Rachel Jane Brooking (born 18 October 1975) is a New Zealand

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 ...

for the Labour Party. She first became an MP at 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 ...

. She is a lawyer by profession.

Biography

Brooking has a double degree in ecology and law from the University of Otago. Prior to entering Parliament, Brooking worked as a lawyer. She specialised in environmental, resource management and local government law, and worked for a period for the

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment __NOTOC__ The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (''Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare Pāremata'' in Māori) is an independent Officer of the New Zealand Parliament appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of R ...

in Wellington before returning to Dunedin to practice law with Anderson Lloyd. In 2019, Brooking was appointed to a government panel charged with reviewing the

Resource Management Act 1991 The Resource Management Act (RMA) passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water. New Zea ...

. She was previously the chair of the Otago/Southland branch of the Resource Management Law Association. Brooking became a student activist in 1994, her first year at university, protesting against education minister

Lockwood Smith Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith (born 13 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician and diplomat who was High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2017, and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013. S ...

due to excessively high student fees. Later she was voted president of the

Otago University Students' Association The Otago University Students' Association (OUSA) is the Students' Association of the University of Otago, New Zealand. OUSA was founded in 1890 to advance student interests on campus. Today, OUSA provides a combination of representation, welf ...

in 1997. In 2010, Brooking was appointed to the board of University Book Shop (Otago) Ltd, and in 2019 to the board of

Dunedin International Airport Dunedin Airport , officially Dunedin International Airport, also known as Momona Airport, is an international airport in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, serving Dunedin city and the Otago and Southland regions. Dunedin Airpo ...

Political career

At the Brooking stood for Parliament for the Labour Party. She hoped to be Labour's candidate for the electorate, later renamed Taieri, but Labour selected

Ingrid Leary Ingrid Marieke Leary (born ) is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 she was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. Early life and career Leary completed secondary schooling at Macleans College in ...

instead. Brooking was ranked 46 on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

, which was a high enough ranking to enter Parliament. The day after the election was also her birthday. In her first term, she was appointed deputy chair of the environment committee and the regulations review committee. The day after

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

MP David Clark announced his upcoming retirement, Brooking said she would be seeking nomination to be the Labour candidate for the electorate in 2023. She was successful and selected to stand in the seat.

Personal life

Brooking is married to Dr Chris Jackson, a cancer specialist/

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

who was the medical director for the Cancer Society of New Zealand. They have three children. Her father is an emeritus history professor and retired lecturer at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooking, Rachel 1975 births Living people University of Otago alumni 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election New Zealand women lawyers 21st-century New Zealand lawyers