Dame Margaret Ann HercusDCMG (née Sayers, born 24 February 1942), best known as Ann Hercus, is a New Zealand diplomat, politician and member of the Labour Party. She represented the Lyttelton electorate from 1978 to 1987.
In 1983 Hercus stood for the deputy leadership of the party. In a three-way contest, in which all candidates were from Christchurch to reflect geographical proportionality, Hercus finished third. Papanui MP Mike Moore had led on the first ballot, but after Hercus was eliminated almost all of her supporters voted for Christchurch Central MP Geoffrey Palmer, who won.[2] She was subsequently appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Social Welfare, Consumer Affairs and Women's Affairs by Labour leader David Lange.[3]
On 3 November 1984 Hercus was assaulted after speaking to a women's forum at Hagley High School hall by Hikurangi Nihoniho, a 50 year old driver. Nihoniho was angry at Hercus' statements supporting abortion and struck her in the chest as she was attempting to leave which Hercus said left her feeling "felled like a log". Nihoniho was found guilty of assault and fined $200. Hercus is one of the few New Zealand MPs to have been injured in a politically motivated attack.[5]
After one year as Deputy Special Representative, she was promoted to Special Representative. In this role, she had been attempting to arrange direct negotiations between Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides; however, after a month in this role she resigned for family reasons and returned to New Zealand.[10] She subsequently served as a member of the UN Secretary General's Eminent Persons Panel on Peacekeeping Operations in 2000.[11]
Hercus has served on a wide range of NGO Boards and Boards of State Owned Enterprises. These included the New Zealand Women's Refuge Foundation 1996–98,[12] the New Zealand Richmond Fellowship 2005–07,[13] the Board of the Theatre Royal Charitable Foundation 2005-08[14] and the Residual Health Management Unit later renamed the Crown Health Financing Agency.[15]
In 2002, Hercus was appointed by the Minister of Broadcasting Marian Hobbs to the board of Television New Zealand.[16] She resigned this position in December 2004, following her decision as a member of the Board's Remuneration Committee to decline to support the majority decision of this committee and subsequently the Board that “they would reluctantly have to concur"[17] with the 50% increase in salary to $800,000 offered by CEO Ian Fraser to newsreader Judy Bailey.
She was persuaded to remain on the Board by the Minister. A year later on 8 December 2005, she formally resigned from the Board of TVNZ. The day this resignation was announced on 14 December 2005, was coincidentally within hours of former CEO Ian Fraser appearing before a Parliamentary Inquiry into Television New Zealand Ltd by Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee.[18]
Hercus was the fundraiser for 'Save our Arts Centre' (SOAC), an organisation opposing the development of a new building for the School of Music for the University of Canterbury at the Arts Centre.[19] Resource consent hearings before independent Commissioners denied this resource consent and the plans lapsed.[20] The University's School of Music and Department of Classics has moved 8 years later into the heritage Chemistry Building at the Arts Centre.[21]
^Report of the Inquiry into Television New Zealand Ltd by the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Presented to the 48th Parliament March 2007, paras 36, 39,40
^Report of the Inquiry into Television New Zealand Ltd by the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Presented to the 48th Parliament March 2007, paras 36, 39,40
^Matthews, Philip (20 February 2010). "A return to the fray". The Press. Christchurch. pp. C2-3.
^Redmond, Adele (10 May 2017). "40 year homecoming" Christchurch: The Press
