Mothers in politics – Willow-Jean Prime

Mothers Day is a celebration of the strength of women. This got us thinking about all the strong amazing woman we have met on our trip so far. While in the Far North, we parked our bus in Kawakawa and put the word out that we were in town. We were new on the road and looking for local inspiration. This was when we first met Nandy. She came down to the bus with one of her daughters Season, a treaty lawyer who is super passionate about her community and campaign manager for sister, Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime. Nandy & Season turned up on our bus with a ton of passion and the most delicious corn fritters we have had in our life.

Six months later and a change of government saw Willow arrive in Wellington to represent her people in the Far North. She famously become the first woman to breast feed in parliament. Motherhood is a massive challenge for anyone and so this was met publicly with a mixture of admiration and scorn.

What people may not see is the extent of the support that Willow has had from her family. Nandy is behind the scenes full time, traveling down from a very different life in Northland to enable her daughter to follow her passion and represent her community. When we hit Wellington we were fortunate enough to catch up with these two amazing mothers to talk about the unique place that they have in NZ history.
Mothers: such an important and unique voice within our families, society and in Government for the good of our people.