Catherine Wedd
Catherine Jane Wedd is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament for the National Party. Wedd currently serves as the chairperson of the Environment Select Committee. She is also Chair of the New Zealand Population and Development Committee which is a cross-party group focused on championing sexual and reproductive health and rights of women. She is a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Minister Mark Mitchell for Cyclone Recovery and was formerly the Deputy Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee and a member of the Primary Production Committee.
Early life
Wedd was born and raised in Taumarunui. Here Wedd attended Ohura Area School, Tokirima School, Turaki Primary School and later Nga Tawa School in Marton.Education
She completed a Bachelor of Law and Arts, majoring in Political Science and English and a post graduate diploma in Journalism at Canterbury University.Political career
On 21 January 2023, Wedd was announced as the National Party candidate for in the 2023 New Zealand general election. She defeated the incumbent Anna Lorck, with whom she previously worked at Attn Marketing PR, with a margin of 10,118 votes. Lorck and Wedd were joint directors of that company.During her campaign, Wedd criticized the government's response to Cyclone Gabrielle, saying perceived uncertainty about relief payments negatively impacted growers; she elsewhere supported the deregulation of the horticulture industry. Wedd has expressed support for a police crackdown on gang membership in the Hawke's Bay region, and has been critical of the education system.
On 6 May 2025, Wedd introduced a private member's bill called the Social Media Bill that would bar access to social media platforms for people under the age of 16 years. Since National's coalition partner ACT New Zealand had refused to support the bill, the Sixth National Government was forced to introduce it as a member's bill rather than a government bill. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that National would seek cross-party support for the legislation. Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins has expressed interest in support the bill while New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the bill should be subject to a select committee inquiry. Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said she wanted to learn more about the bill but described it as simplistic.