Janet McVeagh

Janet Mary McVeagh (27 December 1941 – 31 December 2004) was a New Zealand disability worker, environmentalist and politician who was a co-leader of the Values Party in the 1980s.

Biography

McVeagh worked for the Crippled Children Society (CCS) as a recreation officer in New Plymouth and later Auckland. She had four children, three sons and one daughter.[1]

She was a long-time advocate for the environment and social justice, leading her to join the Values Party upon its foundation in 1972.[1] McVeagh was the organiser for several local environmental campaigns including protests against the government Think Big policies, to oppose the building of a synthetic petrol plant at Motunui and a clean sea action group which lobbied to get a clean sewage treatment plant in New Plymouth.[1] In 1982 she founded, Residents Against Dioxin, a New Plymouth-based group to cease the production of 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (a toxic pesticide used in agriculture) in New Zealand.[2]

As Janet Roborgh she contested the electorate of New Plymouth as the Values candidate at the 1978, 1981 and 1984 elections.[3][4][5] In 1981 she was elected a co-leader of the Values Party.[6][7] She led the party in two general elections before resigning at the 1988 party conference.[8] The Values Party was wound down starting in 1989 and in 1990 the remnants became part of the new Green Party. McVeagh became the Green Party's disabilities spokesperson.[2]

In 1993 McVeagh moved to Auckland and at the 1999 election was the Green Party candidate for Epsom.[9] She was also allotted the relatively high list placing of 13.[10] She finished fourth out of eleven candidates and was not high enough on the Green Party list to be elected.[2] In Auckland McVeagh started her own business, Janet McVeagh Recreation Ltd, which provided recreation services for disabled adults and children.[1]

She died in Auckland in December 2004.[11] Her children continued to run her company after her death.[1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Co-founder of Values Party and eco fighter dies at 63". Taranaki Daily News. 4 January 2005. p. 2.
  2. 1 2 3 "Green battler dies". The Dominion Post. 5 January 2005. p. A3.
  3. ↑ Norton 1988, pp. 290.
  4. ↑ "Only 42 women among 360 candidates". Press. 19 June 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Candidates on TV talkback". Press. 26 June 1984. p. 19. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Values elects troika". The Press. 20 April 1981. p. 1.
  7. ↑ Hughes, Gareth (2022). A gentle radical: the life of Jeanette Fitzsimons. Auckland, New Zealand: Allen & Unwin. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-988547-83-1.
  8. ↑ "Values leader change". Press. 11 April 1988. p. 6. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "NP dioxin group founder stands for Green Party". Taranaki Daily News. 16 August 1999. p. 2.
  10. ↑ Bain, Helen (30 August 1999). "Green Party names list candidates". Taranaki Daily News. p. 4.
  11. ↑ "Green politician dies". Waikato Times. 5 January 2005. p. 2.

References

  • Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
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