Megan Woods | |
|---|---|
 Woods in 2023 | |
| 17thMinister of Energy and Resources | |
| In office 26 October 2017 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Judith Collins |
| Succeeded by | Simeon Brown |
| 28thMinister of Housing | |
| In office 27 June 2019 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Phil Twyford |
| Succeeded by | Chris Bishop |
| 9thMinister for Building and Construction | |
| In office 14 June 2022 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Poto Williams |
| Succeeded by | Chris Penk |
| 5thMinister for Infrastructure | |
| In office 1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Grant Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Chris Bishop |
| Minister for Economic Development (Acting) | |
| In office 28 March 2023 – 12 April 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Stuart Nash |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Edmonds |
| Minister of Forestry (Acting) | |
| In office 28 March 2023 – 12 April 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Stuart Nash |
| Succeeded by | Peeni Henare |
| Minister of Police (Acting) | |
| In office 15 March 2023 – 20 March 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Stuart Nash |
| Succeeded by | Ginny Andersen |
| 26thMinister for Research, Science and Innovation | |
| In office 26 October 2017 – 14 June 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern |
| Preceded by | Paul Goldsmith |
| Succeeded by | Ayesha Verrall |
| Minister for Greater Christchurch Regeneration | |
| In office 26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern |
| Preceded by | Nicky Wagner |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Minister for Government Digital Services | |
| In office 26 August 2018 – 28 June 2019 | |
| Prime Minister | Jacinda Ardern |
| Preceded by | Clare Curran |
| Succeeded by | Kris Faafoi |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forWigram | |
| Assumed office 26 November 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Anderton |
| Majority | 14,770 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1973-11-04)4 November 1973 (age 52) |
| Political party | Labour (since 2007) |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Party (1999–2007) |
| Website | Profile on Labour website |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
| Thesis | Integrating the nation: Gendering Maori urbanisation and integration, 1942–1969 (2002) |
| Doctoral advisor | Katie Pickles |
Megan Cherie Woods (born 4 November 1973) is a New ZealandLabour Party politician who served as aCabinet Minister in theSixth Labour Government and has served as Member of Parliament forWigram since2011.
Woods was born and grew up inWigram,Christchurch.[1] She attended high school atCatholic Cathedral College. She obtained a master's degree from theUniversity of Canterbury with her thesis being titledRe/producing the nation : women making identity in New Zealand, 1906–1925.[2] She went on to obtain aPhD inhistory again at the University of Canterbury[3] with a thesis titledIntegrating the nation: Gendering Maori urbanisation and integration, 1942–1969.[4]
Woods was a business manager forCrop & Food Research (2005–08) and its successor organisationPlant and Food Research (2008), based atLincoln.[1]
Woods was a member of theAlliance Party from 1999 until 2002, when she joined the breakawayProgressive Party. She was involved in several ofJim Anderton's re-election campaigns.[5] She contested theChristchurch Central electorate in the2005 general election and came fourth, receiving 1077 votes (3.2% of the electorate votes).[6] She was placed fourth on the Progressive party list. As the party obtained only 1.2% of the party vote, she did not enter Parliament that year.
She was a member of the Spreydon-Heathcote community board in Christchurch from 2004 to 2007.[1]
Woods joined theLabour Party in 2007.[5] In the same year, she contested theChristchurch mayoralty for the centre-leftChristchurch 2021 group, receiving 32,821 votes and coming second againstBob Parker (47,033 votes), but beatingJo Giles (14,454 votes) in the election contested by ten candidates.[7][8] She did not contest the2008 general election or the2010 mayoral election.
Woods was selected as the Labour candidate for the2011 election in theWigram electorate.[1][5] She succeededJim Anderton, who had announced that he would retire either after winning theChristchurch mayoralty (he was unsuccessful) or at the end of the term of the49th Parliament in November 2011. Woods was a key member of Anderton's campaign committee, along with key Progressive Party members like Jeanette Lawrence and Liz Maunsell, and Labour activists such as campaign manager Tony Milne, Ben Ross and Liana Foster.[9] Until the2010 Canterbury earthquake, Anderton was leading in the opinion polls, and winning the mayoralty would have caused aby-election in the Wigram electorate.[10] The earthquake resulted in a mood swing in Christchurch, and Anderton lost againstBob Parker.[11] Anderton remained an MP until the end of the term of the49th Parliament, and Woods won in the 2011 general election in the Wigram electorate.[5]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2014 | 50th | Wigram | 47 | Labour | |
| 2014–2017 | 51st | Wigram | 20 | Labour | |
| 2017–2020 | 52nd | Wigram | 6 | Labour | |
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | Wigram | 5 | Labour | |
| 2023–present | 54th | Wigram | 5 | Labour | |
Woods's candidacy, which began in late 2010, was centred on job creation in her electorate. She stated in her Labour selection speech that "Growing up here in the 1980s, I watched people lose their jobs. I saw workplaces like theAddington Workshops shut their doors forever. Now I am 36 years old and am watching jobs disappear from our communities again."[5] Woods also cited the rising cost of living for everyday people as a major concern.
During the 2011 election, Woods won the seat with 45.11% of the vote and a majority of 1,500 votes.[12] Woods won re-election in the2014 election with an increased majority.[13]
While in opposition Woods was Labour Party's spokesperson for the Environment and Climate Change and has served prior as the Party's spokesperson for Tertiary Education and associate spokesperson for Science and Innovation.[14][15]
Following the ratification of theParis Agreement by theUnited States andChina, on 5 September 2016 Woods was critical of theNational Governments slow progress towards ratifying.[16]
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Commenting on the2016 United States Presidential Election, Woods expressed support forHillary Clinton's candidacy, calling her “experienced” and “ready”.[17]
On June 6, 2017, Woods met with United StatesSecretary of StateRex Tillerson as part of the Oppositions meeting with Tillerson as Spokesperson for Climate Change during their trip to New Zealand.[18]
During the2017 general election, Woods retained Wigram for Labour by a margin of 4,594 votes.[19]
Woods was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of acoalition government withNew Zealand First and theGreens.[20] As of 2017, Woods is theMinister of Energy and Resources. On 12 April, Woods announced that the Government would halt future gas and oil exploration but clarified that the existing 22 contracts would be allowed to continue.[21]
On 27 June 2019, in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's first major reshuffle of the coalition government, Woods was appointed Minister of Housing, replacingPhil Twyford.[22]
On 19 June 2020, Woods was given joint responsibility with Air CommodoreDarryn Webb for overseeing isolation and quarantine facilities for travellers entering New Zealand, as part of the government's response to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[23][24]
During the2020 general election, Woods served as the Labour Party's campaign chairperson.[25] She retained the seat of Wigram by a final margin of 14,770 votes.[26] In early November 2020, she retained her ministerial portfolios of Housing, Energy and Resources, and Research, Science and Innovation, while picking up the position ofAssociate Minister of Finance.[27]
In late February 2021, Woods defended the Government's Progressive Home Ownership Scheme, which had cost NZ$17 million but only resettled 12 families in the last seven months. In response, National's housing spokespersonNicola Willis described the programme as a failure and contended that Woods was out of touch.[28]
On 19 October 2021, Woods announced a new bipartisan housing policy to address the housing crisis. Announced with Environment MinisterDavid Parker and National Party leaderJudith Collins, theResource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Bill would allow for 105,500 homes to be built in under a decade. The changes to planning rules would allow for more medium-density housing.[29][30]
On 16 November 2022, following figures released from theMinistry for the Environment based on the National Party's climate policies, Woods, as Labour climate change spokesperson, was sceptical of their plans. Woods accused National of “greenwashing” and "denying climate change", saying that “not content with wallowing in a fiscal Bermuda Triangle, they’re also falling down a carbon black hole”. Woods highlighted National's opposition to policies such as the clean car discount, public transport industries, and removing coal boilers as examples. Woods also called National Party leaderChristopher Luxon's plan to use the ocean as acarbon sink aspseudoscience. National rejected the claims as a “beat-up” while highlighting their support fornet zero 2050.[31][32]
During the2023 Labour Party Leadership Election followingJacinda Ardern's 19 January 2023 resignation, Woods was considered to be a prospective candidate among media outlets, with commentators noting Woods’ performance and competence under pressure in her portfolios.[33][34]Newsroom national affairs editor, Sam Sachdeva, and senior political reporter, Marc Daalder, considered Woods adark horse and ajack of all trades, however, Felix Desmarias of1News considered Minister of Housing a challenging role to step into Prime Minister from.[35][36] Woods would later confirm she would not run in the leadership election after initially not ruling in or out her candidacy.[37] She would instead rise in cabinet and party rankings.
On 3 August 2023, joined withPrime Minister Chris Hipkins, Woods opened Te Mātāwai, the largest public housing development delivered by theSixth Labour Government. Featuring 276 apartments across three towers, the complex delivered byKāinga Ora mixes private market rentals and public housing. Speaking on the combined public/private housing, which was a first at a Kāinga Ora development, Woods said the intent was to ensure a “diverse and mixed community”.[38][39]
During the2023 general election campaign, Woods served as Labour's campaign chairperson for a second time.[25] In early June 2023, she attracted media attention after publishing aTwitter post likening the opposition National Party's proposal to bring back the NZ$5 prescription fee to the dsytopian novel and TV showThe Handmaid's Tale. In response, National's deputy leader Willis stated she was offended by Woods' post and accused the Labour Government of "going into the gutter" and making "ridiculous, baseless attacks."[40]
By the conclusion of the Sixth Labour Government following the 2023 general election Woods had held eleven ministerial positions and one associate ministerial role.[41] Woods gained a reputation as afixer[42][43][44] and member of Labour'sKitchen Cabinet,[45][46][47] with National's Judith Collins saying of Woods that she is “not at all incapable-she is capable”.[43] She would retain the seat of Wigram at the 2023 general election and remain on Labour'sfront bench.
During the 2023 election held on 14 October, Woods was re-elected in Wigram by a margin of 1,179 votes.[48] On 5 December 2023, she was granted retention of the titleThe Honourable, in recognition of her term as a member of theExecutive Council.[49]
In late November 2023, Woods became spokesperson for climate change, energy, resources and associate finance in theShadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.[50]
After the National decisionin government to back out of the bipartisan agreement on housing densification agreed to in 2021 with Woods as Minister of Housing, Woods was highly critical. On 20 June 2024, Woods called the decision an “incredibly damaging moment” in New Zealand politics and said, "we do have to be grown-ups and work together on some of the stuff that is very long term”.[51]
In ashadow cabinet reshuffle in March 2025, Woods gained the manufacturing and industry portfolio but lost the climate change portfolio.[52]
On 3 August 2025, she announced that she would not seek Labour's candidacy in the Wigram electorate at thenext general election and would instead run as a list candidate. Commenting on her decision she said that her time as Wigram MP was "both humbling and the honour of a lifetime". She highlighted theChristchurch earthquake recovery, theCOVID-19 pandemic, and theChristchurch mosque shootings as key challenges she faced as Wigram MP.[53]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Wigram 2011–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Greater Canterbury Regeneration 2017–2020 | Ministerial post abolished |
| Preceded by | Minister for Research, Science and Innovation 2017–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Energy and Resources 2017–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Housing 2019–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Building and Construction 2022–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Infrastructure 2023 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
