Brian Peter MacDonell (born 19 May 1935) is a former New Zealand Member of Parliament for

Dunedin Central Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the ...

in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

Early life and career

He was born in Dunedin on 19 May 1935, the son of Roderick MacDonell. He received his education at Christian Brothers High School, since renamed

Kavanagh College Trinity Catholic College (known as Kavanagh College before 2023) is a Catholic, state-integrated, co-educational, secondary school located at Rattray St, in City Rise, central Dunedin, New Zealand. The school was founded in 1989 as the ultima ...

. He became active with the labour movement in 1950. In 1958, he married Joan Banwell, the daughter of William Banwell. The MacDonells have four sons. MacDonell worked for a bank from 1953 to 1963, and was a national councillor for the New Zealand bank officers union.

Political career

MacDonell first attempted to enter politics at the 1959 local-body elections when he stood unsuccessfully for the

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council () is the Local government in New Zealand, local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since O ...

on the Labour Party ticket. He stood for the council again in 1962 and was likewise unsuccessful. He represented the

electorate in Parliament for 21 years from to 1984. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Trade and Industry (1973–1975) and to the Minister of Energy Resources (1974–1975). Following the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion, parliament discussed legislation to legalise abortion, and MacDonell supported his pro-life stance by holding a jar with a pickled 12-week-old foetus during the debate. Parliament passed the

Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, also known as the CS&A Act 1977, is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed shortly following an inquiry by the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion. The ...

. MacDonell was Shadow Minister of Customs and Shadow Postmaster-General from 1975 to 1983 under

Bill Rowling Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the Leader of the New Zealand ...

. The Dunedin Central electorate was abolished in the 1983 electoral redistribution, and the electorate of

Dunedin West Dunedin West was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, in the city of Dunedin. It existed for three periods between 1881 and 1996 and was represented by seven Members of Parliament. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was ...

was established in its place. MacDonell was not selected as the Labour candidate for the new electorate of Dunedin West; instead, the party's president,

Jim Anderton James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of Left-wing politics, left-wing parties after leaving the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party in 1989. Anderton's pol ...

, installed his personal friend

Clive Matthewson Clive Denby Matthewson (born 1944) is a New Zealand civil engineer and former politician. Biography Early life and career Matthewson was born in Wellington in 1944. He was educated at Waitaki Boys' High School and University of Canterbury. H ...

. MacDonell left the party and became an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. He worked closely in the house with another Labour MP turned independent, John Kirk, as well as the two Social Credit Party's MPs

Bruce Beetham Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training Colle ...

and

Gary Knapp Gary Thomas Knapp (born 1947) is a former New Zealand politician of the Social Credit Party (New Zealand), Social Credit Party. Biography Early life and career Knapp was born in 1947. He went into business and owned his own rental firm until he ...

. The quartet appointed MacDonell as the groups

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

to boost their recognition in parliament. At the 1984 general election he was not successful standing for re-election. MacDonell was later elected a member of the

at the 1995 local-body elections representing the South Dunedin ward for three years.

Later activities

As of 2013, MacDonell resided in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Australia. He enjoys fishing for recreation.

Honours and awards

In 1977, MacDonell was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

, and in 1990 he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. In the

1993 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1993 were appointments by most of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other count ...

, he was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonell, Brian 1935 births People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Companions of the Queen's Service Order Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1984 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Dunedin City Councillors