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Maureen PughONZM MP
Pugh in 2023
First Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 December 2023
Speaker	Gerry Brownlee
Preceded by	Jenny Salesa
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for West Coast-Tasman
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 October 2023
Preceded by	Damien O'Connor
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for National Party list
In office 14 March 2018 – 14 October 2023
Preceded by	Bill English
In office 9 February 2016 – 23 September 2017
Preceded by	Tim Groser
Mayor of Westland
In office 2004–2013
Preceded by	John Drylie
Succeeded by	Mike Havill
Personal details
Born	Maureen Helena Pugh 1958 (age 65–66) New Zealand
Political party	National Party
Other political affiliations	Independent (as mayor)
Education	St Mary's High School

Maureen Helena Pugh ONZM (born 1958) is a New Zealand politician. She was the mayor of Westland from 2004 to 2013. She first became a Member of Parliament for the National Party in 2016, leaving Parliament in 2017 and returning in 2018. She was initially a list MP, before winning the West Coast-Tasman electorate in 2023.

Political career

Westland District Council

Pugh was elected to the Westland District Council in 1998 and served two terms before being elected as the district's first woman mayor in 2004, succeeding John Drylie. In 2007 she was returned as mayor unopposed. She stood down at the 2013 elections and was succeeded as mayor by Michael Havill.

While serving as mayor of Westland District Council, Pugh was accused of failure to declare a financial conflict of interest.

Parliament

First term, 2016–2017

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully for the New Zealand National Party in the 2014 general election. Ranked number 52 on the National Party list, she just missed out on a list seat in the final results. She would have got a list seat on preliminary results, but National's proportion of the party vote reduced in the final results and the Green Party's Steffan Browning won the seat she would have taken. Pugh remained first in line should a vacancy arise in a list seat held by a National Party MP during the 51st New Zealand Parliament, and following Tim Groser's resignation in December 2015 she was sworn in as a member of parliament on 9 February 2016 after the summer recess.

Second term, 2018–2020

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully in the 2017 general election. She ranked higher, at 44, in the National Party list, and preliminary results again showed National had won enough seats (58) for her to gain one. However, the official count gave National two fewer seats than the preliminary count, and she did not return to parliament. Due to her history of appearing in and then out of parliament due to special votes, Pugh describes herself as the 'Yo-yo MP'. Pugh was again in line to enter parliament if there were resignations, and she and several other "next-in-line" list candidates attended National's parliamentary caucus retreat in February 2018 to help ease their transition into the caucus should they enter parliament. In March 2018, Bill English resigned from parliament and Pugh was declared elected as a list MP.

Simon Bridges, who was National Party leader from 2018 to 2020, described Pugh as "fucking useless" in a phone call with Jami-Lee Ross, which was recorded and posted on Facebook by Ross in October 2018. Bridges apologised to her after the recording became public. She voted with the majority against Bridges in the May 2020 leadership election.

Third term, 2020–2023

Pugh contested the West Coast-Tasman electorate unsuccessfully in the 2020 general election. This time, at 19 on the party list, both preliminary and final results gave her a list seat. She had been anticipating missing out again after the counting of special votes for the final results and had already started packing her Wellington apartment, which she would have to send back. The National caucus elected her as its Junior Whip on 10 November.

In February 2022 Pugh expressed support through Facebook for Convoy 2022, a protest group who travelled to Wellington to occupy the grounds of parliament, protesting vaccine mandates, with some opposing the vaccine itself. Pugh later amended the post, then deleted it, and said she did not realise many of the protesters were against COVID-19 vaccination. After the occupation of parliament grounds was over, Pugh said that "we had one or two members in there talking with protestors on an almost daily basis... we wrote to the only email address we had and said we would enter dialogue as soon as they stopped the unlawful aspects to their protest." A National Party spokesperson said that "National did not send anyone—MPs, members or otherwise—to enter in discussions with protestors. However we are aware of party members who attended the protest of their own accord".

Fourth term, 2023–present

Final results from the 2023 general election indicate that Pugh had won the electorate of West Coast-Tasman, beating the incumbent Damien O'Connor by a margin of 1,017 votes.

On 6 December 2023, she was appointed First Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives.

On 11 June 2024, Pugh was confronted by a group of protesters who were opposed to the National-led coalition government's proposed Fast-track Approvals Bill in the Golden Bay town of Tākaka. Pugh was meeting with members of the Tākaka Community Board to foster relations with the local government body. During the incident, Pugh was allegedly assaulted by a male protested who pushed his poster against her face.

Views and positions

Pugh revealed in 2016 that she does not believe in pharmaceutical drugs, saying that she never takes any kind of medication and has only ever given her children chiropractic treatments. She said that nature delivers whatever people need, and that "there's nothing wrong with getting a cold or getting a flu – if you have a healthy immune system you can deal with it." The following day she wrote "I do support the use of pharmaceuticals, such as Panadol and anaesthetic". Pugh was one of the last Members of Parliament to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

On cannabis, Pugh said that she did not support its decriminalisation, having seen its negative effects on some people, but she was not opposed to people "smoking or digesting a natural plant", adding, "I'm just talking about giving the poor lady whose got lymphoma a plant to smoke, which she can grow in her backyard."

On climate change, Pugh stated in 2023 that, while she believed in it, she had yet to see evidence of anthropocentric causes of that change. Her party leader Christopher Luxon responded to Pugh's refusal to say she believes in man-made climate change by stating "If you're a climate denier... that's not an acceptable position". Pugh later reversed her position, saying that she accepted that human-induced climate change was real and that it was a factor in extreme weather such as Cyclone Gabrielle. Radio New Zealand journalist Guyon Espiner likened the retraction to a "hostage video". Regarding electricity generation, Pugh also said in 2023 that she wanted to explore more renewable energy projects in the region. She noted that the West Coast pays about 25 percent more for its electricity than other regions, and considered that local electricity generation could help to bring prices down and so attract more businesses.

Pugh said in 2023 that recent minimum pay increases had encouraged some employers to consider automation and that the consequences of those rises hadn't been thought through. She also said she was unhappy about recent changes to the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme.

Personal life

Pugh was educated at St Mary's High School, Greymouth. Pugh and her husband John live on their farm in a mountain valley at Turiwhate, near Kumara. According to Pugh, her house's former copper piping acted as a conductor for electrical storms, and Pugh has been struck by lightning three times.

In the 2014 New Year Honours, Pugh was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to local government.

References

1. Moore, Bill (30 August 2014). "Candidates stretch out to win votes". Nelson Mail. p. 13.
2. Carroll, Joanne (8 December 2015). "West Coast – Tasman list MP is back in parliament". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
3. Fraser, Rebekah (2013). "Pugh challenged for mayoralty". Greymouth Star. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
4. "Westland District Mayor". Vote.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
5. Conway, Glenn (16 December 2013). "Former Westland mayor to stand for National". The Press. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
6. "Election results: Around the country". The New Zealand Herald. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
7. Lee, Julian (18 June 2013). "Westland District Council sued by heliport operators". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
8. Lee, Julian (9 May 2013). "Councillors wild at Mayor's edit". Greymouth Star. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
9. "Pugh to seek Coast seat". The Nelson Mail. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
10. Mills, Laura; McMahon, Brendon (2014). "Pugh awaits National Party nod". Greymouth Star. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
11. ^ Rutherford, Hamish (4 October 2014). "National loses majority, Greens pick up one". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
12. Mathewson, Nicole; Stylianou, Georgina; Fulton, Tim (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: Canterbury decides". The Press. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
13. Farrar, David (21 September 2014). "Election 2014: All the MPs for each party, plus those who failed to make the cut". National Business Review. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
14. Small, Vernon (7 December 2015). "Groser makes way for Collins' return". The Press. p. A1. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
15. "'Yo-yo MP' Maureen Pugh not counting on bounce from special votes". RNZ. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
16. "National caucus presents united front". RNZ. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
17. "Maureen Pugh back in Parliament after Bill English's retirement". Stuff.co.nz. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
18. "New List MP for New Zealand National Party". Electoral Commission. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
19. Rutherford, Hamish. "Simon Bridges describes MP colleague as 'f...ing useless' in recorded conversation". Stuff. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
20. "MP called 'useless' by Simon Bridges gets last laugh". Stuff. 22 May 2020.
21. "West Coast-Tasman – Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
22. "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
23. "Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responds to the final election and referendum results". Stuff. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
24. Maxwell, Joel (10 November 2020). "National's yo-yo MP Maureen Pugh had already started packing after election, but will remain". Stuff. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
25. McCulloch, Craig; Scotcher, Katie (10 November 2020). "Shane Reti becomes new deputy leader of the National Party". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
26. ^ "Convoy protest: National MP Maureen Pugh deletes post thanking protesters, says she didn't know they were antivax". Stuff. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
27. "National MP: Party members were meeting with Parliament protesters". RNZ. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
28. "West Coast-Tasman - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
29. Hubbard, Catherine (12 June 2024). "MP Maureen Pugh allegedly assaulted at gold mine protest". Stuff. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
30. Doyle, Trent (12 June 2024). "National MP Maureen Pugh allegedly assaulted in Tākaka by anti-fast-track protester". Newshub. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
31. ^ Moir, Jo (9 June 2016). "National MP Maureen Pugh doesn't believe in pharmaceutical drugs". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
32. "West Coast National MP Maureen Pugh 'doesn't need' panadol" – via www.newshub.co.nz.
33. Moir, Jo. "National MP Maureen Pugh says she isn't an anti-vaxxer". Stuff. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
34. Trevett, Claire (22 February 2022). "Heat on Pugh as Luxon says he will give her a climate reading list". New Zealand Herald. pp. A2.
35. Whyte, Anna (20 February 2023). "National's Maureen Pugh "waiting for evidence" on human impact on climate change". Stuff. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
36. "Focus: Luxon reacts to Maureen Pugh refusing to say she believes in man-made climate change". NZ Herald. 21 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
37. Whyte, Anna (21 February 2023). "MP Maureen Pugh U-turn: Human-induced climate change is real". Stuff. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
38. Espiner, Guyon (22 February 2023). "Christopher Luxon wants burglary, looting sentences doubled". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
39. ^ "Maureen Pugh on plans as West Coast-Tasman MP: 'A reset in mindset'". RNZ. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
40. Moore, Bill (8 December 2015). "West Coaster Maureen Pugh going back to Parliament after early setback". Stuff. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
41. Burrows, Matt (14 September 2021). "National MP Maureen Pugh reveals she's been struck by lightning three times". Newshub. p. 1. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
42. "New Year honours list 2014". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2018.

• 1958 births
• Living people
• New Zealand National Party MPs
• Women mayors of places in New Zealand
• Mayors of Westland, New Zealand
• Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election
• Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
• Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election
• Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election
• Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
• People from the West Coast Region
• 21st-century New Zealand politicians
• 21st-century New Zealand women politicians
• New Zealand list MPs
• Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• People educated at John Paul II High School, Greymouth
• Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
• New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates