April 19, 2026 • 23 mins
Dr Vanessa Weenink is currently serving her first term as the Member of Parliament for Banks Peninsula. She serves on the Education and Workforce Select Committee and is Deputy-Chair of the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee.
Born in Blenheim and growing up in Marlborough, Vanessa served in the New Zealand Defence Force for over 20 years as a Medical Officer in the Army. She was deployed three times, with two tours in Afghanistan and one in East Timor.
After leaving the Army, Vanessa worked as a self-employed GP in Christchurch. She co-owned and operated Papanui Medical Centre in Christchurch for several years and is a fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from Otago University. She has served in health sector governance roles, including as a board member of Pegasus Health and on the Clinical Governance Committee for national telehealth service Whakarongorau Aotearoa. She was also elected Chair of the General Practitioner Council of the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) and Deputy Chair of the NZMA Board.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good ay, and welcome to real Life. I'm John Cowen.
And there is something about the fertile soil of Canterbury's
Bank Peninsula that is particularly good at growing women politicians.
It's produced more female MPs than any other part of
the country. And my guest tonight is the latest, doctor
Vanessa Weddink. Welcome, Vanessa, Hello John, good to see you.
(00:54):
Politics has been a bit of a men's club, but
you must be glad to stand in the tradition of
your region.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Absolutely, I'm really proud to represent Banks Peninsula. And yeah,
as you say, we had the first female MP for
New Zealand and more than any other area and if
you count all of the boundary changes, we've had something
like nine MPs that are women.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Right, Okay, So have you faced any any difficulties as
a woman politician? I mean people in the past, Helen
Clark and people like that have said they've faced a
lot of gender discrimination. Have you encountered any of that?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, I guess the biggest thing for all of us
at the moment is social media, gendered kind of comments
and that sort of thing. So that's the most noticeable
in terms of doing my job. No one suggested that
there's anything about being a woman that makes it harder
for me, or that I'm not in any way capable
(01:58):
because I'm a woman. So that's good.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
It's great that the great that the planet has spun
a few more times and a bit of progress has
been made there. So you're gearing up for the election
now again, where about say you in your election prep?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Well, for me, electioneering is a weird thing because I
think that the best way of campaigning is to just
do your job very well. So in some ways I've
been you take it that way, I've been campaigning since
I was last elected. But for me, it's a few
more door knocking sessions, a few more street corner meetings,
(02:33):
that sort of thing, and then when we get around
to the regulated period of campaigning, there'll be signage going
up and all of that sort of activity.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Okay, now you've come to politics in the later in life,
shall we say, have you enjoyed campaigning? Have you enjoyed
electioneering and getting involved.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, I actually did. I took nine months off to
campaign for the last election. So in many ways that
was a good transition from being really as a GP
to being really busy as an MP. But so that
time I actually really enjoyed and in this time it's
(03:19):
fitting that kind of electioneering around my day to day job.
But yeah, I actually find it quite fun. Good to
talk to random people that you don't know, and yeah,
it's quite fun.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Backing up in your story, you're probably the only politician
that's ever come from Canvastown. In fact, I think Google
Maps had to really strain a little bit to find
it when I was looking for it.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I think that's probably right. Yeah, I think I'm probably
the first politician to come from Canvastown.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah. I looked on Google Maps that there look to
be a hall at a pub and not much else.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That's about right. There's a hall, there's a pub, there's
a school. There used to be a store. I'm not
sure if that's still operating, but yeah, not very many people.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Like growing up in the back blocks of Marlborough.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Well, when I think about it now, it's kind of idyllic.
I mean it was the eighties, we were free reign kids.
We jumped on our bikes and went down to the
river and went swimming and hunting cockabillies in the creeks.
Up the back of the house, we'd look for freshwater
coda and go hunting eels. And we had a block
(04:36):
of native bush at the back of our property that
we would just sort of stroll around and make huts.
And yeah, we played bull rush at school and had
mud slides and all sorts of fun things.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
You need a translator to be able to translate some
of those terms to modern kids, I guess. But now
your dad sounds like a bit of a character.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Yeah, my dad was a bit of a character. So
he left home when he was about fourteen into the
forestry service and had a bit of a rough time there,
and then was always a bit of an entrepreneur, and
he started all sorts of businesses. We had a muscle farm,
we had goats, we had pigs, we had all sorts
(05:23):
of things. But then he went into horticulture. As I
put it, was a bit of a pioneer of the
cannabis industry. Unfortunately not necessarily on the right side of
the law. Forty odd years ago. So he did end
up going to prison when I was five, and so
that was one of my early memories, was looking out
(05:47):
the window and seeing police cars and dogs and things
on the day that he got busted and sent to prison.
So yeah, that sort of changed him, changed his outlook
on things, and he became very much an anti au
authority kind of person and became somebody who ended up
(06:14):
being on the edges of society because of the fact
that he had been in prison. Couldn't have found it
hard to get work, had to have his own businesses.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I've heard it said that, Yeah, I've heard it said
that every prison sentence is a life sentence in the
fact that it impacts the rest of their life. But
you've been through a few tough things in your life,
and one of them must have been farewelling your dad
when he died so young.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, well, he was fifty two and it was Yeah,
it was a huge shock because he died suddenly of
pornary embless and I was down at Otago doing my
first year trying to get into medical school, and the
dean of the hall had to call me in and
(07:02):
tell me that my father had died. And it was
just shocking. So I had to go through that and
try and process that whilst trying to study and concentrate
on getting into med school. And yeah, probably delayed my
grieving process a bit by doing that, right, Your.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Mum sounds pretty heroic in that. I guess she had
to shoulder a lot of the parent in growing up
and instilled a few attitudes into you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Definitely. I mean, my mum was a hardcore feminist, and
it was always always instilled in me that I could
do anything that I wanted to do as long as
I really truly believed it in myself. She was an
interesting person. She was very creative, she was Yeah, she
(07:56):
was really hearty, but at the same time she could
be irrational and vulnerable and maddening as a mother, as
I think probably all women find their mother.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So these interesting influences. And then after med school, why
did you choose medicine?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well, I actually chose medicine when I was eight years
old because, yeah, so I was up until that I
wanted to be I'd wanted to be a nurse. And
then I went into hospital. I got a horrible infection
called osteomiolartist, which is an infection in the bone. So
I was really quite sick, had sepsis, had to go
(08:43):
to theater and have my bone scraped out, huge amount
of pain. I was in the hospital for six weeks
and the doctors saved my life and they were amazing.
So I wanted to be a doctor after that, so
I looked at other options. When I was in seventh
or more year thirteen, thought about other career paths that
(09:04):
I could take, but I realized that there was nothing
else that I wanted to do. That was all I
wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Okay, And as well as being doctor Vanessa, you're also
major Vanessa. Was that the highest rank that you got to?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, that was the highest rank that I got to.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, that was and so mid decades in the army.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah. So when I was at medical school, the Territorials
came along and did a presentation at one of our
camps and they sort of told us that if you
come along and join the Territorials, you'll get to learn
to be a medic and you'll be really practical, and
it sounded like a lot of fun. So I went
(09:47):
along and went along to an information day that ended
up being a recruitment day by the end of it.
I was, I was signed up and yeah, twenty two
years and both the regular and territorials.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Right, if you've just joining us. My guest tonight is
the National MP for Banks Peninsula, doctor Vanessa wen In,
and we'll talk more about her military career because it
got her into some very interesting places around the world,
and we'll find out a bit more about what she's
doing in parliament. This is real life. I'm John Cown.
Be back with you in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on news
talks it be.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
Don't let me do me. Nobody ever love me like
(10:59):
you do.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Welcome back to real life. I'm John Cown and I'm
talking with MP four Banks Peninsula, doctor Vanessa Wennen. And
you've chosen that song does What are you listening to
and what's it mean to you?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Well, Don't Let Me Down by the Beatles always makes
me smile because it brings back memories of doing karaoke
on leave with the army, either singing it in the
officer's mess at Burnham or in a karaoke bar in Malaysia.
So one of my good friends in the army was
(11:36):
particularly good at singing this, and every now and then
I would feel like I could sing it as well,
and so it always makes me smile and it always
reminds me of good times in the army.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
So if we play it again, you can join in
and sing along with it. We do.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
It sounds like you had a lot of fun in
the army, but there was some pretty grueling stuff as well.
I mean you were posted overseas a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah. So the first time I deployed to Afghanistan, my
son was six months old, and we went to Bamian,
lovely part of the world really in any other time.
Incredible people. We had a real sense of purpose there,
and one of my roles as a medical officer, not
(12:27):
apart from looking after our people, was to be a
project officer for the local hospital, and so I would
go down to the hospital and spend time with them,
sometimes teaching the staff English and also trying to get
them better facilities. And then in between I deployed to
(12:50):
East Temoor. That was interesting because it was only a
couple of days after my wedding to my son's father,
basically short notice deployment, and it was actually they actually
flew off at the time that I was getting married,
and then I managed to join the crew up in
(13:14):
Townsville before we headed over to Dilly to East Tmoor.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
It's probably not the most ideal sort of honeymoon is
that your husband stays a couple of thousand kilometers away.
It's a part of the gretty reality of service life
that there are these terrible pressures that have put on
families and it was a bit too much pressure.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
It was that so that marriage didn't last. And then
I also deployed to Afghanistan again. In between all of that,
we moved to Wau, came back, I did exams for
becoming a GP, and then after I'd passed those exams,
(13:57):
I then deployed again to Afghanistan. And that time it
was a bit more rugged. The security situation had changed.
We weren't able to travel around as easily as we
had been. And yeah that during that deployment, we actually
had the first really obvious attack on a New Zealand
(14:22):
patrol so which I was on. So we were actually
had an ied target our patrol, which.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Was interesting and going to go off very close to you.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Well, it went off to the vehicle two vehicles in
front just in front of the one of the front tires.
But luckily nobody was injured, even the vehicle wasn't disabled,
and we didn't have any follow up gun fire or
anything like that. But I think it was you know,
they were learning the tactics, understanding how we would react,
(14:59):
and you know, getting there, getting their skills up on
how to attack us, and in those spots they did. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, so that's that's I mean, this is the type
of stuff that my generation has largely been spared, the
stresses of service life. And you've come through that, Okay,
you haven't. You don't look back on it as with
shadows and shutters.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
No, I don't, but I can't help but having dreams
about it unbidden, I am. I can be transported there
like it's like it's yesterday. I think in some ways
the strongest memories though, for me from my time in
(15:52):
service was actually the response to the earthquake here in Canterbury, where, yeah,
being on the ground at the Pine Gold building. I
stayed there as the sort of the triage leader from
about six o'clock in the evening till four o'clock in
(16:14):
the afternoon the next day.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
So you would have been seeing seriously injured people coming through.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Yeah. Yeah, we were everyone that we managed to get
out and that came through our triache tent did survive
and did okay. But yeah, it was a pretty intense
situation to be and I I can't forget that. I can't.
(16:42):
That can't be erased from my memory, as I know
it can't for many of the first responders who were
there on.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That day, right at least, I guess you're spared the
helplessness that some people feel in a crisis. You were
actually able to do something, and I think that helps
people get through.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
And you're absolutely right. Yeah, and I totally acknowledged that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah. Do you think your training as a GP is
actually translated into any political skills?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Absolutely? So. One of the key roles for a constituent
MP is to listen to people's stories to help them
figure out what the nature of their problems really are
and whether or not there is anything that can be
done to help them. Often, by the time they get
to an MP, there isn't a lot that can be done.
(17:34):
But sometimes there's some silly rules or some laws that
might need to be tweaked or changed, and we can
try and do that, and sometimes it's about advocating for
them through government departments, just to make sure that they're
actually getting the services that they deserve.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Now, you mentioned that it was a spell in hospital
that set in place your dreams of being a doctor.
It was another medical procedure that led to a sort
of a reevaluation of your life as well. Hip trains flat.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, So I had a hip operation
and had a hip replacement, which has been such a relief. Actually,
it's fantastic. But at the time I hadn't spent more
than a couple of weeks off work, and so I
had seven weeks off work, and it gave me time
(18:34):
to reassess my life and think about what I wanted
to do. I'd been thinking about doing public health and
had done a postgraduate diploma in public health, and yeah,
I was in the Medical Association and at the same
time that went into liquidation, and so I was really
thinking about my life and I went into deep thought
(18:56):
about it actually and decided to do politics. And just
as I was thinking of doing it, a friend of
mine called me and said, you should become a politician.
So it seemed to go really well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
That Fred must be chuffed that you took or suggested
so seriously.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Yeah, yeah, I think she is. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Now, you fairly famously changed horses. You've changed teams, moving
from Labor initially to National I doubt if you've changed
your values though, So I'm just wondering what values and
aspirations you have that initially led you to Labor that
you now think are better served within the National Party.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Well, for me, the main value of joining the Labor
Party was a belief in democracy, a belief that we
needed to be moving forward as a country. And I
guess when I joined, I hadn't actually very deeply considered
what were the values that were driving me. And I
(20:04):
hadn't done that real analysis. I'd always voted different ways,
and Labor appealed to me at the time, I suspect
because of my education and social justice that gets very
much put through to you in medicine, and I had
(20:25):
a belief that Labor was more aligned with that. And
I hadn't done a heck of a lot of soul
searching at the time, to be honest, But when I
came around to thinking about it the second time, I
did do a lot of soul searching. And in fact,
I did a real sort of write it down analysis
of all my values and beliefs and what were my experiences,
(20:52):
and really the thing that stood out for me for
national in comparison to Labor was that I really believe
that people should have that independence, that autonomy of thought,
and there should be some reward for achievement and some
personal responsibility as well. And those are those are the
(21:15):
values that I think is stronger and national than in labor.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, Vanessa, it would have been nice to spend more
time talking with you, because I've got a heap more
questions like why you quoted a science fiction book during
your maiden speech and things like that. Obviously that's something
that's quote a patience sick.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
I'm a real geek, and.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Also questioned you on your blue Green potentials and how
that survives within a right wing government. But we'll just
have to talk some other time. But thank you so
much for making time for being on real life tonight,
and we'll go out on another song that you've picked,
a You two song.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah. Absolutely, it reminds me of my youth and that
feeling of longing for something that's so intense that you
have only when you're young.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Vanessa, and I look
forward to pat chatting with you again. This is real life.
I'm John Cown and look forward to being back with
you again next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on a radio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Good ay, and welcome to real Life. I'm John Cowen.
And there is something about the fertile soil of Canterbury's
Bank Peninsula that is particularly good at growing women politicians.
It's produced more female MPs than any other part of
the country. And my guest tonight is the latest, doctor
Vanessa Weddink. Welcome, Vanessa, Hello John, good to see you.
(00:54):
Politics has been a bit of a men's club, but
you must be glad to stand in the tradition of
your region.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Absolutely, I'm really proud to represent Banks Peninsula. And yeah,
as you say, we had the first female MP for
New Zealand and more than any other area and if
you count all of the boundary changes, we've had something
like nine MPs that are women.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Right, Okay, So have you faced any any difficulties as
a woman politician? I mean people in the past, Helen
Clark and people like that have said they've faced a
lot of gender discrimination. Have you encountered any of that?
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Well, I guess the biggest thing for all of us
at the moment is social media, gendered kind of comments
and that sort of thing. So that's the most noticeable
in terms of doing my job. No one suggested that
there's anything about being a woman that makes it harder
for me, or that I'm not in any way capable
(01:58):
because I'm a woman. So that's good.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
It's great that the great that the planet has spun
a few more times and a bit of progress has
been made there. So you're gearing up for the election
now again, where about say you in your election prep?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Well, for me, electioneering is a weird thing because I
think that the best way of campaigning is to just
do your job very well. So in some ways I've
been you take it that way, I've been campaigning since
I was last elected. But for me, it's a few
more door knocking sessions, a few more street corner meetings,
(02:33):
that sort of thing, and then when we get around
to the regulated period of campaigning, there'll be signage going
up and all of that sort of activity.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Okay, now you've come to politics in the later in life,
shall we say, have you enjoyed campaigning? Have you enjoyed
electioneering and getting involved.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Yeah, I actually did. I took nine months off to
campaign for the last election. So in many ways that
was a good transition from being really as a GP
to being really busy as an MP. But so that
time I actually really enjoyed and in this time it's
(03:19):
fitting that kind of electioneering around my day to day job.
But yeah, I actually find it quite fun. Good to
talk to random people that you don't know, and yeah,
it's quite fun.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Backing up in your story, you're probably the only politician
that's ever come from Canvastown. In fact, I think Google
Maps had to really strain a little bit to find
it when I was looking for it.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
I think that's probably right. Yeah, I think I'm probably
the first politician to come from Canvastown.
Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah. I looked on Google Maps that there look to
be a hall at a pub and not much else.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
That's about right. There's a hall, there's a pub, there's
a school. There used to be a store. I'm not
sure if that's still operating, but yeah, not very many people.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Like growing up in the back blocks of Marlborough.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Well, when I think about it now, it's kind of idyllic.
I mean it was the eighties, we were free reign kids.
We jumped on our bikes and went down to the
river and went swimming and hunting cockabillies in the creeks.
Up the back of the house, we'd look for freshwater
coda and go hunting eels. And we had a block
(04:36):
of native bush at the back of our property that
we would just sort of stroll around and make huts.
And yeah, we played bull rush at school and had
mud slides and all sorts of fun things.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
You need a translator to be able to translate some
of those terms to modern kids, I guess. But now
your dad sounds like a bit of a character.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Yeah, my dad was a bit of a character. So
he left home when he was about fourteen into the
forestry service and had a bit of a rough time there,
and then was always a bit of an entrepreneur, and
he started all sorts of businesses. We had a muscle farm,
we had goats, we had pigs, we had all sorts
(05:23):
of things. But then he went into horticulture. As I
put it, was a bit of a pioneer of the
cannabis industry. Unfortunately not necessarily on the right side of
the law. Forty odd years ago. So he did end
up going to prison when I was five, and so
that was one of my early memories, was looking out
(05:47):
the window and seeing police cars and dogs and things
on the day that he got busted and sent to prison.
So yeah, that sort of changed him, changed his outlook
on things, and he became very much an anti au
authority kind of person and became somebody who ended up
(06:14):
being on the edges of society because of the fact
that he had been in prison. Couldn't have found it
hard to get work, had to have his own businesses.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I've heard it said that, Yeah, I've heard it said
that every prison sentence is a life sentence in the
fact that it impacts the rest of their life. But
you've been through a few tough things in your life,
and one of them must have been farewelling your dad
when he died so young.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
Yeah, well, he was fifty two and it was Yeah,
it was a huge shock because he died suddenly of
pornary embless and I was down at Otago doing my
first year trying to get into medical school, and the
dean of the hall had to call me in and
(07:02):
tell me that my father had died. And it was
just shocking. So I had to go through that and
try and process that whilst trying to study and concentrate
on getting into med school. And yeah, probably delayed my
grieving process a bit by doing that, right, Your.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Mum sounds pretty heroic in that. I guess she had
to shoulder a lot of the parent in growing up
and instilled a few attitudes into you.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Definitely. I mean, my mum was a hardcore feminist, and
it was always always instilled in me that I could
do anything that I wanted to do as long as
I really truly believed it in myself. She was an
interesting person. She was very creative, she was Yeah, she
(07:56):
was really hearty, but at the same time she could
be irrational and vulnerable and maddening as a mother, as
I think probably all women find their mother.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So these interesting influences. And then after med school, why
did you choose medicine?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Well, I actually chose medicine when I was eight years
old because, yeah, so I was up until that I
wanted to be I'd wanted to be a nurse. And
then I went into hospital. I got a horrible infection
called osteomiolartist, which is an infection in the bone. So
I was really quite sick, had sepsis, had to go
(08:43):
to theater and have my bone scraped out, huge amount
of pain. I was in the hospital for six weeks
and the doctors saved my life and they were amazing.
So I wanted to be a doctor after that, so
I looked at other options. When I was in seventh
or more year thirteen, thought about other career paths that
(09:04):
I could take, but I realized that there was nothing
else that I wanted to do. That was all I
wanted to do.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Okay, And as well as being doctor Vanessa, you're also
major Vanessa. Was that the highest rank that you got to?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, that was the highest rank that I got to.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Yeah, that was and so mid decades in the army.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
Yeah. So when I was at medical school, the Territorials
came along and did a presentation at one of our
camps and they sort of told us that if you
come along and join the Territorials, you'll get to learn
to be a medic and you'll be really practical, and
it sounded like a lot of fun. So I went
(09:47):
along and went along to an information day that ended
up being a recruitment day by the end of it.
I was, I was signed up and yeah, twenty two
years and both the regular and territorials.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Right, if you've just joining us. My guest tonight is
the National MP for Banks Peninsula, doctor Vanessa wen In,
and we'll talk more about her military career because it
got her into some very interesting places around the world,
and we'll find out a bit more about what she's
doing in parliament. This is real life. I'm John Cown.
Be back with you in just a minute.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on news
talks it be.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
Don't let me do me. Nobody ever love me like
(10:59):
you do.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Welcome back to real life. I'm John Cown and I'm
talking with MP four Banks Peninsula, doctor Vanessa Wennen. And
you've chosen that song does What are you listening to
and what's it mean to you?
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Well, Don't Let Me Down by the Beatles always makes
me smile because it brings back memories of doing karaoke
on leave with the army, either singing it in the
officer's mess at Burnham or in a karaoke bar in Malaysia.
So one of my good friends in the army was
(11:36):
particularly good at singing this, and every now and then
I would feel like I could sing it as well,
and so it always makes me smile and it always
reminds me of good times in the army.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
So if we play it again, you can join in
and sing along with it. We do.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Now.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
It sounds like you had a lot of fun in
the army, but there was some pretty grueling stuff as well.
I mean you were posted overseas a couple of times.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yeah. So the first time I deployed to Afghanistan, my
son was six months old, and we went to Bamian,
lovely part of the world really in any other time.
Incredible people. We had a real sense of purpose there,
and one of my roles as a medical officer, not
(12:27):
apart from looking after our people, was to be a
project officer for the local hospital, and so I would
go down to the hospital and spend time with them,
sometimes teaching the staff English and also trying to get
them better facilities. And then in between I deployed to
(12:50):
East Temoor. That was interesting because it was only a
couple of days after my wedding to my son's father,
basically short notice deployment, and it was actually they actually
flew off at the time that I was getting married,
and then I managed to join the crew up in
(13:14):
Townsville before we headed over to Dilly to East Tmoor.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
It's probably not the most ideal sort of honeymoon is
that your husband stays a couple of thousand kilometers away.
It's a part of the gretty reality of service life
that there are these terrible pressures that have put on
families and it was a bit too much pressure.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
It was that so that marriage didn't last. And then
I also deployed to Afghanistan again. In between all of that,
we moved to Wau, came back, I did exams for
becoming a GP, and then after I'd passed those exams,
(13:57):
I then deployed again to Afghanistan. And that time it
was a bit more rugged. The security situation had changed.
We weren't able to travel around as easily as we
had been. And yeah that during that deployment, we actually
had the first really obvious attack on a New Zealand
(14:22):
patrol so which I was on. So we were actually
had an ied target our patrol, which.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Was interesting and going to go off very close to you.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
Well, it went off to the vehicle two vehicles in
front just in front of the one of the front tires.
But luckily nobody was injured, even the vehicle wasn't disabled,
and we didn't have any follow up gun fire or
anything like that. But I think it was you know,
they were learning the tactics, understanding how we would react,
(14:59):
and you know, getting there, getting their skills up on
how to attack us, and in those spots they did. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yeah, so that's that's I mean, this is the type
of stuff that my generation has largely been spared, the
stresses of service life. And you've come through that, Okay,
you haven't. You don't look back on it as with
shadows and shutters.
Speaker 3 (15:31):
No, I don't, but I can't help but having dreams
about it unbidden, I am. I can be transported there
like it's like it's yesterday. I think in some ways
the strongest memories though, for me from my time in
(15:52):
service was actually the response to the earthquake here in Canterbury, where, yeah,
being on the ground at the Pine Gold building. I
stayed there as the sort of the triage leader from
about six o'clock in the evening till four o'clock in
(16:14):
the afternoon the next day.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
So you would have been seeing seriously injured people coming through.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
Yeah. Yeah, we were everyone that we managed to get
out and that came through our triache tent did survive
and did okay. But yeah, it was a pretty intense
situation to be and I I can't forget that. I can't.
(16:42):
That can't be erased from my memory, as I know
it can't for many of the first responders who were
there on.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
That day, right at least, I guess you're spared the
helplessness that some people feel in a crisis. You were
actually able to do something, and I think that helps
people get through.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
And you're absolutely right. Yeah, and I totally acknowledged that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Yeah. Do you think your training as a GP is
actually translated into any political skills?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
Absolutely? So. One of the key roles for a constituent
MP is to listen to people's stories to help them
figure out what the nature of their problems really are
and whether or not there is anything that can be
done to help them. Often, by the time they get
to an MP, there isn't a lot that can be done.
(17:34):
But sometimes there's some silly rules or some laws that
might need to be tweaked or changed, and we can
try and do that, and sometimes it's about advocating for
them through government departments, just to make sure that they're
actually getting the services that they deserve.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
Now, you mentioned that it was a spell in hospital
that set in place your dreams of being a doctor.
It was another medical procedure that led to a sort
of a reevaluation of your life as well. Hip trains flat.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, So I had a hip operation
and had a hip replacement, which has been such a relief. Actually,
it's fantastic. But at the time I hadn't spent more
than a couple of weeks off work, and so I
had seven weeks off work, and it gave me time
(18:34):
to reassess my life and think about what I wanted
to do. I'd been thinking about doing public health and
had done a postgraduate diploma in public health, and yeah,
I was in the Medical Association and at the same
time that went into liquidation, and so I was really
thinking about my life and I went into deep thought
(18:56):
about it actually and decided to do politics. And just
as I was thinking of doing it, a friend of
mine called me and said, you should become a politician.
So it seemed to go really well, yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
That Fred must be chuffed that you took or suggested
so seriously.
Speaker 3 (19:15):
Yeah, yeah, I think she is. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Now, you fairly famously changed horses. You've changed teams, moving
from Labor initially to National I doubt if you've changed
your values though, So I'm just wondering what values and
aspirations you have that initially led you to Labor that
you now think are better served within the National Party.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
Well, for me, the main value of joining the Labor
Party was a belief in democracy, a belief that we
needed to be moving forward as a country. And I
guess when I joined, I hadn't actually very deeply considered
what were the values that were driving me. And I
(20:04):
hadn't done that real analysis. I'd always voted different ways,
and Labor appealed to me at the time, I suspect
because of my education and social justice that gets very
much put through to you in medicine, and I had
(20:25):
a belief that Labor was more aligned with that. And
I hadn't done a heck of a lot of soul
searching at the time, to be honest, But when I
came around to thinking about it the second time, I
did do a lot of soul searching. And in fact,
I did a real sort of write it down analysis
of all my values and beliefs and what were my experiences,
(20:52):
and really the thing that stood out for me for
national in comparison to Labor was that I really believe
that people should have that independence, that autonomy of thought,
and there should be some reward for achievement and some
personal responsibility as well. And those are those are the
(21:15):
values that I think is stronger and national than in labor.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, Vanessa, it would have been nice to spend more
time talking with you, because I've got a heap more
questions like why you quoted a science fiction book during
your maiden speech and things like that. Obviously that's something
that's quote a patience sick.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
I'm a real geek, and.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Also questioned you on your blue Green potentials and how
that survives within a right wing government. But we'll just
have to talk some other time. But thank you so
much for making time for being on real life tonight,
and we'll go out on another song that you've picked,
a You two song.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Yeah. Absolutely, it reminds me of my youth and that
feeling of longing for something that's so intense that you
have only when you're young.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much, Vanessa, and I look
forward to pat chatting with you again. This is real life.
I'm John Cown and look forward to being back with
you again next Sunday night.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on a radio
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.