16 Facts About Nicky Wagner

Nicola Joanne Wagner was born on 23 July 1953 and is a former New Zealand politician.

Nicky Wagner represented the Christchurch Central electorate from 2011 to 2017.

Nicky Wagner received a teaching degree from Christchurch College of Education, a BA from the University of Canterbury, and an MBA from Massey University.

Nicky Wagner was an internet pioneer establishing firstly FashioNZ and then GardenNZ.

Nicky Wagner was selected as the National Party candidate in Christchurch Central for the 2002 general election, and ranked at 37th on the party list.

Nicky Wagner lost convincingly to the incumbent, Tim Barnett, and National's overall poor result meant she was not elected as a list MP.

When Nicky Wagner received a high list ranking for the 2005 general election, there was concern whether she could do justice to both being a regional councillor and a member of parliament.

Nicky Wagner was elected to Parliament in retired from ECan at the 2007 local elections.

Nicky Wagner was re-selected for National in Christchurch Central in the 2005 general election and given an improved list rank of 28.

At the 2008 election, in which she lost in her electorate to new Labour candidate Brendon Burns, Nicky Wagner reduced Labour's majority by nearly 7,000 votes but was returned for a second term as a list MP.

Nicky Wagner had a mostly conservative voting record on social issues.

In May 2014, Nicky Wagner became a Minister outside Cabinet, succeeding Maurice Williamson as Minister of Customs, Minister of Statistics, Associate Minister of Conservation, and Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery.

Nicky Wagner became an associate minister in the health and tourism portfolios in December 2016.

On 14 June 2017, Nicky Wagner made a comment on Twitter that she'd "rather be out on the harbour" while mentioning that she was attending disability meetings, attracting online criticism.

Nicky Wagner was the National Party opposition spokesperson for disability issues from November 2017 to March 2018, and for arts, culture and heritage and greater Christchurch regeneration from March 2018 to February 2020.

In 2024, Nicky Wagner was appointed a member of the Nelson Marlborough conservation board.