Barbara Lynne Pillay (born 14 August 1950) is a New Zealand politician, and member of the Labour Party. Pillay was born in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. Before entering politics, she was a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

, and had been active in the New Zealand Nurses Union.

Member of Parliament

She was first elected to Parliament in the 2002 election, winning the Waitakere electorate. Her main rival was

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

leader

Laila Harré Laila Jane Harré (born 8 January 1966) is a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. She was the first leader of the Internet Party, and stood for Parliament in the 2014 general election through the Helensville electorate. From 1996 to 200 ...

. Pillay had previously contested the safe

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 ...

seat of Tamaki in the 1999 election, and had missed out on election 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 ...

by only one place. In 2006, Pillay's Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill removed the legislative ban on women serving in combat roles in the

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

. The bill was subsequently adopted by the government before its third reading, and passed unanimously as the

Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Act 2007 The Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Act 2007 is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 2007. It removed an exemption from the Human Rights Act 1993 which barred women from serving in combat roles in the New Zealand Defenc ...

. In the 2008 general election Pillay was defeated by

candidate

Paula Bennett Paula Lee Bennett (born 9 April 1969) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 18th deputy prime minister of New Zealand between December 2016 and October 2017. She served as the deputy leader of the National Party from 2016 to 2020 ...

, with a margin of 632 votes. Pillay was ranked 32 on the Labour Party list and was elected into the 49th parliament as a list MP. On 3 December 2009 Pillay announced that she would retire at the 2011 election.

References

External links

Page on Parliamentary website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillay, Lynne 1950 births Living people People from Palmerston North New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand nurses Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1999 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand women nurses 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians