I’m committed to making sure Christchurch is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.

I’m proud to be your local voice advocating for Christchurch. We have a wonderful region, and, under the previous Labour Government, we saw record investment in local projects and in the core services that I know we all rely on.

Together we’ve worked on and resolved many local issues. I have enjoyed working with extraordinary community groups and passionate locals who have raised concerns with me or who have simply come with good ideas to pursue.

Within my first term at Parliament, I’ve loved being a Government Whip and the Chair of the Health Select Committee.

I grew up in Southland and made Christchurch home in 2002, and I’m the proud parent of two sons, Jake and Taylor.

I attended the University of Canterbury where I graduated with a PhD in Psychology and worked for a number of years in clinical research. My focus was to better understand different dementia disorders and what happens after childhood brain injury. I also worked as an organiser for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation supporting our nurses working in primary health and across the health sector.

Prior to my election as an MP, I was the Senior Vice President of the Labour Party and I have been active in the party since 2011.