Kiri Allan

Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan (born 1984)[2] is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

The Honourable

Kiri Allan

MP
Allan in 2019
14th Minister of Conservation
Assumed office
6 November 2020
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byEugenie Sage
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for East Coast
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byAnne Tolley
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
Personal details
Born
Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan

1984 (age 36–37)
Te Karaka, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)
Natalie Coates
​
(m. 2016)​
[1]
Children1[1]
ProfessionLawyer

Early life

Allan was born in Te Karaka,[3] of Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa descent. She grew up in Paengaroa.[4] She is part of a family of 10 children.[5]

She dropped out of high school at 16. She worked at a KFC franchise in West Auckland (she joined the Service and Foodworkers Union at that time) and as a cherry picker.[4]

She studied law and politics at Victoria University of Wellington.[6] During her university studies she worked in an internship with then-Prime Minister Helen Clark.[7]

Career before politics

She worked for a period at law firm ChenPalmer.[6] Later she was a commercial lawyer at and business consultant in Whakatāne before she became a politician.[3]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 21 Labour
2020–present 53rd East Coast 25 Labour

Allan stood for Labour in the East Coast electorate in the 2017 election and was placed 21 on Labour's party list.[8] Allan did not win the electorate (she came second to Anne Tolley), but entered Parliament via the party list.[9]

In 2018, Allan launched the political podcast Authorised By with Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MP Chlöe Swarbrick.[10]

During the 52nd New Zealand Parliament she was Labour's junior whip, and therefore the junior Government whip. She was also a member of various Select Committees, including the Epidemic Response Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] By the end of 2018, Allan was labelled a strong performer among backbenchers in Parliament.[12] She is also the chair of Labour's rural caucus.[13]

Ahead of the 2020 New Zealand general election, Allan was ranked at 25 on Labour's part list and was selected by the party to contest the East Coast electorate again. Anne Tolley, who had defeated Allan for the seat in 2017 had decided to contest the 2020 election as a List only candidate, and then had later decided to retire outright, leaving the seat open.

The 2020 election was held on 17 October 2020, Allan was elected as MP for East Coast, which saw a landslide victory for the Labour party.[14] She defeated National's candidate Tania Tapsell by a final margin of 6,331 votes.[15]

On 2 November 2020, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced she would enter Cabinet during her second term in parliament, becoming Minister for Conservation and Minister for Emergency Management. In addition, she also assumed the associate ministerial portfolios for Arts, Culture and Heritage and Environment.[16]

Personal life

She married her wife, Natalie Coates, in 2016 after marriage equality was legalised in New Zealand.[4] Her family had a baby just before the 2017 election[17] and Allan brought the baby to Parliament.[18]

References
  1. Malone, Audrey (20 January 2018). "Ardern's baby already has friends in high places". Stuff.
  2. "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "Candidate Allan ranks 20 on Labour list". Gisborne Herald. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  4. Allan, Kiri (16 November 2017). "'Nana, I stand here to honour your name': Kiri Allan's maiden speech". The Spinoff. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  5. "Labour MP Kiritapu Allan says 'there's ugliness in the shadows' but she has 'real hope' for NZ's future". Stuff. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  6. Sachdeva, Sam (22 September 2017). "Fighting for a future on the East Coast". Newsroom. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  7. Malone, Audrey (27 January 2017). "Labour East Coast candidate Kiritapu Allan says National stalwart's time is up". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  8. "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  9. "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  10. "KFC, babies, and tax – the new political podcast 'Authorised By'". Stuff. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  11. "Allan, Kiritapu – New Zealand Parliament". Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  12. Shane, Te Pou (21 December 2018). "Marking the politicians of 2018". Newsroom. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  13. "Kiri Allan". NZ Labour Party. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  14. "'I'm blimmin stoked' - New Labour electorate MPs react to results". Radio New Zealand. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020.
  15. "East Coast - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  16. "Ministerial List for Announcement on Monday" (PDF). Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 November 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. Cooke, Henry (18 June 2018). "What it's like being a young mother in today's Parliament". Stuff. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  18. "Parliament's new parents Willow-Jean Prime and Kiri Allan pass on congratulations to PM and partner". The New Zealand Herald. 18 January 2018. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Anne Tolley		 Member of Parliament for East Coast
2020–present		 Incumbent
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