Kevin Hague

Last updated

New Zealand Parliament
Kevin Hague
Kevin Hague.jpg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Green Party List
In office
2008–2016
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2008 2011 49th List7 Green
2011 2014 50th List 3 Green
2014 2016 51st List3 Green

Hague was selected as the Green Party candidate for the West Coast-Tasman electorate ahead of the 2008 general election. Dominion-Post journalist Vernon Small described him as one of the Greens' "impressive new candidates." [16] Hague's candidacy followed several years of political activity with the Greens and unsuccessful attempts from both Labour and National to recruit him to stand for their parties. [17] He finished third in the electorate contest but was elected to Parliament as a list MP for the Green Party, ranked 7 on the party list. [18] He re-contested West Coast-Tasman in the 2011 and 2014 elections and was returned to Parliament as a list MP each time, being placed third on the Green Party list.

During his eight years in Parliament, Hague was the Green Party's health spokesperson and sat on the health committee. He also held responsibility for biosecurity, conservation, rural affairs, rainbow issues, and sport. [19] He successfully campaigned against Meridian Energy's plans to dam the Mōkihinui River between 2009 and 2012, and advocated for reform of the Accident Compensation Corporation in 2012. [3]

Hague had not supported the introduction of civil unions in 2004 because he did not think they provided equality for gay couples with heterosexual couples. [17] He promoted gay rights in Parliament, speaking in favour of the revocation of the gay panic defence in 2009 [20] and drafting legislation to legalise same-sex marriage and to improve adoption law, including for gay adoptions, in 2012. [21] [22] He organised political support for Louisa Wall's Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, which legalised same-sex marriage in New Zealand in 2013. [23] Hague said once the bill had passed its third reading, in April 2013, there would be a number of "incredibly emotional" weddings between gay couples. [24] Later, he said he had accepted he "was wrong" about civil unions, believing that marriage equality would not have been possible without civil unions as a stepping stone. [17]

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman indicated he would vacate that role in 2015. Hague contested the resulting leadership contest against first-term MP James Shaw. He was seen by commentators as the "safe choice" as the most experienced candidate with the strongest record in Parliament, but lost to Shaw in a 69–56 vote on 30 May 2015. [25] [26] Hague would later say that losing was "a blow." [27] He announced on 5 September 2016 that he would resign from Parliament to become the chief executive of Forest & Bird. [27] He was replaced by Barry Coates. [28] [29]

Later career

Hague was chief executive of the conservation group Forest & Bird for six years from 2016 to 2022. He was succeeded by Nicola Toki. [30] [31]

Hague holds several health sector appointments made by the Sixth Labour Government, which came to power the year after he left Parliament. In 2019, he was appointed a member of the interim board of Te Hiringa Mahara, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and later became its deputy chair. [32] [33] In 2022, following an appointment as chair of the West Coast Primary Health Organisation, he was appointed to chair the Takiwā Poutini Partnership. [34] He was reappointed to the chair of the Public Health Advisory Committee in November 2022 for a three-year term. [35]

In July 2022 he became a volunteer Civil Defence and Emergency Management controller for the West Coast. [36]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, commonly known as Green or the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four pillars. The party's ideology combines environmentalism with left-wing and social democratic economic policies, including well-funded and locally controlled public services within the confines of a steady-state economy. Internationally, it is affiliated with the Global Greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Barnett (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Timothy Andrew Barnett is a New Zealand politician who was the member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Christchurch Central from 1996 to 2008, representing the Labour Party. He is a British immigrant to New Zealand and New Zealand's second openly gay politician. Barnett moved to South Africa in 2009 to work in the field of HIV/AIDS. He returned to New Zealand in 2012 when he was appointed by the Labour Party as their general secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sio</span> New Zealand politician

Aupito Tofae Su'a William Sio is a politician who became a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives on 1 April 2008 for the Labour Party as a list MP. From the November 2008 election to 2023, he represented the Māngere electorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russel Norman</span> New Zealand politician

Russel William Norman is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. He was a Member of Parliament and co-leader of the Green Party. Norman resigned as an MP in October 2015 to work as Executive Director of Greenpeace Aotearoa New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Chauvel (politician)</span> New Zealand politician and lawyer

Charles Pierre Chauvel is a New Zealand lawyer and former New Zealand politician who was a Labour list Member of Parliament (2006–2013) until his resignation to take up a position with the UN Development Programme. He was the first New Zealand MP of Tahitian ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in New Zealand</span>

New Zealand lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceania, and among the most liberal in the world, with the country being the first in the region to legalise same-sex marriage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Clendon</span> New Zealand politician

David James Clendon is a New Zealand former politician. He was a list Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2009 until 2017. He later served one term on the Far North District Council from 2019 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugenie Sage</span> New Zealand politician (born 1958)

Eugenie Meryl Sage is a New Zealand environmentalist and former politician. She was a Green Party Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Hughes (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Gareth Thomas Llewelyn Hughes is a New Zealand activist and a former politician of the Green Party. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament for eleven years, from 2010 to 2020. He first took a seat part way through the 49th Parliament as the next person on the Green party list following the retirement of Jeanette Fitzsimons in February 2010. He did not stand for re-election in the 2020 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jan Logie</span> New Zealand politician (born 1969)

Heather Janet Logie is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. She is a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Anne Genter</span> American-born New Zealand politician

Julie Anne Genter is an American-born New Zealand politician who is a member of the House of Representatives representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Genter was elected to each Parliament from 2011 to 2023 on the party lists, before being elected as the Member of Parliament for the Rongotai electorate in the 2023 election. She served as the Minister for Women, Associate Minister for Health and Associate Minister for Transport during the first term of the Sixth Labour Government. She holds dual citizenship of New Zealand and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Foster-Bell</span> New Zealand politician (born 1977)

Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell is a former New Zealand diplomat, a politician and was a list member of the House of Representatives between May 2013 and 2017 for the National Party. While he failed to win the party's nomination for the Whangarei electorate in March 2014, he remained in Parliament as a list MP for the following term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Shaw (New Zealand politician)</span> New Zealand politician (born 1973)

James Peter Edward Shaw is a New Zealand climate activist, businessman and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 2014 to 2024 and a co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 2015 to 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Coates</span> New Zealand politician

Robert Barry Hobson Coates is a New Zealand politician who was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 2019 he has been chief executive of the ethical investment charity Mindful Money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efeso Collins</span> New Zealand politician (1974–2024)

FaʻanānāEfeso Collins was a New Zealand politician, activist, and academic. A former long-serving member of the New Zealand Labour Party, local body politician, and advocate for the Pasifika community of Auckland, he was a Member of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from October 2023 until his sudden death in February 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand male co-leadership election</span>

The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand male co-leadership election, 2015 was held to determine the future leadership of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. The election was won on the first ballot by first term List MP James Shaw.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlöe Swarbrick</span> New Zealand politician

Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, standing in the 2017 New Zealand general election and was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23. In the 2020 election, Swarbrick was elected as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, becoming the second Green Party MP ever to win an electorate seat, and the first without a tacit endorsement from a major party leader. She retained Auckland Central in the 2023 election. In March 2024, she was elected co-leader of the Green Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Kerekere</span> New Zealand academic and politician

Elizabeth Anne Kerekere is a New Zealand politician and LGBTQ activist and scholar. She was elected a member of parliament for the Green Party in 2020, but resigned from the Greens on 5 May 2023, following allegations of bullying within the party. Kerekere remained in parliament as an independent until the 2023 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricardo Menéndez March</span> New Zealand Green Party politician

Ricardo Menéndez March is a New Zealand activist and politician who, since 2020, is a Member of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand in the House of Representatives.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Reid, Neil (27 March 2011). "Arresting times". Sunday Star Times. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Kevin Grant Hague in the New Zealand, naturalisations, 1843–1981" . Ancestry.com Operations. 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Davison, Isaac (29 June 2012). "Dogged haul to the spotlight for Green MP". NZ Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  4. "Charles HAGUE Obituary (1932". Legacy.com. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  5. "Scoop's Meet The New MPs Project: Kevin Hague". Scoop News. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  6. "Debate: What the MPs said". NZ Herald. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 "GayNZ.com Green Party candidate Kevin Hague". www.gaynz.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  8. Firth, Minka (10 September 2009). "Roosevelt's ideas for modern times". Gulf News. pp. 18–19.
  9. Stewart 1996.
  10. Maling, Nick (12 November 1999). "Govt aims to save lives, money with HIV ban". The Dominion . p. 7.
  11. Espiner, Guyon (13 April 1999). "Delamere seeks to bar HIV migrants, considers tourists". The Evening Post . p. 1.
  12. "Migrants no longer automatically excluded due to HIV status". 1News. 29 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  13. 1 2 "New appointments to key quality committee | Beehive.govt.nz". www.beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  14. "New manager". The Press . 2 July 2003. p. A4.
  15. Madgwick, Paul (2 August 2005). "Coast DHB has new head". The Press . p. A4.
  16. Small, Vernon (2 June 2008). "Greens' fears of old enemy colour views of red versus blue". The Dominion Post . p. B4.
  17. 1 2 3 "Kevin Hague profile [AI Text] » PrideNZ.com". Home » PrideNZ.com. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  18. "Election Results – West Coast-Tasman". New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Chief Electoral Office. November 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  19. "Hague, Kevin – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  20. "Hague, Kevin: Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  21. "Gay marriage bill has double chance for selection". NZ Herald. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  22. Trevett, Claire (14 October 2012). "MP seeks big adoption changes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  23. "Gay marriage bill passes first step". The New Zealand Herald . 30 August 2012.
  24. "Marriage equality will be 'emotional'". 3 News NZ. 15 April 2013.
  25. "James Shaw elected new Green Party male Co-leader". Scoop.co.nz . 30 May 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  26. Davidson, Isaac (28 May 2015). "Greens' co-leadership race: Sensible or flash – the Green choice". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Green MP Kevin Hague resigns from Parliament". RNZ. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  28. "Green MP quits". 5 September 2016.
  29. "Kevin Hague quits Greens for Forest and Bird". 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016 via New Zealand Herald.
  30. "Appointment announced to replace Hague". Otago Daily Times Online News. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  31. "Forest & Bird Welcomes Nicola Toki As New Chief Executive". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  32. "Governance". Te Hiringa Mahara—Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  33. "Forest & Bird boss among five appointed to mental health commission". Newshub. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  34. "'Postcode lottery' approach to health to be tackled in pilot scheme". Stuff. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  35. "Committee members". Ministry of Health NZ. 26 January 2024. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  36. "Council chairman objects to former Forest and Bird chief taking on Civil Defence role". Stuff. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.