Helen White (politician)-Cedar Herald Index

Helen Ione White is a New Zealand politician. In 2020 she became a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party. She currently represents the Mount Albert electorate.

Early life and career

White and her family originally lived in Kawerau before moving to Auckland in 1971 where the school she attended was 98% Polynesian students. She grew up in Freemans Bay, Auckland and became a barrister, specialising in employment law. She lives in Auckland and has three children.

Helen White (politician)

Early in her legal career, White worked with the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union for a period alongside future Labour leader Andrew Little.

Helen White (politician)

Political career

In 2009 White attempted to gain the Labour nomination in the Mount Albert by-election to replace former Prime Minister Helen Clark, but lost to David Shearer. Eight years later in February 2017, White won the Labour Party nomination to stand in at the general election in , winning preference over other contestant Shanan Halbert. White was ranked 40 on Labour's party list. Despite not being elected to parliament in 2017, White was selected to stand in Auckland Central again in .

Helen White (politician)

White received some criticism after mocking her electorate opponent, the Green Party's Chlöe Swarbrick, as a celebrity candidate and describing herself as the serious candidate, despite the fact that Swarbrick held a seat in Parliament (as a List MP) while White did not. A Newshub poll conducted in September 2020 had White with a large lead over her main competitors 42.3 to 26.6 for National's Emma Mellow and 24.2 for Swarbrick. By October the race had tightened. White remained in the lead but dropped to 35 percent to Mellow's 30 and Swarbrick's 26. White did not win the Auckland Central seat, losing to Swarbrick by 1068 votes, but was allocated a seat in Parliament via Labour's party list.

In her first term as an MP, White was a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee, the Regulations Review Committee, and the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.

In March 2023, the Labour Party selected White as its candidate for the Mount Albert electorate in the 2023 New Zealand general election. The electorate had been held by Labour leader and prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who left Parliament that year. White held the electorate for Labour, defeating National's Melissa Lee by an election night margin of 106.