Jenny Marcroft

Jennifer Lyn Marcroft (born 1963) is a New Zealand politician and former Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party.

Jenny Marcroft
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Zealand First party list
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
Personal details
Born1963 (age 57–58)
Political partyNew Zealand First (until 2021)

Early life

Both Marcroft's parents died during her childhood leaving her an orphan at 16. She then lived with a violent step-father in Rotorua who motivated her to run away from home.[1] She is part Māori on her father's side and identifies as Ngāpuhi.[1] Marcroft's mother was a family friend of former Deputy-Prime Minister Don McKinnon, who supported her entry into politics.[1]

Broadcasting career

Marcroft had a career spanning over 30 years in the broadcasting industry, mostly reading the news on the radio for Independent Radio News, however she also read the news on television for TV3 at times.[2] During her career she worked to ensure her pronunciation of Māori names was correct, receiving criticism for doing so. During the 1990s as a newsreader she was told not to say "kia ora" at the beginning of bulletins, but decided to persist anyway.[1]

Political career

Member of parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 9 NZ First

In 2017 election Marcroft stood for New Zealand First in the Tāmaki electorate and was placed ninth on New Zealand First's party list.[3][2] She duly entered parliament via the party list.[4]

Following the formation of a Labour-led coalition government on 19 October 2019, Marcroft was designated as New Zealand First's spokesperson on the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), arts, culture and heritage, broadcasting, communication IT, conservation, environment, health and human rights. On 15 November 2017, she was appointed to Parliament's environment select committee. On 24 October 2018, Marcroft was appointed to Parliament's health select committee. On 30 June 2019, Marcroft was appointed to the Parliamentary Service Commission's artworks committee.[5]

On 23 October 2019, Marcroft successfully secured an amendment into David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill that the Government hold a binding referendum on decriminalising euthanasia. In justifying her call for a referendum on euthanasia, Marcroft stated that "this issue basically, directly affects the fabric of society and so we believe that temporarily empowered politicians … we alone should not decide on the bill." Parliament voted by a tight margin of 63 to 57 to incorporate the referendum amendment into the Bill.[6][7]

During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, Marcroft contested the Auckland Central electorate, coming sixth place.[8] She and her fellow NZ First MPs also lost their seats after the party's vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament. New Zealand First also lost all its parliamentary seats, gaining only 2.6% percent of the party vote, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.[9][10]

Post-political life

In late January 2021, Marcroft along with fellow former MP Tracey Martin left New Zealand First, expressing skepticism that the party would be able to contest the next general election and opining that the party needed to rebuild and return to its roots.[11]

References
  1. Young, Audrey (2 January 2017). "Meet the backbencher: Jenny Marcroft". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  2. "Newsreader announced as NZ First candidate". Newshub. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  3. "The NZ First Party list for the 2017 General Election". Scoop. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  5. "Jenny Marcroft". New Zealand Parliament. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  6. Jancic, Boris (23 October 2019). "Euthanasia bill to go to referendum after knife-edge vote in Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  7. Cooke, Henry (23 October 2019). "Euthanasia referendum on the cards after tight vote in Parliament". Stuff. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  8. "Auckland Central – Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  9. "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Nationwide Party Votes Results". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. Owen, Catrin (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: Who are the MPs ejected from Parliament?". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  11. Lynch, Jenny (29 January 2021). "Former New Zealand First MPs Tracey Martin, Jenny Marcroft quit party, citing different values". Newshub. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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