Jennifer Norah Kirk (18 February 1945 – 30 September 2021) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Kirk was born in 1945 and was educated at Westlake High School and later the Auckland Business College. She had several jobs in both New Zealand and Australia as a secretary, hotel worker, motel manager and journalist. She was involved in the National Organisation for Women and on several Parent Teacher Associations and school committees. She married aged 21 and had two sons before the marriage ended via divorce. In October 1986 she remarried to Owen Saunders. In 1983 she joined the Labour Party and was a delegate on the Glenfield Labour electorate committee from 1983 to 1985 and became the founding chairperson of the Birkenhead-Northcote branch of the Labour Party in 1986. From 1985 to 1986 she was an electorate secretary for

Judy Keall Judith Mary Keall (''née'' Dixon, born 10 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1984 to 1990, and again from 1993 until her retirement in 2002, representing the Labour Party. Biography Dixon was born in ...

the Member of Parliament for Glenfield. She represented the

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

electorate from the 1987 election; when she defeated the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

candidate for the seat,

Barry Gustafson Barry Selwyn Gustafson (born 1938) is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Directo ...

, after

Jim McLay Sir James Kenneth McLay (born 21 February 1945) is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician. He served as the ninth deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 15 March to 26 July 1984. McLay was also Leader of the National Party and Leader ...

retired. After being elected she shared a flat in Wellington with Keall. She was the chairperson of Labour's caucus health committee where she was an advocate of continued state involvement in healthcare, particularly to assist poor people. In

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

she was defeated by the new National candidate,

Ian Revell Ian Murray Revell (born 7 February 1948) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1990 to 1999, representing the National Party. Before entering politics, Revell was a senior detective in the New Zealand Police. Member of Parliam ...

. She became Chief Executive of the National Foundation for the Deaf from 1990 to 1994. At the 1995 local-body elections she was elected as a member of the

North Shore City Council The North Shore is part of the large urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the north of the Waitematā Harbour. To the east, has the Hauraki Gulf, to the west, is West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, to the south, has the Wait ...

for the Birkenhead ward. Re-elected three years later, she served on the council until 2001. Kirk was instrumental in the construction of the Northern Busway which connects the North Shore to central Auckland after securing funding from

Mark Gosche Mark James Gosche (born 2 December 1955) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. He was born in Auckland to Samoan parents, and has been active in New Zealand's Pacific Islander community. Biography Early life and care ...

the

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

. In 1993, Kirk was awarded the

New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal The New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 was established by Royal Warrant on 1 July 1993. It was created to commemorate Women's suffrage in New Zealand and to recognize those New Zealand and Commonwealth citizens who had made a significant ...

. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, she 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 services to local-body and community affairs. Kirk died in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

on 30 September 2021.

Notes

References

* *''Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament'' by G.A. Wood (University of Otago Press, 2nd edition 1996) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Jenny 1945 births 2021 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 New Zealand women chief executives North Shore City Councillors People educated at Westlake Girls High School