Angela Roberts to run for Labour
Former PPTA president Angela Roberts has ended years of speculation, announcing she’s contesting the Taranaki-King Country seat for Labour at the September election.
Roberts left Wellington in 2017 after four years at the helm of the Post-Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA), a job that saw her thrown into the spotlight as she regularly battled then-education minister Hekia Parata on issues including Novopay and charter schools. Roberts is now senior vice-president of the PPTA, and for the last three years has been back in Taranaki teaching at Stratford High School — a job she initially left for one, maybe two years but ended up being a fouryear stint.
When she first returned home she didn’t rule out putting her hand up for a Taranaki seat at the 2017 election, but at the last minute decided against it.
Roberts told RNZ her reputation and record speaks for itself and she’s comfortable in both her own backyard and the world of politics in Wellington.
The Taranaki-King Country seat is a safe blue one, held by National’s senior whip Barbara Kuriger. So Roberts knows she has her work cut out, and hopes her reputation will help in securing her a good list spot with the Labour Party.
She said leader Jacinda Ardern was a big pull towards joining the party. ‘‘Absolutely — it feels like there’s a plan. This Labour-led government has been courageous. It’s a really exciting time to be stepping in and helping out with that.’’
Roberts has recently been involved in the Just Transition
Summit conversations in Taranaki, with a particular interest in the role education and training will have in building a workforce and supporting businesses for a sustainable future.
‘‘This government had already started to turn around the disastrous legacy of austerity and privatisation that hit public services and infrastructure in rural communities particularly hard.
‘‘Now we are in a prime position to make a timely, just, and equitable transition to a strong, sustainable future for all New Zealanders,’’ she said. – RNZ