Holly Walker

Last updated

Holly Walker
Holly Walker.jpg
Walker in 2011
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Green party list
In office
2011 (2011)–2014
Website Official website

Holly Ruth Walker (born 15 November 1982) is a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014, as a Green Party list MP. She is deputy Director of The Helen Clark Foundation, and a writer and book reviewer.

Contents

Early life

Walker was born in Lower Hutt in 1982. [1] She was raised by a mother on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and attended Waterloo School, Hutt Intermediate School and Hutt Valley High School, where she was deputy head girl. [2] [3] [4]

University and early political work

From 2001 she studied at the University of Otago, graduating with a BA (Hons) in English and Politics, as well as winning a Blue for her achievements with the Otago University Debating Society. [2] In 2005 she was the editor of student magazine Critic Te Ārohi , the year's winner of the Aotearoa Student Press Association's award for Best Student Publication. [5] In September 2005 Critic's annual "Offensive Issue" included a fictional diary of a man who used drugs to stupefy and rape women. The Office of Film and Literature Classification banned the issue in early 2006, after Walker's tenure as editor had ended. At the time of the ban she said the article was "defendable in that it highlights a very important issue", [6] but when Critic interviewed her in 2012 she called it "a mistake to publish that particular article the way that we did". [7]

She moved from Dunedin to Wellington and in 2006 began working as a media adviser to the Green Party. [8] The next year she moved to the Office of Treaty Settlements, working as an analyst. [1] 2007 also saw her named a Rhodes scholar, [9] leading to a master's degree in Developmental Studies from the University of Oxford, awarded in 2007. [1] [8] [10]

After two years in Oxford, Walker returned to New Zealand and the Green Party. She spent 2009–11 as a Political and Media Adviser to the party's MPs, leading a poverty research project for the party, and she co-convened the Young Greens of Aotearoa in 2010. [8] [10]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2011 –2014 50th List 12 Green
Walker talking to Bryce Edwards at University of Otago Vote Chat in 2011 Holly Walker votechat.jpg
Walker talking to Bryce Edwards at University of Otago Vote Chat in 2011

Placed twelfth on the Green Party list for the 2011 election, [11] Walker was elected to Parliament when the Greens gained 14 seats. [12] She gave her maiden speech in February 2012. [13]

On 5 April 2012, Walker's Lobbying Disclosure Bill was drawn from the ballot of private members' bills and introduced to Parliament. [14] [15] [16] It had originally been written by Sue Kedgley, but was narrowed in scope under Walker. [17] The bill was modelled on a Canadian law, with similar legislation in Australia and America also being an influence. Its intention was to make interactions between MPs and lobbyists more transparent. [18] It passed its first reading but was rejected by a parliamentary select committee in August 2013. [17]

In January 2013 Walker unveiled the Green Party's Home for Life scheme, aimed at getting low income earners into their own homes. [19] By the end of the Parliamentary term she was Green Party spokesperson for Housing, Electoral Reform, Children, Open Government, Arts Culture & Heritage, and Students. [20]

Three months before the 2014 general election, Walker withdrew from the Green Party list, citing "a recent unexpected change in my family life". [21] She had been placed twelfth – high enough to be returned to Parliament. [22] She remained the party's (unsuccessful) candidate for Hutt South, campaigning only for the party vote, and did not rule out a return to politics. [23] [24]

Career after politics

After stepping down as a Green MP, Walker worked at the Office of the Children's Commissioner, and began a blog reviewing books written by women. [25] She has written that she wishes to return to public life when family commitments allow her to:

One day – when time and family permits – I hope to step back onto a public stage, whether in politics or in some other sphere, if for no other reason than I’m an A-type personality, and I like it. Until then, I’ll fiercely support and encourage other women to combine parenting and politics if they want to and think they can. More representative parliaments make better decisions, so we need as many mothers in there as we can get. But I’ll also tell them straight: it’s damn hard. And if it’s too hard, it’s ok. The world’s fight is being fought on many fronts, and front and centre is only one of them. [25]

In 2015 she first contributed to website The Spinoff, reviewing books, interviewing authors, and writing other articles. [26] In 2016 she launched a parenting podcast, Dear Mamas, co-hosted with Emily Writes, and contributed book reviews to Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon programme. [27] [28] [29]

As of March 2022, she is deputy executive director of The Helen Clark Foundation. [30]

Books

Walker's first book, The Whole Intimate Mess: Motherhood, Politics, and Women's Writing, was launched in June 2017. It describes her experiences while trying to combine motherhood and her career as an MP, including post-natal depression and instances of intentional self-injury. [31]

She is one of two editors of Reconnecting Aotearoa: Loneliness and Connection in the Age of Social Distance, which was released by BWB in November 2023. [32]

Family life

Walker is in a civil union with David Haines. [33] They live in Petone with their 2 daughters. [34] [35]

Related Research Articles

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social-democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanette Fitzsimons</span> New Zealand politician and environmentalist (1945–2020)

Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons was a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metiria Turei</span> New Zealand politician

Metiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei is a New Zealand academic and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2017 and the female co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 to 2017. Turei resigned from the co-leader position on 9 August 2017 amid a political controversy arising from her admission to lying to the Ministry of Social Development to receive higher payments when she was on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and later, to being enrolled to vote in an electorate where she was not eligible when she was 23.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Bradford</span> New Zealand activist, academic, and former politician

Sue Bradford is a New Zealand activist, academic, and former New Zealand politician who served as a list Member of Parliament representing the Green Party from 1999 to 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russel Norman</span> New Zealand politician

Russel William Norman is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party. Norman resigned as an MP in October 2015 to work as Executive Director of Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Aotearoa Student Press Association is an association of eight student newspapers and magazines that are published by the student associations of universities and polytechnics in Aotearoa. The Aotearoa Student Press Association has an associate membership in the New Zealand House of Representatives press gallery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ikaroa-Rāwhiti</span> Māori electorate in New Zealand

Ikaroa-Rāwhiti is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was formed for the 1999 election. It covers the eastern North Island from East Cape south through Hawke's Bay and the Wairarapa to Wainuiomata and most of the Hutt Valley, but not southern Lower Hutt or Wellington City.

<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">2014 New Zealand general election</span> General election in New Zealand

The 2014 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 20 September 2014 to determine the membership of the 51st New Zealand Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Clendon</span> New Zealand politician

David James Clendon is a New Zealand former politician. He was a list Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 until 2017. He later served one term on the Far North District Council from 2019 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugenie Sage</span> New Zealand politician

Eugenie Meryl Sage is a environmentalist and former New Zealand politician. Since the 2011 election, she has been a Green Party list MP in the House of Representatives and served as the Minister of Conservation and Land Information and the Associate Minister for the Environment from 2017 to 2020. She concluded her parliamentary term following the 2023 New Zealand general election.

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

Gareth Thomas Llewelyn Hughes is a New Zealand activist and a former politician of the Green Party. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for eleven years, from 2010 to 2020. He first took a seat part way through the 49th Parliament as the next person on the Green party list following the retirement of Jeanette Fitzsimons in February 2010. He did not stand for re-election in the 2020 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Logie</span> New Zealand politician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denise Roche</span> New Zealand politician

Denise Maree Roche is a New Zealand politician. She was a member of the Waiheke Local Board and the New Zealand House of Representatives, where she represented the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2011 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steffan Browning</span> New Zealand politician

Steffan John Browning is a New Zealand politician of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. He was elected as a member of the House of Representatives in 2011 and retired in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Anne Genter</span> American-born New Zealand politician

Julie Anne Genter is an American-born New Zealand politician who is a member of the House of Representatives representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Genter was elected to each Parliament from 2011 to 2023 on the party lists, before being elected as the Member of Parliament for the Rongotai electorate in the 2023 election. She served as the Minister for Women, Associate Minister for Health and Associate Minister for Transport during the first term of the Sixth Labour Government. She holds dual citizenship of New Zealand and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 New Zealand general election</span>

The 2017 New Zealand general election took place on Saturday 23 September 2017 to determine the membership of the 52nd New Zealand Parliament. The previous parliament was elected on 20 September 2014 and was officially dissolved on 22 August 2017. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives under New Zealand's mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, a proportional representation system in which 71 members were elected from single-member electorates and 49 members were elected from closed party lists. Around 3.57 million people were registered to vote in the election, with 2.63 million (79.8%) turning out. Advance voting proved popular, with 1.24 million votes cast before election day, more than the previous two elections combined.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marama Davidson</span> New Zealand politician

Marama Mere-Ana Davidson is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a list-member representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she became the female co-leader in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlöe Swarbrick</span> New Zealand politician

Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, standing in the 2017 New Zealand general election and was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23. In the 2020 election, Swarbrick was elected as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, becoming the second Green Party MP ever to win an electorate seat, and the first without a tacit endorsement from a major party leader. She retained Auckland Central in the 2023 election. On 2 February 2024, Swarbrick announced her bid for co-leadership of the Green Party following the resignation of James Shaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Greens of Aotearoa New Zealand</span> Youth wing of New Zealand Green Party

The Young Greens of Aotearoa New Zealand is the youth wing of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and a member of the Global Young Greens. The Young Greens represent Green Party members 35 years of age and under. The Young Greens were founded by MP and then Young Green Gareth Hughes in 2006.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Holly Ruth Walker". Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Rhodes Scholars Elect for 2007". Scoop. 18 October 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  3. ↑ Easton, Paul (8 September 2012). "Green and keen to make a difference". The Dominion Post . p. C5. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. ↑ Brown, Erin (25 March 2012). "Green MP warns inequality at 'crisis point' in NZ". NewsWire.co.nz. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "ASPA Awards: Critic named Best Student Publication". No. 3 October 2005. Aotearoa Student Press Association. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "Student drug-rape magazine banned". The New Zealand Herald. 1 February 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Fredric, Callum (11 March 2012). "Holly Walker: Green star on the horizon". Critic Te Arohi. No. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 "Holly Walker (official MP profile)". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  9. ↑ The Rhodes Trust. "Rhodes scholar class of 2007". The Rhodes Scholarships. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  10. 1 2 Edwards, Simon. "Holly Walker ready for first day as MP". Hutt News. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  11. ↑ "2011 election candidates". Green Party. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "Official Count Results – Successful Candidates". electionresults.govt.nz.
  13. ↑ "Holly Walker's maiden speech to the House". home.greens.org.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  14. ↑ "The Nation: politicians take on Lobbying Disclosure Bill". 3 News. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "Lobbying Disclosure Bill". www.parliament.nz. New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lobbying Disclosure Bill". www.legislation.govt.nz/. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  17. 1 2 Davison, Isaac (24 August 2013). "MPs decide law to restrict lobbyists unnecessary in 'village' NZ". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Chapman, Kate (10 April 2012). "Greens' bill rips veil off lobbying". stuff.co.nz. Fairfax. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "Greens unveil 'rent-to-buy' scheme". 3 News NZ. 24 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Holly Walker". Green Party. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  21. ↑ "Green MP Holly Walker stepping down". Stuff. Fairfax. 8 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Official Count Results – Overall Status (2014)". electionresults.govt.nz. Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  23. ↑ Bennett, Adam (30 June 2014). "Green MP Holly Walker to step down at election". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Holly Walker: The Whole Intimate Mess". BWB. Bridgett Williams Books. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  25. 1 2 Walker, Holly (24 February 2015). "'How Do You Do It?' Hard Lessons in Work-Life Balance". The Rhodes Project. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Holly Walker (author profile)". The Spinoff. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  27. ↑ Writes, Emily. "Podcast archive". Mama Said. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Book review – Can You Tolerate This? by Ashleigh Young". Radio NZ. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  29. ↑ "Book review – Billy Bird by Emma Neale". Radio NZ. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Our People – the Helen Clark Foundation". The Helen Clark Foundation.
  31. ↑ Davidson, Isaac (16 June 2017). "Ex-MP says stress of baby, Parliament drove her to self-injury". The New Zealand Herald.
  32. ↑ "Reconnecting Aotearoa: Loneliness and Connection in the Age of Social Distance". BWB. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  33. ↑ Rutherford, Hamish (5 May 2013). "Greens' Holly Walker announces pregnancy". The Dominion Post . Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Greens Holly Walker announces pregnancy". Stuff/Fairfax. 5 May 2013.
  35. ↑ Vance, Andrea (19 October 2013). "Baby Esther does her bit for rule change". Fairfax New Zealand.
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.