Woods was born and grew up in Wigram,Christchurch.[1] She attended high school at Catholic Cathedral College. She obtained a master's degree from the University of Canterbury with her thesis being titled Re/producing the nation:women making identity in New Zealand,1906–1925.[2] She went on to obtain a PhD in history again at the University of Canterbury[3] with a thesis titled Integrating the nation:Gendering Maori urbanisation and integration,1942–1969.[4]
Woods was a member of the Alliance Party from 1999 until 2002,when she joined the breakaway Progressive Party. She was involved in several of Jim Anderton's re-election campaigns.[5] She contested the Christchurch Central electorate in the 2005 general election and came fourth,receiving 1077 votes (3.2% of the electorate votes).[6] She was placed fourth on the Progressive party list. As the party obtained only 1.2% of the party vote,she did not enter Parliament that year.
She was a member of the Spreydon-Heathcote community board in Christchurch from 2004 to 2007.[1]
Woods was selected as the Labour candidate for the 2011 election in the Wigram electorate.[1][5] She succeeded Jim Anderton,who had announced that he would retire either after winning the Christchurch mayoralty (he was unsuccessful) or at the end of the term of the 49th Parliament in November 2011. Woods was a key member of Anderton's campaign committee,along with key Progressive Party members like Jeanette Lawrence and Liz Maunsell,and Labour activists such as campaign manager Tony Milne,Ben Ross and Liana Foster.[9] Until the 2010 Canterbury earthquake,Anderton was leading in the opinion polls,and winning the mayoralty would have caused a by-election in the Wigram electorate.[10] The earthquake resulted in a mood swing in Christchurch,and Anderton lost against Bob Parker.[11] Anderton remained an MP until the end of the term of the 49th Parliament,and Woods won in the 2011 general election in the Wigram electorate.[5]
Woods's candidacy,which began in late 2010,was centred on job creation in her electorate. She stated in her Labour selection speech that "Growing up here in the 1980s,I watched people lose their jobs. I saw workplaces like the Addington Workshops shut their doors forever. Now I am 36 years old and am watching jobs disappear from our communities again."[5] Woods also cited the rising cost of living for everyday people as a major concern.
During the 2011 election,Woods won the seat with 45.11% of the vote and a majority of 1,500 votes.[12] Woods won re-election in the 2014 election with an increased majority.[13]
Woods was previously Labour Party's spokesperson for the Environment and Climate Change and has served prior as the Party's spokesperson for Tertiary Education and associate spokesperson for Science and Innovation.[14][15]
Woods was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Greens.[17] As of 2017,Woods is the Minister of Energy and Resources. On 12 April,Woods announced that the Government would halt future gas and oil exploration but clarified that the existing 22 contracts would be allowed to continue.[18]
On 27 June 2019,in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's first major reshuffle of the coalition government,Woods was appointed Minister of Housing,replacing Phil Twyford.[19]
On 19 June 2020,Woods was given joint responsibility with Air Commodore Darryn Webb for overseeing isolation and quarantine facilities for travellers entering New Zealand,as part of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20][21]
During the 2020 general election,Woods served as the Labour Party's campaign chairperson.[22] She retained her seat of Wigram by a final margin of 14,770 votes.[23] In early November 2020,she retained her ministerial portfolios of Housing,Energy and Resources,and Research,Science and Innovation,while picking up the position of Associate Minister of Finance.[24]
In late February 2021,Woods defended the Government's Progressive Home Ownership Scheme,which had cost NZ$17 million but only resettled 12 families in the last seven months. In response,National's housing spokesperson Nicola Willis described the program as a failure and contended that Woods was out of touch.[25]
During the 2023 general election campaign,Woods served as Labour's campaign chairperson for a second time.[22] In early June 2023,she attracted media attention after publishing a Twitter post likening the opposition National Party's proposal to bring back the NZ$5 prescription fee to the dsytopian novel and TV show The Handmaid's Tale. In response,National's deputy leader Willis stated she was offended by Woods' post and accused the Labour Government of "going into the gutter" and making "ridicolous,baseless attacks."[26]
During the 2023 election held on 14 October,Woods was re-elected in Wigram by a margin of 1,179 votes.[27]
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