Richard John Hubbard (born 18 November 1946) is a New Zealand businessman and politician, founder and former principal of Hubbard Foods in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, and

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 ...

from 2004 to 2007. He was elected mayor of Auckland City on 9 October 2004, succeeding John Banks, who in turn succeeded Hubbard as mayor on 13 October 2007.

Early life and family

Born in

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kil ...

on 18 December 1946, Hubbard is the son of Colin Hubbard and Margaret Hubbard (née Syme). He was educated at Paeroa College from 1960 to 1964, and then studied at

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 ...

from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a Bachelor of Technology (Food). In 1970 Hubbard married Diana Reader, and the couple went on to have two children, including the transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard.

Business interests

Hubbard is the founder of Hubbard Foods. His management of Hubbard Foods gained some prominence for its participation in and promotion of

socially responsible Social responsibility is an ethics, ethical concept in which a person works and cooperates with other people and organizations for the benefit of the community. An organization can demonstrate social responsibility in several ways, for instanc ...

business perspectives. Hubbard also spent a few years managing the Food Processing Factory in

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

, processing mainly lime, passionfruit and papaya. He was the principal until he sold the business in 2018 to Harry and Graeme Hart. Hubbard founded New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility (BSR) (now the Sustainable Business Network) and became chairman of the New Zealand National Parks & Conservation Foundation. He has been a supporter of

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organisations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt in 1941 based on the educational principles of Kurt Hahn. Today there are organisations, called schools, i ...

in New Zealand.

Mayoral term

Hubbard was elected as part of a broad swing to the centre-left in the 2004 Auckland City local government elections, predicated on concerns about the style of the previous mayor, and proposals to construct a major new multi-laned road through the city's relatively affluent eastern suburbs. Although formally independent, Hubbard's support on Auckland's council was derived from the centre-left leaning

City Vision City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Regiona ...

, Labour, and Action Hobson tickets.

Re-election bid, 2007

Hubbard was defeated by John Banks in the 2007 local body elections, by a margin of 10,000 votes. Hubbard won 35,314 of the votes compared to Banks' 45,387 votes in an election marked by low voter turn-out.

Political positions

Hubbard endorsed the Labour Party prior to the 2017 general election, appearing in a series of promotional videos and donating $15,000 to the campaign. He stated that he regarded himself as a

swing voter A swing vote is a vote that is seen as potentially going to any one of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties. It usually comes from voters who are 'undecided' or ...

and had voted for both

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

and Labour previously, but was "very concerned about our slow progress on climate" under the incumbent government. Hubbard donated $100,000 to the Labour Party in May 2023.

Honours and awards

In 1984 Hubbard was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology. Hubbard was conferred an honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

degree by Massey University in 1999. In the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipie ...

, he was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to business and the community.

References

External links

Profile at Hubbard Foods
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubbard, Dick 1946 births Living people Massey University alumni Mayors of Auckland Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand businesspeople People from Paeroa