View source for Phillida Bunkle

{{short description|New Zealand politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox office holder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name        = Phillida Bunkle
| image       = Phillida Bunkle at Reikorangi.jpg
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| constituency_MP = [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance]] [[party list|list]]
| parliament  = New Zealand
| majority    =  
| term_start  = 12 December 1996 
| term_end    = 11 June 2002
| predecessor = 
| successor   =  
| prior_term  =
| birth_name  = 
| birth_date  = {{birth year and age|1944}}
| birth_place = Sussex, England
| party       = [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance]]
| otherparty  = [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green]] (1992–97)
| spouse      = {{marriage|[[Jock Phillips]]||1993|end=div}}
| alma_mater  = [[Keele University]]<br>[[Smith College]]<br> [[Victoria University of Wellington|Victoria University]]
| religion    = 
| website     =
}}

'''Phillida Bunkle''' (born 1944) is a former New Zealand politician. She represented the [[Alliance (New Zealand political party)|Alliance]] in [[New Zealand Parliament|Parliament]] from {{NZ election link year|1996}} to 2002, when she retired. Bunkle was for many years a lecturer at [[Victoria University of Wellington|Victoria University]].

==Early life==
Bunkle was born in [[Sussex]], England, and was educated at [[Keele University]], England, receiving a BA with First Class Honours; [[Smith College]], Massachusetts, USA, receiving a MA; and [[St Anne's College, Oxford]]. She attended [[Harvard University]], USA as a [[Kennedy Scholar]] and was the recipient of a [[Fulbright Award]].

==Life before politics==
Bunkle lectured in history at [[Victoria University of Wellington]]. In 1975, she founded the [[Women's Studies]] programme (later department), the first of its kind at a New Zealand university.<ref name=Barrowman>{{cite book|title=Victoria University of Wellington, 1899–1999: A History|author=Barrowman, Rachel|year=1999|page=273|publisher=Victoria University Press|location=Wellington}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.victoria.ac.nz/news/victorious/2001/summer-2001/victorious-summer-2001.pdf|title=25 years of Women's Studies|publisher=Victoria University of Wellington|date=2001}}</ref> She taught at the university until her election to Parliament in 1996.

She was married for many years to [[Jock Phillips]], a university colleague and noted historian.<ref name=Barrowman/> The couple divorced in 1993, before Bunkle was elected to Parliament.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=173617|title=Bad day for the broken-hearted|author=Bingham, Eugene|date=23 February 2001|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|accessdate=31 January 2017}}</ref>

Her position at the forefront of the women’s health movement was established when Bunkle researched and published, with Sandra Coney, ''An Unfortunate Experiment at National Women's Hospital'', a piece which documented that women with cervical cancer had unwittingly been used as experimental research subjects at New Zealand's leading women's hospital.<ref>Coney, S. & Bunkle, P. (1987, June). An ‘Unfortunate Experiment’ At National Women’s. Metro. Vol. 7, Number 72 (pp. 46–65).</ref> The original article has been reprinted numerous times.<ref>Hollings, J. (2017). Disgraceful Conduct. In A moral truth: 150 years of investigative journalism in New Zealand (pp. 165–206). Massey University Press.</ref> For their work Coney and Bunkle were awarded the National Humanist's Society Supreme Human Rights Award, the Supreme Media Women’s Award and the Governor General's Special Award for Excellence in Journalism.

==Political career==
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Bunkle joined the [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand|Green Party]] (then a participatory member of the Alliance) in 1992, and unsuccessfully stood as an Alliance candidate in the [[1993 New Zealand general election|1993 election]] in [[Onslow (New Zealand electorate)|Onslow]], placing third.<ref>{{cite tech report |ref={{sfnref|Election results|1993}} |title=Part 1: Votes recorded at each polling place |publisher=New Zealand Chief Electoral Office |year=1993 |pages=12, 161}}</ref> In 1995 she ran as the Alliance candidate for [[mayor of Wellington]], placing a distant sixth.<ref>{{cite news |work =[[The Evening Post (Wellington)|The Evening Post]] |page=14 |title=How You Voted |date=9 October 1995 }}</ref> In the [[1996 New Zealand general election|1996 election]], she was elected to Parliament as a [[list MP]], sitting as a member of the Alliance. When the Green Party left the Alliance, Bunkle opted not to follow them. After the [[1999 New Zealand general election|1999 election]], in which Bunkle was re-elected, she became a Minister outside of [[Cabinet of New Zealand|Cabinet]] in the new [[Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand|Labour]]-Alliance coalition government, serving as [[Minister of Customs]] and [[Minister of Consumer Affairs (New Zealand)|Minister of Consumer Affairs]].

Bunkle took a strong anti-gambling stance, being patron of [[Compulsive Gambling Society Incorporated]] and introducing a [[Bill (proposed law)|Bill]] to restrict gambling.<ref>[http://www.wsanz.org.nz/journal/docs/WSJNZ231Dyall46-48.pdf Commentary: Joining of Māori and Feminist Perspectives on Gambling by Lorna Dyall] Women’s Studies Journal, Volume 23 Number 1, September 2009: 46–48. ISSN 1173-6615</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/Bunkle/speeches_gambling.htm |title=Compulsive Gambling Conference, March 2002 "The Role of Women in Gambling" |first=Phillida |last=Bunkle |work=home.xtra.co.nz |year=2002 |accessdate=2 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709210811/http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/Bunkle/speeches_gambling.htm |archive-date=9 July 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

She resigned these roles after a controversy surrounding her claims for a residential allowance, although she was later cleared of any deliberate wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/603758/A-line-up-of-ministerial-casualties-under-Helen-Clark |title=A line-up of ministerial casualties under Helen... |work=stuff.co.nz |year=2011 |quote=Resigned from ministerial positions following investigations into claiming out-of-town allowances while enrolled on the Wellington Central electoral roll. Ms Hobbs came back into Cabinet at the end of the investigation. Ms Bunkle, an Alliance minister outside Cabinet, never regained her job.  |accessdate=1 December 2011}}</ref> When the Alliance began to collapse in 2002, Bunkle sided with [[Jim Anderton]]'s faction, but decided not to seek re-election.

In 2020, Bunkle wrote an essay for [[Newsroom (website)|Newsroom]] about her time in politics, in which she alleged that bullying, factional power-play and misuse of funding had been commonplace in the Alliance, and that this was an example of an abusive culture throughout Parliament that persists to the present.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bunkle |first1=Phillida |title=Power and bullying: Parliament's ugly underside |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/politics/six-years-of-unrelenting-bullying-at-parliament |website=Newsroom |date=8 September 2020 |accessdate=8 September 2020}}</ref>

==Life after Parliament==
After leaving parliament at the [[2002 New Zealand general election|2002 general election]], Bunkle worked overseas, including in China as a women's studies teacher and in Britain where she completed an [[MSc]] in integrated health.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.wsanz.org.nz/journal/docs/WSJNZ242Bunkle8-24.pdf|title=Patient-centred ethics, the Cartwright Inquiry and feminism: Identifying the central fallacy in Linda Bryder, A History of the 'Unfortunate Experiment at National Women's Hospital'|author=Phillida Bunkle|journal=Women's Studies Journal|publisher=Women's Studies Association of New Zealand|volume=24|number=2|date=2 November 2010|accessdate=31 January 2017|issn=1173-6615}}</ref>

In 2003 Bunkle was appointed as a member of the [[Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand]]. She served two months before resigning her membership, citing her relocation to the United Kingdom as her reason for her resignation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3401163|title=Bunkle resigns Government job|author=Mold, Francesca|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=15 April 2003|accessdate=31 January 2017}}</ref>

In 2007 she was charged with theft after allegedly shoplifting a bottle of wine and two packets of coffee from a supermarket in Paraparaumu.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2009-01-31|title=Former coalition minister charged with theft|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/55538/Former-coalition-minister-charged-with-theft|access-date=2020-10-05|website=Stuff|language=en}}</ref> She pleaded guilty and was given [[Diversion program|diversion]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10479220|title=Former minister Bunkle gets diversion for theft|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|date=30 November 2007|accessdate=31 January 2017}}</ref>

==Selected works==
* Phillida Bunkle, ''Women in higher education; presented on behalf of the Interuniversity Committee for Sex Equality in Education (SEE)'' (Wellington: [[New Zealand Parliament]], Select Committee on Women's Rights, 1974).
* Phillida Bunkle; Stephen I Levine; and Christopher J Wainwright, ''Learning about sexism in New Zealand'' (Wellington: Learmonth Publications, 1976).
* Phillida Bunkle and Beryl Hughes,eds. ''Women in New Zealand Society'' (Auckland: George Allen & Unwin, 1980).
:: Phillida Bunkle, “The Origins of the Women's Movement in New Zealand: The Women's Christian Temperance Union, 1885–1895,” 52–76.
* Phillida Bunkle, "Calling the shots? The international politics of depo-provera" 165–177 in ''Test-tube women: what future for motherhood?'' [[Rita Arditti]]; Renate Klein; and, Shelley Minden, eds. (London/Boston: Pandora Press, 1984).
* Phillida Bunkle, ''New Zealand women 1985–1995: markets and inequality; an assessment of the impact of market policies on the position of women'' (Wellington: Victoria Univ. of Wellington, 1996).
* Robin Hyde; Phillida Bunkle; Linda Hardy; and, Jacqueline Matthews, ''Nor the years condemn'' (Auckland: New Women's Press, 1986).
* Phillida Bunkle and Sandra Coney, ''Submission from Fertility Action to the Committee for Inquiry into the Treatment of Cervical Cancer at National Women's Hospital'' (Wellington: Fertility Action, 1987).
* Sandra Coney and Phillida Bunkle ''An unfortunate experiment at National Women's'' (Auckland metro, June 1987).
* Phillida Bunkle, ''Second opinion: the politics of women's health in New Zealand'' (Auckland: Oxford Univ. Press, 1988).
* Phillida Bunkle, ''Across the counter: the lives of the working poor in New Zealand 1990: report of the Second New Zealand Sweating Commission'' (Wellington: The Second New Zealand Sweating Commission, 1990).
* Phillida Bunkle, "Economy: restructuring and growth," in ''New Zealand in crisis'', eds. David Novitz and W E Willmott (Wellington: GP Publications, 1992).
* [[Rosemary Du Plessis]] and Phillida Bunkle, ''Feminist voices: women's studies texts for Aotearoa/New Zealand'' (Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1992).
* Amanda Craig and Phillida Bunkle, ''Neither freedom nor choice: report'' (Palmerston North, N.Z.: The People's Select Committee, 1992).
* Rosemarie Smith; Phillida Bunkle; and, Jenny Matthews. ''1993 Suffrage Centennial local history project: research guide'' (Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Arts, Women's Studies, 1993).

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal|last1=Bunkle |first1=Phillida| last2 =Lepper | first2 =John |title=What Do We Know About Gambling In New Zealand? | journal =Social Policy Journal of New Zealand | issue =21 |date=March 2004 |url= http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/social-policy-journal/spj21/21-gambling-in-new-zealand-pages178-201.html |accessdate=19 July 2013 }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Phillida Bunkle}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081005053411/http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/Bunkle/index.htm Personal homepage] (last updated 2002)

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{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Luxton]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Customs (New Zealand)|Minister of Customs]]|years=1999–2001}}
{{s-aft | after = [[Jim Anderton]]}}
{{end}}

{{NZ Green Party caucus}}
{{NZ Alliance Party}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunkle, Phillida}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Keele University]]
[[Category:Alliance (New Zealand political party) MPs]]
[[Category:Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs]]
[[Category:New Zealand feminists]]
[[Category:Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives]]
[[Category:New Zealand list MPs]]
[[Category:Smith College alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College London]]
[[Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1993 New Zealand general election]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]