Christine Rankin
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Labour (1970s)
Christine Rankin | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Political party | Conservative (2012–2015) Labour (1970s) |
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Department of Work and Income.
Rankin joined the Department of Social Welfare (as it was then called) in 1978 as a temporary clerk, following the break-up of her first marriage.[1] Rising through the ranks, she became the head of the Department of Work and Income in 1998.[1] Her time as chief executive was controversial, with allegations of extravagant spending and a management style akin to a personality cult.[1] Three official inquiries were prompted by the expenditure of $165,000 to charter an aircraft to fly staff to a meeting in Wairākei, including one by State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham who found a lack of financial discipline, and Rankin’s performance bonus was withheld.[2]
In 2001, after Wintringham chose not to reappoint Rankin, she sued him in the Employment Court for NZ$1.2 million.[3] Rankin made allegations of sexism towards her by officials and ministers. Rankin lost the court case, but the evidence given during the hearing by Wintringham and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet chief executive Mark Prebble ensured that the case was the dominant political news topic of the year. Rankin was known for wearing short skirts and dangly earrings, and Prebble, for example, described her dress as "indecent" and "offensive".[4]
She has since worked as a consultant and public speaker,[5] and was a panellist on the show How's Life? in 2002.[6] She is chief executive of Lake Taupō Hospice.[7]