The Honourable
Nicola Grigg
MP
Grigg in 2023
Minister of State for Trade
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byRino Tirikatene
17th Minister for Women
Assumed office
27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChristopher Luxon
Preceded byJan Tinetti
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Selwyn
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byAmy Adams
Majority17,050
Personal details
Born1979 or 1980 (age 43–44)[1]
Mount Somers, New Zealand
Political partyNational
RelationsArthur Grigg (great-grandfather)
Mary Grigg (great-grandmother)[2]
John Cracroft Wilson (Third great-grandfather)
ResidencePrebbleton
WebsiteOfficial website

Nicola Anna Grigg[3] MP is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives representing the Selwyn electorate since October 2020. Since 27 November 2023, she has served as the Minister of State for Trade, Minister for Women, and the Associate Minister of Agriculture in the Sixth National Government. She is a member of the National Party.

Early life

Grigg was born and raised in Mount Somers.[4] Two of her great-grandparents were Members of Parliament for Mid-Canterbury between 1938 and 1943: Arthur Grigg and Mary Grigg (who was the first woman MP for the National Party, completing Arthur's term after his death).[5][6] Grigg is also a third-great-granddaughter (through Mary Grigg) of John Cracroft Wilson, a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand and Sir John Hall, an English-born New Zealand politician who served as the 12th premier of New Zealand from 1879 to 1882.

Grigg worked as a journalist for both Newstalk ZB and Radio New Zealand before shifting her career to politics. She worked for Bill English both during his tenure as finance minister and prime minister. She later worked for leader of the opposition Simon Bridges. She then left working at parliament and took up a position at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.[7]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–2023 53rd Selwyn 60 National
2023–present 54th Selwyn 19 National

First (2020–2023)

Grigg was selected as the National Party candidate for the Selwyn electorate in November 2019 on the first ballot, ahead of two other nominees: Simon Flood and Craig Watson.[7]

In the 2020 general election, she was elected to the Selwyn seat with a final majority of 4,968 votes.[8] Following the election, Grigg served as National's spokesperson for women and, from August 2021, trade and export growth.[9][10]

On 19 January 2023, Grigg was also given the responsibility for Spokesperson for Rural Communities, Animal Welfare, Biosecurity, Food Safety and Associate Spokesperson for Agriculture. However, she lost the trade and expert growth portfolio.[11]

Second term (2023–present)

At the 2023 New Zealand general election, Grigg retained the Selwyn electorate, beating Labour's Luke Jones by a margin of 19,782[12]

On 27 November 2023, she was appointed by the Governor-General, Dame Cindy Kiro at Government House to be the Associate Minister of Agriculture, Minister of State for Trade, and Minister for Women in the National-led coalition government.[13]

Personal life

Grigg previously dated former All Black captain Richie McCaw.[7]

In October 2023, Grigg revealed at a National Party press conference in Rolleston that she was six-and-a-half months’ pregnant.[14]

Views and position

Grigg has supported the establishment of safe zones around abortion providers and hospitals. While voting for the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022 during its first reading in Parliament, Grigg argued that establishing abortion safe zones would reduce "harassment, hate speech, and intimidation" by anti-abortion protesters against vulnerable women.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Young, Audrey (10 November 2019). "National picks former press secretary Nicola Grigg for safest seat in the country". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 17 March 2020.
  2. ↑ Fonseka, Dileepa (24 December 2019). "The sure things: Nicola Grigg". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Speech – New Zealand Parliament".
  4. ↑ "About Nicola". New Zealand National Party. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "Nicola Grigg uses maiden speech to pay tribute to her great-grandmother, National's first female MP". Stuff. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg dedicates maiden speech to trailblazing great-grandmother". Otago Daily Times Online News. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 Cooke, Henry (10 November 2019). "National puts former journalist Nicola Grigg forward for safest seat in NZ". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  8. ↑ "Selwyn – Official Resultt". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  9. 1 2 Small, Zane (12 March 2021). "How MPs voted on law change that would allow safe zones around abortion clinics". Newshub. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  10. ↑ "New National Portfolio Allocations Confirmed". Scoop. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Luxon Sets Out Team To Contest The 2023 Election". www.scoop.co.nz. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Selwyn - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?". Radio New Zealand. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "The Press". www.thepress.co.nz. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
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