Belinda Jane Vernon (born 1958) is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1996 to 2002, representing the National Party.
The New Zealand National Party, shortened to National or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside its traditional rival, the New Zealand Labour Party.
Vernon attended Remuera Intermediate School (1970–71) and Diocesan School for Girls (1972–76). [1] She gained a BComm from the University of Auckland. She commenced her professional life as an accountant for a London shipping company. Back in New Zealand, she became financial controller, and then company secretary, for a trans-Tasman shipping company. [2]
Remuera Intermediate School is a school catering for 11 to 13 year olds in Remuera, Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1954. The current Principal of the school is Kyle Brewerton. The school's student count consists of around 850 to 1000 students, varying slightly from year to year.
A Bachelor of Commerce is an undergraduate degree in commerce and related subjects, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Myanmar and other Commonwealth countries; however, the degree is no longer offered in the United Kingdom.
The University of Auckland is the largest university in New Zealand, located in the country's largest city, Auckland. It is the highest-ranked university in the country, being ranked 85th worldwide in the 2018/19 QS World University Rankings. Established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand, the university is made up of eight faculties; these are spread over six campuses. It has more than 40,000 students, and more than 30,000 "equivalent full-time" students.
| New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 1996 –1999 | 45th | Maungakiekie | 18 | National |
| 1999 –2002 | 46th | List | 10 | National |
The voters of the Auckland seat of Maungakiekie elected Vernon as their electorate Member of Parliament in the 1996 election, but she lost the seat to Labour's Mark Gosche in the 1999 election, returning to Parliament as a list MP. In the 2002 election she failed to re-take Maungakiekie, and owing to the collapse of National's vote that year, was not high enough on the party list to return to Parliament. [3]
Auckland is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country, Auckland has an urban population of around 1,628,900. It is located in the Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, resulting in a total population of 1,695,900. Auckland is a diverse, multicultural and cosmopolitan city, home to the largest Polynesian population in the world. A Māori-language name for Auckland is Tāmaki or Tāmaki Makaurau, meaning "Tāmaki with a hundred lovers", in reference to the desirability of its fertile land at the hub of waterways in all directions.
Maungakiekie is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Maungakiekie is Denise Lee of the National Party. The name is from Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill, a large and symbolically important hill at the western end of the seat; the name denotes the presence of kiekie vines on the hill.
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this category includes specifically members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title. Member of Congress is an equivalent term in other jurisdictions.
Vernon served[ when? ] as National's spokesperson for Transport [4] and for Arts, Culture and Heritage. [2]
Vernon was a trustee of the Motutapu Restoration Trust from 2002–2012. [5] On 1 July 2011 she was appointed as a director at GNS Science. [6] On 27 February 2013 she was appointed to the board of Maritime New Zealand. [7]
Motutapu Island is a 1,510 ha island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park.
GNS Science is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics, and nuclear science.
Maritime New Zealand is a Crown entity and also a state maritime safety authority responsible for protecting the maritime transport sequence and marine environment within New Zealand and maintaining safety and security.
Christine Elizabeth Fletcher is a New Zealand politician. Currently an Auckland Council councillor, she was previously a National Party Member of Parliament from 1993 to 1999, and served one term as Mayor of Auckland City between 1998 and 2001. In October 2010 she became the co-leader of the Auckland local body ticket Citizens & Ratepayers after winning the Albert-Eden-Roskill ward on the new Auckland Council.
Lynda Marie Scott is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Mark James Gosche is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. He was born in Auckland to Samoan parents, and has been active in New Zealand's Pacific Islander community.
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Richard John Northey is a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. He served on the Auckland Council between 2010 and 2013, and is a member of the Labour Party.
Peter David Broughton, generally known as Rawiri Paratene, is a New Zealand stage and screen actor, director and writer. He is known for his acting roles in Whale Rider (2002) and The Insatiable Moon (2010).
Mount Roskill is a parliamentary electorate in Auckland, New Zealand, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) to the New Zealand House of Representatives. Phil Goff of the Labour Party held the seat from the 1999 election until he resigned from Parliament on 12 October 2016 after contesting and being elected Mayor of Auckland on 8 October 2016 in the 2016 mayoral election. His resignation necessitated a byelection in this electorate which was won by Michael Wood.
Nicola Laura "Nikki" Kaye is the member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Auckland Central electorate. In January 2013, she was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister John Key, giving her the portfolios of Food Safety, Civil Defence, and Youth Affairs, and Associate Minister of Education and Immigration. From September 2016 to early 2017 she was on sick leave from the House of Representatives, after a breast cancer diagnosis. She returned to Parliament in early 2017 to resume full duties.
Peseta Samuelu Masunu "Sam" Lotu-Iiga is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Maungakiekie electorate, having been elected in the 2008 election. Lotu-Iiga was one of two National Party Pacific Island MPs. Lotu-Iiga holds the Samoan high chiefly title of Peseta.
Carol Ann Beaumont is a politician from New Zealand, first elected to represent the Labour Party through the party list vote in the 2008 election. Beaumont stood in the Maungakiekie electorate, finishing second in both 2008 and 2011. In the 2011 election she initially missed joining the 50th New Zealand Parliament, her list ranking (22) sitting just above the cut-off due to Labour's reduced party vote. In March 2013 Charles Chauvel's resignation saw her return to Parliament until her defeat at the 2014 election.
Paul Jonathan Goldsmith is a New Zealand politician and, since the 2011 election, a list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party.
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Le-Aufa'amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor, is a former New Zealand politician and a member of the House of Representatives. She is a member of the New Zealand First Party.
Richard Ivor Prosser is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of New Zealand First party and was selected as a list MP at the 2011 election.
Denise Adrienne Lee, born 4 December 1970, is a New Zealand politician who has been the National Party's Member of Parliament for the Maungakiekie electorate since 2017. She was previously an Auckland Council local body councillor.
Priyanca Radhakrishnan is an Indian-born-New Zealand Malayali politician who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2017 general election as a representative of the New Zealand Labour Party.
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Maungakiekie 1996–1999 | Succeeded by Mark Gosche |