Saving the planet starts in your own garden.
Maggie Barry is a three-term former Member of Parliament for Auckland’s North Shore, first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2014 and 2017, before retiring from politics at the 2020 election.
During the 51st Parliament (2014-2017) under Prime Minister John Key, she served as a Minister inside Cabinet with responsibilities for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Conservation, Seniors and Associate Health. During the 52nd Parliament (2017-2020) Maggie served in opposition as Nationals spokesperson for Seniors, Veterans, and Associate Health. She was Deputy Chair of the Justice Select Committee that considered the legalisation of euthanasia and was a member of the Health Select Committee. Previously, Chair of the Local Government and Environment committees and Deputy Chair of the Finance Committee.
Prior to becoming an MP, Maggie had a 30 year career in the media as a radio and television news and current affairs broadcaster and interviewer. She was the first woman co-presenter of Radio NZ Morning Report & Maggie Barry: 9-noon. An experienced keynote and after dinner speaker, Maggie is also an accomplished MC including multimedia broadcast events such as launching the Warriors, hosting KEA and Wellington’s Wellies and many other awards events over a 25 year period.
The presenter and co-producer of the popular and long-running “Maggie’s Garden Show” was appointed as an Officer to the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting in the 1996 New Year’s Honours. A senior writer for the Listener magazine for five years, in 2009 Maggie was named best senior feature writer at the Qantas Journalism Awards also winning the Feature Writers Award for the final interview with Sir Ed Hillary.
As a member of the National Health Committee’s Ministerial advisory group, she chaired a working party into the care of people who are dying, and also headed a review of NZ’s maternity services. She has served as a Patron of Mary Potter Hospice, Hospice NZ, and Alzheimer’s Wellington. Maggie is a former board director of Outward Bound, Auckland City Mission, a past Chair of the Board of the NZ Book Council and Patron of Tennis Northern. In 2022 Maggie graduated with a Masters of Creative Writing first class hons, from Auckland University and is currently writing a novel.
She lives in the historic suburb of Devonport on Auckland’s North Shore with her husband Grant Kerr, a retired lawyer, enthusiastic chess player and avid collector of contemporary NZ photography.
Talking Points
Saving the planet starts in your own backyard
Our unique plants and birds and landscapes need our protection and saving the planet starts in your own backyard. Maggie launched the predator free 2050 goal alongside prime minister John Key in 2015 and along with the war on weeds and battle for our birds Maggie has been at the forefront, as a former Minister of Conservation and as a lifetime enthusiast about gardening and nature, of encouraging people to do all they can to help save our native creatures from being eaten to extinction. Our iconic landscapes and unique environment set us apart and give us a strong sense of what makes this county different from all others. Saving the planet starts in your own backyard
The warlike language around saving our species is deliberate and reflects a proud legacy of Kiwis fighting for what’s important. In WW1 our Armed Forces forged the ANZAC spirit at Gallipoli and the valour of our soldiers has never been forgotten. Maggie had responsibility as the minister of arts culture and heritage for the World War 100 and planning for WW2 commemorations and in common with many NZers her family served in both world wars: her grandfather at Gallipoli and Egypt and her father and uncle in World War 2.
As a Minister, Maggie had the honour of representing her country and paid her respects at historic battle sites around the world including the privilege of reading the ode of remembrance at the Menin gate in Belgium.
Fine tuning, recycling and reinventing
Drawing on her personal experiences over a 40 year wide ranging media career that spans gardening, being an award winning radio television broadcaster and magazine writer. She was awarded an ONZM in 1996 for services to broadcasting and during the 12 years she was the co-producer and presenter of ‘Maggie’s Garden Show’ had a rose named after her by renowned international Rosarian Sam McGredy. Following her mothers diagnosis with dementia she became Patron of Alzheimers and her fathers death led her to become Patron of Hospice NZ for nearly 20 years. Fine tuning, recycling and reinventing
Maggie changed direction in her 50’s and spent the next decade in political life, elected 3 times as the MP for North Shore and being a Minister inside John Keys Cabinet for for three years with five portfolio responsibilities, including Conservation, Arts, Culture and Heritage and Seniors. Recently she has built on her writing skills and and completed a Masters in creative writing at Auckland University graduating with first class hons in 2022. She is an avid reader and is currently writing a novel and makes more time for golf, tennis and yoga and of course gardening.
Around the world in 20 Gardens
The only child of a florist Maggie grew up in a gardening home and has continued a lifetime interest in visiting other people‘s gardens, co-owning a Garden tour company for 20 years and has, to date date visited more than 1000 gardens. In a PowerPoint tour de force she’s selected the top 20 of her favourites from Italy, France, Ireland, UK, Spain, Portugal, China and Morocco.
Around the world in 20 Gardens
