Richard Northey

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New Zealand Parliament
Richard Northey
ONZM
Richard Northey (crop).jpg
Northey in 1999
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Onehunga
In office
6 November 1993 –12 October 1996
YearsTermElectorateParty
1984 –1987 41st Eden Labour
1987 –1990 42nd Eden Labour
1993 –1996 44th Onehunga Labour

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 election as MP for Eden, replacing National's Aussie Malcolm. [6] He was re-elected in the 1987 election, but was defeated in the National Party's landslide victory in the 1990 election. During this time he was chair of the Auckland Labour MPs Lobby. [3] In 1986 Northey led the New Zealand government's youth delegation to China, attended the inter-parliamentary union conference in Bangkok in 1987 and was a delegate at the first parliamentary conference on the global environment in Washington in 1990. [3] In September 1990 he stood for the Labour Party leadership against Foreign Affairs Minister Mike Moore. His candidature was a surprise to most given that he was not a member of cabinet. He was defeated by Moore by the wide margin of 41 votes to 15. [7]

After losing his seat in 1990, he attempted to regain a seat on the Auckland City Council. He stood as a candidate in a 1991 by-election for the Maungakiekie Ward, finishing runner-up to Ken Graham. [8]

In the 1993 election he returned to Parliament, now representing Onehunga which he took off National's Grahame Thorne. He was selected as the Labour candidate in Onehunga in preference to Chris Diack, a supporter of controversial former finance minister Roger Douglas. After missing out on the nomination Diack and his allies in the branch drained the electorate cash accounts by lump paying more than $6000 in outstanding debts to party headquarters, leaving just $7 to fund Northey's campaign in an act of spite. They then took ownership of an income-earning rental house from the Onehunga Labour Party and used it to instead fund the ACT Party (to whom Diack defected to in 1994) before finally being returned to the Labour Party after a long legal case in 2004. [9]

After re-entering Parliament Northey was aligned to Helen Clark who replaced Moore as leader. Clark appointed him Labour's Shadow Minister of Local Government and Youth Affairs. [10] In a 1995 reshuffle he was also given the disarmament and arms control portfolio. [11] In the 1996 election he contested the Maungakiekie seat after boundary changes caused by the introduction of mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation, but was defeated in an upset by National's Belinda Vernon. He was not ranked high enough on Labour's list to remain in Parliament.

In June 2020 it was revealed that the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service had spied upon Northey during his time in Parliament, under the pretext of his support for racial equality and nuclear disarmament. [12] At the time he was chair of the Justice and Law Reform Select Committee, which was responsible for financial oversight of the SIS, and of legislation altering its powers.

Return to local politics

Auckland Council
YearsWardAffiliation
2010 –2013 Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Labour

He has since entered local politics, serving on the Auckland City Council holding senior committee roles. He was elected to the Penrose Ward in 1998 until 2001 when he changed to the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Ward, holding his seat until the council was abolished in 2010. [13] In 2007, Richard Northey became leader of the City Vision-Labour bloc on council. [14]

Northey became a member of Labour's national council for six years and was chairman of the party's policy committee. In 2000 he stood unsuccessfully to replace Bob Harvey as President of the Labour Party, but was defeated by Mike Williams. [15]

He was elected to the new Auckland Council in 2010, representing the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward. [16] In 2013 he contested the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward again but was defeated by Denise Krum.

At the 2016 Auckland elections, Northey was elected as a member of the Waitematā Local Board for the City Vision ticket. [17] He was re-elected in the 2019 Auckland local elections, and was subsequently elected Chair of the Local Board.

Personal life

Richard Northey on Auckland Pride Parade 2016 holding a sign reading 'I voted for Homosexual Law Reform in 1986' Auckland pride parade 2016 51.jpg
Richard Northey on Auckland Pride Parade 2016 holding a sign reading 'I voted for Homosexual Law Reform in 1986'

He was a lecturer in political studies and planning at the University of Auckland. [18] In the 2002 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for public services. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Who's Who 1993, p. 61.
  2. ↑ Who's Who 1993, p. 61-62.
  3. 1 2 3 Who's Who 1993, p. 62.
  4. ↑ "Declaration of Result of Election". The New Zealand Herald . 12 February 1979. p. 17.
  5. ↑ Bush 1991, p. 434.
  6. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 221.
  7. ↑ Bassett 2008, p. 536.
  8. ↑ Bassett 2013, p. 382.
  9. ↑ "Saga of Onehunga Labour Party house ends with whimper". The New Zealand Herald . 13 December 2004. p. A2.
  10. ↑ "The Labour Shadow Cabinet". The Dominion . 14 December 1993. p. 2.
  11. ↑ Kilroy, Simon (28 February 1995). "Caygill takes over as Labour spokesman for foreign affairs". The Dominion . p. 2.
  12. ↑ "SIS spied on Labour MP Richard Northey". Radio NZ. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  13. ↑ Bassett 2013, p. 370.
  14. ↑ "Isolated Hucker vows to fight on". The New Zealand Herald . 27 June 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Ex-MP in bid for Labour president post". The New Zealand Herald . 4 August 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  16. ↑ "Super City elections 2013: Challenger out to unseat Northey – National – NZ Herald News". The New Zealand Herald . 1 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ↑ "Executive committee- the University of Auckland". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "New Year honours list 2002". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2019.

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References

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Eden
1984–1990		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Onehunga
1993–1996		Constituency abolished
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