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Chloe SwarbrickNew Zealand politician and businesswoman
Date of Birth: 26.06.1994
Country:  New Zealand |
Content:
- Chloe Swarbrick: A Trailblazing New Zealand Politician
- Entrepreneurial Pursuits
- Political Career
- Parliamentary Work
- Drug Law Reform
- Mental Health
- Climate Emergency
- Fossil Fuel Divestment
- "OK Boomer"
- Education
- 2020 Election
- Personal Life
- "OK Chlöe"
Chloe Swarbrick: A Trailblazing New Zealand Politician
Early Life and EducationChloe Swarbrick was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1994. Her parents separated when she was young, and she spent six months with her mother in the United Kingdom and 18 months with her father in Papua New Guinea. According to Swarbrick, her father taught her to articulate her views in debates from the age of seven, preparing her for a speech she had to give at school. Throughout her high school years, Swarbrick spent alternating weeks living with each parent.
At the age of 17, she enrolled at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Swarbrick claims that she did not intend to become a lawyer but wanted to understand "how our system works... I had to do law school to learn about the Treaty of Waitangi."
Entrepreneurial Pursuits
In 2012, Swarbrick co-founded The Lucid Collective, a locally produced clothing label, with Alex Bartley Catt. Around the same time, she began working at student radio station 95bFM's news department, eventually becoming a producer and then hosting the show "The Wire." She stepped down as permanent host in April 2016.
Swarbrick published her first magazine column in 2014 in What's Good magazine, which she later edited and then owned. Also in 2014, The Lucid Collective participated in fashion shows at the Gow Langsford Gallery and was featured in the "Youthquake" exhibition at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The Lucid Collective sold its clothing in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, but Swarbrick and Bartley Catt eventually closed the company.
In late 2015, Swarbrick launched The Goods magazine, intended as a relaunch of What's Good. The magazine opened a store in St Kevin's Arcade on Karangahape Road. That same year, Swarbrick won the New Zealander of the Year Award for "Local Hero."
Swarbrick and Bartley Catt founded TIPS, a digital marketing agency and artist management firm, in 2016. They also established a café and gallery called Olly, which later closed. In May 2019, Swarbrick received the Jane Goodall Trailblazer Award, which recognizes individuals who have demonstrated an active concern for the welfare of animals, people, or the planet.
Fortune magazine included Swarbrick in its 40 Under 40 list for 2020, placing her in the "Government and Politics" category. In August 2020, a short documentary film titled "Ok Chlöe" was released, chronicling Swarbrick's political career.
Political Career
Auckland Mayoral Candidate and Green Party EntrySwarbrick ran for Mayor of Auckland in the 2016 election, receiving 29,098 votes (almost 160,000 fewer than the winner, Phil Goff) and placing third. She delivered a speech at a blockade of a war forum organized by the pacifist group Auckland Peace Action in 2016.
According to Swarbrick, she ran for mayor as a protest after interviewing "utterly uninspiring" candidates on bFM radio and discovering that only 34% of voters had cast ballots in the previous mayoral election. Swarbrick's profile was raised in the media primarily due to her young age. Following her defeat in the election, she joined the Green Party.
Shortly after joining the party, Swarbrick expressed her desire to be the Green candidate in the Auckland Central electorate, seeking to replace Denise Roche. She was unsuccessful, and Roche contested the 2017 election in the electorate. Instead, Swarbrick campaigned in the Maungakiekie electorate and was ranked seventh on the party list. She entered Parliament on the list, becoming the youngest MP since Marilyn Waring in 1975.
Parliamentary Work
Access to ElectionsFollowing the 2017 general election, Swarbrick introduced the Access to Elected Office Fund Bill, drafted by Mojo Mathers, which was drawn from the ballot in February 2018. The bill proposed establishing a fund administered by the Electoral Commission to meet expenses related to access to elections for candidates with disabilities. The bill passed its first reading unanimously, cleared the second and third readings, and was enacted in March 2020, becoming the Green Party's first bill to pass with unanimous support.
Drug Law Reform
Swarbrick was handed a private member's bill by fellow Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter, amending the Misuse of Drugs Act, which was also supported by former Prime Minister Helen Clark and the elderly advocacy group Grey Power. The bill was rejected in January 2018. Swarbrick has since provided input on the proposed amendments to the Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Act by David Clark. Her changes included the inclusion of local strains of cannabis and ensuring that the changes made by the amendment bill are publicly notified and enacted no later than one year after royal assent. She has also consistently advocated for the legalization of recreational cannabis use.
In January 2018, Swarbrick assumed the Green Party's spokesperson portfolio on drug law reform. In response to a crisis where over 50 people died from synthetic drugs, Swarbrick launched a campaign to decriminalize drug use and addiction. She proposed amendments to the Misuse of Drugs Act that would prohibit police from prosecuting drug offenses unless it was in the public interest and when the drug user would benefit from health intervention.
Throughout 2018, Swarbrick worked with colleagues in Parliament to establish a cross-party Drug Harm Reduction Caucus and repeatedly called on National Party MPs to join it. In response to an offer by National MP Matt Doocey to work cross-party on mental health, Swarbrick proposed a caucus that would combine these two issues. The caucus was established in 2019, with MPs from all parties involved.
MPs initially struggled to agree on what the medicinal cannabis legislation should look like, but Swarbrick was instrumental in establishing a progressive regulatory regime for the drug. It allows for the registration of local strains of cannabis and removes barriers to high-paying employment and legal practice for those convicted of cannabis-related offenses.
In 2018, Swarbrick launched the political podcast "Authorised By" alongside MP Kiri Allan.
Mental Health
Swarbrick has also sought to increase support for mental health, including securing funding extensions for Te Whare Mahana Trust in Golden Bay and Te Kuwatawata Trust in the Gisborne region. She has also worked to establish and expand the Piki pilot program, which provides free mental health support to 18-25-year-olds.
Climate Emergency
Swarbrick attempted to pass a climate change emergency declaration in Parliament in May 2019, which failed due to National Party opposition.
Fossil Fuel Divestment
Swarbrick advocates for divestment from fossil fuels. She has called on ACC to divest its $1 billion investment in fossil fuels. She has publicly urged Finance Minister Grant Robertson to use his powers under the Crown Entities Act to prevent the climate crisis. Her bill to divest from fossil fuels remains drawn from the ballot.
"OK Boomer"
In November 2019, while delivering a speech in Parliament on climate change during the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act, Swarbrick was heckled by National Party spokesperson Todd Muller over her age, to which Swarbrick retorted, "OK boomer." While her remark received little reaction in the chamber, it was widely commented on by the media across the world. In a column for The Guardian, Swarbrick wrote: "My use of 'OK boomer' in Parliament was a spontaneous one, but it is emblematic of how tired generations have become."
Education
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government rolled out a financial assistance package for students. Students and student organizations argued that it was inadequate. Additionally, some universities continued to charge boarding students rent during lockdown. Swarbrick called on universities to stop charging boarding fees. In response, Victoria University deferred payments, while the University of Waikato canceled them altogether.
Swarbrick's intervention brought to her attention that the university accommodation sector required regulation, and she garnered cross-party support for her motion to launch a government inquiry into it.
2020 Election
In the 2020 general election, Swarbrick contested the Auckland Central electorate, which had been held for many years by National Party MP Nikki Kaye. Swarbrick won the electorate with 12,631 votes, ahead of Labour's Helen White (11,563 votes) and National's Emma Mellow (9,775 votes). Swarbrick became only the second Green Party candidate in the party's history to win an electorate seat, the last being co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons in the Coromandel electorate in 1999.
Personal Life
When asked about her sexuality, Swarbrick says she loves "people" and does not wish to label herself. She claims that like Mary Black, she has never "come out" because she has never been "in the closet"; Black and Swarbrick have discussed the topic and found their views to be aligned. In January 2020, it was reported that Swarbrick had been engaged to her partner, Nadine Walker, for several months.
"OK Chlöe"
"OK Chlöe" is a short documentary film directed by Charlotte Evans and produced by Letisha Tate-Dunning. The film premiered online as part of the 17th season of Loading Docs.
