Ria Bond
Member of the Invercargill City Council
Assumed office
14 October 2022
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Zealand First party list
In office
28 April 2015 – 23 September 2017
Preceded byWinston Peters
Personal details
Born
Ria Iris Daphne Shortland

1976 (age 47–48)
Palmerston North, New Zealand
RelationsJames Hēnare (great-uncle), Tau Henare, Peeni Henare
ChildrenTwo

Ria Iris Daphne Bond (née Shortland, born 1976) is a New Zealand politician and former hairdresser. She was appointed to the House of Representatives as a New Zealand First list MP following Winston Peters winning the March 2015 Northland by-election. She now serves as an Invercargill City Councillor after an unsuccessful bid for the 2022 Invercargill mayoral election but a successful attempt to obtain a seat on the city council.

Early life and family

Born in Palmerston North[1] in 1976, Bond was born into a presumably abusive family, and was put into foster care a total of five times. She stated in her maiden speech, "Although the world was shocked by the movie Once Were Warriors, I was living it",[2] indicating an abusive upbringing. Bond attended Highbury Primary School (now known as Somerset Crescent School) and Queen Elizabeth College. She has two children,[3] is half-Scottish and half-Māori (of Ngāti Hine and Ngāpuhi descent), and is the great-niece of Sir James Hēnare, the commanding officer of the Māori Battalion by the end of World War II.[4]

Hairdressing and national boards

Bond was a hairdresser in Invercargill and served as president of the New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers, representing 8,000 owners and operators (2006–2012).[5][6][7][8] She also had a dual role as a director on the Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation, which included being a New Zealand Qualifications Authority governance and advisory panel member.[8]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2015–2017 51st List 12 NZ First

Bond joined New Zealand First in 2011 and was elected to the party's national board in 2012.[9] She left her hairdressing salon in August 2014, just prior to the 2014 New Zealand general election, when she stood in the Invercargill electorate;[10] this was her first election contest.[11] She placed third in that election and was 12th on the party's list, with New Zealand First winning 11 list seats.[12] Following the election, Bond moved to Wainuiomata, working at Parliament as an executive assistant to MPs Richard Prosser and Mahesh Bindra.[10]

When Peters won the Northland by-election on 28 March 2015 and became an electorate MP, Bond was next in line and became a list MP for her party.[10] Bond was sworn in on 28 April 2015.[13] On 6 May 2015, Bond became a member of the Commerce Select Committee.[8]

She left Parliament after the 2017 New Zealand general election, as New Zealand First did not receive enough votes for her to make it back into Parliament; she then returned to Southland.[14]

On 15 April 2019, Bond announced her candidacy for the 2019 Invercargill mayoral election.[15] However her registration 15 minutes before the deadline was rejected because the correct address of one of her nominators was not on the electoral roll.[16] On 22 July 2022, she announced her candidacy for the 2022 Invercargill mayoral election.[17] She was unsuccessful in the mayoral election but did win a seat on the city council.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "The name's Bond, Ria Bond". 2 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Bond, Ria: Maiden Statements - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. ↑ McLeod, Hannah (22 September 2014). "Bond celebrates despite defeat". The Southland Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ria Bond to be the new list MP for New Zealand First". Māori Television News. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Jones, Nicholas (23 May 2011). "Hair horror as salon visit goes bad". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2015. Ria Bond, the president of the New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers, had recently heard of a similar chemical straightening incident at another salon.
  6. ↑ "Article detail". Imagesmagazine.co.nz. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Contact – New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers". 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Samuela, Jordan (20 May 2015). "Ria Bond". Retrieved 12 December 2016.
  9. ↑ McLeod, Hannah (22 June 2012). "Bond joins national board of NZ First". The Southland Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Trevett, Claire (21 March 2015). "Hairdresser next in line to cut a dash in Parliament if Peters wins". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Berwick, Louise; McDougall, Nicci; McLeod, Hannah (20 September 2014). "Soper won't stand again as Dowie wins city vote". The Southland Times. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  12. ↑ Railton, Bridget (27 August 2014). "Invercargill woman on NZ First list". The Southland Times. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Ria Bond sworn in at Parliament". 3 News. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  14. ↑ "Ria Bond to leave Parliament following election results". Stuff.co.nz.
  15. ↑ "Ria Bond joins Invercargill mayoralty race". 15 April 2019.
  16. ↑ "Bond misses out but Shadbolt confirms nomination for Invercargill mayoralty". 16 August 2019.
  17. ↑ Harding, Evan (22 July 2022). "Ria Bond joins crowd of Invercargill mayoral candidates". Stuff.
  18. ↑ "Preliminary results confirm Invercargill City Councillors". Invercargill City Council. 9 October 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.