Camilla Belich
MP
Belich in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
Assumed office
6 December 2023
Preceded byAndrew Little
In office
17 October 2020 – 14 October 2023
Personal details
Born1982 or 1983 (age 40–41)[1]
Political partyLabour
SpouseAndrew Kirton
RelationsJim Belich (grandfather)
James Belich (uncle)
ChildrenThree
ProfessionLawyer

Camilla Vera Feslier Belich[2] is a New Zealand lawyer and politician who became a Member of Parliament, representing the New Zealand Labour Party, in 2020.

Biography

Early life and career

As a law student Belich became involved in student politics and was co-president of the New Zealand University Students Association.[3] In 2000 she was a member of the New Zealand Youth Parliament, selected to represent Rongotai MP Annette King.[4] Belich has worked as an employment lawyer, beginning her career at Oakley Moran, a Wellington law firm, before moving to London in 2009 where she worked for a law firm and later for Unison, the largest trade union in the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2016.[3] There, she won acclaim for her role in winning a high-profile case in the Court of Justice of the European Union about safe working hours.[5] She became an expert on employment discrimination cases and in January 2017 she joined the Wellington employment law firm Bartlett Law as a Senior Associate.[6] She also worked for unions in New Zealand as a barrister and solicitor, firstly on equal pay issues at the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions from 2016 to 2019, and subsequently for the Public Service Association in Auckland.[3]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–2023 53rd List 30 Labour
2023–present 54th List 26 Labour

Belich entered Parliament in the 2020 election. She ran for the electorate of Epsom, finishing second, but became an MP based on her ranking of 30th on the Labour party list.[7][8][9] In parliament she became the chair of the education and workforce select committee and in 2023 became the junior government whip.[10] She put herself forward for the Labour nomination in the safe Labour seat of Mount Albert for the 2023 election to replace the retiring Jacinda Ardern. She missed out with fellow list MP Helen White winning the selection.[11] She was later re-selected as Labour's candidate in Epsom.[12]

After the 2023 election, Belich originally did not remain in Parliament as a list MP. She placed third in Epsom, and her list placement of 26 meant she just missed out on being elected through the list. After results were announced, however, fellow Labour MP Andrew Little, who was ranked 12th on the Labour list, opted not to take up his list seat, and formally resigned from the House on 5 December. This resulted in Belich's election as a list MP to replace Little the following day.[13][14][15]

She assumed the junior whip, workplace relations and safety, and emergency management portfolios in the Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.[16]

Personal life

Belich is the granddaughter of former Wellington mayor Sir James Belich and the niece of historian James Belich. She is married to former Labour Party secretary Andrew Kirton and has three children.[5][17][18]

References

  1. ↑ "Compare the candidates for Epsom — NZ Election 2020". Your complete guide to NZ Election 2020 — Policy.
  2. ↑ "Event – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz.
  3. 1 2 3 "The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". Newstalk ZB. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Harré, Laila (6 July 2000). "Youth Parliament to debate decriminalisation". beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 Amelia, Wade (24 May 2020). "Labour Party's latest candidate to contest key Epsom seat". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Camilla Belich joins Bartlett Law". New Zealand Law Society. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. ↑ Coughlan, Thomas (15 June 2020). "Ayesha Verrall leads fresh-faced Labour party list for 2020". Stuff. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "Epsom – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Young, Audrey (9 March 2023). "Inside the Labour battle over Jacinda Ardern's Mt Albert seat". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Erin (11 March 2023). "Labour selects Helen White to replace Jacinda Ardern in Mt Albert seat". Stuff. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  12. ↑ "Promising Labour MP chosen as candidate in Auckland's Epsom electorate". NZ Herald. 22 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Epsom – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Andrew Little To Retire From Politics". Scoop. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Declaration by Electoral Commission that Camilla Vera Feslier Belich is elected a Member of Parliament". New Zealand Gazette. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins reveals new shadow Cabinet". Radio New Zealand. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  17. ↑ "Camilla Belich". NZ Labour Party. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Beehive Diaries: A lockdown baby for new MP, Ashley Bloomfield's dance moves". The New Zealand Herald. 5 March 2021. New Labour MP Camilla Belich has had a baby boy
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