Marie Hasler

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Marie Bernadine Hasler is a former New Zealand politician. She was a member of Parliament for the National Party from 1990 to 1993, and then again from 1996 to 2002.

1 Early life
2 Member of Parliament
- 2.1 Political views
3 References
4 External link

[edit] Early life

Hasler was born in Dublin, Ireland, and came to New Zealand while young. Before entering politics, she was employed in public relations, and also worked in the civil service.

[edit] Member of Parliament

Hasler was first elected to Parliament in the 1990 elections as MP for Titirangi, but was defeated in the 1993 elections by Labour's Suzanne Sinclair. In the 1996 elections, she returned to Parliament as MP for Waitakere.

In the 1999 elections, however, she was defeated by Labour's David Cunliffe, although she remained in Parliament as a list MP. In the 2002 elections, Hasler was only ranked thirty-second on National's party list, and as she did not manage to win back Waitakere, she left Parliament.

[edit] Political views

“	I believe our most constant and enduring symbol is the Silver Fern. It is the most commonly used and instantly recognisable New Zealand image.	”
— Marie Hasler, 1999, ^[1]

In 1998, as Minister of Cultural Affairs^[2], Hasler called for a debate on whether the New Zealand flag should change ^[3]. Hasler said at the time that for some years she believed New Zealand's existing flag no longer caught the essence of contemporary New Zealand. She also argued that the flag is indistinguishable from the Australian flag, and that it reflects New Zealand's former colonial status. The Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley, supported Hasler's view that a new flag for New Zealand could be the Silver fern flag.