In November 2008 Clare was elected as the Labour Member of Parliament for Dunedin South. She is the second woman Labour MP in Dunedin and the first for the seat of Dunedin South. Prior to Hon Clare Curran, there have been no female Cabinet Ministers from the South Dunedin or North Dunedin Electorates.
Clare lived in Australia for 14 years working predominantly with unions and progressive organisations. Being a journalist she is a strong supporter of commercial-free, independent, publicly available media. She believes in strong local representation and campaigns for more openness and transparency in government. Clare ran her own communications business specialising on campaigns for environment and social justice issues in New Zealand and Australia as well as promoting Dunedin-based issues.
In October 2017 with the formation of the 52nd Parliament, Clare was appointed Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, Minister for Government Digital Services, Associate Minister for ACC and Associate Minister of State Services (Open Government).
Clare follows a simple philosophy, “to try my hardest, to be the best I can possibly be; to do the right thing; and above all, to be true to myself. That’s why I stood for Parliament. It’s how I try to live my life and it’s what I teach my children”.
