Joanne Kowhai Hayes (born 1959) is a former New Zealand politician who served as a

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongsi ...

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

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 ap ...

from 2014 to 2020.

Early life and career

Hayes'

whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exp ...

is to the

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

- Rangitikei area. She was raised in the farming sector. Before being elected to Parliament, she worked in the health industry, as well as at Māori development organisation Ngā Tai O te Awa.

Political career

During the 2011 general election, Hayes ran for National in

Dunedin South Dunedin South is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It first existed from 1881 to 1890, and subsequently from 1905 to 1946. In 1996, the electorate was re-established for the introduction of MMP, before being abolished in 2020. Po ...

, and was ranked 64th place on the party list. Hayes was defeated by Labour incumbent

Clare Curran Clare Elizabeth Curran (born 1960) is a New Zealand former politician who served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament for Dunedin South from 2008 to 2020. She was the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications, and Digital Media and Associat ...

by a margin of 4,175 votes.

In Government, 2014–2017

In December 2013, National Party President Peter Goodfellow announced that Hayes would enter Parliament on the party list following the resignation of National MP

Katrina Shanks Katrina May Shanks (born 12 May 1969) is a former New Zealand politician who was a list member of parliament for the National Party from 2007 to 2014. Early years Shanks was born in Dannevirke in 1969, and attended St Matthew's Collegiate ...

, which took place on 22 January 2014. She was sworn in as a Member of the

on 28 January 2014. During the 2014 general election, Hayes sought to be National's

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

candidate but lost to Alastair Scott. Instead she was selected to contest

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...

against Labour's

Poto Williams Munokoa Poto Williams (born 7 January 1962) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of Parliament. She was elected in a 2013 by-election and is currently Minister of Conservation and Minister for Disability Issues in the Six ...

. Hayes lost to Williams by a margin of 4,073 votes but was re-elected as a list MP. During the

51st New Zealand Parliament The 51st New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2014 general election. This Parliament consists of 121 members (120 seats plus one overhang seat) and was in place from September 2014 until August 2017, followed by the 2017 New Zealand gener ...

, under the

Fifth National Government Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign a ...

, Hayes served as the National Party's Third

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

, as a member of the Māori Affairs and Local Government and Environment Committees, and as the Chair of the Social Services Committee. In April 2017, a

private members' 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 whi ...

in Hayes' name was introduced into Parliament. The Minors (Court Consent to Relationships) Legislation Bill sought to prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from being pressured or coerced into legal and cultural marriages by amending the

Marriage Act 1955 The Marriage Act is an Act of Parliament that was passed in 1955 in New Zealand and is administered by the Ministry of Justice. It repealed the Marriage Act 1908. Forbidden marriages, those between relatives and relatives in a civil union, are ...

to require the marriage be approved by a

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plainti ...

judge. The Bill was supported by all parties represented in Parliament and completed its final reading in August 2018. During the 2017 general election, Hayes contested Christchurch East against incumbent Poto Williams and was defeated by a margin of 7,480 votes. However, she was re-elected on the National Party list.

In Opposition, 2017–2020

In the

52nd New Zealand Parliament The 52nd New Zealand Parliament was a session of legislature in New Zealand, which opened on 7 November 2017 following the 2017 general election and dissolved on 6 September 2020. The New Zealand Parliament comprises the Sovereign (represent ...

, National was in Opposition and Hayes served as her party's spokesperson for Māori development and

Whānau Ora Whānau Ora (Māori for "family health") is a major contemporary indigenous health initiative in New Zealand, driven by Māori cultural values. Its core goal is to empower communities and extended families () to support families within the comm ...

. During her second term in Parliament, Hayes also voted against 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

End of Life Choice Act 2019 The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that seeks to give people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted dying. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health confirmed that, "The Bill uses “a ...

. During the lead up to the 2020 general election, Hayes unsuccessfully sought to stand as National's candidate in both

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 ...

(which she lost to 17-year-old William Wood) and in Te Tai Hauāuru (the party did not stand candidates in Māori electorates). Ultimately, Hayes was selected as National's candidate for

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

. During the 2020 election, she lost to Labour's candidate

Barbara Edmonds Barbara Rachael Fati Palepa Edmonds is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. Early life and career Edmonds' parents came to New Zealand from Western Samoa in 1978. She was also ...

by a margin of 16,224 votes. She also failed to get in on the party list due to National's landslide defeat.

Post-parliamentary career

Three days after the 2020 election, Hayes was announced as the general manager of the Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust, a post-settlement governance entity for the Rangitāne o Wairarapa and Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua iwi. Hayes is a candidate in the 2022

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a ...

mayoral election.

Personal life

Hayes is of

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Porou is affiliated with the 28th Maori Battalion and has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi in New Zeala ...

, Ati Haunui A Paparangi, and Rangitane ki Wairarapa descent. She is married, and has two sons and three grandchildren.

Notes

References

External links

www.johayes.co.nzProfile
on the New Zealand Parliament website
Profile
on the National Party website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Joanne Living people New Zealand National Party MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Māori politicians 1959 births Unsuccessful candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election