David Nigel MacLeod (born ) is a New Zealand businessman and politician. Since 2023, he is the 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

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

, representing 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 ...

. He previously served as chair of the

Taranaki Regional Council Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

from 2007 to 2022.

Early life and career

MacLeod, of

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki hapū), and then to the Chatham Islands (along with Ngāti Tama) ...

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 ...

, and

Ngāti Porou Ngāti Porou is a Māori iwi traditionally located in the East Cape and Gisborne regions of the North Island of New Zealand. It has the second-largest affiliation of any iwi, behind Ngāpuhi, with an estimated 102,480 people according to the ...

descent, was 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 ...

and raised on his family's farm in Manaia. He is the seventh of eight children born to Joy Rangimarie TePoi MacLeod and Thomas Nigel MacLeod. His maternal grandfather was Ned Ellison, a doctor and health administrator. The

Member of Parliament for

Egmont Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the be ...

and Waitotara

Venn Young Venn Spearman Young (16 February 1929 – 14 January 1993) was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the National Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the government of Robert Muldoon. He is known for his failed attempt to legali ...

was his godfather. MacLeod is married to Leasa; they share three children. MacLeod attended Hawera High School and then completed an electrician apprenticeship with Greaves Electrical. He became a partner in the firm in 1991 and became managing director in 1999. Under his leadership, MacLeod expanded the business to include a lines company. He stepped down from management in 2012 and sold the business in 2023.

Local government and governance career

In 2000, MacLeod was elected to the South Taranaki constituency of the

in a by-election following the death of councillor Ralph Latta. He was re-elected in 2001, 2004, and 2007. After the 2007 election, he was unanimously elected as council chair. MacLeod was returned unopposed at the 2010 election and also reappointed as chair. As a Taranaki district councillor, MacLeod voted against the creation of a Taranaki Māori constituency in 2011, saying it was his preference to foster relationships between the council and local iwi. As chair, MacLeod led on regional

co-governance Co-governance in New Zealand consists of various negotiated arrangements where Māori people and the Crown share decision-making, or Māori exercise a form of self-determination through a devolution of state power. Notable examples include the ...

measures including the appointment of iwi representatives to council committees. He changed his mind to support the creation of a Māori constituency in 2021, when the proposal was supported by all eight Taranaki iwi, despite holding a personal view that the Māori constituency system is "flawed". MacLeod continued on the council, and as chair, until 2022, when he did not run for re-election. After his re-election in 2019, a rival candidate complained to the

Auditor-General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Fre ...

that council advertising featuring MacLeod's image had given him an unfair advantage. The Auditor-General advised the council that it may wish to reconsider its policy on pre-election advertising. While holding local government office, MacLeod served as a director of the council-owned

Port Taranaki Port Taranaki is a port complex located in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It is the only deep water port on the west coast of New Zealand, and is owned by the Taranaki Regional Council. The port handles a wide range of coastal and international ...

from 2001 to 2023. He was also elected as a member of the

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand Multinational corporation, multinational publicly traded dairy cooperative, co-operative owned by New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy ex ...

board in 2011. He was the first Māori director of the co-operative. He stepped down from the board in 2017, after completing two terms. MacLeod's election to the board was controversial because although he occupied a farmer-representative position he was not a farmer, and because the Taranaki Regional Council he chaired had recently invested in Fonterra bonds. He was appointed to the board of Predator Free 2050 in 2016 and became acting chair in 2021, stepping down in 2022 to run for parliament.

Member of Parliament

On 31 October 2022, MacLeod was selected as National's candidate for at 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 ...

. When his campaign was announced, MacLeod identified Taranaki roads, increasing the number of immigrants available to the workforce, and the oil and gas industry as areas he was keen to work on when in parliament. During the campaign he ran afoul of signage rules by placing his signs outside the designated timeframe and using incorrect font sizes. MacLeod was listed low on the party list at 67 out of 74, due to the expectation he would win his electorate; it was a placement that former MP and political editor Claudette Hauiti said should have McLeod "fuming", but which he said was "irrelevant" as it showed the party was confident he would win the electoral seat. On election night MacLeod beat incumbent Labour MP

Glen Bennett Glen Thomas Bennett (born ) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the Labour Party. He was elected the Member of the Parliament for New Plymouth at the 2020 New Zealand general election, defeating the National candidate and incumbent Jo ...

by a margin of 6,991 votes. MacLeod was appointed the chair of the environment committee and a member of the finance and expenditure committee. He was stood down from his committee roles on 21 May 2024 after failing to declare 19 donations totalling $178,394. On 7 June 2024, the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

referred MacLeod to the Police over the undeclared donations. MacLeod maintained that his failure to declare the donations was a genuine mistake and stated that he hope the investigation would make it clear that he did not intend to deceive anyone. On 29 August 2024, the Police concluded their investigation into MacLeod's donations and declined to take further action. Following the Police decision, MacLeod was appointed as a member of the regulations review and Māori affairs committees.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLeod, David 1960s births Living people Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand National Party politicians Taranaki regional councillors Māori politicians Ngāti Mutunga people Ngāi Tahu people Ngāti Porou people New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates