Advocating for the new hospital and roading will be the main issues of focus for Labour’s Whangārei candidate Angie Warren-Clark.

She will launch her election campaign in Whangārei tomorrow and the event will include a performance by The Glass Ceiling Arts Collective, a charity that supports people from marginalised communities, especially young people with disabilities.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni is also expected to be the Northland Rugby Union clubrooms launch.

Warren-Clark, a Labour list MP who lives in the Bay of Plenty, replaces Emily Henderson, who in 2020 won the Whangārei seat for the party for the first time since 1972.

Henderson announced in March she would not contest the upcoming election.

Warren-Clark, who grew up in Ōkaihau and has family in Whangārei, said she would continue to advocate for the “new hospital and the continuation of the development of the hospital site”.

Construction of the new hospital in Whangārei is set to begin in 2026 and is expected to be completed by 2031.

“It’s a regional hospital that’s really important.”

Warren-Clark said she would also be “advocating to ensure we have a good roading system”.

“There’s a lot of development work that’s happening, including around roading. I’ve been travelling that road since we moved to Northland when I was 4.

“I know the road and the community and the struggles we have. We need to make sure our roads are resilient because we have seen with the weather this year how at risk our communities are.”

Warren-Clark is in the process of moving permanently back to Northland after living in Tauranga for 15 years.

She is boarding with her sister in Whangārei while continuing her duties in the Bay of Plenty and searching for a place to call home with her husband Blair, who is of Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Kahu descent, and their two children.

“Regardless of the outcome [of the election], we’re coming home.

“I’m excited, there are so many beautiful places in Whangārei.

“As a young person, I moved out of Northland and went to uni, and I was like ‘I won’t be back’.

“But as you age you get to a point where going home feels really good, and that’s where we are at the moment. We’re really looking forward to moving back to Northland.”

Warren-Clark has served for two terms, having entered Parliament in 2017.

She is 43 on Labour’s list, and is chairwoman of the social services and community select committee, and member of the environment select committee.

Warren-Clark is also Labour’s lead on the Parliamentary culture committee.

Before getting into politics, she worked to reduce family violence, as a volunteer and as a domestic violence adviser at the Ministry of Justice, then as manager of Tauranga Women’s Refuge.

Warren-Clark is also passionate about food rescue and environmental issues.

Her work resulted in a $32 million Government fund, supporting nationwide food distribution initiatives announced in Budget 2019.

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, health, business and animal welfare issues.