Phillida Bunkle

Early life

Bunkle was born in Sussex, England, and was educated at Keele University, England, receiving a BA with First Class Honours; Smith College, Massachusetts, USA, receiving a MA; and St Anne's College, Oxford. She attended Harvard University, USA as a Kennedy Scholar and was the recipient of a Fulbright Award.

Life before politics

Bunkle lectured in history at Victoria University of Wellington. In 1975, she founded the Women's Studies programme (later department), the first of its kind at a New Zealand university. She taught at the university until her election to Parliament in 1996.

She was married for many years to Jock Phillips, a university colleague and noted historian. The couple divorced in 1993, before Bunkle was elected to Parliament.

Political career

Bunkle was an MP from 1996 to 2002, representing the Alliance.

Bunkle joined the Green Party (a member of the Alliance) in 1992, and unsuccessfully stood as an Alliance candidate in the 1993 elections in Onslow, placing third. In 1995 she ran as the Alliance candidate for Mayor of Wellington, placing a distant sixth. In the 1996 elections, she was elected to Parliament as a list MP. When the Green Party left the Alliance, Bunkle opted not to follow them. After the 1999 elections, in which Bunkle was re-elected, she became a Minister outside of Cabinet in the new Labour-Alliance coalition government, serving as Minister of Customs and Minister of Consumer Affairs.

Bunkle took a strong anti-gambling stance, being patron of Compulsive Gambling Society Incorporated and introducing a Bill to restrict gambling.

She resigned these roles after a controversy surrounding her claims for a residential allowance, although she was later cleared of any deliberate wrongdoing. When the Alliance began to collapse in 2002, Bunkle sided with Jim Anderton's faction, but decided not to seek re-election.

Life after Parliament

After leaving parliament at the 2002 general election, Bunkle worked overseas, including in China as a women's studies teacher and in Britain where she completed an MSc in integrated health.

In 2003 Bunkle was appointed as a member of the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand. She served two months before resigning her membership, citing her relocation to the United Kingdom as her reason for her resignation.

In 2007 she was charged with theft after allegedly shoplifting a bottle of wine and two packets of coffee from a supermarket in Paraparaumu. She pleaded guilty and was given diversion.