The Labour Party has selected NZ Nurses Organization organiser and former academic Dr Tracey McLellan to contest the Banks Peninsula seat at the 2020 general election.

“It’s an immense privilege to have been selected as Labour’s candidate for Banks Peninsula. I am standing for Parliament because local people need a strong voice to deliver for them,” says McLellan.

“Under Jacinda Ardern’s Labour-led government, New Zealand is heading in the right direction. We are investing in tackling long term challenges that effect people in this area. With rising wages and falling unemployment, our economy is strong and we are making record investments in new schools, hospitals and mental health care.

“We’ve made a good start tackling issues the previous National government neglected for far too long. We’re cleaning up rivers and waterways, finishing the job on the Canterbury rebuild, and building more houses than any Government since the 1970s. It’s important Banks Peninsula has a strong voice in government to continue this progress and keep up the momentum."

“Banks Peninsula is a wonderful area with strong, diverse communities. This area has been incredibly well deserved by Ruth Dyson for the last 26 years, and I want to bring my own hard work, passion and dedication to continuing her work standing up for local people. Ruth has shown every day what it means to be a great local electorate MP - hard working, visible and willing to fight hard for her constituents. That is the legacy I will look to continue,” says Tracey McLellan.

Dr McLellan currently works for NZNO as an organizer. She has a PhD in Psychology from the University of Canterbury, and prior to working in the labour movement, Dr McLellan worked in academic psychology as a research scientist at the University of Canterbury, with an interest in sports injuries and concussion. She was born and grew up in a state house in Southland, moved to Christchurch in 2002, and has two sons.

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