Sarah Dowie

Last updated

New Zealand Parliament
Sarah Dowie
Sarah Dowie.jpg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Invercargill
In office
20 September 2014 –17 October 2020
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2014 –2017 51st Invercargill 57 National
2017 –2020 52nd Invercargill41 National

Political career

Dowie was selected by the National Party to replace retiring MP Eric Roy as the party's Invercargill for the 2014 election. At the time, she was described in the media as "relatively unknown" [4] but was able to retain to retain the seat for National with a large margin over Labour's Lesley Soper. [2] [5] Dowie was returned again in 2017 with a slightly reduced margin over new Labour candidate Liz Craig and sitting New Zealand First list MP Ria Bond.

During her first term, Dowie served on a range of select committees. She was deputy chairperson of the Government Administration committee, deputy chairperson of the Local Government and Environment committee and chairperson of the Justice and Electoral committee.

In Dowie's second term, National was in Opposition. She was appointed to Simon Bridges' shadow cabinet as conservation spokesperson and one of only a few members who had not been a minister in the previous Government. [6] In this role she campaigned against Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage's proposed tahr cull, [7] supported recreational whitebaiting, [8] and promoted a member's bill aimed at regulating the shark cage diving industry. [9] She also opposed the Labour government's plans to merge the country's polytechnics into a single entity, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology. [10]

Jami-Lee Ross scandal and retirement

Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross split from National in October 2018. Shortly after this Newsroom reported that four women claimed to have been sexually harassed by Ross [11] [12] and Ross revealed in a radio interview that he had been having an affair with two women including a fellow MP. [13] On 25 January 2019, that MP was revealed to be Dowie. [14] Ross had disclosed her identity to news media in October 2018, but they chose not to name her until it was learned that a police investigation had been launched into a text message allegedly sent by Dowie to Ross. [3] [15] However, the police decided that no further action was needed. [16] [17]

In 2019 Dowie was re-selected unopposed as National's Invercargill candidate, but in February 2020 announced her decision not to stand for re-election. [18] Her change of heart was attributed to the fallout from the Ross scandal. [19] Southern Institute of Technology chief executive Penny Simmonds was announced as the replacement candidate. [20]

Dowie delivered her valedictory speech on 29 July 2020. [21] [22] She criticised the news media for the way it portrayed her when the news broke of her relationship with Ross and accused journalists and political commentators of inaccurate reporting and “downright lies”. She described Ross as a “predator” who was able to “manipulate the media for his agenda” and said when the “media is directly party to it, it is the media fraternity that needs to audit themselves as to their ethics and their conscious peddling of sexism and patriarchy”. Dowie said if it takes for her to be “New Zealand’s ‘scarlet woman’ to highlight that situation, “then so be it”, and that New Zealand has a long way to go with how it views women.

Her speech was met with a standing ovation by MPs throughout the debating chamber. Dowie gave a number of high-profile interviews with news media following the announcement of her retirement from Parliament, including with New Zealand Herald senior writer David Fisher, [23] Stuff’s Andrea Vance, [24] and Newsroom’s Melanie Reid. [25] In these interviews she described Ross as psychologically, sexually and emotionally abusive and called for an overhaul of the way in which women MPs are treated.

Dowie also wrote an op-ed for Newsroom providing advice to other women caught in abusive relationships including breaking off contact with the abuser and reaching out to and confiding in friends. [26]

Post-Parliamentary career

In exit interviews, Dowie stated her intention to work as a consultant championing Southland and shepherding policy through central and local government.

In January 2021 she was announced as the chief executive of Able Charitable Trust, a mental health charity. [27]

Personal life

Sarah Dowie is married to Mark Billcliff, a former first class cricketer for Otago, but it is understood they have separated. [28] Dowie has two young children. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Soper</span> New Zealand politician (born 1954)

Lesley Frances Soper is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clutha-Southland</span> Former electorate in New Zealand

Clutha-Southland was a parliamentary constituency returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The last MP for Clutha Southland was Hamish Walker of the National Party. He held the seat for one term, being elected at the 2017 general election and representing the electorate until the 2020 general election where he retired from Parliament, and the seat was replaced with the Southland electorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invercargill (New Zealand electorate)</span> Electoral district in Southland, New Zealand

Invercargill is an electorate of the New Zealand Parliament that has existed since 1866. Since the 2020 election, the electorate's representative is Penny Simmonds of the National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare Curran</span> New Zealand politician

Clare Elizabeth Curran is a New Zealand former politician who served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin South from 2008 to 2020. She was the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications, and Digital Media and Associate Minister for the Accident Compensation Corporation in the Sixth Labour Government of New Zealand. Curran retired from politics at the 2020 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Adams (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Amy Juliet Adams is a former New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party and the current chancellor of the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. She was the Member of Parliament for Selwyn from 2008 to 2020, when she retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jami-Lee Ross</span> New Zealand politician

Jami-Lee Matenga Ross is a New Zealand businessman and former politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Botany from a by-election in March 2011 until he lost his re-election bid at the 2020 general election.

Ria Iris Daphne Bond is a New Zealand politician and former hairdresser. She was appointed to the House of Representatives as a New Zealand First list MP following Winston Peters winning the March 2015 Northland by-election. She now serves as an Invercargill City Councillor after an unsuccessful bid for the 2022 Invercargill mayoral election but a successful attempt to obtain a seat on the city council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 New Zealand general election</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Craig</span> New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament

Elizabeth Dorothy Craig is a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. She served as a Member of Parliament from 2017 to 2023. As a public health physician before entering Parliament, she is known for her research work on child poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election</span> 2018 election to determine the 12th leader of the National Party

The 2018 New Zealand National Party leadership election was held on 27 February 2018 to determine the 12th Leader of the National Party. On 13 February 2018, Bill English announced his resignation as leader of the National Party, effective on 27 February 2018. He left Parliament on 13 March 2018. On 20 February, Deputy Leader Paula Bennett announced that a concurrent deputy leadership election would take place, in which she would stand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges</span> Former Shadow Cabinet of New Zealand under Simon Bridges

The Shadow Cabinet of Simon Bridges was the official Opposition in the 52nd New Zealand Parliament between 11 March 2018 and 22 May 2020. It comprised all members of the New Zealand National Party, which was the largest party not a member of the Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey McLellan</span> New Zealand politician

Tracey Lee McLellan is a New Zealand politician. From 2020 to 2023, she was a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. In 2024, she re-entered parliament after the resignation of fellow Labour List MP Rino Tirikatene.

This page lists candidates contesting electorates in the 2020 New Zealand general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Grigg</span> New Zealand politician

Nicola Anna Grigg is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives representing the Selwyn electorate since October 2020. Since 27 November 2023, she has served as the Minister of State for Trade, Minister for Women, and an Associate Minister of Agriculture in the Sixth National Government. She is a member of the National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ayesha Verrall</span> New Zealand politician, physician and infectious-diseases researcher

Ayesha Jennifer Verrall is a New Zealand politician, infectious-diseases physician and researcher with expertise in tuberculosis and international health. Since 2020 she has been a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Advance New Zealand</span> Political party in New Zealand (2020–2021)

The Advance New Zealand Party was a short-lived political party in New Zealand from 2020 to 2021. The idea was first unveiled in a newsletter from founder Jami-Lee Ross in April 2020. Ross has claimed that the party was a centrist and anti-corruption movement designed to appeal to voters "in the middle"; however, their main policies represent the political fringe rather than centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tova O'Brien</span> New Zealand political journalist

Tova O'Brien is a New Zealand political journalist and broadcaster.

William Desmond Te Kahika Jr, also known as Billy TK Jr, is a New Zealand conspiracy theorist, blues musician and former political candidate. During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Te Kahika attracted media coverage both as the leader of the fringe New Zealand Public Party and for his promulgation of conspiracy theories. Te Kahika and the Public Party opposed the New Zealand Government's lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny Simmonds</span> New Zealand politician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alena Saili</span> NZ rugby union player

Alena Saili is a New Zealand rugby sevens player.is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays seven-a-side and fifteen-a-side rugby union, and is a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team.

References

  1. ↑ "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 December 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Berwick, Louise; Mcdougall, Nicci; Mcleod, Hannah (20 September 2014). "Soper won't stand again as Dowie wins city vote". The Southland Times . Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Savory, Logan (25 January 2019). "Sarah Dowie: A journey from talented dancer to representing Invercargill in parliament". Stuff.co.nz . Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Invercargill Nats hopeful hits ground running". The Southland Times . 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Official Count Results – Invercargill (2014)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Bridges reveals new-look National". Otago Daily Times Online News. 11 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  7. ↑ "Confusion surrounds South Island Himalayan Tahr cull start". Stuff. 27 September 2018. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  8. ↑ Sarah, Dowie (6 August 2019). "Comment: Standing up for whitebaiting and fighting for polytechnic". New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Invercargill MP's Bill to regulate shark cage diving pulled from ballot in Parliament". Stuff. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Sarah Dowie criticises 'closed meeting' on SIT merger". Stuff. 9 August 2019. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  11. ↑ Reid, Melanie; Mason, Cass (18 October 2018). "Jami-Lee Ross: Four women speak out". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Four women accuse Jami-Lee Ross of harassment, bullying". Radio New Zealand. 18 October 2018. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  13. ↑ du Plessis-Allan, Heather (19 October 2018). "Exclusive: Watch – Jami-Lee Ross admits to affairs with two women". Newstalk ZB. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  14. ↑ Vance, Andrea (2022). Blue Blood: The inside story of the National Party in crisis. Auckland: HarperCollins. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-7755-4215-5.
  15. ↑ "Barry Soper: Sarah Dowie, the police inquiry, and the text from her phone". Newstalk ZB . Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  16. ↑ Coughlan, Thomas (31 July 2019). "No charges for Sarah Dowie in relation to text". Stuff.co.nz . Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  17. ↑ "Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie won't be charged over 'you deserve to die' message to Jami-Lee Ross". New Zealand Herald . 31 July 2019. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  18. ↑ Walls, Jason (11 February 2020). "Sarah Dowie, David Carter, Nicky Wagner – National MPS not contesting 2020 election". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "'We all do things we are not proud of' says outgoing Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie". Stuff. 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  20. ↑ "Education boss Penny Simmonds to run for Invercargill seat". Stuff. 19 May 2020. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "New Zealand Parliament Hansard". New Zealand Parliament.
  22. ↑ "Sarah Dowie comes out swinging in valedictory speech, calls for better treatment of women in NZ". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Exclusive: MP Sarah Dowie on leaving politics, Jami-Lee Ross". NZ Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  24. ↑ "Sarah Dowie: Other women were my harshest critics". Stuff. 25 July 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "'He said he'd destroy me ... and here we are'". Newsroom. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "MP: my advice to women trapped by predators". Newsroom. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "Former Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie takes chief executive role at mental health charity". Stuff. 29 January 2021. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  28. ↑ Houlahan, Mike (26 January 2019). "Dowie's reign as Invercargill MP looks to be over". Otago Daily Times . Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Invercargill
2014–2020		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.