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Tina Pupuke-Browne (born 4 April 1955) is a Cook Islands politician and a member of the Cook Islands Parliament. She is the leader of the Democratic Party.
Tina Pupuke-Browne | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Cook Islands Parliament for Rakahanga | |
| Assumed office 14 June 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Toka Hagai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 April 1955 Aitutaki, Cook Islands |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
Brown was born in 1955[1] and is from the island of Rakahanga and is the daughter of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Pupuke Robati.[2] She was educated at Tereora College and then attended the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1979[2][3] – the first woman from Rarotonga to do so.[4] She subsequently worked for New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh. She returned to the Cook Islands in 1981 to work for the Crown Law Office before entering private practice.[3] She served as president of the Cook Islands Netball Association.[5]
Browne first entered politics in 1996, when she contested the Nikao-Panama by-election as a candidate for the Cook Islands Party. She was defeated by Ngamau Munokoa.[5]
She was elected as leader of the Democratic Party in April 2017, replacing William (Smiley) Heather.[6] In the 2018 election she contested the seat of Rakahanga, losing to the Cook Islands Party's Toka Hagai. Hagai subsequently resigned the seat following allegations of treating,[7] and Browne won it following an electoral petition.[8]
In December 2019 she was part of a protest by women MPs to permit the wearing of ei katu (floral crowns) in Parliament.[9]
In April 2020 she led several MPs in taking a pay cut during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] During 2020 she supported the government's efforts to prevent the spread of covid to the Cook Islands,[12] and later opposed the government's lifting of quarantine.[13]
In March 2021 she joined the government in opposing a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining.[14]
She was re-elected at the 2022 Cook Islands general election.[15]
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