Scott Willis (politician)

Last updated

Scott Willis
MP
Scott Willis (cropped).jpg
Willis in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Green party list
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2023
Personal details
Born1969or1970(age 54–55)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Political party Green
Willis' voice
recorded July 2024

Scott Matthew Willis [1] is a New Zealand energy analyst and politician, representing the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 New Zealand general election. [2]

Contents

Early life

Willis was born in Dunedin and grew up on a farm in Otago. [3] [2] He attended the University of Otago from the age of 17 in 1987, [4] and then worked on orchards and farms in the Cévennes region of France. [2] Willis later interned at the European Parliament. [2] He has worked as a consultant on energy resilience, and as an energy analyst. [5] [6] [7] As general manager of Blueskin Energy Ltd, Willis was involved in attempts to get wind turbines in Blueskin Bay, and in the building of New Zealand's first climate-safe house in 2020. [8] [9] He has been involved with a trust working on peer-to-peer energy sharing, and insulating houses. [5]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
YearsTermElectorateListParty
2023 –present 54th List12 Green

Willis contested the Taieri electorate in the 2020 election, when he came third to Labour MP Ingrid Leary and National Party candidate Liam Kernaghan, with 2207 votes. [10] [11]

Willis stood again for Taieri in the 2023 election. He was twelfth on the national list. [12] At the campaign launch in June, Willis said "We need a strong voice on the hospital build and our health services; for all whānau living in cold, damp mouldy homes; for our tertiary education – our University and Te Pukenga. We need a strong voice and forward thinking for South Dunedin and our rural and energy sectors, for decarbonising to deliver climate justice." [10]

During the 2023 election, Willis received 3,898 votes in Taeiri, coming third to incumbent Ingrid Leary and National Party candidate Matthew French. [13] Despite not winning Taieri, Willis entered Parliament on the Green Party list. [14] [7]

In late November, Willis assumed the Green Party's energy, regional development, rural communities and Dunedin Issues spokesperson portfolios. [15]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ Le Quesne, Karl (16 November 2023). "2023 General Election – Election of List Candidates". New Zealand Gazette . 2023-au5351. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Scott Willis | Taieri | List Rank #12".
  3. ↑ "Scott Willis – Greens candidate for Taieri".
  4. ↑ "Willis, Scott Maiden Statements". New Zealand Parliament. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024. I went to university as a 17-year-old in 1987—so you can do the calculations there!
  5. 1 2 Mathias, Shanti (18 October 2023). "Who are the new Greens and Act MPs?". The Spinoff . Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Coughlan, Thomas (17 January 2023). "Efeso Collins among list of likely Green candidates for 2023 election". New Zealand Herald .
  7. 1 2 Houlahan, Mike (16 October 2023). "'Exhausted but excited' Willis in as list MP for Greens". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Munro, Bruce (15 October 2012). "Green power out of the blue". Otago Daily Times .
  9. ↑ MacLean, Hamish (4 November 2020). "Climate Safe House being put to market". Otago Daily Times .
  10. 1 2 "Push for 'strong Green vote' in south at campaign launch". Radio New Zealand . 24 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Taieri – Official Result". Electoral Commission.
  12. ↑ "Green Party candidate list includes nine Māori". Te Ao News. 20 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Taieri - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "2023 General Election: Successful candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Greens unveil portfolio spokespeople". 1News . 29 November 2023. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.