Elizabeth McLeay is a New Zealand political scientist. She is currently an

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

Professor at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

Qualifications

McLeay has a Bachelor of Arts from

, a Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching from the Auckland Secondary Teachers’ College (which has since been integrated into the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

), and a PhD from the University of Auckland. Her doctoral thesis investigated parliamentary careers and cabinet selection in New Zealand.

Career

McLeay has taught at the

City of London Polytechnic London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

and the

, but spent most of career teaching comparative government and politics at Victoria University of Wellington, from 1990 to 2009. From 2010-2012 McLeay was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow, at the Victoria University of Wellington's School of Law. As of 2019, McLeay is an Emeritus Professor and is currently researching the politics of prisoners' voting rights.

Public Academic

In 2010, McLeay co-signed a letter alongside 26 other constitutional experts, criticising the ''

Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 The Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 was a New Zealand statute designed to assist reconstruction after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. It expired in April 2012. The Act permitted Government ministers to suspend or make exempt ...

'' which was passed after the 2010 Canterbury earthquake. In 2018, McLeay was part of a group of 19 law and politics academics who criticised the so-called
waka jumping
Bill, which was part of the Labour-NZ First Coalition Agreement. In both instances, McLeay and the constitutional experts were concerned about executive overreach, and the diminishing role of Parliamentary conventions. In addition to the above, McLeay has submitted evidence to the House of Representatives on both th

and the 2011 review of the Parliamentary Standing Orders.

Books

McLeay's books include: * ''The cabinet and political power in New Zealand'' (Oxford University Press, 1995) * ''New Zealand Under MMP: A New Politics?'' (with

Jonathan Boston Jonathan George Boston (born 1957) is a New Zealand academic and professor of policy studies at the Victoria University of Wellington School of Government. Academic career Boston got his MA from the University of Canterbury and his DPhil from t ...

, Stephen Levine and Nigel S. Roberts, Auckland University Press, 1996) * ''Rethinking Women and Politics: New Zealand and Comparative Perspectives'' (ed. with Kate McMillan and John Leslie, Victoria University Press, 2009) * ''What's the Hurry? Urgency in the New Zealand Legislative Process 1987-2010'' (with

Claudia Geiringer Claudia Geiringer (born 1968) is a New Zealand professor of law. In 2022 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. Academic career Geiringer did an LLB at Victoria University of Wellington, a BA (Hons) at the University of ...

and Polly Higbee, Victoria University Press, 2011) * ''In Search of Consensus: New Zealand’s Electoral Act 1956 and its Constitutional Legacy'' (Victoria University Press, 2018).

Personal life

Her partner is Les Holborow.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLeay, Elizabeth Year of birth missing (living people) Living people New Zealand political scientists Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington Women political scientists