Tracey Martin

Martin was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives during the 2011 general election and was subsequently appointed as deputy leader of New Zealand First.[4] She was first elected to Parliament as a New Zealand First list MP based in Warkworth, in 2011.[5]

Along with all other New Zealand First MPs, Martin voted against the Marriage Amendment Act, which permits same-sex marriage in New Zealand, in 2013.[6] New Zealand First requested that the bill become a referendum issue however the request was denied.

During the 2014 general election, Martin was re-elected to Parliament on the New Zealand First party list.[7] The party won nine percent of the popular vote and eleven seats.[8]

On 3 July 2015 it was announced that Martin had been replaced as deputy leader following a caucus vote and replaced by Ron Mark.[9]

In 2015 Martin sponsored the Social Security (Clothing Allowances for Orphans and Unsupported Children) Amendment Bill.[10] The bill gave unsupported child or orphan clothing allowance parity with foster children.[10] She has also been a strong advocate for the expansion of this allowance so that it can be accessed by kin carers.[11]

During the 2017 election, Martin was re-elected on the New Zealand First party list.[12] The party won 7.2 percent of the vote and nine seats.[13]

Following the formation of a Labour-NZ First coalition government, Martin was as appointed Minister for Children, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Seniors, and Associate Minister of Education.[14] Martin has also been NZ First spokesperson for broadcasting, communications and IT, education and women's affairs.[15]

Within the coalition, Martin was seen by Labour MPs as a favourite to work with, and was often asked to act as a go-between for other MPs who were having trouble reaching resolutions. Martin also ensured appropriate people were involved in coalition management, including policy adviser and Martin's sister Kirsty Christison. In an interview after the coalition, Martin said, "We realised early in that we needed to get the conversations between NZ First, Labour and the Greens really tight. It had to be people who knew the party’s stand and policies and could speak with confidence about what the party was likely to accept and not accept, but were very apolitical. For NZ First, that person ended up being Kirsty.”[16]

Following an attempted "uplifting" by Oranga Tamariki social workers of a child in Hastings in June 2019, the Minister for Children Martin met with local iwi Ngāti Kahungunu and the Māori Council.[17] She also announced that the Government would be conducting a review into the Hawkes Bay attempted uplifting incident.[18][19] In early August 2019, Martin announced that the Government would be scrapping its Children's Teams task forces in response to the uplifting controversy but rejected comparisons with the Australian "Stolen Generations".[20]

According to media reports, Martin participated in several months of negotiations with the Labour Party over the Government's proposed Abortion Legislation Bill, which seeks to remove abortion from the Crimes Act 1961. Despite initially ruling out a referendum, NZ First leader Winston Peters surprised both Martin and Labour by demanding a binding referendum on abortion reform in return for supporting the legislation through Parliament. Peter's actions were criticised by both the Minister of Justice Andrew Little, who initiated the legislation, opposition National MP Amy Adams, and left-wing blogger Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury.[21][22][23][24][25] Martin voted in favour of the Government's abortion legislation bill, which passed its first reading on 8 August 2019.[26]

On 14 March 2020, it was reported that Martin was self-isolating and being tested for the COVID-19 virus after meeting with Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, who had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, during a Five Eyes ministerial meeting in Washington, D.C. the previous week.[27][28]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election held on 17 October, Martin contested Ōhāriu, coming fifth place.[29] She and her fellow NZ First MPs lost their seats after the party's vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.[30][31]

On 9 November 2020, Martin was granted retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.[32]