Helen Patricia Duncan (7 November 1941 – 6 February 2007) was a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party.

Early years

Duncan was born in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

, and attended the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, 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 Christchurch Teachers' College. She worked as a teacher in a number of different cities including Lower Hutt, Masterton and Auckland. She was involved with the

New Zealand Educational Institute The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI, in Maori: Te Riu Roa) is the largest education trade union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1883 and has a membership of 50,000. History The NZEI was founded by a merger of district institutes of t ...

''(Te Riu Roa)'' and the

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; mi, Te Kauae Kaimahi) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand. History It was form ...

Member of Parliament

She first stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the , unsuccessfully in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

electorate of for the Labour Party. In 1998

Jill White Jacqueline Jill White (born 22 February 1941) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician, and a registered nurse. Early life and career White was born in Feilding in 1941. She attended Manchester Street Primary School and Feilding Agricultu ...

, a Labour list MP, resigned from Parliament. As Duncan was the next-ranked person on the Labour Party list, she entered Parliament in White's place. In the and the s, Duncan remained in Parliament as a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...

, also unsuccessfully contesting the electorate. She left Parliament at the after being diagnosed with cancer. She died on 6 February 2007. In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Duncan was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for public services.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, Helen 1941 births 2007 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand educators University of Canterbury alumni University of Auckland alumni Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit People from Greymouth Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand trade unionists People educated at Greymouth High School