Nicky was born and educated in Christchurch and has lived and worked in Christchurch Central all her adult life.

After leaving school Nicky trained as a secondary school teacher and taught at Hagley High School and Hornby High School before taking up a position at the Christchurch Polytechnic.

She then turned her hand to business and in 1991 was a foundation partner in a nationwide marketing company which specialised in promoting New Zealand fashion designers and their product. This was the beginning of a series of businesses which included retailing, manufacturing, and distribution. In 1998, she established an internet and e-commerce business specializing in on-line marketing and the development of industry clusters.

In 2002 Nicky was selected as the Candidate for Christchurch Central, and again in 2005 when she was elected as a List MP.

Nicky has always been involved in the local community and served on numerous trusts and boards. She has worked extensively with business organisations, in education and in local government. She is currently an Environment Canterbury Regional Councillor.

She enjoys going to the gym, and spending time with her husband David and two grown up sons.

Top 5 Issues

1. Building a stronger economy
   • Balance the books sooner.
   • Borrow less so we can have lower interest rates for longer.
   • Keep personal taxes lower to encourage hard work.
   • Make New Zealand more competitive so our exporters can sell more overseas and create more real jobs.
   • Encourage savings and investments.
   • Use the mixed-Ownership model to fund infrastructure to help us grow faster.
   • Invest in skills training and tertiary education that gets results.
   
2. Building world-class infrastructure
   • Ultra-fast broadband for greater innovation.
   • More, and better, roads to ease congestion.
   • Investing in more rail and public transport.
   
3. Building a safer New Zealand
   • Staying strong on crime – tougher sentencing, stronger bail laws, and a focus on victims.
   • Keep working to lower the crime rate further so our families are safer.
   • Making our roads safer, so we can keep the road toll lower.
   
4. Rebuilding Christchurch
   • $5.5 billion recovery fund
   • Re-establishing essential infrastructure
   • More construction-related training
   
5. Building better public services
   • Better Schools – identifying and helping children falling behind, school reports in plain English.
   • World-class healthcare –more doctors and nurses, more operations, shorter waiting times.
   • Effective welfare- more people back into work, more incentives to work, payment cards for teens on benefits.
   

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