Jamie Ross Strange (born 1976) is a New Zealand politician. He 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 o ...
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.
Early life, career and family
Strange was born in Nelson in 1976. At 12 years of age, he moved with his family to Hamilton, where he attended
Hamilton Boys' High School
Hamilton Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school in Hamilton, New Zealand and is the largest secondary school in the Waikato region. The school was established as Hamilton High School in 1911 but was later split into separate boys' and gi ...
. Before entering parliament, Strange taught music at Berkley Normal Middle School in
Hillcrest, Hamilton
Hillcrest is a suburb in southeastern Hamilton in New Zealand. The suburb is home to the University of Waikato and consequently has a large student population. It is located on the east side of the Hamilton Town Belt, a series of public parks ...
. He is also a former church minister.
Strange had a music career and has written over 40 songs and released his own album ''Thanks for Faking It Sometimes'' in 2007. The songs videos featured a
mannequin
A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles. P ...
who was present to mimic the "plastic-looking" girlfriends rock stars often have. Strange named the mannequin 'Kate Brightstar' after purchasing it from a store called Brightstar and later sold it on
TradeMe
Trade Me is New Zealand's largest online auction and classifieds website. Managed by Trade Me Ltd., the site was founded in 1999 by New Zealand entrepreneur Sam Morgan (entrepreneur), Sam Morgan, who sold it to John Fairfax Holdings, Fairfax in ...
to a truck driver. He returned to the stage during orientation week 2018 at the
University of Waikato
, mottoeng = For The People
, established = 1964; years ago
, endowment = (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020)
, chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ
, vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley
, cit ...
, shortly after being elected for the first time.
Jamie Strange is married to Angela Strange, a Hamilton constituency councillor on the
Waikato Regional Council
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula ...
. The couple share four children.
Member of Parliament
Strange stood unsuccessfully for a seat on the
Hamilton City Council
Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West.
The current council consists of the mayor
In many countries, a mayor i ...
in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. He sought the Labour nomination in
Hamilton East at the , but was unsuccessful. Instead, he stood in
Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wa ...
where he was defeated by the incumbent, National's
Louise Upston
Louise Claire Upston (née McGill, born 14 March 1971) is a New Zealand politician of the National Party. She has represented the Taupō electorate in the House of Representatives since the . In the Fifth National Government, led by Prime Mini ...
.
He was ranked 54 on the Labour
party list, too low to be elected.
Strange was selected as the Labour candidate in the electorate for the and was placed 36 on Labour's party list. Strange did not win the electorate, but entered 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 ...
.
In his first term he served variously on the select committees for education and workforce; governance and administration; foreign affairs, defence and trade; transport and infrastructure; and finance and expenditure.
In July 2018 Strange said he expected a Hamilton to Auckland rail commuter service to be operating by the end of 2019. The opening of the train service,
Te Huia
Te Huia is a passenger train service between Hamilton, Papakura, and Auckland (Strand) in New Zealand. The service is a five-year trial with subsidies from the NZ Transport Agency and Waikato local authorities. The opening was delayed because of ...
, was delayed to 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
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 ...
, Strange successfuly contested the
Hamilton East electorate, defeating long-time National incumbent
David Bennett by a final margin of 2,973 votes. In his second term he was appointed chair of the economic development, science and innovation committee and member of the governance and administration committee.
He was also co-chair, with National MP Simeon Brown, of the parliamentary prayer breakfast group.
In mid-December 2022, Strange announced that he would not be contesting the
2023 New Zealand general election
The 2023 New Zealand general election to determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand is planned to be held on 14 October 2023, after the currently elected 53rd Parliament is dissolved or expires. Voters will elect 120 memb ...
and would step down at the end of the 2020–2023 term. Strange attributed his resignation plans to the strain caused by his job travel requirements on family life. He also stated that he was "better suited for government than opposition" in response to polls forecasting a National-
ACT electoral victory at the 2023 election.
Political views
Strange has a conservative voting record. He voted against the
End of Life Choice Act 2019
The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that seeks to give people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted dying. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health confirmed that, "The Bill uses “a ...
,
Abortion Legislation Act 2020, and the
.
External links
Jamie Strangeat
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Jamie
Living people
1976 births
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election
New Zealand schoolteachers
New Zealand list MPs
New Zealand musicians
Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election