Last week’s speaker was Clare Curran reflecting on her experiences as a Member of Parliament.Coming from a public service family – her father served in the Justice Department and became Registrar of the Dunedin High Court, Clare made a commitment to serve the community.
Clare was an electorate MP for Dunedin South for four terms (12 years).
Like all new MP’s she started learning the rules, procedures, and rituals of the House of Representatives.
As a Constituent MP she enjoyed the dual roles. Firstly as a debater in the Chamber and serving on various select committees. Secondly she particularly enjoyed the role of advocating for her constituents providing advice and assistance.
Clare spoke of her advocacy on the big issues for Dunedin – Hillside Workshops, Dunedin Hospital and South Dunedin following the serious flooding.
Now retired from Parliament, Clare has completed a paper in English at Otago University (Scottish Crime Fiction) and is a Board Member of the Dunedin Night Shelter and Life Matters Trust
