Cameron Eric Brewer (born 8 March 1973) is a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

politician and former journalist. A member of 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 ...

, Brewer has been a 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

Upper Harbour Upper Harbour may refer to these various places in New Zealand: *Upper Harbour Bridge *Upper Harbour Local Board *Upper Harbour Motorway *Upper Harbour (New Zealand electorate) Upper Harbour is a parliamentary electorate in Auckland that returns ...

since 2023. He was previously the

Ōrākei Ward Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōrā ...

representative on

Auckland Council Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...

from 2010 to 2016.

Early life and career

Born in

Hāwera Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...

on 8 March 1973, Brewer attended

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding secondary school located in Whanganui, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. Affiliated with the Anglican Church, it is the third oldest school in ...

and

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

where he completed a

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 ...

in history and sociology in 1994. He was president of the students' association of Western Institute of Technology, where he studied journalism and edited the student publication. In early 1996 he founded and edited Dunedin-based community newspaper ''Inside Otago'' before selling it in late 1998. He moved to Wellington and worked as a writer and researcher for the

and as a press secretary first to the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

, and later to the leader of

ACT New Zealand ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a Right-wing politics, right-wing, Classical liberalism, classical liberal, Right-libertarianism, right-libertarian, and Conservatism, conservative List of political parties i ...

Rodney Hide Rodney Philip Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the constituency ...

. From 2002 to 2004 Brewer was communications advisor to the

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

, John Banks. Between 2005 and 2010 he was the chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

Auckland Council

In the 2010 Auckland Council elections Brewer was elected from the

Ōrākei ward Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōrā ...

as 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 ...

with a 7,000 vote margin over

Citizens & Ratepayers Communities and Residents (C&R) is a right-leaning local body ticket in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed in 1938 as Citizens & Ratepayers, with a view to controlling the Auckland City Council and preventing left-leaning Labour Party contr ...

(C&R) deputy leader Doug Armstrong. Brewer's decision to contest the election as a right-wing independent was labelled as a "betrayal" by C&R members while the result was considered a humiliation for C&R in its "traditional heartland". In his first term, Brewer was chair of Auckland Council's Business Advisory Forum, chair of the Planning and Urban Design Panel, and deputy chair of the Economic Development Forum. He was considered a potential candidate for the

Mayor of Auckland The mayor of Auckland is the elected head of local government in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The principle city of the region (and its namesake) is Auckland. The may ...

in 2013, but did not run. Instead he was re-elected as a councillor unopposed. Brewer was an opponent of mayor Len Brown and criticised him for not declaring gifts. Brewer himself failed to declare gifts and hospitality in 2013. He did not contest a third term on the council in 2016. In October 2016 Brewer was elected to the

Rodney Local Board Rodney Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of Auckland Council, and is administered by the ward councillor representing Rodney Ward. Located in the northern part of the Auckland region, it is named after the former Rodney District which ...

in the Kumeu subdivision. He had stood as part of the Rodney First ticket. During the term, he chaired the board's transport, infrastructure and environment committee. He retired from local politics in 2019 to focus on running his communications firm.

Member of Parliament

Brewer has been a member of the

since 1996. ''The New Zealand Herald'' reported in 2022 he had long held ambitions to become a member of Parliament. He declined to seek National's candidacy in the

Tāmaki Tāmaki is a small suburb of East Auckland, 11 kilometres from the Auckland CBD, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located by the banks of the estuary, estuarial Tamaki River, Tāmaki River, which is a southern arm of the Hauraki Gulf ...

electorate in 2011 and also ruled out standing for the

ACT Party ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the Nationa ...

. He also declined to seek the candidacy in

Helensville Helensville () is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauku to the south, and Ka ...

in 2017. In April 2023, Brewer was announced as the National Party's candidate in the

electorate for the 2023 general election. He defeated first-term incumbent

Vanushi Walters Vanushi Sitanjali Walters ( Rajanayagam; born August 1981) is a New Zealand lawyer and politician who served as Member of parliament, Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives for the New Zealand ...

, New Zealand's first Sri Lankan-born MP, with a margin of 11,192. After an election night celebration, Brewer was accused of making an inappropriate comment in his speech, declaring that his win was a victory for "stale, pale, males." He later apologised, saying it was “a poor attempt at humour”. In his first term in Parliament, Brewer served as deputy chair of the governance and administration committee and as a member of the justice committee from December 2023 to January 2025. On 29 January 2025, he was appointed as chair of the

finance and expenditure committee The Finance and Expenditure Committee (known as the Public Accounts Committee until 1962, and as the Public Expenditure Committee, from 1962) is a select committee of the House of Representatives, the unicameral chamber of the New Zealand Parliame ...

. A

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

in his name, the Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill, was introduced in April 2025 and seeks to require all recreational boat users aged 15 and under to wear a life jacket.

Personal life

Brewer has three children from two past relationships.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Cameron 1973 births Living people Auckland Councillors New Zealand National Party politicians New Zealand journalists People from Hāwera People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School Massey University alumni Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand National Party MPs