Katherine O'Regan

Katherine O'Regan (24 May 1946 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party. She was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 elections as MP for Waipa, replacing the retiring Marilyn Waring. She had served as Waring's personal assistant since 1975. She held the seat of Waipa until it was abolished in the 1996 elections. She then unsuccessfully contested the seat of Tauranga against Winston Peters, but remained in Parliament as a list MP. In the 1999 elections, she again challenged Peters, and came within a hundred votes of defeating him — had she won, the New Zealand First party would have lost all parliamentary representation. Unlike in 1996, O'Regan was not high enough on National's party list to remain in Parliament without winning an electorate. She has not return to Parliament since then.