In 1994, O'Regan led the New Zealand Delegation to the United Nations Population and Development Conference in Cairo and also gave the Second Country Report to CEDAW at the United Nations in New York. Ahead of the 1996 general election, the Waipa electorate was disestablished. O'Regan contested the Tauranga electorate against the former National Party MP for Tauranga, Winston Peters, who was contesting the electorate under his New Zealand First Party. O'Regan was unsuccessful in this election but remained in Parliament as a list MP. With the National Party forming a coalition government with New Zealand First, O'Regan did not continue in Cabinet and was instead appointed the Chairperson of the Internal Affairs select committee from 1996 to 1999. O'Regan continued her interest in population and development issues by establishing, with the help of Family Planning International, a New Zealand Parliamentarians' Group on Population and Development. In the 1999 general election, she again challenged Peters, and came within 62 votes of defeating him—had she won, the New Zealand First party would have lost all parliamentary representation. Labour's candidate Margaret Wilson, who came third in the electorate, requested a recount. The final result was a 63 votes majority for Peters. O'Regan attempted to oust Peters from the electorate by encouraging voters to vote tactically, and vote for her rather than Labour's Wilson. However, Peters was re-elected but with a much reduced margin. Unlike in 1996, O'Regan was not high enough on National's party list to remain in Parliament and thus retired from politics. Later career In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, O'Regan was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services. She was the chair of the Te Awamutu Community Public Relations Organisation. She was Chair of the Human Ethics in Research Committee for eight years at Waikato Institute of Technology and served on the New Zealand Law Society Waikato/Bay of Plenty Complaints Committee. Political views O'Regan was a council member of Family Planning New Zealand. She favoured compulsory sex education from age ten and condom vending machines in all secondary schools and public toilets. In an obituary, her daughter Susan O'Regan described her mother as a Royalist, feminist, and strong believer in equal rights. Personal life O'Regan has two children to her first husband Neil O'Regan, whom she married in 1968. The couple divorced; O'Regan married former National MP Michael Cox in 1992. O'Regan