Maria Josina Elisabeth "Marja" Lubeck (born 1965) is a New Zealand politician and

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 of ...

in the

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for the Labour Party.

Early life and family

Lubeck was born in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the eldest child of Valentin "Tijn" and Nel Lubeck. Her father's family were Chinese–Indonesian; they moved to the Netherlands after being imprisoned in Japanese internment camps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She immigrated from the

to New Zealand in 1989, and became an international

flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are prima ...

for

Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...

in 1996. She joined the Flight Attendant and Related Services Association (FARSA) as a delegate and was elected as president of FARSA in 2009, serving four terms. She graduated with a law degree in 2014 after studying part-time as a foundation student of the

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...

Law School. In February 2017, Lubeck was admitted to the bar as barrister and solicitor of the High Court. During her time as president of FARSA she was involved in an operational merger arrangement with New Zealand's largest private sector union,

E tū E tū is a New Zealand trade union created in October 2015 through the merger of the Service & Food Workers Union, the Flight Attendants and Related Services Union, and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union The Engineering, Print ...

, resulting in the FARSA membership endorsing an amalgamation in November 2016. Lubeck served as the lead advocate in negotiations for the major airlines servicing the New Zealand market and was part of the High Performance Engagement (HPE) Leadership Team at Air New Zealand where organised labour and management engage in a consensus-based

workplace democracy Workplace democracy is the application of democracy in various forms (examples include voting systems, debates, democratic structuring, due process, adversarial process, systems of appeal) to the workplace. It can be implemented in a variety of ...

programme.

Political career

Lubeck stood for Labour in the electorate in the and was placed 32 on Labour's party list. Lubeck placed second in the electorate behind incumbent Mark Mitchell, but was elected 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 her first term, Lubeck was appointed to the education and workforce committee and the transport and industrial relations committee. In 2018, Lubeck sponsored a draft

member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in w ...

to ban conversion therapy. Lubeck accepted a petition from Young Greens and Young Labour and worked closely with grassroots activist,

Shaneel Lal Shaneel Shavneel Lal (born 22 January 2000) is a Fijian-New Zealand LGBT rights activist, known for spearheading the movement to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. Lal is a model, a columnist for ''New Zealand Herald'', and a political com ...

in the movement to end conversion therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Lubeck's bill was not selected to be debated in Parliament but a policy to ban conversion therapy was included in Labour's manifesto for the 2020 election. When the party won the election it eventually passed the

Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that bans conversion therapy practices that seek to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The Bil ...

which was based on Lubeck's bill. 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 ...

, Lubeck contested the new

Kaipara ki Mahurangi Kaipara ki Mahurangi is an electorate to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was created for the . Population centres The electorate consists of a large northern section of the Auckland Region. It stretches from the border with Northl ...

electorate but was defeated by

Chris Penk Christopher Aidan Penk (born 1980) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party. Personal life Penk was born in West Auckland. He attended Kelston Boys' High School and graduate ...

by a final margin of 4,435 votes. However, Lubeck was re-elected as a list MP. In her second term, she chaired the education and workforce committee. On 13 December 2022, Lubeck announced that she 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 ...

. In announcing her resignation, Lubeck stated that "it's a tough job... it's a lot of juggling to do." She also attribute her resignation to the health and travel strains associated with her job and a desire to spend more time with her family.

Political views

In her maiden speech, Lubeck said, "The choice regarding whether and when to become a parent is one of the most private and important decisions a person can make. Our ability to control these decisions means control over our own bodies, destinies, and the path our life will take. Anything less is an attack on our freedom as a human being. We cannot say women have equal rights, nor true freedom, with offensive and outdated anti-choice legislation still in place." She voted in favour of the

Abortion Legislation Act 2020 The New Zealand Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that amends the law to decriminalise abortion. Under the act, abortion is available without restrictions to any woman who is not more than 20 weeks pregnant. W ...

and the

Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022 The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that will provide a regulation-making power to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis. ...

References

External links

Maiden speech in Parliament

Questions and Answers
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lubeck, Marja Living people Dutch emigrants to New Zealand Indo people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand women politicians New Zealand list MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election 1965 births Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Flight attendants