Carl Michael Bates (born 13 March 1983) is a New Zealand politician, representing the

New Zealand National Party The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a Centre-right politics, centre-right List of political parties in New Zealand, political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one ...

as a Member of Parliament since the

2023 New Zealand general election The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th New Zealand Parliament, 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives ...

Early life

Bates was born and raised in

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

, where he attended Mosston School, Rutherford Junior High School, and

Whanganui High School Whanganui High School is a large state co-educational New Zealand secondary school located in Whanganui, New Zealand. Founded in 1958, the school has a roll of 1479 students, including international students as of July 2018, making it the largest ...

. He later gained a bachelor of business studies degree in accountancy from

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 ...

. He has been a director of an aged care facility, the

Arena Manawatu Central Energy Trust Arena is the current name of the 180,000 square meter publicly owned recreational complex just west of the Palmerston North city center in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It has three linked indoor stadiu ...

stadium company, and the

Universal College of Learning The Universal College of Learning (UCOL) is a New Zealand Government ITP (Industry Training Provider/Polytechnic) with campuses located in Palmerston North, Whanganui, Masterton and Levin. Jasmine Groves is the institute's current Operational ...

in Palmerston North. Bates set up a company to train boards of directors, named Sirdar Global Group, and operated it in New Zealand and Africa, and self-published two books on business success. He sold the company on his return to New Zealand in 2020.

Political career

Bates joined the National Party at the age of 13, when he campaigned for Peter Gresham. In 2000 he was a Youth MP for Annabel Young. Bates was selected by 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 ...

to contest the electorate at the . He was 47th on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

. At the time of his selection he was living in Sanson, but later moved to the Whanganui electorate. On election night, Bates received 16,446 votes, beating the incumbent, first-term Labour Party MP Steph Lewis, by 5,512 votes. Bates said the result reflected that people in Whanganui don't want their assets controlled from the capital. He said people in the region were keen to see both the Three Waters and Resource Management Act reforms reversed.

Personal life

Bates met his wife Candice on

Tinder Tinder is easily Combustibility and flammability, combustible material used to Firemaking, start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder unt ...

while living in South Africa. They have two children.

Books

* *

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Carl 1983 births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from Whanganui People educated at Whanganui High School Massey University alumni New Zealand Youth MPs New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates