Laura McClure

McClure was born in Christchurch on 3 August 1985, and raised there as the eldest of three children.{{cite news |last=Williams |first=David |date=13 September 2023 |title=The Sure Things: Act's Laura Trask would kill off red tape 'overkill' |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/acts-laura-trask-health-and-safety-reformist |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=Newsroom}}{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850806.2.185.1 |title=Births |date=6 August 1985 |work=The Press |page=43 |access-date=19 October 2023 |via=PapersPast}}{{cite web | url= https://www.act.org.nz/2023_laura_trask | title=Laura Trask |access-date=17 October 2023 |publisher=ACT Party}} Her father Bill McClure, who moved from England to New Zealand in the 1970s, was a former general manager at Kraft Heinz who later founded a fire evacuation business. Her mother Sharyn (née Neame), one of eight children, was a hairdresser who grew up in public housing. McClure's parents disagreed with one another politically, with her mother being a staunch Labour Party supporter and her father a National supporter; she grew up in an environment of significant political discourse.

She attended Burnside High School and began an arts degree at the University of Canterbury but did not complete the course, instead training as a pharmacy technician. She married Riki Trask, a construction project manager. They have two children.{{Cite web |last=Trask |first=Laura |date=1 February 2024 |title=Maiden statement |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20240201_052860000/trask-laura |access-date=30 April 2024 |website=New Zealand Parliament}}

McClure worked as a pharmacy technician in Christchurch and Wellington. After having their first child, McClure and her husband took over the Auckland branch of her father's fire safety business. She is a registered fire safety evacuation consultant.{{Cite news |date=15 October 2023 |title=Ex-TVNZ reporter, climate protester & rugby boss: The new MPs on track to enter Parliament |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/andy-foster-tamatha-paul-hana-rawhiti-maipi-clarke-host-of-new-faces-on-track-to-enter-new-zealands-54th-parliament/LC4BSNJOWJBMVMV572RUC56HTI/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |work=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}} While living in Auckland, McClure advocated for 24-hour medical support for south Auckland, as she found herself driving more than {{convert|40|km}} for after-hours medical care for her children.{{Cite news |last=Earley |first=Melanie |date=19 December 2018 |title=Long drive for medical help for mum of child with seizures |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/109324451/long-drive-for-medical-help-for-mum-of-child-with-seizures |access-date=16 October 2023 |work=Stuff |language=en}}

In 2020, she started volunteering for the ACT Party in Christchurch and worked for Toni Severin, a Member of Parliament elected on the ACT list. In a 2023 interview, McClure described her entry into politics as spontaneous, saying she would "have absolutely laughed" if someone told her ten years prior that she would become a politician.

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Under her married name Laura Trask, McClure contested {{NZ electorate link|Banks Peninsula}} in the {{NZ election link|2023}}. She was tenth on ACT's party list, placed higher than Severin at 14.{{cite news |first= Michael |last=Neilson |work=The New Zealand Herald | url= https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/election-2023-act-list-could-see-two-mps-out-of-parliament-making-way-for-fresh-faces/D7RDVNE6MVFA5KOJ2QPUKTMO6A/ | title=Act Party list: Some big falls and a few surprises | access-date=17 October 2023 |date=16 July 2023 }} Speaking to The Press about her list position, McClure said did not expect to be given a winnable position and “it was not an ideal situation that I wanted to be in, but at the same time, I’m very honoured.”{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=Sinead |date=3 October 2023 |title=On the list: Christchurch candidates on the cusp of Parliament |url=https://www.thepress.co.nz/a/politics/350083972/list-christchurch-candidates-cusp-parliament |access-date=3 November 2023 |website=www.thepress.co.nz}} On election night, McClure came fourth, with 2,073 votes based on final results, but entered parliament due to her position on the party list.{{cite web |title=Banks Peninsula – Official Result |url= https://archive.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/electorate-details-02.html |publisher=Electoral Commission |access-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123104114/https://archive.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/electorate-details-02.html|archive-date=23 November 2023|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=2023 General Election – Successful Candidates |url=https://archive.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/successful-candidates.html |publisher=Electoral Commission |access-date=25 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122030023/https://archive.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2023/successful-candidates.html |archive-date=22 November 2023 |date=3 November 2023 |url-status=live}}

McClure's primary political concerns are oriented around regulation and the perception of "specific extra rights" for members of particular demographic groups. She supports transgender rights and the position that climate change is primarily caused by human actions. McClure criticises New Zealand's education system as "incredibly woke", which she defines as policies that detract from educating children in favour of ideological pursuits. She supports cutting government spending, which she considers the primary factor in inflation.

After being elected to Parliament, McClure was appointed ACT spokesperson on education, mental health, small business, and seniors. She sits on the social services and community committee and the foreign affairs, defence and trade committee.{{cite web |title=Trask, Laura |url=https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/trask-laura/ |access-date=30 April 2024 |website=New Zealand Parliament}}

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Category:1985 births

Category:Living people

Category:Politicians from Christchurch

Category:ACT New Zealand MPs

Category:21st-century New Zealand women politicians

Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives

Category:Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election

Category:Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives

Category:New Zealand list MPs