Susan Jane Kedgley (born 1948) is a New Zealand politician, food campaigner and author. Before entering politics Kedgley worked for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York for 8 years and for a decade as a television

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, director and producer in New Zealand.

Biography

Early life and career

Kedgley stated she had a sheltered upbringing being given a 'proper' girls upbringing and was a

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal " ...

. Along with her twin sister Helen Kedgley, she went to

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Samuel Marsden Collegiate School is a private composite girls school located in the Wellington suburb of Karori in New Zealand. It has a socio-economic decile of 10 - on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 reflecting the lowest socioeconomic communities - ...

and later Victoria University. While studying at Victoria she became interested in politics, a subject she had previously little to do with. Kedgley became involved in student politics and was a member of the

Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is the official student association at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. VUWSA was established in 1899 as the Victoria University College Students' Society. Follo ...

from 1967 to 1969. She then studied at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and in 1971, while still a student, she founded the Women's Liberation Group (part of the

Women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

) after realising there was no such existing group at the university. That same year she stood for the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

as a Labour Party candidate. Kedgley's Master of Arts thesis in political science was submitted to 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 ...

in 1972. Kedgley was employed as a researcher on the show ''Checkpoint''. She was unable to become a presenter, being told at the time that women couldn't because their voices "aren't deep enough and they lack authority". Kedgley has written a number of books on feminist issues, and was one of the founding leaders of the

women's liberation movement The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminist intellectualism that emerged in the late 1960s and continued into the 1980s primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which effected great ...

in New Zealand. Her book, titled ''Eating Safely in a Toxic World'', set the scene in New Zealand for a new movement of 'safe-food campaigners'. Her autobiography ''Fifty Years a Feminist'' was published in 2021.

Political career

Local body politics

In 1992 Kedgley, having left Labour to join the incipient

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

, was elected the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

(WCC). She remained a member for 7 years and was the founder and co-convenor of the New Zealand Safe Food Campaign. While on the WCC, Kedgley held the roles of chairperson, Consultation Committee, 1996–1998 and chairperson, Transport and Infrastructure Committee, 1998–1999. She resigned from the council in December 1999 after winning a parliamentary seat, saying it would be impossible to carry out both roles successfully at once. Before leaving she pushed for a by-election to be held to replace her rather than an appointment. The Green Party did not stand a candidate and both the party and Kedgley endorsed independent candidate

Ray Ahipene-Mercer Raymond Ahipene-Mercer (born 20 October 1948) is a former New Zealand politician, who served as a Wellington City Councillor for the Eastern Ward,Wellington City Council"Councillor – Ray Ahipene-Mercer." wellington.govt.nz. Retrieved on 2007-0 ...

, an environmentalist, who won the seat.

Member of Parliament

Kedgley represented the

in the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

since first becoming a Member of Parliament 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 the 1999 election until 2011. She won re-election in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

general elections. Particular political interests include health, food safety, animal welfare, consumer affairs, transport and women's issues. SueKedgleyGreenMP

In 2005 her Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Bill, granting employees with dependants the right to request part-time or flexible hours, was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill was eventually passed as the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act 2007. In 2006 her Consumer's Right to Know (Food Information) Bill was drawn from the member's ballot, but was defeated at its first reading. Kedgley was the Chairperson of the New Zealand Parliament Health Committee from 2005 to 2008 and was the Deputy Chair for 6 years prior. In September 2010 she announced that she would not be standing for re-election in the 2011 general election. She gave her valedictory speech on 27 September.

Return to local government

In July 2013, Kedgley announced that she would be running for the

Greater Wellington Regional Council Wellington Regional Council, branded as Greater Wellington Regional Council, is the regional council overseeing the Wellington Region of New Zealand's lower North Island. It is responsible for public transport under the brand Metlink, environ ...

on a Green Party ticket in the Wellington ward. She won a position on the Regional Council as well as the

Capital and Coast District Health Board The Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to Wellington City, Porirua City and the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. The CCDHB employed about 6000 people across the Wellingt ...

in the October elections. She announced that she would not stand for re-election to the Regional Council in 2019, but will contest the District Health Board. She was re-elected to the District Health Board at the 2019 elections. As of 2021 Kedgley is on the board of

Consumer NZ Consumer NZ, previously known as Consumers' Institute of New Zealand, is an organization that covers a wide range of activities relating to consumer protection and information. Its work includes comparative tests and surveys of consumer goods and ...

having been elected in 2013.

Honours and awards

In 2016, Kedgley received the

New Zealand Women of Influence Award The New Zealand Women of Influence Awards are an annual set of awards which recognise women who make a difference to everyday New Zealanders' lives. The Awards were first made in 2013 and were initially sponsored by Westpac Bank. In 2016, Stuff N ...

for Diversity in recognition of her work towards greater gender diversity in the workplace. In the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, she was appointed an

Officer 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 rend ...

, for services to women and governance.

Personal life

In 1990 she married Wellington lawyer and former Wellington City and Regional Councillor, Denis Foot, and they have one son. Foot was a Wellington City Councillor from 1971 to 1977 representing the Citizens' Association when he stood down. In 1980 he was elected for another spell on the city council as well as to the Wellington Regional Council, stepping down in 1983. At the he stood in the electorate as the Green Party candidate, placing third. At the 1992 local elections he stood successfully again for the regional council, this time for the Green Party, and was re-elected in 1995 before retiring in 1998.

References

External links

Sue Kedgley biography
at the Green Party (archived)
Sue Kedgley biography
at New Zealand Parliament
Sue Kedgley's personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kedgley, Sue 1948 births Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs Living people Wellington City Councillors Wellington regional councillors New Zealand activists New Zealand women activists New Zealand feminists University of Otago alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand Women of Influence Award recipients 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Capital and Coast District Health Board members Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand autobiographers People educated at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School