Tina Pupuke-Browne | |
---|---|
Member of the
Cook Islands Parliament for Rakahanga | |
Assumed office 14 June 2018 | |
Preceded by | Toka Hagai |
Personal details | |
Born | Aitutaki, Cook Islands | 4 April 1955
Political party | Democratic Party |
Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
Tina Pupuke-Browne (born 4 April 1955) is a Cook Islands politician and a member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is the leader of the Democratic Party.
Brown was born in 1955 [1] and is from the island of Rakahanga and is the daughter of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Pupuke Robati. [2] She was educated at Tereora College and then attended the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1979 [2] [3] – the first woman from Rarotonga to do so. [4] She subsequently worked for New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh. She returned to the Cook Islands in 1981 to work for the Crown Law Office before entering private practice. [3] She served as president of the Cook Islands Netball Association. [5]
Browne first entered politics in 1996, when she contested the Nikao-Panama by-election as a candidate for the Cook Islands Party. She was defeated by Ngamau Munokoa. [5]
She was elected as leader of the Democratic Party in April 2017, replacing William (Smiley) Heather. [6] In the 2018 election she contested the seat of Rakahanga, losing to the Cook Islands Party's Toka Hagai. Hagai subsequently resigned the seat following allegations of treating, [7] and Browne won it following an electoral petition. [8]
In December 2019 she was part of a protest by women MPs to permit the wearing of ei katu (floral crowns) in Parliament. [9]
In April 2020 she led several MPs in taking a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11] During 2020 she supported the government's efforts to prevent the spread of covid to the Cook Islands, [12] and later opposed the government's lifting of quarantine. [13]
In March 2021 she joined the government in opposing a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining. [14]
She was re-elected at the 2022 Cook Islands general election. [15]
Tina Pupuke-Browne | |
---|---|
Member of the
Cook Islands Parliament for Rakahanga | |
Assumed office 14 June 2018 | |
Preceded by | Toka Hagai |
Personal details | |
Born | Aitutaki, Cook Islands | 4 April 1955
Political party | Democratic Party |
Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
Tina Pupuke-Browne (born 4 April 1955) is a Cook Islands politician and a member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is the leader of the Democratic Party.
Brown was born in 1955 [1] and is from the island of Rakahanga and is the daughter of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Pupuke Robati. [2] She was educated at Tereora College and then attended the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1979 [2] [3] – the first woman from Rarotonga to do so. [4] She subsequently worked for New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh. She returned to the Cook Islands in 1981 to work for the Crown Law Office before entering private practice. [3] She served as president of the Cook Islands Netball Association. [5]
Browne first entered politics in 1996, when she contested the Nikao-Panama by-election as a candidate for the Cook Islands Party. She was defeated by Ngamau Munokoa. [5]
She was elected as leader of the Democratic Party in April 2017, replacing William (Smiley) Heather. [6] In the 2018 election she contested the seat of Rakahanga, losing to the Cook Islands Party's Toka Hagai. Hagai subsequently resigned the seat following allegations of treating, [7] and Browne won it following an electoral petition. [8]
In December 2019 she was part of a protest by women MPs to permit the wearing of ei katu (floral crowns) in Parliament. [9]
In April 2020 she led several MPs in taking a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] [11] During 2020 she supported the government's efforts to prevent the spread of covid to the Cook Islands, [12] and later opposed the government's lifting of quarantine. [13]
In March 2021 she joined the government in opposing a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining. [14]
She was re-elected at the 2022 Cook Islands general election. [15]