Catherine Joan Wilkinson (born 3 August 1957) is a New Zealand farmer and politician. She was a member of the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes laws, provides ministers to form Cabinet, and supervises the work of government. It is also responsible for adopting the state's budgets and a ...

for the National Party from until her retirement in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

. From 2008 until January 2013, she was a member of cabinet, holding the portfolios of Labour (from which she resigned over the Pike River Mine disaster), Conservation, Food Safety, and Associate Immigration, before being removed from cabinet by Prime Minister

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from b ...

Life and career before politics

Wilkinson was raised on a mixed cropping farm at

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...

in Mid Canterbury. She was educated at St Margaret's College in Christchurch, and went on to graduate with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree from 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 f ...

. She worked as a lawyer for 25 years with Christchurch firm Harman & Co, becoming a partner in 1984, before gaining election to Parliament in 2005.

Political career

In the 2005 election, Wilkinson was a candidate for the National Party, standing in the Waimakariri electorate and ranked 38th on the party list. She entered Parliament as a list MP. She has made a successful start to her career in politics, rising to 28th on the list, and eventually becoming a Cabinet minister. Although unsuccessful in terms of electorate vote again (losing to incumbent Clayton Cosgrove of the Labour Party by 390 votes in the 2008 election – the second narrowest margin in the country), National won a commanding margin in the party vote. In the 2011 election Wilkinson overturned incumbent Clayton Cosgrove's 390 vote majority to win by 642 votes, as well as winning the party vote in the electorate by more than 12,000 votes. In the 49th and 50th New Zealand Parliaments, Wilkinson served as Associate Minister of Conservation (2009–2010), Minister of Conservation (2010–2013), Minister for Food Safety (until 2013), Associate Minister of Immigration (until 2013), and Minister of Labour (2011–2012).

Folic acid criticism

Wilkinson was criticised for her decision not to mandate the addition of

folic acid Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and ...

to bread sold to the public. Paediatric Society Doctor Andrew Marshall said "making folic acid mandatory would prevent 10 to 20 birth defects, such as

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, ...

, a year", as well as

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop funct ...

s and other disease.

Resignation as Minister of Labour

Wilkinson resigned her portfolio as Minister of Labour on 5 November 2012, following the publication of the Royal Commission of Inquiry's report into the 2010 Pike River Mine disaster. It stated that there were major flaws in the Department of Labour, and recommended "sweeping changes" into the department. In a statement, Prime Minister John Key said, "Ms Wilkinson's decision to resign is a personal decision in response to the magnitude of the tragedy. It is the honourable thing to do. I considered it proper for me to accept her resignation from the Labour portfolio." She retained her other portfolios and was succeeded in the Labour portfolio by Chris Finlayson. Wilkinson however was not asked to step down from her other portfolios in Conservation, Food Safety, and Associate Immigration. She was removed from cabinet in the reshuffle of January 2013. On 31 January 2013 Wilkinson was granted the right to retain the title of

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' ( British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...

for life in recognition of her term as a Member of the Executive Council of New Zealand.

Retirement from politics

Wilkinson announced in November 2013 that she would retire at the end of the term of the 50th Parliament. Matt Doocey, who contested the 2013 Christchurch East by-election, was selected by the National Party to replace Wilkinson, and retained the seat with an increased majority at the 2014 election.

Post-political career

After retiring from politics, Wilkinson lived on her family farm at Swannanoa in Canterbury. She was appointed Commissioner of the

Environment Court The Environment Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Taiao o Aotearoa) is a specialist court for plans, resource consents and environmental issues. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Resource Management Act, meaning that it covers a ...

in May 2015.

References

External links

Kate Wilkinson MP
official site (archived)
Profile
at National party (archived) * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Kate 1957 births Living people New Zealand women lawyers New Zealand National Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians 20th-century New Zealand lawyers