their jobs. Outraged by the impact of the closing and the 1991 Employment Contracts Act on Māori, Pacific Island and Pākehā working-class people coupled with the desire of many in the Pacific community to have a woman representing them in Parliament she put herself forward as a candidate for the Labour Party. Laban was first elected to Parliament in the 1999 election as a list MP, becoming New Zealand's first Pacific Island woman MP. In the 2002 election she successfully contested the Mana electorate, formerly held by Labour MP Graham Kelly. In 2005 she was re-elected by a majority of 6,734 votes She was Minister of Pacific Island Affairs (5 November 2007 – 19 November 2008). Labour was defeated in the 2008 election, depriving Laban of her ministerial role, but Laban retained her electorate seat and most of her majority. In December 2009 her Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment Bill, which would grant greater rights to the families of those seeking or undergoing treatment, was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill was defeated at its first reading. On 10 August 2010 Laban announced she would resign from Parliament to take up a position as an assistant vice-chancellor at Victoria University of Wellington, leading to a by-election in the Mana electorate. She ceased being a member of parliament on 15 October 2010. Patronage and memberships In 2008 she was made Patron of the Cancer Society Relay for Life. In 2013 she was made a Patron of the Wainuiomata Pasifika Education Success Initiative. She was chair of the Pacific Arts Committee from 2013 to 2014. She was appointed to the Creative New Zealand Arts Council in 2014. She has been a member of the National University of Samoa Council since 2012 and the Institute of Judicial Studies Board since 2011. Since 2017 she has been a member of the Australasian Association for Institutional Research, the New Zealand Institute of Directors, the Commissioner of Police’s National Pacific Advisory Forum, and an Auditor for the Academic Quality Agency for New Zealand Universities. Honours In 1992, Laban was bestowed the Samoan matai chiefly title Luamanuvao from the village of Vaiala, Vaimauga, in recognition of her work. In the 2011 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for services as a Member of Parliament. She was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit