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Carol Beaumont

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Carol Beaumont
Beaumont in August 2011
Vice-President of the New Zealand Labour Party
Assumed office
7 May 2021
Preceded byTracey McLellan
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
In office
12 March 2013 – 20 September 2014
Preceded byCharles Chauvel
In office
8 November 2008 – 26 November 2011
Personal details
Born (1960-10-06) 6 October 1960 (age 64)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Domestic partnerRobert Gallagher
Websitecarolbeaumont.org.nz

Carol Ann Beaumont[1] ONZM (born 6 October 1960) is a New Zealand unionist and Labour Party politician. She twice served as a list member of Parliament from 2008 to 2011 and 2013 to 2014, and was elected Labour Party senior vice president in 2021.[2]

Early life and career

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Beaumont worked for several unions before entering Parliament, including the New Zealand University Students' Association, New Zealand Nurses Association and New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU).[3] She was NZCTU Secretary from 2003 until 2008.[4]

Political career

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Member of Parliament

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2008–2011 49th List 28 Labour
2013–2014 50th List 22 Labour

Beaumont stood for Labour at the 2008 general election in Maungakiekie, an electorate that was held at the time by the retiring Mark Gosche. She finished second to Auckland City councillor Sam Lotu-Iiga, the National Party candidate.[5] Beaumont was elected to Parliament as a list MP. Labour was in opposition and Beaumont was appointed Labour spokesperson for consumer affairs and associate spokesperson for labour. In early 2010 she took over responsibility for Charles Chauvel's Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill, which had been drawn from the ballot in August 2009.[6] The bill was defeated at its first reading in July 2010.[7]

Beaumont (right), with Jacinda Ardern and Phil Goff

At the 2011 general election Beaumont again finished second to Lotu-Iiga in Maungakiekie. Despite a higher list rating than in 2008, Labour did not poll high enough for Beaumont to be returned as a list MP until the 2013 resignation of Charles Chauvel. In her second term, Beaumont was Labour spokesperson for women's affairs and consumer rights and standards.[3]

At the 2014 election Beaumont contested Maungakiekie a third time. Boundary changes were assumed to make the seat safer for Labour,[8] but Beaumont was defeated by Lotu-Iiga for a third time and was not re-elected on the party list. She did not contest the 2017 election.

Post-parliamentary career

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In 2021 Beaumont was elected vice-president of the Labour Party following the resignation of Tracey McLellan, who had been elected to parliament the previous year.[2]

Awards and honours

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Beaumont (right), after her investiture as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, at Government House, Auckland, on 27 May 2022

In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Beaumont was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the union movement and women's rights.[9]

Personal life

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Beaumont's partner, Robert Gallagher, was one of the Labour Party campaign team strategists and in January 2015 announced his intention to stand for the Labour Party Presidency.[10] He was unsuccessful.

References

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  1. ^ "New Zealand Hansard - Members Sworn [Volume:651;Page:2]". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Party Information". New Zealand Labour Party. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Beaumont, Carol - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Carol Beaumont". Department of Labour. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Official Count Results - Maungakiekie". Electionresults.govt.nz. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill". www.parliament.nz. Parliament of New Zealand. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Loan sharks "not going away"". TVNZ. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Sam Lotu IIga Claims Maungakiekie". Stuff. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  9. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 2021". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Nominees announced for Labour Party presidency". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
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Party political offices
Preceded by Vice-President of the New Zealand Labour Party
2021–present
Incumbent