Marian Hobbs
Encyclopedia
Marian Leslie Hobbs a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician, was a Labour
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

 Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2008. She was initially a list MP and then (from 1999) represented the Wellington Central electorate
Wellington Central
rightWellington Central is a suburb of New Zealand's capital, Wellington, consisting of the flat, mostly reclaimed land, west of Lambton Harbour and the part of The Terrace immediately above it. It is bounded on the north by the suburb Pipitea and extends as far south as Civic Square...

. She served as one of two Assistant Speakers of the House of Representatives.

Early life

Hobbs was raised in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 and was educated at St Dominic's College
Kavanagh College
Kavanagh College is a Catholic Secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. The school in its present form dates from 1989 but its origins as a secondary school go back to 1871....

.
Before entering politics, Hobbs worked as a teacher and as a school principal. She helped to establish the Chippenham commune in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 and is by religious affiliation a Friend
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...

 (Quaker).

Selwyn by-election

Hobbs stood unsuccessfully in the Selwyn by-election of 1994
Selwyn by-election 1994
The Selwyn by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Selwyn, a predominantly rural district in the middle of New Zealand's South Island. It took place on 13 August 1994, and was precipitated by the resignation from parliament of siting MP Ruth Richardson...

, but won election to Parliament as a list MP in the 1996 elections
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

. (In the same elections she unsuccessfully contested the Kaikoura seat
Kaikoura (New Zealand electorate)
right|thumb|Kaikōura electorateKaikōura is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning a single MP to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Kaikōura is Colin King of the National Party...

 against the National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

's Doug Kidd
Doug Kidd
Sir Douglas Lorimer Kidd, KNZM is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1978 to 2002, representing the National Party. He served for three years as Speaker of the House of Representatives.-Early life:...

).

In the 1999 elections
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...

, Hobbs won the Wellington Central electorate
Wellington Central
rightWellington Central is a suburb of New Zealand's capital, Wellington, consisting of the flat, mostly reclaimed land, west of Lambton Harbour and the part of The Terrace immediately above it. It is bounded on the north by the suburb Pipitea and extends as far south as Civic Square...

, defeating the incumbent member, ACT Party leader Richard Prebble
Richard Prebble
Richard William Prebble CBE, born 7 February 1948, was for many years a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996.-Early and personal life:...

.

Cabinet minister

After Labour's electoral victory in 1999, Hobbs joined the Cabinet
New Zealand Cabinet
The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...

, becoming Minister for the Environment, Minister of Biosecurity, Minister of Broadcasting, and Minister Responsible for the National Library of New Zealand
National Library of New Zealand
The National Library of New Zealand is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations"...

 and Archives New Zealand
Archives New Zealand
Archives New Zealand is the National Archives of New Zealand, with overall responsibility for government recordkeeping and for community archives. Since 1 February 2011 it has been part of the Department of Internal Affairs...

. In February 2001, she briefly resigned from Cabinet while an enquiry investigated her allowance-claims; she returned in late March after receiving official clearance.

Following the 2002 General Election, Hobbs functioned as the Minister for the Environment, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a major ministerial portfolio in the government of New Zealand.The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Murray McCully, who was National Party Spokeperson of Foreign Affairs and Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs. There are also Associate Minister roles...

 with responsibility for Official Development Assistance, Associate Minister for Biosecurity, Associate Minister of Education, Minister Responsible for the National Library, Minister Responsible for Archives New Zealand, and Minister Responsible for Urban Affairs.

Resignation from Cabinet

In 2004, Hobbs told Prime Minister Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

 that she did not expect to seek a post in Cabinet again after the 2005 election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...

, and she made this decision public during the negotiations to form a government in October 2005.

As Minister of Broadcasting, Hobbs set a code of practice for New Zealand commercial radio, specifying that 20 percent of music played should have New Zealand origins.

Wellington Central electorate

Hobbs held the Electorate seat of Wellington Central
Wellington Central
rightWellington Central is a suburb of New Zealand's capital, Wellington, consisting of the flat, mostly reclaimed land, west of Lambton Harbour and the part of The Terrace immediately above it. It is bounded on the north by the suburb Pipitea and extends as far south as Civic Square...

 until the 2008 election. At the 2005 general election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...

 she retained her seat with a 6,180 majority over the National Party candidate, Mark Blumsky
Mark Blumsky
Mark Herbert Blumsky QSO is a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Wellington from 1995 to 2001, and Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2005 to 2008...

. In March 2008, she became the Assistant Speaker of the House
Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives...

, after Ann Hartley
Ann Hartley
Margaret Ann Hartley known as Ann Hartley is a former New Zealand member of parliament, a former Mayor of North Shore City, and a member of the Labour Party.-Early years:...

 resigned.

Announcement of resignation from Parliament

In December 2006 Hobbs announced (during a radio-interview) that she would not seek re-election at the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

, confirming much speculation to that effect. She has signalled her intention to work as a teacher in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, in compensation for never having made a traditional working-holiday as a young woman.
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