Sandra Anne Goudie (born 1952) is a New Zealand politician. She was the
mayor of Thames-Coromandel from 2016 to 2022 when she resigned. She was the Member of Parliament for the
Coromandel electorate from 2002 to 2011, representing the
National Party. During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
she was criticised for her anti-vaccination stance.
Early years
Goudie was a dairy farmer before entering politics.
She was elected to the
Thames-Coromandel District Council in 1998, and held that role until 2003.
Member of Parliament
Goudie was elected to Parliament in the
2002 election, narrowly winning the seat of
Coromandel by defeating
Labour candidate Max Purnell and pushing incumbent
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
MP
Jeanette Fitzsimons
Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons (née Gaston; 17 January 1945 – 5 March 2020) 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 ...
into third place.
Goudie was re-elected in the
2005 election
The following elections occurred in the year 2005.
* 2005 United Nations Security Council election
Africa
* 2005 Burkinabé presidential election
* 2005 Burundian Senate election
* 2005 Burundian communal elections
* 2005 Burundian constitutio ...
with a 9700 vote majority. The day after the election, Goudie participated in a protest clearing mangroves in the Whangamata Harbour against environmental regulations.
Goudie retained her seat in the
2008 election, with a majority of 14,560. During the 2008 term, Goudie was the National Party's opposition spokesperson on Internal Affairs, Senior Citizens and Associate Local Government until 2008.
She retired from parliament at the
2011 general election, citing the need to spend more time with her family.
She was succeeded by
Scott Simpson.
In 2012 Goudie left the National Party and joined
Focus NZ
Focus NZ was a political party in New Zealand. Founded as "NZ Rural", the party was based in Northland and represented the interests of business owners, producers and provincial communities. Areas of concern include the exchange rate and empow ...
, a small rural-based political party which subsequently deregistered in 2016.
Local government
At the
2016 local elections, Goudie was elected as the
mayor of Thames-Coromandel, with a 498-vote majority. Goudie was re-elected at the
2019 local elections, increasing her majority to 7560. In 2022, she did not seek re-election, and was succeeded as mayor by Len Salt.
Vaccination controversy
In August 2021 a person infected with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
visited the Coromandel, prompting concern that there could be community transmission of the virus.
Goudie attracted media attention when she said that she did not normally use the
NZ COVID Tracer app and that the outbreak would probably not encourage her to scan more often.
She later said that had been a throwaway remark, that she had been complacent about using the app, but that she would now use the COVID tracer app and urged everyone to do so.
In October 2021 Goudie received media attention when she said that she was not vaccinated, and would not take the
Pfizer vaccine, saying that she would instead wait for the
Novavax vaccine to be approved in New Zealand.
She did not give reasons for this, but public health academic
Siouxsie Wiles
Siouxsie Wiles (born Susanna Wiles) is a British microbiologist and science communicator. Her specialist areas are infectious diseases and bioluminescence. She is based in New Zealand.
She is the head of University of Auckland's Bioluminescen ...
said that Goudie's actions were "putting others in danger."
She was criticised by COVID-19 Response Minister
Chris Hipkins
Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), leader of the Opposition since November 2023. H ...
in a media conference. Despite her stance on the Pfizer vaccine, Goudie and the
Thames-Coromandel District Council voted unanimously to support the
COVID-19 vaccine rollout in October 2021.
In December, Thames-Coromandel councillor Gary Gotlieb lodged a complaint against Goudie due to her COVID-19 vaccination stance and for speaking to an Australian anti-vaccination group called Reignite Democracy Australia on 11 November.
The Thames-Coromandel District Council decided not to proceed with the investigation, opting to resolve the issue informally.
In February 2022, after Novavax was approved in New Zealand, Goudie said that she would not take it despite her earlier statements. Goudie stood by her decision in early March 2022.
Climate change controversy
In 2019, Goudie refused to confirm whether she believed climate change was happening, and refused to sign the Local Government Leaders' Climate Change Declaration.
In February 2022 she was still refusing to sign the Declaration, despite a majority of councillors on the Thames Coromandel District Council endorsing it.
In March 2022 the Declaration was signed on behalf of Thames Coromandel District Council by another councillor, with Mayor Goudie being the only vote against doing so.
In May 2022, Goudie announced that she would be retiring at the
October 2022 election.
References
External links
Page on Parliamentary website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goudie, Sandra
1952 births
Living people
Mayors of Thames
20th-century New Zealand farmers
New Zealand National Party MPs
Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Focus NZ politicians
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
People from Coromandel Peninsula
21st-century New Zealand politicians
21st-century New Zealand women politicians
21st-century New Zealand farmers
21st-century New Zealand women farmers