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The Honourable
Jan Tinetti
MP
Tinetti in 2023
48th Minister of Education
In office
1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023
Prime MinisterChris Hipkins
Preceded byChris Hipkins
Succeeded byErica Stanford
36th Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
6 November 2020 – 1 February 2023
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Chris Hipkins
Preceded byTracey Martin
Succeeded byBarbara Edmonds
16th Minister for Women
In office
6 November 2020 – 27 November 2023
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Chris Hipkins
Preceded byJulie Anne Genter
Succeeded byNicola Grigg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 September 2017
Personal details
Born
Janette Rose Tinetti

1968 (age 55–56)
Hokitika, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseDavid Merton
RelationsDon Merton (father-in-law)
Children2
ProfessionSchool principal

Janette Rose Tinetti[1] (born 1968)[2] is a New Zealand politician and a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.

Personal life

Tinetti was born in Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island, the youngest of six children. When she was 11 months old, her family moved to Templeton, just outside Christchurch, when her father Peter Tinetti became secretary of Templeton Hospital and Training School, an institution for people with intellectual disabilities. The family lived in the only staff house, in the middle of the institution, which is where Tinetti grew up.[3] She received her secondary school education at Villa Maria College in Christchurch. She then studied at the Christchurch College of Education, from where she obtained a diploma in teaching in 1990. She became a primary school teacher and union member,[4] teaching in Southland, Greymouth and Tauranga, and spent 20 years as a primary school principal.[3] She graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education in 2013 and a Master of Education in 2016.[5][6][7] She was the principal of Merivale School in Tauranga and has been on the national executive of the New Zealand Educational Institute.[8] She is married to David Merton, whose father Don Merton was a noted conservationist, and the couple have two children.[9] In 2019, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she had surgery, but did not need chemotherapy or radiation treatment.[10]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 15 Labour
2020–2023 53rd List 32 Labour
2023–present 54th List 6 Labour

In Government, 2017–2023

Tinetti stood for Labour in the Tauranga electorate in the 2017 election and was placed 15 on Labour's party list for that election.[11] She entered parliament via the party list, after coming second in the electorate vote, with the incumbent the National Party's Simon Bridges preferred by a 11,252-vote margin.[12]

She contested Tauranga again in the 2020 general election and was 32nd on the 2020 Labour party list. She was elected from the party list, with the electorate giving Bridges 1,856 more votes.[13][14]

In the Cabinet formed after the 2020 election, Tinetti was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Women and Associate Minister of Education.[15][16]

2022 Tauranga by-election

Tinetti put her name forward for the Labour candidacy in the 2022 Tauranga by-election, after Bridges resigned from parliament,[17] and was confirmed as the candidate on 6 April.[18] The electorate chose the National Party candidate Sam Uffindell.[19]

Minister of Education, 2023

In a cabinet reshuffle by new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on 31 January 2023, Tinetti was promoted to the number six position in Cabinet,[20] becoming the Minister of Education and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, while retaining her role as Minister for Women.[21]

On 30 May 2023, Tinetti was referred by Speaker Adrian Rurawhe to Parliament's Privileges Committee after she delayed correcting a false statement in February 2023 that she had no responsibility for the release of school attendance data. Tinetti was subsequently informed by a staff member about the error but had failed to correct the record until 2 May 2023. Tinnetti claimed that she did not know that she needed to correct the record until Rurawhe raised the matter in a letter.[22][23] In response, Hipkins stated that he still had confidence in Tinetti as Education Minister and would not relieve her off her ministerial portfolio while she was investigated by the Privileges Committee.[24] On 31 May, Newshub reported that the Prime Minister's staff were aware that the Education Minister's office had been delaying the release of official school attendance data.[25]

On 8 June, Tinetti appeared before the Privileges Committee. She expressed regret for misleading Parliament regarding truancy statistics. National Party MP Michael Woodhouse claimed that Tinetti's parliamentary staff were implicated in deciding when the information was released.[26] Woodhouse subsequently apologised for describing Tinetti as a "good girl" during the committee hearing.[27]

On 29 June 2023 the Privileges Committee released its report into the delay. The committee found that Tinetti had not intentionally misled Parliament, but said she had acted with a "high degree of negligence". The committee said Tinetti should formally apologise to the House.[28]

In opposition, 2023–present

In the 2023 New Zealand general election, the Tauranga electorate preferred Sam Uffindell by a margin of 9,370 votes.[29] Following the 2023 election, Tinetti expressed relief that a "weight had been lifted" from her.[30] Tinetti was subsequently re-elected to Parliament on the Labour Party list.[31]

On 30 November 2023, Tinetti assumed the education and women portfolios in the Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.[32]

On 5 December 2023, Tinetti was granted retention of the title The Honourable, in recognition of her term as a member of the Executive Council.[33]

References

  1. ^ "Daily progress for Tuesday, 7 November 2017". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Tinetti, Jan (16 November 2017). "Address in Reply". Hansard. New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  4. ^ Davison, Isaac (12 May 2017). "Former pupil's suicide prompted principal to enter politics". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Hon Jan Tinetti". Labour Party. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Graduate search". University of Canterbury. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  7. ^ Tinetti, Janette Tinetti (2016). The implementation of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) teacher training programme in a New Zealand primary school: the challenges to fidelity (Master of Education thesis). UC Research Repository, University of Canterbury. hdl:10092/12449.
  8. ^ Gillespie, Kiri (11 February 2017). "Labour Party's new Tauranga candidate to be voice of the people". Bay of Plenty Times. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Native bird saviour takes one last flight". Bay of Plenty Times. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  10. ^ Walters, Laura (16 January 2021). "New minister driven by injustices witnessed in mental hospital as a child". Newsroom. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Tauranga – official result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Tauranga – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  14. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Ardern's new Cabinet: The full line-up and portfolios". Star News. Allied Press. 2 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020.
  16. ^ "Ministerial List for Announcement on Monday" (PDF). Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 November 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. ^ Cooke, Henry (15 March 2022). "Former National Party leader Simon Bridges retiring from politics, will spark byelection". Stuff. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Labour candidate Jan Tinetti to run in Tauranga by-election". 1News. 6 April 2022.
  19. ^ "National's Uffindell easily wins Tauranga by-election". Radio New Zealand. 18 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022.
  20. ^ "PM Chris Hipkins' Cabinet shake-up sees new Auckland Minister in Michael Wood, Ayesha Verrall takes on Health". The New Zealand Herald. 1 February 2023.
  21. ^ "Ministerial List to take effect on 1 February 2023" (PDF). Beehive.govt.nz. 31 January 2023.
  22. ^ Palmer, Russell (30 May 2023). "Education Minister Jan Tinetti's delay in correcting record to be investigated". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  23. ^ Coughlan, Thomas (30 May 2023). "Jan Tinetti referred to Privileges Committee for possible contempt". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  24. ^ Ensor, Jamie (31 May 2023). "Prime Minister Chris Hipkins retains confidence in under-fire Education Minister Jan Tinetti, won't stand her down during investigation". Newshub. Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  25. ^ Wade, Amelia (31 May 2023). "Prime Minister's staff knew Education Minister Jan Tinetti's office was holding up attendance data". Newshub. Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  26. ^ Coughlan, Thomas (8 June 2023). "Embattled Education Minister Jan Tinetti grilled by Parliament's powerful privileges committee". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  27. ^ Scorcher, Katie (13 June 2023). "Senior National MP Michael Woodhouse apologises for calling Education Minister Jan Tinetti a 'good girl'". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  28. ^ "Jan Tinetti made error of judgement that misled Parliament, Privileges committee finds". Radio New Zealand. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  29. ^ "Tauranga – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  30. ^ Hewett, William (17 October 2023). "Election 2023: AM hosts slam bizarre reactions from ousted Labour MPs Jan Tinetti, Dan Rosewarne". Newshub. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 General Election - Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins reveals new shadow Cabinet". Radio New Zealand. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Retention of the title "The Honourable"". New Zealand Gazette. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Internal Affairs
2020–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Women
2020–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Education
2023 		Succeeded by
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