Lianne Dalziel

Lianne Audrey Dalziel [IPA: diɛl] (In New Zealand, the "z" in her surname is not a silent letter) (born 7 June 1960) is a member of the New Zealand Parliament and Minister of Commerce, Minister of Food Safety and Associated Minister of Justice.cite press release|publisher=New Zealand Government|date=31 October 2007|title=Ministerial List for Announcement on 31 October 2007|url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/Documents/Files/Ministerial%20List.DOC|format=DOC] She resigned from Cabinet on 20 February 2004 after apparently lying about a leak of documents to the media, but was reinstated as a Minister following Labour's return to office after the 2005 elections.

Early life

Dalziel was raised in Christchurch, and attended Canterbury University . She graduated with a law degree and was admitted to the Bar. She served as the legal officer for the Canterbury Hotel and Hospital Workers' Union, and later became the union's Secretary. She also participated in national groups such as the Federation of Labour and the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.

Member of Parliament

Dalziel entered Parliament as a Labour Party MP for Christchurch Central in 1990, replacing outgoing former Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer. She held this seat until the 1996 elections (being replaced by Tim Barnett), when she became a list MP under the new MMP electoral system. In the 1999 elections, she chose to contest an electorate again, and won the Christchurch East seat.

Cabinet minister

In the new government formed by Labour, Dalziel became Minister of Immigration, Minister for Senior Citizens, and Minister for Disability Issues. When Labour won re-election in the 2002 elections, Dalziel also became Minister of Commerce (while ceasing to be Minister for Disability Issues). In 2003, she ceased to be Minister for Senior Citizens. As Minister of Immigration, Dalziel was often in the spotlight. In particular, she often clashed with Winston Peters, leader of the anti-immigration New Zealand First party.

After the 2005 elections, Dalziel was re-elected by her caucus colleagues to Cabinet and was given the portfolios of Commerce, Small Business, and Women's Affairs.

Controversies

Dalziel's position became difficult after she was accused of giving certain documents to the press to bolster the case for a decision her Associate Minister had made. The decision, concerning the deportation of a Sri Lankan teenager who was seeking asylum but who had originally lied about the reasons, was controversial, and Dalziel leaked the notes of the teenager's lawyer to TV3, attempting to discredit the teenager's case for asylum. Dalziel tried to avoid admitting to being the source of the documents, but was forced to admit that the leak had been at her direction. There was also significant controversy about how Dalziel had obtained the documents in the first place. Dalziel offered her resignation which Prime Minister Helen Clark accepted.

References