Dr Don Brash
Leader of ACT New Zealand
In office 28 April 2011 – 26 November 2011
Preceded by	Rodney Hide
Succeeded by	John Banks
30th Leader of the Opposition
In office 28 October 2003 – 27 November 2006
Deputy	Nick Smith Gerry Brownlee
Preceded by	Bill English
Succeeded by	John Key
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for National Party list
In office 2002–2007
Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
In office 1988 – 26 April 2002
Succeeded by	Alan Bollard
Personal details
Born	(1940-09-24) 24 September 1940 (age 71) Whanganui, New Zealand
Political party	ACT (2011–)
Other political affiliations	National (1980–2011)
Spouse(s)	Erica Brash (1964–1985) Je Lan Lee (1985–2007)
Children	three
Profession	Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Religion	Anglican

Donald "Don" Thomas Brash (born 24 September 1940), a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party (the country's main Opposition party at that time) from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28 April 2011 - 26 November 2011. Before entering politics, Brash was Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand for 14 years.

At the New Zealand general election on 17 September 2005, National under Brash's leadership made major gains, and achieved what was at the time the party's best result since the institution of the mixed member proportional electoral system in 1993, compared to their worst result ever in 2002 under the leadership of his predecessor, Bill English. Final results placed National two seats behind the incumbent New Zealand Labour Party, with National unable to secure a majority from the minor parties to form a governing coalition.

In late November 2006 Brash resigned as leader of the National Party, and then from Parliament in February 2007. In October 2008 Don Brash was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of Banking in the Business School at the Auckland University of Technology,^[1] and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Economics and Finance at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.

On 30 April 2011 Don Brash became the leader of ACT New Zealand after his bid for its leadership was accepted and he was confirmed as leader by the ACT caucus and board.^[2] He resigned later that year on 26 November 2011, as his party gained insufficient votes to have another seat for him in the The New Zealand Parliament.

Childhood, education and marriage[link]

Don Brash was born to Alan Brash, a Presbyterian minister and son of prominent lay leader Thomas Brash, and Eljean Brash (née Hill), in Whanganui on 24 September 1940.

His family moved to Christchurch when he was six. He attended Cashmere Primary School and Christchurch Boys' High School before going to the University of Canterbury where he graduated in economics, history and political science. He continued his studies in economics, receiving his master's degree in 1961 for a thesis arguing that foreign investment damaged a country's economic development. The following year he began working towards a PhD (again in economics, at the Australian National University), which reached the opposite conclusion.^[3] In 1964 Brash married his first wife, Erica, with whom he had two children. In the 1980s he and his Singaporean secretary, Je Lan Lee, entered into a relationship. Both were married at the time. He separated from his first wife in 1985 and four months after they were divorced he married Lee.^[4][5] In 2007, his second marriage also broke up, following an affair with Diane Foreman, then Deputy Chair of the Business Round Table.^[6] Brash and Lee had one child together.^[7]

Early career[link]

Brash went to Washington in the United States in 1966 to work as an economist for the World Bank. However, he returned to New Zealand in 1971 to become general manager of Broadbank Corporation, a merchant bank.

Brash's first entry into politics came in 1980 when the National Party selected him to stand as its candidate in the by-election in the East Coast Bays electorate. Brash's attempt at the seat, however, failed – some believe that this resulted from the decision by Robert Muldoon, National Party Prime Minister, to raise tolls on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, an important route for East Coast Bays residents. The seat went to Gary Knapp of the Social Credit Party. Brash again failed to win the seat at the general election of 1981.

In 1982 Brash became managing director at the New Zealand Kiwifruit Authority, which oversaw the export of kiwifruit (he still^[update] grows kiwifruit as a hobby). In 1986 he became general manager of Trust Bank, a newly-established banking group.

Reserve Bank Governor[link]

In 1988 Brash became Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, a position which he held for the next 14 years. Brash consistently met Government-set targets to keep inflation within 3% during his time as Governor, and during his tenure interest-rates dropped from double-digit to single-digit percentages.

Aside from monetary policy, Brash presided over significant changes in banking supervision, with the New Zealand approach emphasising public disclosure by banks regarding the nature of their assets and liabilities. Under his Governorship, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand established a new model of the relationship between government and central bank – not totally independent, like the Bundesbank in Germany, and not dominated by government, as was typical of most central banks at the time, but one where government and central bank agreed in public about the inflation rate to be delivered by the central bank, where the central bank had full independence to run monetary policy to deliver that, and where the central bank's Governor was held accountable for the inflation outcome. It was the Reserve Bank Act 1989 which established this contractual relationship (based on price stability targets) between the Bank and the Government, rather than giving direct control to Ministers of Finance.

Changes took place in the currency used in New Zealand during Brash's tenure, notably the introduction of polymer banknotes, and the replacement of Queen Elizabeth's face on most of the banknotes. Many banknotes in circulation still^[update] carry the signature of Brash from his term as Governor.

There is a range of opinion on Brash's performance as Reserve Bank Governor. The New Zealand Association of Economists describe Brash's success in establishing an independent central bank with an inflation target and in reducing inflation as a highlight of his career.^[8] Documentary maker Alister Barry described Brash as "an extremist, an idealist" who's "ideal world is where the free market reigns supreme". Barry considered that Brash manipulated public opinion towards neo-liberal economics and gave as examples Brash's advocacy for abolishing the minimum wage and his Hayek Memorial Lecture to the Institute of Economic Affairs in London.^[9][10]

Member of Parliament[link]

On 26 April 2002, shortly before the 2002 general election, Brash resigned as Reserve Bank Governor to stand as a candidate for Parliament on the National Party list. The Party ranked him in fifth place on its party list – exceptional treatment for a newcomer from outside the House of Representatives. Most unusually among National candidates, he stood as a list candidate without running for an electorate seat. Though National had its worst performance ever, gaining only 21% of the party vote, Brash's high place on the party list assured him of a seat in Parliament.

Brash immediately joined National's front bench as its spokesman on finance. This placed him opposite the Labour Party's Michael Cullen, the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister. Commentators generally praised Brash for his knowledge of economics, but expressed criticism of his inexperience in terms of political leadership.

In October 2003, Brash publicly challenged Bill English for the position of Parliamentary Leader of the National Party. English had gradually lost support within the party, but Brash's victory in any leadership-contest against English seemed by no means guaranteed. Brash's decision to make his challenge public caused some criticism, with some party supporters perceiving that an open leadership dispute could damage the party's image. However, by breaking with the tradition of operating secretly, Brash calculated that people would see him as an honest "anti-politician" – a notion central to his personal brand.

Leader of the Opposition[link]

Brash won a caucus vote on 28 October 2003, making him leader of the National Party Caucus (and thus Leader of the Opposition) after one year as a Member of Parliament. He remained National's finance spokesman, appointing the equally new MP John Key as his deputy finance-spokesman, and eventually appointing Key the primary finance-spokesman after a Caucus reshuffle in August 2004.

Orewa speech[link]

On 27 January 2004 Brash delivered his first Orewa speech on "Nationhood" at the Orewa Rotary Club, north of Auckland, expressing opposition to perceived "Māori racial separatism" in New Zealand:

The topic I will focus on today is the dangerous drift towards racial separatism in New Zealand, and the development of the now entrenched Treaty grievance industry. We are one country with many peoples, not simply a society of Pākehā and Māori where the minority has a birthright to the upper hand, as the Labour Government seems to believe".[...]^[11]

Though the sentiments expressed in the Orewa speech differed little from established National Party views (as voiced previously by Bill English, for example), these comments resulted in National receiving an unprecedented boost in a public opinion poll. National gained 17 percentage points in the February 2004 Colmar Brunton poll for Television New Zealand, taken shortly after the speech. The surge in National support marked the biggest single gain by a political party in a single poll in Colmar Brunton's polling history. In the months that followed, changes of emphasis in Labour's policy agenda became apparent as Labour attempted to recoup the ground lost to National in the February poll.

Shortly after the delivery of the Orewa speech, Brash fired his Māori Affairs spokesperson Georgina Te Heuheu because she would not publicly support his speech.

After the February peak, National suffered a steady decline in public opinion polls, leaving it 11 points behind Labour at the end of 2004.

In 2004, following a political speech given by the Prime Minister Helen Clark inside the Christchurch Cathedral, Brash wrote to the Dean of the Cathedral, Peter Beck. In his letter he criticised Ms Clark's use of a church-venue for delivering a political speech, and he raised questions over her views on religion and on the institution of marriage. After Clark retaliated, Brash apologised for any offence that his comments had caused to her, and revealed that his Chief of Staff, Richard Long, had written the letter, not Brash himself.

On 25 January 2005 Brash made his third speech to the Orewa Rotary Club (his first had come in the final week of January 2003, while still National's finance spokesman). This time Brash focussed on "Welfare Dependency: Whatever Happened to Personal Responsibility?" Brash pledged to reduce the number of working-age beneficiaries from the current figure of 300,000 to 200,000 over ten years, and he dedicated a significant part of his speech to the Domestic Purposes Benefit. At the time approximately 109,000 single parents received the DPB, costing taxpayers about $1.5 billion a year. Brash noted that since the inception of the DPB in 1974, the population of New Zealand had increased by 30% while the numbers receiving the DPB had increased almost ninefold. Brash used the speech to highlight his views on both the fiscal and social costs of entrenched welfare-dependency:

How can we tolerate a welfare system which allows children to grow up in a household where the parents are permanently dependent on a welfare benefit? Our welfare system is contributing to the creation of a generation of children condemned to a lifetime of deprivation, with limited education, without life skills, and without the most precious inheritance from their parents, a sense of ambition or aspiration. Nothing can be more destructive of self esteem.

Brash proposed a number of ways to reduce welfare dependency and to refocus the DPB back to its original intent of giving aid to single-parent families in need or in danger. These proposals included enforcing child-support payments from absent fathers, requiring single parents to work or perform community services once their children reached school age, and introducing penalties for women seeking the DPB who refused to name the father of their child. He also acknowledged adoption as an acceptable option, particularly for teenage girls, and drew attention to the growth in numbers of single mothers giving birth to additional children while already receiving the single-parent DPB benefit.

Some elements of the speech put his Social Welfare spokesperson, Katherine Rich, at odds with Brash, and he fired her from the portfolio, promoting the MP for Clevedon, Judith Collins, in her place.

Five main priorities[link]

On 5 November 2003, shortly after becoming leader of the National Party, Brash released his five main policy priorities:

1. Dealing with declining New Zealand incomes and the gap in standards-of-living between New Zealand and Australia
2. Education, specifically the number of young adults leaving school with poor literacy and numeracy skills
3. Decreasing dependency on welfare
4. Security, including domestic law-and-order and external defence policy
5. Ending a perceived drift towards racial separatism in New Zealand, and the need to treat all New Zealanders equally before the law

Views on race-relations[link]

Maori identity[link]

After the Orewa speech of 2004, Brash's public statements on race relations received significant attention, both in the traditional media and online. During the 2005 election campaign, he criticised the use of powhiri in welcoming international visitors:

I mean, I think there is a place for Maori culture but why is it that we always use a semi-naked male, sometimes quite pale-skinned Maori, leaping around in, you know, mock battle?^[12]

In September 2006 Brash stated that:

There are clearly many New Zealanders who do see themselves as distinctly and distinctively Maori – but it is also clear there are few, if any, fully Maori left here. There has been a lot of intermarriage and that has been welcome.^[13]

These comments received a negative response from other political leaders, who portrayed focussing on blood quantum as divisive and as harking back to racist laws, and who suggested the appropriateness for Maori themselves to determine how to define themselves.^[14]

Brash questioned whether Māori remained a distinct indigenous group because few "full-blooded" individuals survive. This drew criticism from a range of his adversaries, including Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, who cancelled a dinner with him in protest. In a statement to explain his position on 30 September 2006, Brash said that the Government had no responsibility to address the over-representation of Māori in negative social statistics. "If Māori New Zealanders die more frequently from lung cancer than non-Māori do, for example, it is almost certainly because Māori New Zealanders choose to smoke more heavily than other New Zealanders do".^[15]

British heritage[link]

Brash stressed the significance of New Zealand's British heritage. When asked "who are the ideal immigrants?", Brash made the following statement;

British immigrants fit in here very well. My own ancestry is all British. New Zealand values are British values, derived from centuries of struggle since Magna Carta. Those things make New Zealand the society it is.^[16]

2005 general election[link]

In July 2005, Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that a General Election would take place on 17 September. At that time Brash and the National Party led by a slim margin in the opinion-polls. But by mid-August both Brash and National had declined in popularity. Commentators attributed this trend^{[citation needed]} to a series of announcements of new spending programs by Labour, and to confusion as to whether National could form a stable coalition government with New Zealand First and/or ACT New Zealand.

The National Party advertising campaign aimed at rebutting arguments brought up by Labour about a variety of themes: Brash's stand on national security issues (he favoured greater co-operation with "traditional allies"), his commitment to social security programmes (including healthcare), as well as his ideas on the perceived drift towards "racial separatism" dividing Māori from other New Zealanders. One of Brash's most significant and widely publicised policy announcements foreshadowed the introduction of tax-cuts for working New Zealanders. Brash's party embarked on a targeted billboard-advertising programme, which later (post-election) won two advertising-industry awards.

In his first party-political election-campaign broadcast Brash mentioned a number of aspects of his life that he believed had attuned him to the political centre-ground in New Zealand:

• registering as a conscientious objector at age 18^[17]
• serving as the patron of Amnesty International Freedom Foundation
• participating in demonstrations against the racially-selected South African rugby team touring New Zealand (1981) and the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team touring South Africa without Māori team members
• his frugal approach, most famously washing his own laundry in his hotel-room basin while on taxpayer-funded overseas trips as Governor of the Reserve Bank
• voting for Labour in his early years

Campaign[link]

On 19 August 2005, National unveiled a $3.9 billion dollar tax-cut policy.^[18] The first polling conducted after the announcement suggested that it had boosted National support. On 22 August, Brash engaged in a televised debate with the Labour Party leader Helen Clark. According to the New Zealand Herald, Clark appeared 'confident and aggressive' and Brash appeared 'defensive'. In response to questions over his assertiveness, Brash indicated that he had not attacked Clark during the debate because she was a women. Clark described Brash's explanation as patronising.^[19]

On 27 August a weekend newspaper published a series of leaked documents, including private emails, showing that members of the ACT party and of the Business Round Table had advised Brash during his bid for the leadership of the parliamentary National Party. Continuing leaks over following weeks appeared designed^{[original research?]} to cause the National leader embarrassment. Furthermore, confusion bedevilled National's potential coalition options: New Zealand First showed reluctance to reveal whether it would support National or Labour post-election, whilst ACT (often seen as National's natural coalition partner due to the similarities in some of their policies) criticised National for not openly supporting ACT leader Rodney Hide's bid to win the electorate seat of Epsom.

On 16 November 2006 Brash obtained a High Court injunction^[20] prohibiting the distribution or publication of the private emails allegedly unlawfully taken from his computer, following ongoing rumours that his opponents would publish a series of his personal emails as a book, and he confirmed that the police had commenced a criminal investigation into the alleged email-theft.^[21]

Pamphlets distributed by members of a Christian sect, the Exclusive Brethren, in early September caused further embarrassment for Brash; although they were not anonymous, they did not refer to the Exclusive Brethren but were authorised in the names of individual church members. Brash initially denied National had anything to do with it, but later admitted that the Brethren had told him at a meeting some months earlier that they planned to run a campaign opposing the direction of the Labour Government. Brash has maintained his position that the pamphlet-campaign took place on the Exclusive Brethren's own initiative.

The General Election on 17 September produced a close result, with initial election-night figures from rural areas favoring National (in accordance with tradition and previous patterns); but by the end of the evening Labour had won 40.7% of the vote to National's 39.6%. Following the counting of the special votes the gap widened, with Labour taking 41.1% of the vote to National's 39.1%. Dr Brash conceded defeat on 1 October after weeks of electoral uncertainty while the major parties sought to secure the support of minor coalition partners. His only realistic scenario for becoming prime minister would have involved a coalition between National, ACT and United Future, with confidence and supply from New Zealand First and the Māori Party. This appeared highly unlikely on several counts. New Zealand First's involvement in such a coalition would have run counter to its pre-election promise to deal with the biggest party. The Māori Party's supporters overwhelmingly^{[citation needed]} gave their party-votes to Labour, and National had indicated it would abolish the Maori seats if it won power.

Essentially National had failed to make up enough ground in the cities but swept the electoral votes in the provinces, clawing back a number of seats from Labour and defeating New Zealand First founder-leader Winston Peters in his electorate (Peters remained in Parliament as a list MP). Apart from in Auckland, National's support centred mainly in rural and provincial areas.

2006–2011[link]

Don Brash took leave on 13 September 2006, to sort out marital troubles.^[22] Rumours of an extramarital affair came to the public's attention around this date after National MP Brian Connell allegedly confronted Brash in a caucus-meeting about the rumours. Details leaked to the press, and in the weeks that followed the National Party caucus suspended Connell from membership of the caucus.

On Saturday 23 September, Brash appeared on Television New Zealand's Agenda news-programme and acknowledged that he had met with Exclusive Brethren representatives after the 2005 New Zealand general election.

Dr Brash indicated his intention to remain the leader of the National Party and to contest the next election in that role. However, it became increasingly clear that the caucus preferred Finance Spokesman John Key, whose rating steadily rose in "preferred Prime Minister" polls. Key made no move publicly, but Brash's reputation for honesty and political competence eroded when, for example, broadcast footage showed him walking a plank, and when allegations appeared of his having an affair with an Auckland businesswoman, Diane Foreman – a charge he has never denied. Despite these setbacks, when asked by an interviewer for an article published in the United Kingdom on 18 November 2006 if he planned to remain leader of his party, "...the Clark Kent of Kiwi politics [Brash] turned to me and smiled gently. 'That's my intention,'..."^[23]

Resignation[link]

Wikinews has related news: New Zealand National Party leader, Don Brash, resigns

During a hastily-called press-conference on Thursday 23 November 2006, Don Brash announced his resignation as the National Party leader, effective from 27 November. Speculation regarding his leadership had foreshadowed this move, and the publicity had had a negative effect on his political party. The publicity came to a head just before the scheduled publication of a book written by Nicky Hager containing leaked emails (amongst other allegedly damaging revelations). Brash filed a delaying injunction with regard to the publication of the e-mails, which he regarded as stolen; however he claimed he had no awareness of and did not wish to stop the publication of the Hager book.^[24] As part of his resignation announcement, Brash also announced he had cleared the way for the book's release by providing copies of his emails to Hager, and stated it had nothing to with his resignation.^[25]

Brash also claimed that the publication of the book did not contribute to his decision to resign as National Party leader, although most observers^{[citation needed]} see it as the straw that broke the camel's back. The book, The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception, details Brash's rise to power in the National Party as assisted by an "informal network of people from the right of New Zealand politics", including a number of ACT members. It also documents that senior National Party figures, including Brash, knew of the Exclusive Brethren's pamphlet campaigns in May 2005, although Brash denied knowledge of this until August.^[26][27][28]

On Thursday 30 November 2006, just one week after resigning as leader of the party, Brash resigned from Parliament after the National Party's new parliamentary leader, John Key, declined to offer him a senior portfolio. He set no official date, but he stated he would not return in the new year.^[29]

Brash then made his valedictory speech on Tuesday 12 December 2006.^[30] On 7 February 2007, Katrina Shanks took his place as a National Party list MP.^[31]

Career after national politics[link]

On 18 May 2007 Don Brash joined the ANZ National Bank board as Rob McLeod retired from the board to return to his accounting practice. He also chairs Huljich Wealth Management, an independent, specialist funds-management company based in Auckland, New Zealand.^[32] In late 2008 he was lecturing in economics at the Auckland University of Technology In April 2009 Brash was appointed as a director of the electricity grid operator Transpower.^[33]

In late April 2011, Brash, still a National Party member, announced that he would like to lead the ACT Party which would require incumbent leader Rodney Hide to step down. Hide dismissed any talk of a leadership challenge to him but Brash was quoted "I'd like to say to the board that, under my leadership, I believe Act has a much better prospect of not only getting back into Parliament but having a significant number of MPs."John Key also would not rule out working with Brash if it came down to a tight decision.^[34]

Leadership of the ACT Party[link]

On 28 April 2011 the incumbent leader of the ACT Party, Rodney Hide, announced that he was stepping down as leader in favour of Brash who had joined the party that morning. His membership was ratified by the party board on Saturday 30 April and the ACT party parliamentary caucus confirmed him as leader the same day.^[35] The party board re-convened later that day to ratify his leadership. Rodney Hide remained in Parliament until its dissolution prior to the 2011 general election. Brash was leader of the party outside Parliament and former Auckland City mayor John Banks stood in Epsom.^[36] The Listener compared Brash's successful bid for the leadership of the ACT Party to a hostile takeover.^[37] Brash hoped to get ACT 15% of the party vote in the 2011 election, instead it only managed 1%.^[38] Brash resigned on election night and was later replaced as leader by John Banks.^[39]

Political positions[link]

Brash voted for the decriminalisation of both prostitution and euthanasia, voted against raising the drinking age back up to 20 and voted against Manukau banning street prostitution.^[40] However, Brash did vote against the Civil Unions Bill because he backed a public mandate for any change to the law.^[41] He has also called for the decriminalisation of cannabis.^[42][43]

Biography[link]

• Paul Goldsmith: Brash: A Biography: Auckland: Penguin: 2005: ISBN 0-14-301967-8
• Nicky Hager: The Hollow Men: A Study in the Politics of Deception: Nelson: Craig Potton: 2006: ISBN 1-877333-62-X

Partial list of publications[link]

• "An investigation into the growth of New Zealand's external indebtedness, on public and private account, in the period since 1949/50, and a parallel study of changes in her debt servicing capacity", University of Canterbury thesis (1962)
• "United States investment in Australian manufacturing industry", Australian National University thesis (1965)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Profile at New Zealand Parliament
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.co.nz
• 2004 Orewa speech
• 2005 Orewa speech
• Independent Review of Monetary Policy
• ABC Late Night Live interview with Nicky Hager
• The Hollow Men documentary about Don Brash and the National Party in the 2005 election made in conjunction with Nicky Hager's book

Political offices[link]

Wallace Chapman
Birth name	Walesi Leslie Chapman
Born	1969 (age 42–43)
Show	Back Benches
Station(s)	TVNZ7
Network	Television New Zealand
Time slot	9:10–9:30pm Wednesday and Friday
Show	The Wallace Chapman Drive
Station(s)	Kiwi FM
Network	MediaWorks New Zealand
Style	Political commentator
Country	New Zealand
Website	wallacechapman.com

Wallace Chapman is a New Zealand radio and television host.

His shows include:

• Back Benches (TVNZ)
• The Wallace Chapman Drive (Kiwi FM)

Chapman began his broadcasting career while a student at the University of Otago with student radio station Radio One. After moving from Dunedin to Auckland, he joined the staff of Radio 95bFM before changing to Kiwi FM.^[1]

Chapman knew and still knows David Bain, a man accused of killing his own family in 1994, but found not guilty by a jury in 2009.^[2]

Chapman suffers a rare blood disease, Gaucher's disease, which has left him with weakened hip joints.^[1]

References[link]

This biographical article related to television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This New Zealand biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This New Zealand television-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

The Honourable Rodney Hide MP
Minister of Local Government
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 November 2008
Prime Minister	John Key
Preceded by	Nanaia Mahuta
Minister for Regulatory Reform
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 November 2008
Prime Minister	John Key
Leader of ACT New Zealand
In office 13 June 2004 – 28 April 2011
Deputy	Muriel Newman Heather Roy
Preceded by	Richard Prebble
Succeeded by	Don Brash
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for ACT List
In office 1996–2005
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Epsom
Incumbent
Assumed office 2005
Preceded by	Richard Worth
Majority	3102 (8.67%)
Personal details
Born	(1956-12-16) 16 December 1956 (age 55) Oxford, Canterbury
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	ACT New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Louise Crome
Occupation	Economist

Rodney Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of Regulatory Reform.^[1] The latter is a new portfolio mainly aimed at controlling government regulation (Red Tape), which has been one of Rodney Hide's core policies in his election campaign. He stepped down as ACT leader in April 2011 after succumbing to a leadership challenge from Don Brash.^[2]

Early life[link]

Hide was born in Oxford in Canterbury. His father, Philip Hide, owned a small mixed-farm at Cust and also drove trucks. In 1960, due to sickness, Philip Hide sold the small farm and moved to Rangiora, continuing to drive trucks until his retirement. Hide gained a degree in zoology and botany from the University of Canterbury. After completing his degree, he travelled overseas, eventually finding himself in Scotland. He worked for some time on oil rigs in the North Sea. Hide eventually returned to New Zealand by way of Romania, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, and Malaysia. In Malaysia he re-met Jiuan Jiuan, with whom he had shared a house in Christchurch - the two married in 1983 (in 2007 they separated).^[3] After returning to New Zealand, Hide gained a degree in resource management from Lincoln College, Canterbury. He then took up a teaching position at Lincoln, first in resource management and later in economics. He completed his master's degree in economics from Montana State University in record time.^{[citation needed]}

In 1993, Alan Gibbs, an Auckland businessman, offered Hide a job as an economist. He accepted, and also began working at a radio station owned by Gibbs. Later, Hide also met Roger Douglas, a former Minister of Finance whose radical economic reforms had made a considerable impression on him.

When Douglas established the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (which later formed the ACT party), Hide had close involvement as the organisation's first chairman and president.

Member of Parliament[link]

Hide first entered Parliament in 1996 as a list MP. He won the party parliamentary leadership role in a closely contested primary after the retirement of Richard Prebble in 2004. He then went on to win the Epsom electorate from sitting National Party MP Richard Worth in 2005 with the campaign message "ACT is back".

Hide had a reputation for strong views, for his media profile, and for his confrontational style. Some commentators^[who?] dubbed him the "leader of the opposition" when he still sat on the back benches. His supporters often described him as one of the most effective opposition MPs, and praised him for his motivation and commitment.^{[citation needed]}

Entry into Parliament[link]

Hide held the seventh place on the ACT party list for the 1996 elections. ACT received enough votes for Hide to enter Parliament, making him one of the party's "founding" MPs. He gradually rose through the party's ranks, reaching second place in the ACT list for the 2002 elections.

In his maiden speech, Hide made a specific attack on "perks" enjoyed by MPs, and this "perk-busting" has become a characteristic of his political career ever since. Hide has developed a substantial reputation for finding and exposing "scandals", whether they relate to MPs' perks or to other governmental matters. Hide's critics often claim that his "scandals" rely on sensationalism and exaggeration, and have as their only purpose the gaining of media attention; but his supporters believe that Hide's constant scrutiny "keeps the government honest" and ensures that the administration does not waste taxpayers' money.

Roger Douglas himself has emerged as one of Hide's more prominent critics, referring to Hide's "stunts" as detracting from ACT's core economic message, shifting focus to populist issues of law and order and to provocative race relations policies. At a party conference, Douglas condemned MPs "who run any fickle line capable of grabbing short-term votes and attention", a comment allegedly directed at Hide or at his supporters. Hide acknowledges the criticism, but defends himself on the grounds that a focus on pure economic theory will not attract interest: "the problem is that the so-called stunts are particularly well-reported and my work explaining free market ideas disappears without trace." The tension between Douglas and Hide increased when Hide made a bid for the vice-presidency of ACT in 2000: supporters of Douglas interpreted this action as a challenge to Douglas' organisational authority within the party. Both Douglas and Hide stood down from their roles as President and Vice-President, suggesting an uneasy truce between these two factions. In 2008 the two men worked closely together with Douglas holding third place on the party list following Hide and Heather Roy.

ACT Party leadership[link]

Many people had known for some time that Hide saw himself as a potential parliamentary leader of the ACT party, and he himself showed no reluctance in saying so. At several points, rumours circulated that Hide planned to challenge party leader Richard Prebble for his position, although such a challenge never emerged. When Prebble eventually announced his retirement, his critics [who?] claimed that this had been brought about by secret campaigning by Hide. However, Prebble himself has denied this claim and it appears more likely that he stood down for personal reasons, as he publicly claimed.

When Prebble announced his retirement, Hide quickly indicated that he would seek the caucus leadership. Prebble, however, appeared unenthusiastic about the prospect of Hide succeeding him, and in a speech praising each of the new leadership contenders, pointedly dwelled on the others. The succession method chosen by Prebble also appeared to disfavour Hide: rather than a simple caucus vote, which a conventional leadership challenge would have called, a four-way election involved all ACT party members (although the election remained only "indicative"). Many people consider that the party organisation, in which Douglas has considerable influence, dislikes Hide.

Hide campaigned against Stephen Franks, Ken Shirley, and Muriel Newman for the ACT party parliamentary leadership. In the race he claimed that his high public profile and his image of strength would prove crucial to ACT's political survival. Stephen Franks, seen as the primary "anti-Hide" candidate and a social conservative, had the backing of Roger Douglas. In the end, however, Hide prevailed, and the party introduced Hide as its new leader on 13 June 2004.

Post-2005 general election[link]

Under Hide's leadership, the vote in the September 2005 elections severely reduced ACT's party parliamentary representation. ACT's share of the party vote dropped from over 7% of the total to around 1.5% and its representation in Parliament fell from nine MPs to two. Such dramatic declines were seen in most the smaller parties that year primarily due to the close nature of the race. The party remained in parliament due to Hide winning the Epsom seat. As a consequence of its reduced share of the vote, ACT has received a significant cut in taxpayer-funded Parliamentary resourcing.

The subsequent reduction in ACT's size has seen Rodney Hide shut down his high-profile electorate office in Remuera and consolidate his electorate office with that of the ACT Party's head office in a less visible spot in Newmarket.

As a post-election strategy, Rodney Hide has focused on his high-profile attacks on prominent Labour Party MPs. His campaign against alleged abuse of schoolchildren by Labour Party minister David Benson-Pope, which was verified by the now grown children involved [reference?], continued to make headlines in late 2005. With Hide holding the Epsom seat all votes for ACT counted and the party saw a substantial increase in votes in 2008 election and increased its representation in parliament from two seats to five. Hide commenced his political year in 2006 by voicing speculation on the leadership cadre of the National Party, a strategy which gained him headlines but which has raised the ire of National parliamentarians, complicating the once co-operative relationship between ACT and National.

Hide announced in late April 2006 that he would appear in the celebrity-based Dancing with the Stars television series, paired off with a professional dancer and competing against other celebrities, with the funds raised through his performance going to St John's Ambulance. Hide stated that he appeared on the show as a personal challenge, having never danced before.

Hide danced his way to fourth place on the show, despite harsh criticism from the show's judges.

Hide has also sought to reposition the party. While not moving away from ACT's key tenets of freedom, choice and personal responsibility, Hide has said that provided the governing Labour Party promise (amongst other things) significant tax-cuts, ACT could provide the centre-left party with support. Many see this as a departure from ACT's position^{[citation needed]} of providing the National Party with staunch support. Others see ACT as a centre-right liberal party (as opposed to National, a conservative party) and, as such, sharing many areas of agreement with Labour (seen as more liberal than National).

This new approach by the ACT Party has emerged, at least publicly, since Rodney Hide and deputy leader (and fellow MP) Heather Roy returned from a privately funded tour of Europe. During this trip, Hide and Roy met with a number of political parties, including the Irish Progressive Democrats and the German Free Democrats, both parties with similar ideologies to ACT but substantially better electoral records.

2008 election[link]

ACT's fortunes improved at the 2008 election when its share of the vote rose to a little under four percent, winning five seats in parliament and making it the fourth largest party there.^[4] Hide also did well in Epsom, and was re-elected with about 55 percent of the electorate vote, nearly triple the votes of the second place-getter.^[5] The National Party won the most seats overall and formed a minority government with the support of ACT, the Maori Party and United Future. Hide became a Minister outside Cabinet, holding portfolios of Minister of Local Government, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Associate Minister of Commerce.^[6]

As ACT leader, Hide criticised National's Emissions Trading Scheme in September 2008 and said climate change and global warming were a "hoax". He said that the data and the hypothesis did not hold together, and that the legislation would drive up the cost of basic goods, ruining businesses and farmers.^[7]

Post-2008 general election[link]

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (April 2010)

One of the main focuses of his work in cabinet has been pushing the 'Super City' proposal for unification of the various local authorities of Auckland.

The process has brought criticism of his handling of the matter^{[citation needed]}. Recommendations of the Royal Commission were not fully accepted, selecting instead a local structure of 20-30 community boards, without a separate concept of Maori representation.^[8][9]

Issues of satellite city boundaries, assets, financing & political consolidation have brought criticism from parties including North Shore City mayor Andrew Williams.^[10][11]

Hide was criticised in November 2009 for taking his girlfriend Louise Crome on a tax-payer funded private holiday to Hawaii and on a tax-payer funded trip to London, Canada and the United States. He repaid the money for the Hawaii trip.^[12][13]

In November 2009, a special ACT-party caucus meeting was held to discuss the Hide's position as party leader, where he was chosen to be retained.^[14]

On 28 April 2011, he resigned as leader of ACT after a successful challenge from former National leader Don Brash.^[2] Hide indicated to Brash he would not be standing in the 2011 general election.^[15] When he left parliament he chose not to give a valedictory speech.^[16]

Publications[link]

• ACT Members of Parliament. (2001), Closing the gaps: policy papers, Wellington, [N.Z.]: ACT New Zealand Parliamentary Office, ISBN 0-9582178-1-5 
• Hide's contribution is entitled "Taking the brake off business."
• from ACT Members of Parliament. (2002), Old values, new ideas, Wellington, [N.Z.]: ACT New Zealand Parliamentary Office, ISBN 0-477-01964-1 
• Hide's contribution is entitled "Free trade: route to poverty or growth?"
• Ackroyd, Peter; Hide, Rodney P.; Sharp, Basil M. H. (1990), New Zealand's ITQ [Individual Transferable Quota] System: prospects for the evolution of sole ownership corporations, Wellington, [N.Z.]: MAFFish 
• Ackroyd, Peter; Hide, Rodney P. (1989), The midwife and his apprentice: an inquiry into the political philosophy of natural resources management, Lincoln,[N.Z.]: Centre for Resource Management, University of Canterbury and Lincoln College 
• Anderson, Terry L.; Hills (eds.), Peter J. (eds.) (1996), The privatization process: a worldwide perspective, Lanham, [MD.]: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 
• Hide's contribution (co-authored with Owen McShane) is entitled " Can privatization succeed in a western democracy? Lessons from New Zealand"
• Anderson, Terry L.; Hide, Rodney P. (eds.) (1989), Bromley on property rights: a critique of Property rights and the environment: natural resource policy in transition, n.p.: n.p. 
• Henderson, Dave (2007), Be very afraid: one man's stand against the IRD, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: FTG Trust, ISBN 978-0-473-12751-0 
• Hide contributed a foreword for this book. This book originally appeared in 1999 - published by Alister Taylor IRD Press (with the ISBN 0-908578-72-5), and also with a foreword by Hide.
• Hide, Rodney P. (1984), Insect pest resistance: technological, biological and economic dimensions [M.Sc - University of Canterbury] 
• Hide, Rodney P. (1987), Property rights and natural resource policy [Studies in resource management; no. 3], Lincoln, [N.Z.]: Centre for Resource Management, ISBN 1-86931-050-0 
• Hide, Rodney P. (1988), Property rights and land management, Lincoln, [N.Z.]: Centre for Resource Management 
• Hide, Rodney P. (1988), Who owns natural resources?: an introduction to private property, liability rules and environmental policy, Auckland, [N.Z.]: New Zealand Centre for Independent Studies, ISBN 0-908816-05-7 
• Hide, Rodney P. (1999), The power to destroy : shocking revelations of IRD harassment and abuse, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: FTG Trust, ISBN 0-473-06371-9 
• The foreword for this book was provided by Dave Henderson (see above)
• Hide, Rodney P. (2007), My year of living dangerously, Auckland, [N.Z.]: Random House New Zealand, ISBN 978-1-86941-935-6 
• Hide, Rodney P.; Ackroyd, Peter (1988), Property rights and hazardous substances policy: report to the Ministry for the Environment, 17th February 1988, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: Centre for Resource Management, Lincoln College 
• Hide, Rodney P.; Ackroyd, Peter (eds.) (1990), Depoliticising fisheries management: Chatham Islands' Paua (Abalone) as a case study, n.p.: n.p. 
• Hide, Rodney P.; Sharp, Basil M. H.(eds.) (1987), A critical examination of subsidy to catchment works and proposals for reform, Lincoln,[N.Z.]: Centre for Resource Management, University of Canterbury and Lincoln College 
• Levine, Stephen I.; Roberts, Nigel S. (eds.) (2007), The baubles of office: the New Zealand general election of 2005, Wellington, [N.Z.]: Victoria University Press, ISBN 978-0-86473-539-3 
• Hide's contribution is entitled "ACT - survival in Epsom."
• Prebble, Richard et al. (2003), Liberal thinking, Wellington, [N.Z.]: ACT New Zealand Parliamentary Office 
• Hide's contribution is entitled "The classical liberal view."

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rodney Hide

• Rodney Hide MP official site
• Profile at ACT party
• Profile at New Zealand Parliament
• Releases and speeches at Beehive.govt.nz
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.co.nz

The Right Honourable John Key MP
38th Prime Minister of New Zealand
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 November 2008
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Anand Satyanand Jerry Mateparae
Deputy	Bill English
Preceded by	Helen Clark
31st Leader of the Opposition
In office 27 November 2006 – 8 November 2008
Deputy	Bill English
Preceded by	Don Brash
Succeeded by	Phil Goff
12th Leader of the National Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2006
Deputy	Bill English
Preceded by	Don Brash
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Helensville
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 July 2002
Majority	20,547 (56.49%)[1]
Personal details
Born	(1961-08-09) 9 August 1961 (age 50) Auckland, New Zealand
Political party	National Party
Spouse(s)	Bronagh Key (1984–present)
Children	Stephie Max
Alma mater	University of Canterbury Harvard University
Signature
Website	Official website

John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand, in office since 2008. He has led the New Zealand National Party since 2006.

Born in Auckland before moving to Christchurch when he was a child, Key attended the University of Canterbury and graduated in 1981 with a bachelor of commerce, also later undertaking management studies at Harvard University in Boston. He began a career in the foreign exchange market in New Zealand before moving overseas to work for Merrill Lynch, in which he became head of global foreign exchange in 1995, a position he would hold for six years. In 1999 he was appointed a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York until leaving in 2001.

Key entered the New Zealand Parliament representing the Auckland electorate of Helensville as one of the few new National members of parliament in the election of 2002 following National's significant defeat of that year. He has held the seat since then. In 2004, he was appointed Finance Spokesman for National and eventually succeeded Don Brash as the National Party leader in 2006. After two years as Leader of the Opposition, Key led his party to victory in both the November 2008 and the November 2011 general elections.

As Prime Minister, Key leads the Fifth National Government of New Zealand which entered government at the beginning of the late-2000s recession in 2008. In his first term, Key's government implemented a GST rise, personal tax cuts and a raise in the minimum wage. In February 2011, a major earthquake in Christchurch, the nation's second largest city, significantly impacted the national economy and the government formed the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority in response. In its second term, Key's government announced a policy of partial privatisation of state-owned assets. In foreign policy, Key announced the withdrawal of New Zealand Defence Force personnel from their deployment in the war in Afghanistan, signed the Wellington Declaration with the United States and pushed for more nations to join the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership.

Personal life[link]

Key was born in Auckland, New Zealand, to George Key and Ruth Key (née Lazar), on 9 August 1961. His father was an English immigrant and a veteran of the Spanish Civil War and World War II.^[2] He died of a heart attack in 1967. Key and his two sisters were raised in a state house in the Christchurch suburb of Bryndwr by his Austrian Jewish immigrant mother.^[3][4]

He attended Aorangi School, then Burnside High School, and earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in accounting from the University of Canterbury in 1981.^[3][5] He has attended management studies courses at Harvard University.^[6]

Key met his wife Bronagh when they were both students at Burnside High School. They married in 1984. She also has a BCom degree, and worked as a personnel consultant before becoming a full-time mother. They have two children, Stephie and Max.^[4]

Before politics[link]

Key's first job was in 1982, as an auditor at McCulloch Menzies, and he then moved to be a project manager at Christchurch-based clothing manufacturer Lane Walker Rudkin for two years.^[7] Key began working as a foreign exchange dealer at Elders Finance in Wellington, and rose to the position of head foreign exchange trader two years later,^[8] then moved to Auckland-based Bankers Trust in 1988.^[3]

In 1995, he joined Merrill Lynch as head of Asian foreign exchange in Singapore. That same year he was promoted to Merrill's global head of foreign exchange, based in London, where he may have earned around US$2.25 million a year including bonuses, which is about NZ$5 million at 2001 exchange rates.^[3][9] Some co-workers called him "the smiling assassin" for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking dozens (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.^[4][9] He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Committee of the New York Federal Reserve Bank from 1999 to 2001.^[10]

In 1998, on learning of his interest in pursuing a political career, the National Party president John Slater began working actively to recruit him. Former party leader Jenny Shipley describes him as one of the people she "deliberately sought out and put my head on the line–either privately or publicly–to get them in there".^[4][11]

Member of Parliament[link]

Auckland's population growth, as evidenced in the 2001 census, led to the creation of a new electorate called Helensville, which covered the north-western corner of the Auckland urban area.^[12] Key beat long-serving MP Brian Neeson (whose own Waitakere seat had moved on paper to being a Labour seat by the boundary changes) for the selection. At the 2002 elections Key won the seat with a majority of 1,705, ahead of Labour's Gary Russell, with Neeson, now standing as an independent, coming third.^[13] Key was re-elected with ease at the 2005 election garnering 63% of votes cast in Helensville,^[14] and increased his majority again in 2008, gaining 73% of the electorate vote.^[1]

Electorate office of John Key, located between Waimauku and Huapai on State Highway 16

Finance spokesman[link]

In 2004, Key was promoted to the Opposition front benches by party leader Don Brash and was made the party spokesman for finance. In late 2006 Brash resigned as leader, citing damaging speculation over his future as the reason. His resignation followed controversies over an extramarital affair, and over leaked internal National Party documents which were later published in the book The Hollow Men.^[15]

Leader of the Opposition[link]

In his maiden speech as leader on 28 November 2006, Key talked of an "underclass" that had been "allowed to develop" in New Zealand, a theme which received a large amount of media coverage.^[16] Key followed this speech up in February 2007 by committing his party to a programme which would provide food in the poorest schools in New Zealand.^[17]

He relented on his stance in opposition to Sue Bradford's Child Discipline Bill, which sought to remove "reasonable force" as a defence for parents charged with prima facie assault of their children. Many parents saw this bill as an attempt to ban smacking outright.^[18] Key and Prime Minister Helen Clark agreed a compromise giving police the discretion to overlook smacking they regard as "inconsequential".^[19]

In August 2007, Key came in for criticism when he changed his position regarding the Therapeutic Products and Medicine Bill:

"John Key had finally slipped up. National's leader had told the Herald on Tuesday he would have signed up to a New Zealand First-initiated compromise on the stalled Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill had he seen it – and was still willing to sign up – only to change his mind yesterday after his remarks appeared in print."^[20]

Also in August 2007, Labour's Trevor Mallard hinted in Parliament that Labour were going to try to link Key to the 1987 "H-Fee" scandal, which involved Key's former employer Elders Merchant Finance and a payment to Equiticorp Chief Executive Allan Hawkins. Hawkins and Elders executive Ken Jarrett were later jailed for fraud. Key forestalled the accusation by declaring that he had left Elders months before the event, that he had no knowledge of the deal, and that his interview with the Serious Fraud Office during the investigation into the affair could only have helped to convict the people involved. This statement was supported publicly by then-SFO director Charles Sturt.^[21][22]

Labour MPs criticised Key for not releasing specific policy information at their annual conference. Key responded that National would set its own policy agenda and that there was adequate time before the next election for voters to digest National Party policy proposals.^[23]

On 25 July 2008, Key was added to the New Zealand National Business Review (NBR) Rich List for the first time. The list details the wealthiest New Zealand individuals and family groups. Key had an estimated wealth of NZ$50 million.^[24] Key is the wealthiest New Zealand Member of Parliament.^[25]

Prime Minister[link]

John Key (right), with (from left to right) son Max, wife Bronagh, and daughter Stephie, celebrating on election night, 8 November 2008

Key became Prime Minister following the general election on 8 November 2008 which signalled an end to the Labour-led government of nine years under Helen Clark. The National Party, promoting a policy of "change", won 45% of the party vote and 59 of the 122 seats in Parliament (including a two-seat overhang), a substantial margin over the Labour Party, which won 43 seats.

Key was sworn in as Prime Minister on 19 November 2008 along with his new cabinet.^[26] His first international outing as Prime Minister was the 20th APEC meeting in Peru the following day.

Arriving at the Ngapuhi Te Tii marae the day before Waitangi Day 2009, Key was briefly shoved and grabbed by two protesters before diplomatic protection officers pulled them off. He told reporters he was "quite shocked" but continued onto the marae and spoke, while police took the two men away and charged them with assault.^[27][28]

Key has also been tied with the National Cycleway Project since its conception at the national Job Summit in early 2009. He proposed it, and as Minister for Tourism, was instrumental in getting NZ$50 million approved for initial construction work.^[29]

In January 2009, after addressing Chinese New Year celebrations at the Greenlane ASB Showgrounds, Key tripped after coming down a small set of stairs in front of cameras leaving him with a broken right arm and "embarrassed".^[30]

Controversies[link]

During the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Key was a proponent of Hosni Mubarak's government, citing his support of Israel and refusing to call for his resignation. When asked after the fall of Mubarak whether he had called on the Egyptian leader to step down, he said "no", but welcomed his resignation as the best possible means of restoring order in Egypt.^[31] In 2011, Key was caught up in a controversy over the purchase of government limousines which he denied knowledge of initially but later reports surfaced his office was aware. He was accused of being dishonest and eventually apologised, calling the deal sloppy.^[32][33]

In October 2011, Key made a statement where he claimed Standard and Poor's had said at a meeting in the prior month that "if there was a change of Government, that downgrade would be much more likely", this claim was contradicted by S&P after Key's credibility had been called into question.^[34][35] Just before the election in November 2011, a recording was made of a conversation between John Key and ACT Party candidate John Banks that they considered private.^[36] Mr Key made a complaint to the police who began an investigation to ascertain whether any laws had been broken. He refused to answer media questions about what was said and the recording, which became known as the "teapot tapes", dominated media discussion in the days before the election. The unreleased recording allegedly concerns the leadership of ACT and disparaging remarks about elderly New Zealand First supporters.^[37]

UN Security Council bid[link]

John and Bronagh Key meet Barack and Michelle Obama at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, 23 September 2009.

Key launched New Zealand's campaign for a Security Council seat at the UN General Assembly meeting in September 2009.^[38] He met briefly with US President Barack Obama and former US President Bill Clinton. While in New York, Key appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. He read out the Top Ten list, 'Top Ten Reasons You Should Visit New Zealand'.^[39]

Political views[link]

Key's views are largely aligned with his own party's view. However he also notes the differences between his predecessor are more of style and focus rather than view.^[40] Key has in the past noted others' concern at the pace of asset sales, but argued that the arguments against selling assets in the 1980s were largely irrational.^[41] In a 2002 interview he said "some form of orientation towards privatisation" in health, education and superannuation, such as giving firms tax breaks for employer super schemes, made sense.^[42] After leading the National party to victory in the 2011 election, Key rejected that the National Party lacks a mandate to partially sell off state-owned assets, he acknowledged that some New Zealanders were anxious about the mixed ownership model. "But I think we got a mandate."^[43]

Key has a mixed voting record on social issues: he voted against the bill creating civil unions,^[44] claiming that this represented his constituents' views but he supports them personally.^[45] He was part of a large block of MPs voting to defeat a bill that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.^[46] Key has also stated that he does not oppose gay adoption.^[47]

In regard to addressing the social destruction caused by binge drinking, in 2008 Key voted for an ill-fated attempt to raise the legal drinking age from 18 back to 20 ^[48] but subsequently ignored a Law Commission recommendation to increase levies on alcohol.^[49] He claimed there was 'no appetite' for such a move.^[50] A 'suppressed' report on public attitudes to alcohol law reform eventually came to light indicating that in 2010, when he made this claim, 56% of New Zealanders supported a price increase.^[51]

Key says that he believes that global warming is a real phenomenon, and that the Government needs to implement measures to reduce human contribution to global warming.^[52] Key has committed the National Party to working towards reducing greenhouse emissions in New Zealand by 50% within the next fifty years.^[53] Commentators note that as recently as 2005, Key made statements indicating that he was sceptical of the effects and impact of climate change.^[52][54]

Key with his predecessor, Helen Clark

Critics note that Key has changed his views on the Iraq war since becoming leader of the opposition. In 2003, as an opposition MP, Key emphasised National's position of supporting New Zealand's traditional allies, the United States and Australia. Key came under fire in the New Zealand Parliament in August 2007, when the Government claimed that had Key been Prime Minister at the time, he would have sent troops to Iraq.^[55]

Like his predecessor Helen Clark, Key views a New Zealand republic as "inevitable", although probably not for another decade. "If Australia becomes a republic there is no question it will set off quite an intense debate on this side of the Tasman," he said, "We would have to have a referendum if we wanted to move towards it." ^[56] Key later stated that he is a monarchist, and that a New Zealand republic would "Not [happen] under my watch".^[57]

Religious views[link]

Key attends church frequently but is agnostic when it comes to belief in God.^[58][59] He has stated that he does not believe in an afterlife, and sees religion as "doing the right thing".^[58] Key's wife, Bronagh (née Dougan) Key, is the daughter of Northern Irish emigrants of mixed religious descent.^[60] Key is the third prime minister or premier of New Zealand (after Julius Vogel and Francis Bell) with Jewish ancestry.^[61]

See also[link]

• Contents of the United States diplomatic cables leak (New Zealand)

References[link]