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Laura Trask

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Laura Trask
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for ACT party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2023
Personal details
Born
Laura Barbara McClure

(1985-08-03) 3 August 1985 (age 39)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Political partyACT New Zealand
Children2

Laura Barbara Trask (née McClure; born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand politician. She was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in the 2023 New Zealand general election, representing ACT New Zealand.

Early life and family

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Trask was born in Christchurch on 3 August 1985, and raised there as the eldest of three children.[1][2][3] 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.[1] Her mother Sharyn (née Neame), one of eight children, was a hairdresser who grew up in public housing.[1][2] Trask's parents disagreed with one another politically, with her mother being a staunch Labour Party supporter and her father a National supporter; she grew up in an environment of significant political discourse.[1]

She attended Burnside High School and began an arts degree at the University of Canterbury but did not complete the course, instead training as a pharmacy technician. She is married to Riki Trask, a construction project manager. They have two children.[4]

Career

[edit]

Trask worked as a pharmacy technician in Christchurch and Wellington. After having their first child, Trask and her husband took over the Auckland branch of her father's fire safety business.[1] She is a registered fire safety evacuation consultant.[5] While living in Auckland, Trask advocated for 24-hour medical support for south Auckland, as she found herself driving more than 40 kilometres (25 mi) for after-hours medical care for her children.[6]

In 2020, she started volunteering for the ACT Party in Christchurch and worked for Toni Severin. In a 2023 interview, Trask described her entry into politics as spontaneous, saying she would "have absolutely laughed" if someone told her ten years prior that she would become a politician.[1]

Member of Parliament

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

Trask contested Banks Peninsula in the 2023 election. She was tenth on ACT's party list, placed higher than Severin at 14.[7] Speaking to The Press about her list position, Trask said did not expect to be given a winnable position and “it was not an ideal situation that I wanted to be in, but at the same time, I’m very honoured.”[8] On election night, Trask came fourth, with 2,073 votes based on final results, but entered parliament due to her position on the party list.[9][10]

Trask's primary political concerns are oriented around regulation and the perception of "specific extra rights" for members of particular demographic groups. She supports 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 cutting government spending, which she considers the primary factor in inflation.[1]

After being elected to Parliament, Trask was appointed ACT spokesperson on education, mental health, small business, and seniors. She sits on the social services and community committee and the foreign affairs, defence and trade committee.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Williams, David (13 September 2023). "The Sure Things: Act's Laura Trask would kill off red tape 'overkill'". Newsroom. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Births". The Press. 6 August 1985. p. 43. Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via PapersPast.
  3. ^ "Laura Trask". ACT Party. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  4. ^ Trask, Laura (1 February 2024). "Maiden statement". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Earley, Melanie (19 December 2018). "Long drive for medical help for mum of child with seizures". Stuff. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  7. ^ Neilson, Michael (16 July 2023). "Act Party list: Some big falls and a few surprises". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  8. ^ Gill, Sinead (3 October 2023). "On the list: Christchurch candidates on the cusp of Parliament". www.thepress.co.nz. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. ^ "Banks Peninsula – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  10. ^ "2023 General Election – Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Trask, Laura". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
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