Deborah Faye Russell (born 14 January 1966) is a New Zealand academic and politician. She is a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life

Russell was born in Whangamōmona, a small town in the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region.

Academic career

Russell graduated with a BCom (Hon) in Accounting and Finance from

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 1987. This was followed by a BA (Hon) in Philosophy in 1996 from

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

. In 2001 she received her PhD in Philosophy from

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. Russell worked in the private sector as an accountant, and in the public sector as a policy analyst. She has lectured at universities in both Australia and New Zealand in taxation, ethics, business ethics, political theory and philosophy. She was a senior lecturer specialising in taxation at

Political career

Russell stood in the central

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

electorate of at the , but was defeated by the incumbent, National's

Ian McKelvie Ian Robert Flockhart McKelvie (born 1952) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party. Early life and career McKelvie was born to parents John and Rosemary in Palmer ...

. Subsequently, Russell impressed the party leadership with her performance as a media commentator and received support in her bid to be the Labour candidate for the safer Auckland seat of in the .

Member of Parliament

First term, 2017–2020

In February 2017, after a competitive selection process, Russell was chosen as Labour's 2017 candidate for New Lynn. She replaced former Labour Party leader

David Cunliffe David Richard Cunliffe (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who was Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He was Member of Parli ...

, who had, in the previous year, signalled his intention to retire from politics at the next election. Russell promised to change her residence to the electorate if she was selected, and she now lives there. Russell was ranked 30 on Labour's party list, up three places from 2014. She won New Lynn with a margin of 2,825 votes over National's Paulo Garcia, and entered Parliament. On 27 June 2019, Russell became Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee, replacing her previous role as Chair of the Environment Select Committee. Russell in November 2019 said she would like New Zealand to be "the most equal country in the world – full stop". On 22 April 2020, Russell drew media attention and public criticism when she made remarks during a video conference with the Epidemic Response Committee suggesting that the impact of the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2 ...

highlighted a structural weakness in the small business sector. Russell had said:

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

Grant Robertson Grant Murray Robertson (born 30 October 1971) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party who has served as the 19th deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2020 and the minister of Finance since 2017. He has served as Membe ...

disagreed with her characterisation at the time, and

ACT Party ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing, Classical liberalism, classical-liberal List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's ...

leader

David Seymour David Seymour may refer to: * David Seymour (English politician) (died 1557/58), 14th-century Member of Parliament (MP) for Wareham and Great Bedwyn *David Seymour (New Zealand politician) (born 1983), leader of the ACT Party *David Seymour (photo ...

subsequently suggested that these words were unsympathetic to small business. While many small business advisors and mentors agreed with Russell, she was criticised as being insensitive by left-wing commentator

Chris Trotter Christopher Marshall Trotter (born 1956) is a political commentator in New Zealand. He is the editor of the occasional '' Political Review'' magazine. Biography Chris Trotter has worked for unions and was on the New Zealand Council (the nationa ...

, journalist

Duncan Garner Duncan Garner (born 8 March 1974) is a New Zealand radio and television host and journalist. He took over the Radio Live drive slot in December 2012 and was previously the Newshub political editor in Wellington. He moved to host '' The AM Show ...

, and National Party MP

Judith Collins Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...

Second term, 2020–present

During the

2020 New Zealand general election The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...

, Russell retained the New Lynn electorate by a final margin of 13,134 votes. In early November, Russell was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Revenue.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Deborah 1966 births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election New Zealand feminists