Doug Graham

Last updated

New Zealand Parliament
The Right Honourable
Sir Douglas Graham
KNZM
29th Attorney-General
In office
5 December 1997 –10 December 1999
YearsTermElectorateListParty
1984 –1987 41st Remuera National
1987 –1990 42nd Remuera National
1990 –1993 43rd Remuera National
1993 –1996 44th Remuera National
1996 –1999 45th List 6 National

In the lead up to the 1981 election Graham unsuccessfully challenged Allan Highet for the National nomination for the suburban Auckland electorate of Remuera. [5] Three years later Highet retired and Graham was elected to Parliament in the 1984 election as his replacement. [1] After entering parliament National leader Sir Robert Muldoon designated Graham spokesperson for the Arts, Insurance and EQC. [6] When Muldoon was replaced by his deputy Jim McLay Graham was appointed Shadow Minister for Disarmament and was later allocated the Revenue portfolio as well. [7] He initially retained those roles after McLay was ousted by Jim Bolger, but substituted the Revenue portfolio for Broadcasting in September 1987 but in a major reshuffle in February 1990 he changed back from Broadcasting to Revenue and was also appointed Shadow Minister for Constitutional Issues. [8]

Cabinet minister

When the National Party won the 1990 election, Graham was appointed to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Justice, Minister of Disarmament and Arms Control, and Minister of Cultural Affairs. In 1993, he became Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, perhaps his most prominent role. He was widely praised by both Pākehā and Māori for his work on numerous Treaty settlements, although opponents of the process have voiced criticisms of his policies. Later, Graham also became Attorney-General and Minister for Courts. In the 1996 election, when the Remuera seat was abolished, Graham became a list MP. He was ranked sixth on National's party list, a relatively high placing.

On 21 May 1998 Graham was appointed to the Privy Council and became the Right Honourable Douglas Graham. [9]

Life after politics

He retired from politics at the 1999 election. In the 1999 New Year Honours, Graham was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services as a Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament. [10]

On 24 February 2012 he was convicted, along with fellow former Justice Minister Bill Jeffries and two other men, of breaching the Securities Act by making untrue statements to investors in his capacity as a director of Lombard Finance. [11] Justice Robert Dobson wrote, "I am satisfied that the accused genuinely believed in the accuracy and adequacy of the ... documents", but that the offences were ones of strict liability so there was no need for "any form of mental intent to distribute documents that were false or misleading". [12] Graham was sentenced to 300 hours' community service and ordered to pay $100,000 in reparation. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction and increased his sentence to six months' home detention and 200 hours' community work, [13] but the Supreme Court restored the original sentence. [14] Retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Edmund Thomas described the convictions as a "grievous miscarriage of justice", saying of the crucial piece of evidence that "you would never ever convict a dog on the basis of the schedule". [15] There have been calls for his knighthood to be revoked, [16] but Prime Minister John Key announced on 1 November 2013 that Graham would keep his knighthood. [17]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Gustafson 1986, p. 316.
  2. ↑ Small, Vernon (13 May 2008). "Ex-Nat's brother No 9 for Greens". The Dominion Post . Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  3. ↑ "New Zealand Election Results". Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
  4. ↑ John Drinnan (20 August 2014). "PR body to decide on Dirty Politics ethics". The New Zealand Herald.
  5. ↑ "Race on for Remuera Selection". The New Zealand Herald . 9 August 1980.
  6. ↑ "Line-up For Opposition". The New Zealand Herald . 28 July 1984. p. 5.
  7. ↑ Garnier, Tony (11 February 1986). "Muldoon main loser in Nat line-up". The Evening Post . p. 3.
  8. ↑ "National Party's new parliamentary line-up". The New Zealand Herald . 12 February 1990. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "Appointments to the Privy Council" (28 May 1998) 74 New Zealand Gazette 1613 at 1644.
  10. ↑ "New Year honours list 1999". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1998. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Former Cabinet ministers guilty of making false statements". Stuff.co.nz . 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Gaynor, Brian (10 March 2012). "Rulings have raised the bar for directors". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  13. ↑ "Court increases Lombard sentences". Stuff.co.nz. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Mayer, Kurt (7 May 2014). "Lombard directors' home detention too harsh - Supreme Court". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Lombard conviction 'miscarriage of justice'". Stuff.co.nz. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Lombard fallout: Graham urged to give up Sir". Business Day. 30 March 2012.
  17. ↑ Small, Vernon (1 November 2013). "Sir Douglas Graham to keep knighthood". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved 1 November 2013.

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References

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Remuera
1984–1996		Electorate abolished
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Justice
1990–1999		Succeeded by
New title Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
1993–1999		Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney-General
1997–1999
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