Sandra Goudie

Sandra Anne Goudie[1] (born 1952) is a New Zealand politician. She was the mayor of Thames-Coromandel from 2016 to 2022 when she resigned. She was the Member of Parliament for the Coromandel electorate from 2002 to 2011, representing the National Party. During the COVID-19 pandemic she was criticised for her anti-vaccination stance.

Sandra Goudie
8th Mayor of Thames-Coromandel
In office
8 October 2016 – 8 October 2022
DeputyTony Brljevich
Preceded byGlenn Leach
Succeeded byLen Salt
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Coromandel
In office
27 July 2002 – 26 November 2011
Preceded byJeanette Fitzsimons
Succeeded byScott Simpson
Majority5,958
Personal details
Born1952 (age 70–71)
Political partyNational Party

Early years

Goudie was a dairy farmer before entering politics.[2] She was elected to the Thames-Coromandel District Council in 1998, and held that role until 2003.[2]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2002–2005 47th Coromandel 42 National
2005–2008 48th Coromandel 26 National
2008–2011 49th Coromandel 27 National

Goudie was elected to Parliament in the 2002 election, narrowly winning the seat of Coromandel by defeating Labour candidate Max Purnell and pushing incumbent Green MP Jeanette Fitzsimons into third place.[3]

Goudie was re-elected in the 2005 election with a 9700 vote majority. The day after the election, Goudie participated in a protest clearing mangroves in the Whangamata Harbour against environmental regulations.[4]

Goudie retained her seat in the 2008 election, with a majority of 14,560.[5] During the 2008 term, Goudie was the National Party's opposition spokesperson on Internal Affairs, Senior Citizens and Associate Local Government until 2008.[2]

She retired from parliament at the 2011 general election, citing the need to spend more time with her family.[3][6][7] She was succeeded by Scott Simpson.[8]

In 2012 Goudie left the National Party and joined Focus NZ, a small rural-based political party which subsequently deregistered in 2016.[9][10]

Local government

At the 2016 local elections, Goudie was elected as the mayor of Thames-Coromandel, with a 498-vote majority.[11][12] Goudie was re-elected at the 2019 local elections, increasing her majority to 7560.[13] In 2022, she did not seek re-election, and was succeeded as mayor by Len Salt.

Vaccination controversy

In August 2021 a person infected with COVID-19 visited the Coromandel, prompting concern that there could be community transmission of the virus.[14] Goudie attracted media attention when she said that she did not normally use the NZ COVID Tracer app and that the outbreak would probably not encourage her to scan more often.[14][15] She later said that had been a throwaway remark, that she had been complacent about using the app, but that she would now use the COVID tracer app and urged everyone to do so.[16]

In October 2021 Goudie received media attention when she said that she was not vaccinated, and would not take the Pfizer vaccine, saying that she would instead wait for the Novavax vaccine to be approved in New Zealand.[17] She did not give reasons for this, but public health academic Siouxsie Wiles said that Goudie's actions were "putting others in danger."[17] She was criticised by COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins in a media conference.[18] Despite her stance on the Pfizer vaccine, Goudie and the Thames-Coromandel District Council voted unanimously to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in October 2021.[19]

In December, Thames-Coromandel councillor Gary Gotlieb lodged a complaint against Goudie due to her COVID-19 vaccination stance and for speaking to an Australian anti-vaccination group called Reignite Democracy Australia on 11 November.[20][19] The Thames-Coromandel District Council decided not to proceed with the investigation, opting to resolve the issue informally.[19]

In February 2022, after Novavax was approved in New Zealand, Goudie said that she would not take it despite her earlier statements.[21] Goudie stood by her decision in early March 2022.[22]

Climate change controversy

In 2019, Goudie refused to confirm whether she believed climate change was happening, and refused to sign the Local Government Leaders' Climate Change Declaration. [23]

In February 2022 she was still refusing to sign the Declaration, despite a majority of councillors on the Thames Coromandel District Council endorsing it. [24]

In March 2022 the Declaration was signed on behalf of Thames Coromandel District Council by another councillor, with Mayor Goudie being the only vote against doing so. [25]

In May 2022, Goudie announced that she would be retiring at the October 2022 election.[26]

References
  1. "New Zealand Parliament - Members Sworn". Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  2. "Goudie, Sandra - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  3. "Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie to retire". The New Zealand Herald. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  4. "National MP joins mangrove chainsaw massacre". NZ Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  5. Electoral Commission. "2008 General Election winning electorate candidates, margin and turnout" (PDF). New Zealand Electoral Commission.
  6. "Goudie calls time on political career". NZ Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  7. "MP Sandra Goudie quitting Parliament". Stuff. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  8. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Government and politics". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  9. "Party changes focus". Stuff.co.nz. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  10. "Amendments to the Register of Political Parties - Cancellation of Focus New Zealand | Electoral Commission". 4 March 2016. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  11. "Thames-Coromandel District Council - Candidate nominations 2016 : Mayor, Councillor and Community Board". Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  12. "A close finish for new Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie". Waikato Times. Stuff. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  13. "Sandra Goudie retains the top job for Thames-Coromandel". Waikato Times. Stuff. 14 October 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  14. "Covid-19: Coromandel mayor lax on scanning despite community scare". Stuff. 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. Giovannetti, Justin (18 August 2021). "The Bulletin: What NZ needs to know about the delta cases". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021. The value of contact tracing is clear on days like yesterday, so people should be encouraged to scan away. But don't look to the mayor of the Thames-Coromandel district for inspiration.
  16. "Covid-19: Coromandel mayor changes tune on use of coronavirus tracer app". Stuff. 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  17. "Vaccination expert disgusted by Waikato mayor's no-Pfizer stance". Stuff. 13 October 2021. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  18. "Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie on why she refuses the Pfizer vaccine". The New Zealand Herald. 14 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  19. Olley, Sam (7 December 2021). "Thames mayor Sandra Goudie's vaccination stance prompts complaint from councillor". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  20. "Thames-Coromandel councillor wants to see Sandra Goudie removed over vaccine stance". Newstalk ZB. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  21. "Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie won't get Novavax jab". The New Zealand Herald. 4 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022.
  22. "Thames-Coromandel mayor to remain unvaccinated despite Novavax claims". Radio New Zealand. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  23. "Climate Change Declaration Politically Charged Thames Coromandel Mayor Sandra Goudie". Radio New Zealand. 20 February 2019.
  24. "Coastal Mayor Sandra Goudie Still Thumbing Her Nose Over Climate Change Signature". Waikato Times. 14 February 2022.
  25. "We've All Moved On: Goudie's Four-Year Refusal To Sign Climate Leaders Declaration Put To Rest". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald. 21 March 2022.
  26. Olivier, Cira (20 May 2022). "Controversial Thames-Coromandel mayor Sandra Goudie to step down". Bay of Plenty Times. New Zealand Herald.
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