Hilary Calvert

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Hilary Calvert
Hilary Calvert.jpg
Hilary Calvert campaigning in 2008
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for ACT party list
In office
24 September 2010 – 26 November 2011
SpouseAlistair Broad
Children3
Residence Dunedin
Profession Lawyer

Hilary Jane Calvert [1] (born 5 October 1954) is a lawyer and a former member of the New Zealand parliament for the ACT Party. Following the resignation of ACT MP David Garrett in September 2010, she assumed a position in the House of Representatives as the next MP on ACT's list. [2] In 2013 she was elected to the Dunedin City Council, after a failed campaign for mayor. [3] Calvert also served on the Otago Regional Council (ORC) between 2019 and 2022. [4] In 2025, Calvert was re-elected to the ORC as part of the Vision Otago ticket. [5] She subsequently became the Council's chairperson. [6]

Contents

Early years

Before entering Parliament, Calvert was a Dunedin-based lawyer who specialising in property law. [7] She is a former member of the Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust. [8]

Calvert is married to Alistair Broad and has three adult daughters. [9] Both Calvert and Broad are trained lawyers, but have given up their practising certificates. Calvert now manages her property portfolio. [9]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2010–2011 49th List 6 ACT

In the 2008 general election, she was placed number six on the ACT party list and stood in the Dunedin North electorate where she got 1.8% of the votes. [10]

Parliamentary career, 2010–2011

David Garrett resigned as an ACT list MP over a passport controversy on 17 September 2010. [11] Garrett then resigned from Parliament on 23 September 2010 and Calvert was declared elected to the House of Representatives the next day. [2] [12] While an MP, she served on several committees and was the ACT Party Whip. [13]

Calvert did not appear on the party list released for the 2011 general election.

Dunedin City Council, 2013–2016

She challenged incumbent Dave Cull for the Dunedin mayoralty in the 2013 local body elections and also sought a seat on the Dunedin City Council. [14] She contested these elections as an independent, unsure whether or not she was still a member of ACT. [15] While Calvert had no previous local government experience, she finished second to Cull in the mayoral election and was elected to Council with the highest number of first-preference votes. [15] [16]

Otago Regional Council, 2019–2022, 2025–present

In the 2019 local elections, she won a seat on the Otago Regional Council (ORC). [17] While Calvert did not run for re-election to the Otago Regional Council during the 2022 regional election, [4] she contested the 2025 regional election as part of the fiscally conservative Vision Otago ticket. [18] [19] In mid-October 2025, Calvert and incumbent councillors Michael Laws and Gary Kelliher were elected to the ORC on the Vision Otago ticket. [5]

On 29 October 2025, Calvert was unanimously elected as chair of the Otago Regional Council. [6] As chair of the ORC, Calvert implemented a new portfolio-based governance structure and assumed the strategy and customer portfolio alongside Laws. [20] Calvert also voted in favour of including local Māori mana whenua in the ORC's decision-making process. [20]

On 27 November 2025, Calvert advanced a resolution that the ORC commit to a draft annual work plan and budget with a zero increase in rates. The resolution passed by a margin of 10-1 with Green Cr Alan Somerville casting the sole opposing vote. [21] In response to the Sixth National Government's announcement in late November 2025 that it would pass legislation to dissolve the regional councils and transfer their functions to district and municipal councils, Calvert supported the proposed restructure but expressed concern that Port Otago and its assets could be used to pay off other councils' debts. [22]

Personal policies

Calvert does not agree with attempts to ban farming chickens in cages, saying "We care about people ahead of silly little chickens." [23]

Notes

  1. ↑ Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Garrett resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Calvert.

References

  1. ↑ Cheng, Derek (24 September 2010). "Dark forces at work in Act Party, says Garrett". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 24 September 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Disgraced NZ MP quits politics". The Sydney Morning Herald . 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Morris, Chris (14 October 2013). "Cull sees challenge ahead". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 MacLean, Hamish (13 August 2022). "Calvert surprise omission from council candidate list". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Final results released for ORC election". Otago Daily Times . 18 October 2025. Archived from the original on 7 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 Hepburn, Steve (29 October 2025). "Calvert elected chair of ORC" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  7. ↑ "Hilary Calvert". Politics.org.nz. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  8. ↑ "The Otago Central Rail Trail Charitable Trust". Otago Central Rail Trail. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  9. 1 2 Mackenzie, Dene (23 September 2010). "Dunedin MPs: Calvert expected to make it six". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  10. ↑ "Heather Roy's Diary". Scoop. 23 August 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  11. ↑ "David Garrett resigns after passport revelations". ONE News. Television New Zealand. 17 September 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  12. ↑ New list MP for ACT Party Archived 25 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine elections.org.nz, 24 September 2010
  13. ↑ "Hilary Calvert". New Zealand Parliament. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Morris, Chris (19 July 2013). "Calvert confirms bid for mayoralty". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 31 August 2013.
  15. 1 2 Morris, Chris (14 September 2013). "Mayoral Profile: Hilary Calvert". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  16. ↑ "Dunedin City Council : 2013 Triennial Elections" (PDF). Dunedin City Council . Retrieved 14 October 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  17. ↑ "Dunedin City Council : 2019 Election results - Otago Regional Council". Dunedin City Council . Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  18. ↑ Wilson, Aimee (2 August 2025). "Countdown on for Elections 2025". The Central App. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "ORC candidates join forces under 'Vision Otago' banner". Otago Daily Times . 18 August 2025. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  20. 1 2 Shaw, Ruby (6 November 2025). "Portfolio structure will work better: Calvert" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  21. ↑ Shaw, Ruby (27 November 2025). "ORC targets nil rates increase" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  22. ↑ Hepburn, Steve (28 November 2025). "ORC's port assets could be 'stolen away'" . Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "SAFE outraged at Act MP's 'silly little chicken's' comments". Television New Zealand. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
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