Jamie Strange

Jamie Ross Strange (born 1976) is a New Zealand politician. He is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

Jamie Strange
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Hamilton East
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byDavid Bennett
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour Party List
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
Personal details
Born1976 (age 46–47)
Nelson, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseAngela
Children4
ProfessionTeacher

Early life, career and family

Strange was born in Nelson in 1976. At 12 years of age, he moved with his family to Hamilton, where he attended Hamilton Boys' High School.[1] Before entering parliament, Strange taught music at Berkley Normal Middle School in Hillcrest, Hamilton.[2] He is also a former church minister.[3]

Strange had a music career and has written over 40 songs and released his own album Thanks for Faking It Sometimes in 2007. The songs videos featured a mannequin who was present to mimic the "plastic-looking" girlfriends rock stars often have. Strange named the mannequin 'Kate Brightstar' after purchasing it from a store called Brightstar and later sold it on TradeMe to a truck driver.[4] He returned to the stage during orientation week 2018 at the University of Waikato, shortly after being elected for the first time.[5][6]

Jamie Strange is married to Angela Strange, a Hamilton constituency councillor on the Waikato Regional Council.[7] The couple share four children.[8]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 36 Labour
2020–2023 53rd Hamilton East 40 Labour

His Strange stood unsuccessfully for a seat on the Hamilton City Council in 2013.[9] He sought the Labour nomination in Hamilton East at the 2014 election, but was unsuccessful.[10] Instead, he stood in Taupō where he was defeated by the incumbent, National's Louise Upston.[11] He was ranked 54 on the Labour party list,[12] too low to be elected.

Strange was selected as the Labour candidate in the Hamilton East electorate for the 2017 election and was placed 36 on Labour's party list.[13] Strange did not win the electorate, but entered parliament as a list MP.[14] In his first term he served variously on the select committees for education and workforce; governance and administration; foreign affairs, defence and trade; transport and infrastructure; and finance and expenditure.[15]

In July 2018 Strange said he expected a Hamilton to Auckland rail commuter service to be operating by the end of 2019.[16] The opening of the train service, Te Huia, was delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17][18]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Strange successfully contested the Hamilton East electorate, defeating long-time National incumbent David Bennett by a final margin of 2,973 votes.[19][20] In his second term he was appointed chair of the economic development, science and innovation committee and member of the governance and administration committee.[15] He was also co-chair, with National MP Simeon Brown, of the parliamentary prayer breakfast group.[21]

In mid-December 2022, Strange announced that he would not be contesting the 2023 New Zealand general election and would step down at the end of the 2020–2023 term. Strange attributed his resignation plans to the strain caused by his job travel requirements on family life. He also stated that he was "better suited for government than opposition" in response to polls forecasting a National-ACT electoral victory at the 2023 election.[22][23] His valedictory speech discussed his results in Parliamentary sports teams, expressed support for a four-year Parliamentary term instead of three, and said that New Zealanders "shouldn’t rule... out" becoming one country with Australia.[24]

Political views

Strange has a conservative voting record. He voted against the End of Life Choice Act 2019,[25] Abortion Legislation Act 2020,[26] and the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022.[27]

References
  1. Strange, Jamie (15 November 2017). "Address in Reply". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New Zealand: House of Representatives.
  2. Akoorie, Natalie (25 June 2017). "Cuts to staff of Waikato University music school opposed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. "Strange launches Hamilton East campaign for change". The New Zealand Herald. 19 November 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  4. Cheng, Derek (1 January 2018). "Meet the backbencher: Jamie Strange and his mannequin". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  5. Kerr, Florence (22 February 2018). "Former rock star sheds MP image for one show only". Stuff. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  6. Kerr, Florence (23 February 2018). "Labour MP Jamie Strange rocks out at Waikato University". Stuff. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  7. Ward, Stephen (15 October 2022). "Waikato Regional Council leadership contenders starting to line up". Stuff. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. Lines-MacKenzie, Jo (12 December 2022). "Hamilton East Labour MP Jamie Strange to leave politics". Stuff. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  9. Trevett, Claire (1 August 2016). "Labour selects Jamie Strange as Hamilton East candidate". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  10. "Labour selects music teacher candidate". NZ Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  11. "Official Count Results – Taupō". Electoral Commission. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  12. New Zealand Labour Party (23 June 2014). "Labour List for the 2014 Election Announced". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  13. "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  14. "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  15. "Strange, Jamie - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  16. "Jamie Strange confident Hamilton-Auckland commuter train cash coming (with photo of MP)". Stuff (Fairfax). 18 July 2018.
  17. "Slow train coming: Auckland to Hamilton train service unlikely before February". Stuff (Fairfax). 27 August 2020.
  18. "New launch date for Hamilton-Auckland commuter rail service announced". Stuff/Fairfax. 10 February 2021.
  19. "Hamilton East – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  20. Whyte, Anna (18 October 2020). "Analysis: The winners, losers, new faces and goodbyes of election 2020". 1 News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  21. "'A sea of tranquility' - MPs and their groups". RNZ. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  22. Lee, Irra (13 December 2022). "Six Labour MPs including David Clark to retire at election". 1 News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  23. Ensor, Jamie (12 December 2022). "Labour MP retirements: Poto Williams, David Clark, Paul Eagle among those resigning". Newshub. Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  24. MacManus, Joel (23 August 2023). "Jamie Strange's very strange valedictory". The Spinoff. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  25. "End of Life Choice Bill — Second Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 26 June 2019.
  26. "Labour MPs explain their past votes against abortion reform". NZ Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  27. "Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill — Third Reading". New Zealand Parliament. 16 March 2022.
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