Marja Lubeck

Marja Lubeck
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
In office
23 September 2017 – 14 October 2023
Personal details
Born1965 (age 58–59)
Political partyLabour
ProfessionFormer Member of Parliament. Former Flight attendant and unionist

Maria Josina Elisabeth "Marja" Lubeck[1] (born 1965)[2] is a New Zealand politician. She was a member of parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

Early life and family

Lubeck was born in the Netherlands, the eldest child of Valentin "Tijn" and Nel Lubeck. Her father's family were Chinese–Indonesian; they moved to the Netherlands after being imprisoned in Japanese internment camps during World War II.[3] She immigrated from the Netherlands to New Zealand in 1989, and became an international flight attendant for Air New Zealand in 1996. She joined the Flight Attendant and Related Services Association (FARSA) as a delegate and was elected as president of FARSA in 2009, serving four terms.[4][5] She graduated with a law degree in 2014 after studying part-time as a foundation student of the Auckland University of Technology Law School. In February 2017, Lubeck was admitted to the bar as barrister and solicitor of the High Court.[6]

During her time as president of FARSA she was involved in an operational merger arrangement with New Zealand's largest private sector union, E tū, resulting in the FARSA membership endorsing an amalgamation in November 2016. Lubeck served as the lead advocate in negotiations for the major airlines servicing the New Zealand market and was part of the High Performance Engagement (HPE) Leadership Team at Air New Zealand where organised labour and management engage in a consensus-based workplace democracy programme.[7][8]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 32 Labour
2020–2023 53rd List 34 Labour

Lubeck stood for Labour in the Rodney electorate in the 2017 election and was placed 32 on Labour's party list.[9] Lubeck placed second in the electorate behind incumbent Mark Mitchell, but was elected as a list MP.[10] In her first term, Lubeck was appointed to the education and workforce committee and the transport and industrial relations committee.[11]

In 2018, Lubeck sponsored a draft member's bill to ban conversion therapy.[12] Lubeck accepted a petition from Young Greens and Young Labour and worked closely with grassroots activist, Shaneel Lal in the movement to end conversion therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand.[13] Lubeck's bill was not selected to be debated in Parliament but a policy to ban conversion therapy was included in Labour's manifesto for the 2020 election.[14] When the party won the election it eventually passed the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 which was based on Lubeck's bill.

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Lubeck contested the new Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate but was defeated by Chris Penk by a final margin of 4,435 votes.[15] However, Lubeck was re-elected as a list MP.[16] In her second term, she chaired the education and workforce committee.[11]

On 13 December 2022, Lubeck announced that she would not be contesting the 2023 New Zealand general election. In announcing her resignation, Lubeck stated that "it's a tough job... it's a lot of juggling to do." She also attribute her resignation to the health and travel strains associated with her job and a desire to spend more time with her family.[17][18] https://www.localmatters.co.nz/opinion/viewpoint-goodbye-and-thank-you/

References

  1. ^ "Daily progress for Tuesday, 7 November 2017". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. ^ Lubeck, Marja (16 November 2017). "Address in Reply". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Marja Lubeck". New Zealand Labour Party. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Marja Lubeck | Our Members".
  6. ^ "Marja Lubeck: Member of Parliament". New Zealand Asian Leaders. Archived from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  7. ^ E Tu (21 November 2016). "Formal merger creates New Zealand's biggest aviation union". Scoop. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Marja Lubeck". Auckland University of Technology. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  9. ^ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Lubeck, Marja - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Labour MP lodges Members' Bill which would ban controversial 'conversion therapy'". NZ Herald. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill — First Reading - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  14. ^ Coffey, Tāmati (5 October 2020). "Labour takes pride in Rainbow policies". NZ Labour Party. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Kaipara ki Mahurangi – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  16. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  17. ^ Lee, Irra (13 December 2022). "Six Labour MPs including David Clark to retire at election". 1News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  18. ^ 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.