David Clark (New Zealand politician)

New Zealand Parliament

The Honourable David Clark
Clark in 2020
14th Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
In office 6 November 2020 –1 February 2023
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
2011 –2014	50th	Dunedin North	49		Labour
2014 –2017	51st	Dunedin North	26		Labour
2017 –2020	52nd	Dunedin North	9		Labour
2020 –2023	53rd	Dunedin	16		Labour

After serving as chairman on the Labour Party Dunedin North electorate committee, Clark was selected by the Labour Party to replace the retiring Pete Hodgson in the electorate. ^[2] He won the seat at the 2011 election over National candidate Michael Woodhouse. ^[13] Clark would defeat Woodhouse again in each of the following three elections, increasing his majority every time to a final margin of 15,521 votes in 2020. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Clark's maiden parliamentary speech given on 14 February 2012 focused on his concern about rising inequality and his passion for social justice. In it, he argued that a more equal society will produce better outcomes, both socially and economically. ^{[17] [18]}

Clark and Labour were in opposition for the first six years of his political career. Under leaders David Shearer, David Cunliffe and Andrew Little, Clark served as the party's spokesperson in a range of economic portfolios, including revenue, economic development and small business. ^[19] During his time as revenue spokesperson, he drew attention to difficulties the dated Inland Revenue computer system was creating for the organisation, and the small amounts that multinational companies were contributing to the tax base. ^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

Clark completed an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2013, ^[24] focusing much of his trip on the priority accorded to the values of fairness and freedom in New Zealand and the United States. ^[25] The same year, Parliament passed a private member's bill in Clark's name. The bill proposed "Mondayisation" of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day so that additional public holidays would be held if the true dates for those holidays occurred on a weekend. ^[26] This was the first bill to pass against the Government in four years. ^[27]

Another member's bill in Clark's name, aimed at preventing for-profit entities from running charter schools, was selected for a first reading in 2017. However, the bill was eventually dropped as the legislative framework for charter schools was repealed. ^[28] After the retirement of long-serving Labour MP Annette King was announced in March 2017, Clark became the Labour Party's health spokesperson. ^[29] When Labour formed a government seven months later, Clark became the Minister of Health.

Minister in the Sixth Labour Government

After the 2017 general election, the Labour Party formed a government with New Zealand First and the Greens. ^[30] Clark was appointed to the Cabinet as Minister of Health and Associate Minister of Finance. ^{[31] [32]} His delegations in the finance portfolio included expenditure control in the social sector and responsibility for Crown Research Institutes and community trusts. ^[33] Clark was removed from his positions during the COVID-19 pandemic after breaking the country's pandemic restrictions and becoming a "distraction." ^[4] He was reappointed to Cabinet as Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Minister of Statistics, Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications and Minister for State Owned Enterprises after Labour's success in the 2020 general election. ^[34]

Minister of Health

In late April 2018, Clark appointed three new chairs to head Auckland's three district health boards: Patrick Snedden for the Auckland District Health Board, Judy McGregor for the Waitematā District Health Board, and Vui Mark Gosche for the Counties Manukau District Health Board. These appointments replaced Lester Levy, who had headed all three boards and resigned in December 2017. ^[35] On 30 April 2018, Clark conceded that the Government would be unable to deliver on its election promise of reducing general practitioner fees but indicated that it would be introduced in phases over time. ^{[36] [37]}

On 4 May 2018, Clark announced that the Dunedin Hospital would be replaced by a new hospital on the site of the former Cadbury factory site and a neighbouring block that included the building occupied by Work and Income. The construction project is estimated to cost NZ$1.4 billion, would involve around a thousand workers, and is expected to be completed by 2026. ^{[38] [39]}

In mid-June 2018, Clark was criticised by employees of the Counties Manukau District Health Board for allegedly trying to silence their reports of run-down buildings, asbestos, and overflowing sewage at Middlemore Hospital. Clark denied those allegations but criticised the staff for communicating through the media rather than through official channels. ^{[40] [41]} Clark subsequently apologised to Counties Manukau DHB chairman Rabin Rabindran for the handling of the Middlemore saga. ^[42] That same month, Clark defended the Government's $500 million pay offer to nurses after the national union, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, voted to go on strike. ^[43]

In mid-July 2018, Clark was forced to publicly defend his decision to go on a family holiday prior to a planned national strike by the Nurses Organisation. ^[44] On 25 July, Clark—alongside union representatives from the E tū and the Public Service Association as well as the Ministry of Social Development and the Accident Compensation Corporation—signed a NZ$173.5 million pay equity agreement to pay 5,000 mental health and addiction workers more. ^{[45] [46]} Later that month, he announced that the District Health Boards, Nurses Organisation, and the Ministry of Health had successfully negotiated a joint accord to ensure safe staffing levels for nurses. ^{[47] [48]}

In early September 2018, Clark suspended the troubled Oracle IT project to overhaul the District Health Boards' ageing IT systems. The troubled project had cost NZ$100 million. ^[49] In mid-November, Clark announced that the Government had scrapped plans for a proposed third medical school in the Waikato region on the grounds that the project would have cost billions to set up and operate. ^{[50] [51]} On 19 November, he also announced that the Government would establish a NZ$20 million new health centre in the South Island town of Westport. ^[52]

In May 2019, he removed the Waikato District Health Board from office, replacing them with Dr Karen Poutasi as commissioner. ^[53] Elections to the board scheduled for October 2019 were cancelled. ^[54]

COVID-19 pandemic

As Minister of Health, Clark took a leadership role in the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. In early April 2020, Clark drew media attention and public criticism when he drove to a Dunedin park two kilometres away from his home to ride a mountain bike trail despite the Government's COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Clark later apologised to prime minister Jacinda Ardern for ignoring official guidelines advising against non-essential travel. ^{[55] [56] [57] [58]} During the first week of the country's national lock-down he also drove his family twenty kilometres to a beach for a walk. Ardern subsequently announced that Clark offered his resignation, but due to his role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she did not accept it, instead depriving him of his ministerial role as Associate Finance Minister and demoting him to the bottom of Labour's Cabinet ranking. ^[59]

In late June 2020, Clark attracted media attention and criticism following a press conference at which he stated, "The director-general [ Ashley Bloomfield ] has accepted that protocols weren't being followed, he has accepted responsibility for that and has set about putting it right". ^[60] His remark was interpreted by some journalists as blaming Bloomfield for the Ministry of Health's mismanagement of quarantine following a recent outbreak stemming from overseas travel. ^{[60] [61]} The Spinoff 's editor Toby Manhire opined that Clark's "humility bypass" created problems for Ardern's government. ^[62] Left-wing commentator Chris Trotter described Clark's handling of the situation as "shameful" and called on Ardern to dismiss him from his position. Right-wing commentator Trish Anderson criticised Clark for not "'pulling his weight' in the government" and criticised Ardern's perceived inaction against him as a "failure of leadership." ^[63] Clark's Wikipedia article was also vandalised with remarks attacking his handling of the press conference with Bloomfield. ^{[64] [65]}

In early July 2020, Clark announced that he was resigning as Minister of Health, stating that "I've always taken a view that the team must come first ... so I've made the call that it's best for me to step aside." Ardern accepted his resignation, stating that she "accepted Clark's conclusion that his presence in the role was creating an unhelpful distraction from the Government's ongoing response to Covid-19 and wider health reforms." ^{[4] [66]}

On 2 July 2020, Clark was granted retention of the title The Honourable , in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council. ^[67]

Final term

On 2 November 2020, Prime Minister Ardern announced that Clark would be returning to Cabinet but would not be holding his former Health portfolio. Instead, he would pick up the Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Statistics, Digital Economy and Communications and State Owned Enterprises portfolios, as well as becoming Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission. ^[34] During the 2020–2023 term, Clark sponsored the Grocery Industry Competition Bill, which seeks to address excessive supermarket profits and encourage more competition within that sector. He also took an interest in the Commerce Commission's research into the supermarket, construction supplies, and banking sectors. ^{[68] [69]}

On 13 December 2022, Clark announced his intention to retire from politics at the 2023 general election. ^{[68] [69]} On 31 January 2023, prime minister Chris Hipkins announced a Cabinet re-shuffle of ministerial portfolios, and Clark's portfolios were transferred to other ministers. ^[70] He was briefly deputy chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee from April until September 2023. ^[71]

Political views

Clark said he regarded himself, within church circles, as a liberal. ^[6] He voted in support of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill in 2013 and the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2020. ^{[72] [73]} He opposed the End of Life Choice Bill in 2019. ^[74] He supports more liberalisation of drug laws, saying: "prohibition doesn't work." ^[75]

Later career

Clark was appointed registrar of the University of Otago in 2023. ^[76]

References

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9. Clark, David (2004). Our interests and Christ: the Christian existentialism of Helmut Rex (Doctoral thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago. hdl:10523/9429.
10. "Annual Report 2012" (PDF). Otago Community Trust. 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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20. "6300 caught in IRD privacy breaches". The New Zealand Herald . 29 October 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
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27. Shuttleworth, Kate (17 April 2013). "Mondayising bill passes its final hurdle". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
28. "Education (Public Good not Profit from Charter Schools) (Member's Bill – David Clark): Bills Digest No 2493". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
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33. "Delegations to Associate Ministers". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC). 20 March 2024. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
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36. "GP fee cut: Govt needs to 'prioritise promises' – Minister". Radio New Zealand. 30 April 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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38. McNeilly, Hamish (4 May 2018). "Popular tourist attraction Cadbury World closing to make way for $1.4 billion Dunedin Hospital". Stuff . Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
39. "Dunedin Hospital announcement: What you need to know". Otago Daily Times . 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
40. Lynch, Jenna (14 June 2018). "David Clark accused of silencing DHB staff over Middlemore". Newshub. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
41. Moir, Jo (24 April 2018). "Middlemore Hospital: What really went down between health minister and Counties Manukau DHB?". Stuff . Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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43. Small, Zane (19 June 2018). "The Govt has 'put everything on the table' for nurses' pay – Health Minister David Clark". Newshub. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
44. Bennett, Lucy (13 July 2018). "Health Minister David Clark defends holiday in lead-up to nurses' strike". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
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52. Walls, Jason (19 November 2018). "Health Minister David Clark has committed $20 million for a new health centre in Westport". The New Zealand Herald . Archived from the original on 6 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
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56. Manch, Thomas; Cooke, Henry (2 April 2020). "Health Minister drives to local park to ride his mountain bike, amid coronavirus lockdown". Stuff . Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
57. "Coronavirus Covid 19: David Clark apologises to PM for flouting his own Government's lockdown advice". The New Zealand Herald . 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
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62. Manhire, Toby (25 June 2020). "David Clark is not responsible". The Spinoff . Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
63. Ensor, Jamie (25 June 2020). "Health Minister David Clark's behaviour 'shameful', Jacinda Ardern needs to act – commentators". Newshub . Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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65. "David Clark's Wikipedia changed". Newshub . 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020.
66. Coughlan, Thomas (2 July 2020). "David Clark resigns as Health Minister, will contest general election". Stuff . Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
67. "Retention of the title "The Honourable"". New Zealand Gazette . 2 July 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
68. "The day of retiring Labour MPs: Poto Williams, Aupito William Sio, David Clark among six Labour MPs retiring from Parliament". The New Zealand Herald . 13 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
69. Lee, Irra (13 December 2022). "Six Labour MPs including David Clark to retire at election". 1News . TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
70. "Prime Minister Chris Hipkins reveals Cabinet reshuffle". Radio New Zealand . 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
71. "Clark, David – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
72. "Gay marriage: How MPs voted". The New Zealand Herald . 17 April 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
73. Cheng, Derek (19 March 2020). "How MPs voted on abortion law reform". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 2 May 2024.
74. "Euthanasia bill final reading: How your MP voted". The New Zealand Herald . 13 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
75. Bennett, Lucy (31 July 2018). "Prohibition doesn't work, says health minister". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 2 May 2024.
76. "David Clark takes Otago University role". Otago Daily Times . 5 May 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.

External links

• Official website Archived 25 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• Profile on New Zealand Labour Party website
• Profile on New Zealand Parliament website

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Pete Hodgson	Member of Parliament for Dunedin North 2011–2020	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Dunedin 2020–2023	Succeeded by Rachel Brooking
Political offices
Preceded by Jonathan Coleman	Minister of Health 2017–2020	Succeeded by Chris Hipkins
Preceded by Kris Faafoi	Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs 2020–2023	Succeeded by Duncan Webb
Preceded by Winston Peters	Minister for State Owned Enterprises 2020–2023
Preceded by Grant Robertson	Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission 2020–2023	Succeeded by Deborah Russell
Preceded by James Shaw	Minister of Statistics 2020–2023
New office	Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications 2020–2023	Succeeded by Ginny Andersen