Katherine O'Regan - Political Career

Political Career

Previous to entering parliament she was the first woman to be elected in 1977 to the then Waipa County Council where she served as a county councillor for 8 years.She was involved in community organisations like the NZ Plunket Society, SPELD and Hamilton Speech Therapy Association. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 general election as MP for Waipa, replacing the retiring Marilyn Waring. She had served as Waring's personal assistant since 1975. She held the electorate of Waipa for twelve years until it was abolished in 1996. On her entry to parliament O'Regan sought to highlight the plight of children with specific learning disabilities by introducing a private members bill seeking recognition by the education system of children with these disabilities.It was not successful but the bill was carried over by the Labour Party in government.It was finally discharged after 1990.

In the 1990 election Prime Minister Bolger appointed her Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minster of Social Welfare and Associate Minister of Women's Affairs-these remained her portfolio's until the 1996 election with Minister of Youth Affairs added briefly at the end of 1996.

She became Associate Minister of Women's Affairs under Minister Jenny Shipley on 2 November 1990. The ministry had existed since 1984 (first held by Ann Hercus), but the Associate Minister's position was newly created and first held by O'Regan. She held this role until 12 December 1996, when a new (National) government was formed with NZ First Party following the first MMP 1996 general election. The Associate Minister role was vacant for almost a year and next held by Deborah Morris.

In 1994 Hon O'Regan led the New Zealand Delegation to the UN Population and Development Conference in Cairo and also gave the Second Country Report to CEDAW at the UN in New York.

A supporter of human rights, as Associate Minister of Health she amended the Human Rights Act to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and having organisms in the body which might cause disease.

In the 1996 general election, she unsuccessfully contested the electorate of Tauranga against Winston Peters, but remained in Parliament as a list MP. She was appointed the Chairperson of the Internal Affairs select committee from 1996–1999. O'Regan continued her interest in population and development issues by establishing with the help of Family Planning International a New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development

In the 1999 general election, she again challenged Peters, and came within 62 votes of defeating him — had she won, the New Zealand First party would have lost all parliamentary representation. Labour's candidate Margaret Wilson, who came third in the electorate, requested a recount. The final result was a 63 votes majority for Peters. O'Regan attempted to oust Peters from the electorate by encouraging voters to vote tactically, and vote for her rather than the Labour's Wilson. However, according to Wilson, O'Regan's plan backfired, and Peters was re-elected but with a much reduced margin. Unlike in 1996, O'Regan was not high enough on National's party list to remain in Parliament without winning an electorate. She was 27 on the list, and the last list seat went to Marie Hasler, who was placed 24th. Both Arthur Anae and Alec Neill, who were placed 25th and 26th on the list, replaced retiring National Party members during the term of the 46th Parliament, and O'Regan would have been next had a third person from her party resigned. O'Regan has not returned to Parliament since 1999.