on the environment by being vegetarian
Environmental vegetarianism
Environmental vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism or veganism based on the indications that animal production, particularly by intensive agriculture, is environmentally unsustainable...
, supporting GE
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
free, non-toxic, organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
, fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
and local, [and] using public transport".
Mathers "was born profoundly deaf after oxygen was cut to her as newborn baby during a difficult birth". She is not, however, mute, and is a lipreader
Lip reading
Lip reading, also known as lipreading or speechreading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue with information provided by the context, language, and any residual hearing....
. She only began to make significant use of Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the Deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006, alongside Te Reo Māori....
in the late 2000s (saying she had "found it very useful for some situations"), preferring to lipread and communicate orally before that.
Professional life
Mathers has an Honours degree in Mathematics and a Masters degree in Conservation Forestry. She has applied her environmental ethos to her work, being the joint owner of a "small business offering forestry management services" from 2001 to 2006. She has been a senior policy advisor to the Green PartyGreen Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
since 2006.
Political career
Her interest in political environmentalismEnvironmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
began when she settled in Coalgate
Coalgate, New Zealand
Coalgate is a locality in the Selwyn District of the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave Coalgate's population as 276, and it is located roughly an hour west of Christchurch on State Highway 77...
, a village in Canterbury Region in New Zealand. She became spokeswoman for the local community's opposition to the building of a large dam, proposed by the Central Plains Water Trust
Central Plains Water
Central Plains Water, or, more fully, the Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme, is a large-scale proposal for water diversion, damming, reticulation and irrigation for the Central Plains of Canterbury, New Zealand....
as part of a broader project to "covert the local area into intensive dairy farming". She was a founding member of the Malvern Hills Protection Society
Malvern Hills Protection Society
The Malvern Hills Protection Society is a grassroots environmental group seeking to prevent the construction of a new dam in the Canterbury region of New Zealand....
which "managed to stop the dam being built".
Mathers first stood for Parliament
Parliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
in the 2005 election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
in the Rakaia electorate
Rakaia (New Zealand electorate)
Rakaia was a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate in the Canterbury region from 1972 to 1978 and 1993 to 2008.The seat was held by Brian Connell MP from 2002 to 2008.-Population Centres:The electorate included the following population centres:* Ashburton...
, when she was ranked 16th on the Green Party list, winning 1,631 votes. In 2008
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...
she was ranked 13th and contested Christchurch East
Christchurch East
Christchurch East is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate. It is currently held by Lianne Dalziel of the Labour Party.-History:The electorate was first created, as Christchurch City East, for the...
, winning 1,843 votes. On neither occasion was she elected.
At the 2011 general election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...
, she was number 14 on the list, and stood again in Christchurch East. She finished third in her constituency, with 4.5% of the vote, but her main hopes had lain with being elected as a list MP. Indeed, opinion polls just prior to the election had indicated that the Greens could hope for up to fifteen MPs, and The Press
The Press
The Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
reported that Mathers was "poised to become New Zealand's first deaf MP". Mathers noted that, if she were elected, she would need "some sort of laptop or screen coming directly to me at the desk" in Parliament, along with a sign language interpreter. She suggested that "having sign language in Parliament" might help "enable the wider deaf community to access political debate". New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the Deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006, alongside Te Reo Māori....
is already one of the three official languages of New Zealand, but unlike the other two (English
New Zealand English
New Zealand English is the dialect of the English language used in New Zealand.The English language was established in New Zealand by colonists during the 19th century. It is one of "the newest native-speaker variet[ies] of the English language in existence, a variety which has developed and...
and Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
) it is not represented in Parliament. In the event, the Greens obtained enough votes for just 13 MPs based on preliminary results from counts on election day. The final counts, due to be released in early December 2011, may change the number of Green MPs.
Mathers has made submissions to Parliament on bills, opposing clauses of the Resource Management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill 2009
Environmental Protection Authority (New Zealand)
The Environmental Protection Authority is a government agency New Zealand. It takes over functions from various government departments from 1 July 2011....
and arguing for the "setting of minimum environmental standards" across the country. She also wrote in opposition to the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill 2009, arguing it "would substantially weaken the existing emissions trading scheme
New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme is a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases all-free allocation uncapped emissions trading scheme...
, reducing incentives to reduce emissions while providing large ongoing subsidies to climate polluters at enormous
cost to the taxpayer".
Mathers describes her areas of policy interest as "rural issues, biodiversity, forestry and water, as well as animal welfare, disability and women's rights".