Her Labour Party ties were cut when she joined the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA), after two decades as a general practitioner and army medic. Following some soul searching (and the disestablishment of the NZMA), it was the National Party that finally convinced Weenink to do what Webb could never successfully talk her into \u2013 running for parliament.<\/p>\n
Weenink\u2019s modus operandi is \u2018fiscally conservative, socially progressive.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d always felt a bit uncomfortable in Labour Party because I was a business owner and employer, and I really believe strongly in things like personal responsibility and reward for achievement,\u201d Weenink says. National\u2019s history in treaty settlements and \u201cgetting stuff done\u201d were key values to Weenink, who had \u201cfelt really frustrated with Labour talking and talking and talking and not doing anything\u201d. She wished health reforms<\/a> made by the Labour government at the start of the decade had done more to address health funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a broad church in National,\u201d she adds. \u201cI\u2019m definitely more progressive when it comes to social stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Her mind is currently on keeping Banks Peninsula blue. Her seat was considered a safe Labour one when she won it in the blue wave of the 2023 election, and Weenink believes her electorate isn\u2019t \u201cone that can be taken for granted by either side \u2013 potentially 20% of the voters I speak to haven\u2019t made their mind up yet, and I see that as an opportunity to say, hey, this is who I am\u201d. She\u2019s already been door knocking around her electorate, which covers parts of southern Christchurch, as well as Lyttelton and the entire Banks Peninsula. Weenink says the locals in her corner of the country, especially in the rural areas, mostly worry about weather challenges, as well as the \u201cpressure\u201d of housing growth and intensification.<\/p>\n The lifestyle of a MP can be draining, but Weenink is used to the type of work that keeps her on the go. As a first-time mum in her 20s, she was deployed to Afghanistan only six months after the birth of her only child. For a period, her life was lived in milestones and stints \u2013 a brief return home and a deployment to East Timor two days after her wedding, then 12 months studying general practice before being deployed back to Afghanistan two days after her exams. Her marriage didn\u2019t last, but Weenink is of the mindset that service and sacrifice are one in the same. \u201cThe impact on you personally is one thing, but there\u2019s everybody else and their families, too,\u201d she says. And it\u2019s not like you can tell the army to bugger off.<\/p>\n Which, naturally, brings us back to Star Wars and the biggest question of them all: which character would you be? Weenink thinks for a moment. Obi-Wan, she reckons. Or Yoda. She looks like she\u2019s doubting going for the typical picks when I suggest she could be Jyn Erso from Rogue One \u2013 a woman with a rebellious background who ultimately sacrifices her own safety for the greater good.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you\u2019re absolutely right,\u201d Weenink smiles.<\/p>\n THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A<\/p>\n How much should a pint cost?<\/p>\n Well, it depends if you think you should pay heaps so that alcohol should be priced out of the market so that nobody drinks, but I don\u2019t believe that. I think it probably should be, I don\u2019t know, somewhere about $10.<\/p>\n Do you have a karaoke go-to?<\/p>\n One we used to sing in the army a lot was \u2018Don\u2019t Let Me Down\u2019 by The Beatles. It is such a banger. My friend was really good at singing it, it was a must-do favourite. I\u2019m definitely the backup singer.<\/p>\n Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?<\/p>\n At the moment, I go to pubs more now than I have ever done. [It\u2019s] pretty much exclusively pubs in my electorate, and one of my favourites is one just around the corner from me called Brickworks. It\u2019s been there for about 100-odd years and it has a well in the middle of it.<\/p>\n Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?<\/p>\n [Green MP] Lawrence Xu-Nan<\/a>, because he knows everything. He\u2019s the brain of this place, I think. And probably someone like [National MP] Tom Rutherford<\/a>, because he\u2019s younger and knows a lot about sport and stuff like that. I would have picked Judith<\/a> but, obviously, she\u2019s left. I would probably pick another person from another team \u2026. [Labour\u2019s] Damien O\u2019Connor. He\u2019s been here the longest, he\u2019s seen a lot of things and history has happened the whole time he\u2019s been here.<\/p>\n Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?<\/p>\n I\u2019d probably have a drink with [Labour\u2019s] Camilla Belich<\/a>. I get on with her, I think she\u2019s really sensible and I like her.<\/p>\n Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?<\/p>\n