Jacqui Dean
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The Honourable Jacqui Dean MP |
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|---|---|
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Waitaki |
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Assumed office 8 November 2005 |
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| Preceded by | David Parker |
| Majority | 1995 |
| Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs | |
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Assumed office 20 December 2016 |
|
| Prime Minister | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Paul Goldsmith |
| Minister for Small Business | |
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Assumed office 20 December 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | Bill English |
| Preceded by | Craig Foss |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 May 1957 Palmerston North, New Zealand |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Bill Dean |
| Residence | Oamaru |
| Website | http://jacquidean.co.nz |
Jacqueline Isobel "Jacqui" Dean (born 13 May 1957 in Palmerston North) is a New Zealand politician and the current Member of Parliament for the Waitaki electorate, where she represents the National Party.
Dean has worked in a number of roles, including professional acting. She is perhaps best known as a former host of Play School, a children's television programme, but has also acted on stage and been a radio announcer. She has also worked in the education sector.
Early in Dean's political career, she served on the Waitaki District Council, representing the Oamaru ward. She also unsuccessfully contested the mayoralty.
In the 2005 election, she was the National Party's successful candidate for the Otago seat, a traditional National stronghold which had unexpectedly been taken by the Labour Party's David Parker. For this election, Dean campaigned on water issues, saying in her maiden speech to parliament that she believed water to be the "single most important issue facing New Zealand today". She was returned to Parliament in 2008 and 2011 for the geographically similar Waitaki electorate. Dean was confirmed as Waitaki's representative in the 2014 election.
Jacqui Dean has been vocal on drug-related issues in New Zealand although she has no official role in this capacity.
Jacqui Dean campaigned for the banning of the sale of "party pills", namely Benzylpiperazine (BZP), over which Associate Health Minister Jim Anderton (Progressive party) has accused her of indulging in political grandstanding, saying – "Perhaps Mrs Dean doesn't subscribe to the idea that any Government must balance the need to act promptly with its responsibilities to act fairly and follow due process, particularly where its actions affect those who are currently acting within existing legal constraints." Dean's press releases refer to BZP as either "cattle drench" or a "worming agent". BZP was developed for this use, but has never been commercially used as a wormer or drench.[1] Evidence that Dean has used to promote the BZP ban (such as the MRINZ report on BZP) has been criticized as consisting of flawed research which does not meet peer review requirements.
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