Jump to content

Laura McClure: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→Political career: expand; some complex views here, trying to put them in context
Line 29: Line 29:


==Early life==
==Early life==
Trask was born and raised in [[Christchurch]]<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.act.org.nz/2023_laura_trask | title=Laura Trask |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=ACT Party}}</ref> as the eldest of three children. Her father Bill McClure, who moved from England to New Zealand in the 1970s, was a former general manager at [[Kraft Heinz]] who later founded a fire evacuation business. Her mother Sharyn, one of eight children, was a hairdresser who grew up in public housing. Trask worked as a pharmacy technician in Christchurch for some time before moving to [[Wellington]], where she met her husband, a construction project manager. After the couple had their first child, they moved to [[Auckland]], where Trask and her husband took over the local wing of her father's business.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title= The Sure Things: Act's Laura Trask would kill off red tape 'overkill' |url= https://www.newsroom.co.nz/acts-laura-trask-health-and-safety-reformist |first= David |last= Williams |work= [[Newsroom (website)|Newsroom]] |date= 13 September 2023 |access-date= 26 September 2023}}</ref> She is a registered fire safety evacuation consultant.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 2023 |title=Ex-TVNZ reporter, climate protester & rugby boss: The new MPs on track to enter Parliament |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/andy-foster-tamatha-paul-hana-rawhiti-maipi-clarke-host-of-new-faces-on-track-to-enter-new-zealands-54th-parliament/LC4BSNJOWJBMVMV572RUC56HTI/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref> While living in Auckland, Trask advocated for more out-of-hours medical support for south Auckland.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Earley |first=Melanie |date=19 December 2018 |title=Long drive for medical help for mum of child with seizures |language=en |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/109324451/long-drive-for-medical-help-for-mum-of-child-with-seizures |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref>
Trask was born and raised in [[Christchurch]]<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.act.org.nz/2023_laura_trask | title=Laura Trask |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=ACT Party}}</ref> as the eldest of three children. Her father Bill McClure, who moved from England to New Zealand in the 1970s, was a former general manager at [[Kraft Heinz]] who later founded a fire evacuation business. Her mother Sharyn, one of eight children, was a hairdresser who grew up in public housing. Trask's parents disagreed with one another politically, with her mother being a staunch Labour Party supporter and her father a Nationals supporter; she grew up in an environment of significant political discourse.<ref name=":1" />
Trask worked as a pharmacy technician in Christchurch for some time before moving to [[Wellington]], where she met her husband, a construction project manager. After the couple had their first child, they moved to [[Auckland]], where Trask and her husband took over the local wing of her father's business.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title= The Sure Things: Act's Laura Trask would kill off red tape 'overkill' |url= https://www.newsroom.co.nz/acts-laura-trask-health-and-safety-reformist |first= David |last= Williams |work= [[Newsroom (website)|Newsroom]] |date= 13 September 2023 |access-date= 26 September 2023}}</ref> She is a registered fire safety evacuation consultant.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 October 2023 |title=Ex-TVNZ reporter, climate protester & rugby boss: The new MPs on track to enter Parliament |url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/andy-foster-tamatha-paul-hana-rawhiti-maipi-clarke-host-of-new-faces-on-track-to-enter-new-zealands-54th-parliament/LC4BSNJOWJBMVMV572RUC56HTI/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref> While living in Auckland, Trask advocated for more out-of-hours medical support for south Auckland.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Earley |first=Melanie |date=19 December 2018 |title=Long drive for medical help for mum of child with seizures |language=en |work=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/109324451/long-drive-for-medical-help-for-mum-of-child-with-seizures |access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref>


==Political career==
==Political career==

Revision as of 11:21, 18 October 2023

Laura Trask
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for ACT party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
2023
Personal details
Born1984 or 1985 (age 39–40)[1]
Christchurch, New Zealand
Political partyACT New Zealand
Children2

Laura Trask (née McClure; born 1984 or 1985) is a New Zealand politician, representing ACT New Zealand as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 New Zealand general election.

Early life

Trask was born and raised in Christchurch[2] as the eldest of three children. Her father Bill McClure, who moved from England to New Zealand in the 1970s, was a former general manager at Kraft Heinz who later founded a fire evacuation business. Her mother Sharyn, one of eight children, was a hairdresser who grew up in public housing. Trask's parents disagreed with one another politically, with her mother being a staunch Labour Party supporter and her father a Nationals supporter; she grew up in an environment of significant political discourse.[1]

Trask worked as a pharmacy technician in Christchurch for some time before moving to Wellington, where she met her husband, a construction project manager. After the couple had their first child, they moved to Auckland, where Trask and her husband took over the local wing of her father's business.[1] She is a registered fire safety evacuation consultant.[3] While living in Auckland, Trask advocated for more out-of-hours medical support for south Auckland.[4]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2023–present 54th List 10 ACT

Trask started volunteering for the Act Party in 2020, working for Toni Severin. Her entry to politics was spontaneous; in a 2023 interview, she stated she would "have absolutely laughed" if someone told her ten years prior that she would become a politician.[1] Trask contested Banks Peninsula in the 2023 election. She was tenth on ACT's party list, placed higher than Severin at 14.[5] On election night, Trask came fourth, with just over 1600 votes in the preliminary count, but entered parliament due to her position on the party list.[6]

Trask's primary political concerns are oriented around regulation and the perception of "specific extra rights" for members of particular demographic groups. She states she does not agree with all of Act's positions, and has expressed support for transgender rights and the position that climate change is primarily caused by human actions. Trask criticises New Zealand's education system as "incredibly woke", which she defines as policies that detract from educating children in favour of ideological pursuits. She supports Act's proposed budget and substantial cuts to government spending, which she considers the primary factor in inflation.[1]

Private life

Trask's husband is Māori. The couple have a boy and a girl. Trask has no profile on social media.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Williams, David (13 September 2023). "The Sure Things: Act's Laura Trask would kill off red tape 'overkill'". Newsroom. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Laura Trask". ACT Party. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Ex-TVNZ reporter, climate protester & rugby boss: The new MPs on track to enter Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. ^ Earley, Melanie (19 December 2018). "Long drive for medical help for mum of child with seizures". Stuff. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  5. ^ Neilson, Michael (16 July 2023). "Act Party list: Some big falls and a few surprises". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Banks Peninsula – Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. 15 October 2023.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laura_McClure&oldid=1180718095"