Maryan Street
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Parl. | Electorate | List Pos. | Party |
48th | List | 36 | Labour |
Maryan Street (1955 - ) is a Member of the New Zealand Parliament (MP) for the New Zealand Labour Party. In the 2005 elections, she became the first out lesbian woman elected to the New Zealand Parliament.
Street was born and raised in New Plymouth, and studied at Victoria University of Wellington. She joined the Labour Party in 1984, and was president of the Labour Party organisation from 1994 until 1996. She was later appointed Director of Labour Studies at Auckland University, and also served on the board of a number of governmental bodies. In the 2005 elections, she was ranked thirty-sixth on its party list. This was the second highest position given by Labour to someone who was not already a member of Parliament. She also contested the safe National seat of Taranaki-King Country against the incumbent National Party MP, Shane Ardern.
In 2006, she sponsored the Residential Tenancies (Damage Insurance) Amendment Bill, which, if passed into law by the New Zealand Parliament, would amend the law in relation to the liability of tenants for their flatmates' negligence.