Vanushi Walters | |
|---|---|
| வனுசி வோல்ட்டர்ஸ் | |
 Walters in 2023 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forLabour Party list | |
| Assumed office 12 May 2025 | |
| Preceded by | David Parker[n 1] |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forUpper Harbour | |
| In office 17 October 2020 – 14 October 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Paula Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Cameron Brewer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vanushi Sitanjali Rajanayagam August 1981 (age 44) Sri Lanka |
| Political party | Labour |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Vanushi Sitanjali Walters (néeRajanayagam; born August 1981) is a New Zealand lawyer and politician who served asMember of Parliament in theHouse of Representatives for theLabour Party representing theUpper Harbour electorate from 2020 to 2023. She returned to Parliament as a Labourlist MP in May 2025, following the resignation ofDavid Parker.
Walters was born in August 1981 inSri Lanka.[1][2] She is the great-granddaughter ofRatnasothy Saravanamuttu, a member of theState Council of Ceylon and the first nativeMayor of Colombo, andNaysum Saravanamuttu,Ceylon's second female MP.[3][4] Her second cousin was the murdered Sri Lankan journalist and human rights activistRichard de Zoysa.[5] At the age of five she moved toNew Zealand, viaZambia andScotland, with her parents Jana Rajanayagam and Prithiva Rajanayagam (née Mather).[3][5]
Walters graduated with conjointBachelor of Arts andBachelor of Laws (Honours) degrees from theUniversity of Auckland in 2005, and earned amaster's degree ininternational human rights law from theUniversity of Oxford.[6][7][8]
Walters is ahuman rights lawyer and has worked inprivate practice, the public sector and fornon-profit and community organisations.[3][9] She was general manager for YouthLaw Aotearoa and a member ofAmnesty International's International Board.[2][3] She was a senior manager at theHuman Rights Commission and was a trustee of Foundation North.[3][9]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | Upper Harbour | 22 | Labour | |
| 2025–present | 54th | List | 30 | Labour | |
At the2020 election Walters stood for parliament for theLabour Party in theUpper Harbour electorate and was ranked 22nd on theparty list.[9] She won the seat overNational candidateJake Bezzant by a final margin of 2,392 votes.[10][11][12] She became New Zealand's first Sri Lankan-born MP.[13][14]
Walters delivered her maiden statement on 2 December 2020, announcing an intention to address racism, human rights injustices and climate change and listingSir Bob Harvey,Chris Carter andLecretia Seales as her mentors.[15] During her first term in parliament she was deputy chair, and later chair, of the justiceselect committee.[16] She led the New Zealand delegation to the 2023International Parliamentary Union meetings inBahrain, where she drafted an emergency resolution condemningRussia's invasion of Ukraine, andRwanda.[17][18]
At the 2023 election, Walters once again stood inUpper Harbour but was defeated by National'sCameron Brewer by 11,192 votes. Walter's list placement was also too low to make it into parliament, making her one of the 14 first-term Labour MPs to lose their seat at the election.[19] FollowingDavid Parker's resignation, Walters returned to Parliament as alist MP on 12 May 2025.[20][21] She is the Labour Party shadow attorney-general and associate spokesperson on foreign affairs, and a member of the justice select committee.[16]
Walters is married to Rhys Walters and has three sons.[3][22][23] She lives inTitirangi,West Auckland.[3][22]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Upper Harbour 2020–2023 | Succeeded by |
