science

Ruth Richardson

Ruth Richardson is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ruth Richardson rather than just read about it. In short: Ruth Margaret Richardson (born 13 December 1950) is a retired New Zealand politician of the National Party who served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993. Her 1991 budget, which she dubbed the "Mother of all Budgets", formed the catalyst for her party's economic reforms known in the media as "Ruthanasia".

Key takeaways

Ruth Richardson belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ruth Richardson to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ruth Richardson from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ruth Margaret Richardson (born 13 December 1950) is a retired New Zealand politician of the National Party who served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1993. Her 1991 budget, which she dubbed the "Mother of all Budgets", formed the catalyst for her party's economic reforms known in the media as "Ruthanasia". Richardson was a lawyer by profession. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Selwyn in 1981. Following the National Party victory in the 1990 election, Richardson was appointed as Finance Minister in the fourth National Government. She supported and carried on the free-market reforms initiated by the preceding Labour Government, and extended them in a significant way with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994. Richardon's economic restructuring, including privatisation of state assets and cuts to social welfare, contributed to New Zealand emerging from its fiscal problems. However, critics have noted the wide-ranging effects on New Zealand's social fabric including child poverty along with wealth inequality, which were both severely exacerbated. Richardson was dismissed as Finance Minister following the 1993 election; she resigned from Parliament in 1994. She later joined ACT New Zealand.

Early life Richardson was born in southern Taranaki on 13 December 1950. Her family had a long history in the area, and her great-grandfather George Pearce had served as MP for Patea from 1908 to 1919. Her father was active in the National Party's Patea branch. Richardson was brought up as a Roman Catholic, and after finishing primary school, was sent to Sacred Heart College, a Catholic girls' high school in Wanganui. Richardson decided on a career in Parliament at an early age, before she even left high school. Sir Roy Jack, a National Party MP and a friend of her family, advised her to study law, which she did. Richardson gained a law degree from the University of Canterbury. After graduating, she worked for the Department of Justice. In 1975, Richardson married Andrew Wright, a colleague from the Department. Richardson's first attempt to break into politics came when she unsuccessfully challenged Sir Roy Jack for the National Party nomination in the 1975 election. His Waimarino electorate was merged into Rangitikei because of post-census boundary changes. Besides alienating her from her old mentor, she also created considerable irritation in the higher ranks of the party. National had long frowned on challenges to sitting MPs who sought renomination, and was especially hostile when the challenge was made against long-serving MPs such as Jack. George Chapman, who chaired the selection, said, "The tensions were tremendous, but Roy was finally confirmed as the candidate." She was a member of the non-partisan political lobby organisation the Women's Electoral Lobby. In 1978, Richardson contested the National Party's nomination for the Tasman seat. She won the nomination, but in the 1978 election itself, she failed to defeat incumbent Labour MP Bill Rowling (who was leader of his party at the time). In 1980, she was invited to contest the nomination for Selwyn, a National safe seat just outside Christchurch which was held by retiring MP Colin McLachlan. She won the nomination, and in the 1981 election, was elected to Parliament.

Early parliamentary career

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ruth Richardson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ruth Richardson claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ruth Richardson before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ruth Richardson ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ruth Richardson

In research: Ruth Richardson appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ruth Richardson in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ruth Richardson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1950 births, 20th-century New Zealand lawyers, Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ruth Richardson outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ruth Richardson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ruth Richardson means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ruth Richardson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ruth Richardson in simple terms?

Why does Ruth Richardson matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ruth Richardson?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ruth Richardson.