James Rawiri Meager (born ) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

in the electorate of .

Early life and career

Born in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

in , Meager is of

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...

descent. He grew up in Timaru, where he lived in state housing. Meager attended

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At t ...

, where he was head boy and

dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

. He gained

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degrees from the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, although he had originally intended to become a doctor. He describes himself as "loud-mouthed, obnoxious and opinionated" while at university, and ascribes his bad behaviour partly to alcohol use. While at university, Meager helped on National Party list MP

Michael Woodhouse Michael Allan Woodhouse (born 1965) is a New Zealand healthcare chief executive and former politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2008 to 2023. Early years Woodhouse was born and raised in South Dunedin, the fi ...

's 2011 campaign, and went on to run the 2014 campaign. Prior to being elected to Parliament, Meager worked as a senior

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

for

Simpson Grierson Simpson Grierson is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1887; it is ranked in the top legal firms in that country, and the largest by headcount. The firm is a partnership comprising 45 partners and consultants supported by around 175 ...

, and ran a

consultancy firm A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad range ...

. He has also worked as a

press secretary A press secretary or press officer is a senior advisor who provides advice on how to deal with the news media and, using news management techniques, helps their employer to maintain a positive public image and avoid negative media coverage. Dutie ...

to Paula Bennett, as a staffer for

Chris Bishop Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand politician for the National Party. He was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the ...

's parliamentary office, and an advisor to

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party, ...

and

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a New Zealand retired politician, broadcaster and lawyer. He served as Leader of the New Zealand National Party, Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), Leader of t ...

Political career

Meager was selected as National's candidate for the formerly

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

of on 18 September 2022. It was a close contest with one other competitor vying for the nomination. On election night, Meager received 22,792 votes, beating incumbent Labour Party MP

Jo Luxton Jo-Anne Marie Luxton (born 1973) is a New Zealand politician. She has been a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party since the 2017 general election. Before her political career, Luxton was an early childho ...

by 10,846 votes. Meager said his first priority as a member of parliament would be to ensure the building of a second bridge for Ashburton happened according to the planned timeframes. The bridge was announced by the Labour government in August 2023, with construction due to start in 2024 and take two years. Meager was concerned that timeframes might change, but promised to begin construction in the first parliamentary term. Meager was the first new MP to give his

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the 54th Parliament. His contribution, which discussed his upbringing as a "part Māori boy raised in a state house by a single parent on the benefit" and the "walking contradiction" of that boy becoming a National Party MP was praised by commentators, who described Meager as "assured and confident" and a possible future prime minister. In the January 2025 Cabinet reshuffle, Meager was promoted to a Minister outside Cabinet as the Minister for Youth, Minister for Hunting and Fishing, Minister for the South Island and an Associate Minister of Transport. He was the first National MP who was elected in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

to be appointed a ministerial portfolio.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meager, James 1980s births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Māori MPs Ngāi Tahu people People from Timaru University of Otago alumni People educated at Timaru Boys' High School Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election