Rima Nakhle MP | |
|---|---|
 Nakhle in 2023 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Takanini | |
| Assumed office 14 October 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Neru Leavasa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Sydney,Australia |
| Political party | National |
| Spouse | Roger Nakhle |
Rima Jillian Nakhle is a New Zealand National Party politician and a member of parliament for the Takanini electorate in the House of Representatives.
Nakhle was born in Sydney,Australia, [1] [2] to parents of Lebanese origin. [3] She attended Western Sydney University and completed a law degree. She is an enrolled barrister and solicitor. [1] She moved to New Zealand in 2012,after marrying her husband Roger Nakhle. His parents are also of Lebanese descent,and lived in the suburb of The Gardens,which is now part of the Takanini electorate. [3] [4] In 2014,Nakhle was admitted to the bar in New Zealand. [5]
Nakhle was the executive manager of Te Mahia Community Village, [1] a transitional and emergency housing service converted from a former camping ground owned by her husband's family. The camping ground was reportedly a centre of homeless activity prior to its formal conversion;when Nakhle moved to New Zealand,she applied for permission to officially convert it to a "community village". Her proposal originally faced pushback,with government officials concerned the area would turn into a locus of antisocial behaviour. Nakhle stated in 2020 that Ministry of Social Development considered Te Mahia "the poster boy for community villages". [4] [6] She also established Te Mahia Community Village Trust,which provided sport,education and social activities for up to 300 village members. [2]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 –present | 54th | Takanini | 41 | National | |
In June 2020, Nakhle was selected over sitting list MP Agnes Loheni as the National Party candidate for the newly established Takanini electorate. [1] [7] Newsroom described her campaign that year as "an old school, grass roots campaign", focused on in-person canvassing rather than app-based advocacy. She estimated in October 2020 that she had door-knocked 3,000 houses since that June. [3] Despite having been predicted to win the seat, she was unsuccessful in the 2020 New Zealand general election, losing to Neru Leavasa by over 4,500 votes. [8] [9]
Nakhle was re-selected as National's Takanini candidate for the 2023 New Zealand general election, held on 14 October 2023. [10] She defeated the incumbent Leavasa by a margin of 8,775 votes. [11] She is deputy chair of the Māori affairs committee and a member of the justice committee. [12]
A member's bill in Nakhle's name, the Corrections (Victim Protection) Amendment Bill, was selected for introduction in February 2024. [13] The bill proposes to prevent victims of crime and those subject to a protection order from being contacted by prisoners. It unanimously passed its first reading in March 2024 and was sent to the justice committee. [14]
In both 2020 and 2023, Nakhle campaigned on a 'tough on crime' approach, saying National would set up military academies for youth offenders. [6] [5] She is also opposed to recreational use of cannabis. [6] She said she voted against legalising euthanasia and cannabis in the 2020 referendums. [15]
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was significant for being the first election to be held under the new mixed-member proportional (MMP) electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse than previous elections. Under the new MMP system, 65 members were elected in single-member districts by first-past-the-post voting, while a further 55 "top-up" members were allocated from closed lists to achieve a proportional distribution based on each party's share of the nationwide party vote.
David Allister Bennett is a New Zealand former National Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Hamilton East from 2005 to 2020 and a list MP from 2020 to 2023. He was Minister for Food Safety and Minister of Veterans' Affairs in the final year of the Fifth National Government.
Louisa Hareruia Wall is a New Zealand former double international sportswoman, former politician, and human rights advocate. She represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern from 1989 to 1992 and in rugby union as a member of the Black Ferns from 1995 to 2001, including as a member of the 1991 World Netball Championships runner-up team and 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup winning team.
Louise Claire Upston is a New Zealand politician. She was elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Taupō, representing the National Party, in the 2008 general election.
Kelvin Glen Davis is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and was a senior minister in the Sixth Labour Government and the deputy leader of the New Zealand Labour Party from 2017 to 2023.
Heather Janet Logie is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. She is a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Rino Tirikatene is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a former member of the House of Representatives. He comes from a family with a strong political history.
Le'Aufa'amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party from 2011 to 2014.
Adrian Paki Rurawhe is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. He has been an MP since 2014, and the speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2022 to 2023.
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd New Zealand Parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed party lists. Two referendums, one on the personal use of cannabis and one on euthanasia, were also held on the same day. Official results of the election and referendums were released on 6 November.
Deborah Faye Russell is a New Zealand academic and politician. She is a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party and served as Minister of Statistics and Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission from February to November 2023.
Willow-Jean Prime is a New Zealand politician. She was first elected a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives at the 2017 general election as a list representative of the New Zealand Labour Party. She was elected as the Member of Parliament for Northland at the 2020 general election and was re-elected as a list MP in 2023.
Anahila Lose Kanongata'a is a New Zealand social worker and politician. She served as a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023.
Agnes Loreta Loheni is a New Zealand politician and a former Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the New Zealand National Party. She was declared elected on 31 January 2019, following the resignation of Chris Finlayson.
Takanini is an electorate to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It is located in South Auckland and was first created for the 2020 New Zealand general election. Rima Nakhle is the sitting Member of Parliament.
Debbie Anne Ngarewa-Packer is a New Zealand politician, iwi leader and activist. She is a Member of Parliament and co-leader of Te Pāti Māori alongside Rawiri Waititi, and is the chief executive of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi.
Camilla Vera Feslier Belich is a New Zealand lawyer, trade unionist and politician. She has been a Member of Parliament, representing the New Zealand Labour Party, since 2020.
Anae Neru Asi Tuiataga Leavasa is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He served as the Member of Parliament for Takanini from 2020 to 2023.
Soraya Waiata Peke-Mason is a New Zealand politician. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 2022 to 2023.
Penelope Elsie Simmonds is a New Zealand politician, Member of Parliament and a Minister in the House of Representatives for the National Party. She previously served as the chief executive of the Southern Institute of Technology. Following the 2023 New Zealand general election, Simmonds assumed the disability issues, environmental, tertiary education and skills, and associate social development and employment portfolios in the Sixth National Government.
