With seven women in the top 10, the Green Party’s new list of candidates is a proclamation of girl power that could see co-leader James Shaw inundated by a fresh intake of female MPs after this year’s election.
Yet the Wellington-born politician and former business consultant, 44, isn’t intimidated by the idea – with two mothers, he’s been surrounded by strong women most of his life.
Abandoned by his British father, who wasn’t ready for parenthood, James was raised in Waikanae by single mother Cynthia Shaw. He recalls, “It was normal to me, but inmy primary school class, I was the only person who had just one parent and I remember some boys asking, ‘What’s that like?’ I didn’t know. I asked them, ‘What’s it like having two?’”
James found out first-hand at 12 when his mum, then teaching history at a Wellington high school, fell in love with English teacher Susanne Jungersen. They’ve been together for 31 years now. “We locked eyes over a pile of marking!” quips Susanne, now 64.
But the truth is they’d been colleagues for years and James had met his new mother on many occasions before Cynthia, 71, sat him down to have “the conversation”.
He remembers, “She let me know what was going on and I just shrugged my shoulders. I knew Susanne as one of a fun group of teachers who’d always break out a guitar for singalongs, but I had my own regular teen angst to get on with.”
James had met his new mother on many occasions before Cynthia, 71, sat him down to have “the conversation”.
James and Susanne bonded over a shared love of sci-fi and drawing, and she soon became a central part of his life.
“I called her Susie, but I referred to them as my two mums – the two ladies,” he tells, adding that he never got teased about his unconventional family. “My high school was very progressive. Even in the ’80s, it was never more than a mild curiosity.”
James and his mothers share a keen intellect, and he credits both women – self-described “greenies” who were active in the teachers’ union and regularly took part in marches – for instilling in him a passion for politics and social justice.
James joined the Green Party in 1990 and two years later, at just 18, unsuccessfully ran for the Wellington City Council. Cynthia banned him from taking his political career further, telling her son, “The day you walk into Parliament, you walk out of this house – don’t think you’re going to be a politician and stay in this family!”
Laughing, James explains, “The level of trust in politicians was at rock bottom in 1992 because we’d had the ’70s with Muldoon and then the ’80s with Rogernomics.”
Fortunately for Cynthia, her son was distracted by his studies at Victoria University, where he majored in International Political Economy, before moving to the UK and completing a Master of Science degree. But after 12 years in England, where he worked as a consultant in business sustainability, James felt a need to return to politics and New Zealand.
He tells, “After work in big business, I came to the conclusion that if I was going to change the world at the speed it needed to happen, there had to be political change.”
After spending some time working in England, James felt a need to return to NZ and to politics.
However, before he came home, James wrote his mums a note to explain why.
Cynthia recalls, “It was a lovely letter that set out his ideals and saying we needed to be OK with the new direction of his life. In fact, I was proud that he wanted to do something for the planet and bring about some change for the good of others, rather than frittering away his life.”
James just missed out on becoming an MP in 2011 but was elected in 2014. Susanne tells, “We went to the state opening of Parliament, where he made this beautiful speech that acknowledged us. It was a moment of jubilation.”
The next year, James was voted co-leader of the Green Party, alongside Metiria Turei.
“That was amazing,” says Cynthia. “I was basking in his reflected glory. I got so much feedback about what a great brain he has and what a gentleman he is. People recognised his integrity.”
Both she and her partner have high hopes for the party in this year’s election, with Susanne adding, “All of the Greens’ policies have become mainstream – they’re so sane and urgent, they need to be adopted. It’s a mass movement. The tipping point is very close.”
Smiling, James adds, “We certainly feel like we’ve got the buzz. We’re in great shape, with some great candidates and a really good campaign.”
In 2013, he married law professor Annabel, who he’d met on a blind date two years earlier, with both mothers standing up at the ceremony to give their approval. The couple live together in a downstairs apartment they rent off Cynthia and Suzanne in Wellington’s Aro Valley.
Cynthia grins, “It’s truly fantastic to see James in such a wonderful, loving, supportive relationship, which is what you always want for your child and which I’ve been lucky enough to have too.”
“Well, I’ve been fortunate too,” adds James. “Very few people get to have two mothers. It’s been a real privilege.”
