Sue Bradford is a
New ZealandNew 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 who served as a
list Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
representing the
Green PartyThe Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
from 1999 to 2009.
Early life
Sue Bradford graduated from the
University of AucklandThe University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
in History and Political Studies, and later obtained a
MAA Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Chinese. Furthering her academic education she undertook postgraduate study at the
University of CanterburyThe University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
where she received a diploma in
journalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Bradford had a high profile as an activist against various
New RightNew Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
style social and economic reforms pursued by the governments of the day. Accordingly, she became something of a
bête noireBête noire may refer to:* Bête Noire , an album by British singer Bryan Ferry, released on Virgin Records in November 1987* Bête Noire , a comic anthology* La Bête Noire , a comic book...
amongst supporters of the right in New Zealand.
Member of Parliament
As a member of the Green Party, Bradford first won election to the Parliament as a
list MPParty-list proportional representation systems are a family of voting systems emphasizing proportional representation in elections in which multiple candidates are elected...
in the
1999 electionsThe 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...
. She had joined the Green Party in 1990, and had contested the 1998
Auckland mayoralThe Mayor of Auckland is the directly elected head of the Auckland Council, the local government authority for the Auckland region in New Zealand...
election as the Green candidate. Before joining the Greens, she worked actively in the
NewLabour PartyNewLabour was a left-of-centre party founded in 1989 by Jim Anderton, an MP and former President of the New Zealand Labour Party.NewLabour was established by a number of Labour Party members who left the party in reaction to "Rogernomics", the economic policies implemented by the Labour Party's...
, and served as its president from 1989 to 1990.
Bradford was the Green Party spokesperson on
ACCThe Accident Compensation Corporation is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the Accident Compensation Act 2001. The Act provides support to citizens, residents, and temporary visitors who have suffered personal injuries....
, Agriculture,
Buy Kiwi-MadeBuy Kiwi Made was a Government campaign aimed at promoting consumer and retailer awareness of Kiwi made products and encouraging domestic manufacturers to label their goods New Zealand made. It used the slogan "Buy Kiwi and We've Got it Made". It was complementary to the Buy New Zealand Made...
, Community and Voluntary Sector, Community Economic Development, Gambling, Housing, Industrial Relations, Internal Affairs, Mental Health,
National LibraryThe 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
ArchivesArchives 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...
, Racing, Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Small Business and Social Development.
The
New Zealand Herald selected Bradford as
Backbencher of the Year for 2000.
Bradford has successfully pushed through three member's bills: removing the defence of "reasonable force" when corporally punishing or smacking children; letting mothers in jail to keep their babies for longer; and making the adult minimum wage apply to 16 and 17 year olds. It is considered an achievement for a backbench MP to pass a single member's bill, let alone three.
In 2009 Sue Bradford ran unsuccessfully against
Metiria TureiMetiria Leanne Agnes Stanton Turei is a New Zealand member of Parliament and the female co-leader of the Green Party. she is the Green Party spokesperson on Social Equity, Electoral Reform, Māori and Treaty Issues, Housing and Children....
to replace
Jeanette FitzsimonsJeanette Mary Fitzsimons, CNZM is 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 1996 to 2010.-Career:...
for the co-leadership of the Green Party. On 25 September 2009, Bradford announced her intention to resign as a Member of Parliament in late October, citing her disappointment at the loss and wish to take new directions. Bradford regretted not becoming a
Cabinet MinisterA Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
, especially a Minister of
HousingThe Department of Building and Housing , previously the Ministry of Housing, is a government agency within the New Zealand government. The current Chief executive is Katrina Bach. The Department of Building and Housing is responsible to the Minister for Building and Construction , and the Minister...
and Social Development.
Child discipline bill
In 2005, a parliamentary ballot allowed the discussion of Bradford's
member's billA member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
, the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005. The Bill proposed amending Section 59 of the
Crimes Act 1961The Crimes Act 1961 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand administered by the Ministry of Justice.-Amendments:The Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986 amended the Crimes Act, allowing for consensual homosexual relationships between men....
to remove the legal defence of "reasonable force" for parents prosecuted for assault on their children. The Bill passed the select committee stage and its second parliamentary reading with a huge majority, and became law after it passed its third reading 113 to 8 on 16 May 2007.
The Bill occasioned widespread debate largely due its depiction as an "anti-smacking" bill, and a movement led by Family First New Zealand called a
citizens initiated referendumThe New Zealand corporal punishment referendum, 2009 was held in New Zealand from 31 July to 21 August, and was a citizens-initiated referendum on parental corporal punishment...
on the issue.
In one reaction to the Bill, threats were made against Bradford on the "CYFSWatch" website. After the Ministry of Social Development complained about the threats, Google shut down the website. Further death threats were made against her in August 2009.
After Parliament
Soon after Bradford's announcement of her resignation, Manukau mayor,
Len BrownLen Brown is the Mayor of Auckland in New Zealand and the head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 November 2010, being the first to hold that title for the amalgamated Auckland 'Super City'...
, suggested that she run to be a councillor on the
Auckland CouncilThe Auckland Council is the council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It began operating on 1 November 2010, combining the functions of the existing regional council and the region's seven previous city and district councils into one "super council" or "super city" governed by a mayor, 20...
. Bradford said that she would consider the idea but did not run.
She is currently writing a
Ph.DDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in
public policyPublic policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
at
Auckland University of TechnologyThe Auckland University of Technology is a university in New Zealand. It was formed on 1 January 2000 when the Auckland Institute of Technology was granted university status. Its primary campus is on Wellesley Street in Auckland's Central business district...
. She joined the
Mana PartyThe Mana Party is a New Zealand political party led by Hone Harawira. It was formed in April 2011, and plans to contest the 2011 general election. Standing under the Mana Party banner, Mana won an early victory when Mr Harawira won the by-election in Te Tai Tokerau held on 25 June 2011...
in 2011, but did not win the electorate she ran in (
WaitakereWaitakere City was the name of a city which existed from 1989 until 2010 in the Auckland region. It was New Zealand's fifth largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%...
) at the 2011 New Zealand General Election.
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