Judith Anne Turner (born 2 August 1956) is a New Zealand politician who was the deputy leader of

United Future New Zealand United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a centrist political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside Labour (2005–2008) and then supporting National (2008–2017). ...

. She was a member of the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...

as a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than a geographic electoral district. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs only in ...

from 2002 to 2008, and the

mayor of Whakatāne The mayor of Whakatāne is the head of the municipal government in Whakatāne District, New Zealand. The mayor presides over the Whakatāne District Council, which was first formed in 1976 following an amalgamation, with further changes taking p ...

from 2019 to 2022.

Member of Parliament

Turner was first elected as a United Future list MP at the 2002 election. In December 2004 United Future party members chose her as their deputy leader. In September 2005, Turner and

Gordon Copeland Gordon Frank Copeland (19 August 1943 – 24 November 2018) was a New Zealand politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2008. He entered the House of Representatives as a list MP for the United Future New Zealand Party from ...

became the only two United Future List MPs re-elected alongside

Peter Dunne Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a New Zealand retired politician. Dunne was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ōhāriu electorate and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017, first as a member of the Labour Party from 1984 to 1 ...

(who won an electorate seat). Although Copeland left the party in 2007, Turner indicated that she would remain within the United Future caucus. In the 2008 election, Turner stood as a United Future candidate for the East Coast electorate. However, she failed to win the electorate, and United Future did not poll sufficiently well for a second list MP during the

2008 New Zealand general election The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand Parliament. The liberal-conservative New Zealand National Party, National Party, headed by its parliamentary leader John Key, ...

. As a consequence, Turner did not return to Parliament. In June 2009, Turner stood as an electorate candidate for

United Future United Future New Zealand, usually known as United Future, was a Centrism, centrist List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. The party was in government between 2005 and 2017, first alongside New Zealand Labou ...

in Auckland's Mount Albert, polling eighth at 89 votes. She was outpolled by the Bill and Ben Party co-leader Ben Boyce (158 votes), as well as the

Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), also known as the Cannabis Party, is a political party in New Zealand. It is dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis for medical, recreational and industrial use. It was founded in 1996 and has stood i ...

's Dakta Green (92 votes) and

The Kiwi Party The Kiwi Party was a political party operating in New Zealand between 2007 and 2011. Briefly known as Future New Zealand, it was a breakaway from the United Future New Zealand party and sought to carry on the tradition of Future New Zealand. Th ...

's Simmone Dyer (91 votes).

Former parliamentary roles

* Member, Business Committee * Member, Finance and Expenditure Committee * Member, Social Services Committee

UFNZ caucus roles

* Deputy Leader * Member, Health select committee 27 August 2002 – 11 August 2005 * Spokesperson, Drugs 2002–2005 * Spokesperson, Family and Children 2002–2005 * Spokesperson, Senior Citizens 2002–2005 * Spokesperson, Social Services 2002–2005 * Spokesperson, Women's Affairs 2002–2005 * Spokesperson, Health 2005–2008 * Spokesperson, Education and Research 2005–2008 * Spokesperson, Family and Social Services 2005–2008 * Spokesperson, Māori and Treaty Issues 2005–2008

Local political career

Turner was elected to Whakatāne District Council in the 2010 local elections and served three terms (i.e. until 2019) as deputy mayor. In the 2019 local elections, she won the mayoral election after the incumbent retired.

Personal details

Born 2 August 1956, Turner is married with three adult children. Before entering politics, she worked simultaneously as an art teacher and as a pastoral and community worker at a local New Life Church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Judy 1956 births Living people United Future MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1999 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Mayors of Whakatāne