Maureen Pugh
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Maureen Helena Pugh (born 1958) is a New Zealand politician. She was the mayor of Westland from 2004 to 2013. She first became a Member of Parliament for the National Party in 2016, leaving Parliament in 2017 and returning in 2018. She was initially a list MP, before winning the West Coast-Tasman electorate in 2023.


Political career


Westland District Council

Pugh was elected to the Westland District Council in 1998 and served two terms before being elected as the district's first woman mayor in
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, succeeding John Drylie. In
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she was returned as mayor unopposed. She stood down at the 2013 elections and was succeeded as mayor by Michael Havill. While serving as mayor of Westland District Council, Pugh was accused of failure to declare a financial conflict of interest.


Parliament


First term, 2016–2017

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully for the
New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...
in the 2014 general election. Ranked number 52 on the National Party list, she just missed out on a list seat in the final results. She would have got a list seat on preliminary results, but National's proportion of the party vote reduced in the final results and the
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's Steffan Browning won the seat she would have taken. Pugh remained first in line should a vacancy arise in a list seat held by a National Party MP during the 51st New Zealand Parliament, and following Tim Groser's resignation in December 2015 she was sworn in as a member of parliament on 9 February 2016 after the summer recess.


Second term, 2018–2020

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully in the 2017 general election. She ranked higher, at 44, in the National Party list, and preliminary results again showed National had won enough seats (58) for her to gain one. However, the official count gave National two fewer seats than the preliminary count, and she did not return to parliament. Due to her history of appearing in and then out of parliament due to special votes, Pugh describes herself as the '
Yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...
MP'. Pugh was again in line to enter parliament if there were resignations, and she and several other "next-in-line" list candidates attended National's parliamentary
caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...
retreat in February 2018 to help ease their transition into the caucus should they enter parliament. In March 2018,
Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party, ...
resigned from parliament and Pugh was declared elected as a list MP.
Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a New Zealand retired politician, broadcaster and lawyer. He served as Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of t ...
, who was National Party leader from 2018 to 2020, described Pugh as "fucking useless" in a phone call with Jami-Lee Ross, which was recorded and posted on
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by Ross in October 2018. Bridges apologised to her after the recording became public. She voted with the majority against Bridges in the May 2020 leadership election.


Third term, 2020–2023

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully in the 2020 general election. This time, at 19 on the
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
, both preliminary and final results gave her a list seat. She had been anticipating missing out again after the counting of special votes for the final results and had already started packing her Wellington apartment, which she would have to send back. The National caucus elected her as its Junior Whip on 10 November. In February 2022 Pugh expressed support through Facebook for Convoy 2022, a protest group who travelled to Wellington to occupy the grounds of parliament, protesting vaccine mandates, with some opposing the vaccine itself. Pugh later amended the post, then deleted it, and said she did not realise many of the protesters were against COVID-19 vaccination. After the occupation of parliament grounds was over, Pugh said that "we he National Partyhad one or two members arty members, not members of parliamentin there talking with protestors on an almost daily basis... we wrote to the only email address we had and said we would enter dialogue as soon as they stopped the unlawful aspects to their protest." A National Party spokesperson said that "National did not send anyone—MPs, members or otherwise—to enter in discussions with protestors. However we are aware of party members who attended the protest of their own accord".


Fourth term, 2023–present

Final results from the 2023 general election indicate that Pugh had won the electorate of West Coast-Tasman, beating the incumbent Damien O'Connor by a margin of 1,017 votes. On 6 December 2023, she was appointed First Assistant Speaker of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. On 11 June 2024, Pugh was confronted by a group of protesters who were opposed to the National-led coalition government's proposed Fast-track Approvals Bill in the Golden Bay town of
Tākaka Tākaka is a small town situated at the southeastern end of Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, at the northern end of New Zealand's South Island, located on the lower reaches of the Tākaka River. State Highway 60 (New Zealand), State Highway 60 r ...
. Pugh was meeting with members of the Tākaka Community Board to foster relations with the local government body. During the incident, Pugh was allegedly assaulted by a male protested who pushed his poster against her face.


Views and positions

Pugh revealed in 2016 that she does not believe in
pharmaceutical drugs Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the ...
, saying that she never takes any kind of medication and has only ever given her children
chiropractic Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It is based on several pseudoscientific ideas. Many c ...
treatments. She said that nature delivers whatever people need, and that "there's nothing wrong with getting a cold or getting a flu – if you have a healthy immune system you can deal with it." The following day she wrote "I do support the use of pharmaceuticals, such as Panadol and anaesthetic". Pugh was one of the last Members of Parliament to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. On
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
, Pugh said that she did not support its decriminalisation, having seen its negative effects on some people, but she was not opposed to people "smoking or digesting a natural plant", adding, "I'm just talking about giving the poor lady whose got lymphoma a plant to smoke, which she can grow in her backyard." On
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, Pugh stated in 2023 that, while she believed in it, she had yet to see evidence of anthropocentric causes of that change. Her party leader Christopher Luxon responded to Pugh's refusal to say she believes in man-made climate change by stating "If you're a climate denier... that's not an acceptable position". Pugh later reversed her position, saying that she accepted that human-induced climate change was real and that it was a factor in extreme weather such as
Cyclone Gabrielle Severe Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that devastated parts of the North Island of New Zealand and affected parts of Vanuatu and Norfolk Island in February 2023. It is the costliest tropical cyclone ...
.
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journalist Guyon Espiner likened the retraction to a "hostage video". Regarding
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...
, Pugh also said in 2023 that she wanted to explore more renewable energy projects in the region. She noted that the West Coast pays about 25 percent more for its electricity than other regions, and considered that local electricity generation could help to bring prices down and so attract more businesses. Pugh said in 2023 that recent minimum pay increases had encouraged some employers to consider automation and that the consequences of those rises hadn't been thought through. She also said she was unhappy about recent changes to the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.


Personal life

Pugh was educated at St Mary's High School, Greymouth. Pugh and her husband John live on their farm in a mountain valley at Turiwhate, near Kumara. According to Pugh, her house's former copper piping acted as a conductor for electrical storms, and Pugh has been struck by lightning three times. In the
2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...
, Pugh was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pugh, Maureen 1958 births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs Women mayors of places in New Zealand Mayors of Westland, New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from the West Coast Region 21st-century New Zealand women politicians New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at John Paul II High School, Greymouth Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates