Reginald George Boorman (6 February 1935 – 30 October 2016) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life and family

Boorman served in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

in 1957 with the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

. His first marriage was to Carol McAlpine. His second marriage (in the 1980s) was to Pauline Moran. He had four sons.

Member of Parliament

He unsuccessfully stood for the Labour nomination at the 1980 Onehunga by-election, losing to

Fred Gerbic Frederick Miroslav Gerbic (10 March 1932 – 29 October 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Gerbic was born in Kaitaia in 1932. He became an electrical lineman and later married Joy Consta ...

. He was selected to contest the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

electorate in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, where he defeated 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 ...

incumbent

Ben Couch Manuera Benjamin Rīwai Couch (27 June 1925 – 3 June 1996) was a New Zealand politician and rugby union player. He was a team-member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s. Early life Couch was born in 192 ...

. Boorman again contested Waiarapa in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, defeating new National candidate

Wyatt Creech Wyatt Beetham Creech (born 13 October 1946) is a retired New Zealand politician. He served as the 14th deputy prime minister of New Zealand in Jenny Shipley's National Party government from August 1998 to December 1999. Early life Creech was ...

. On election night, Boorman won by a mere 11 votes, but this was reduced to one vote following a full recount. The single vote majority led to Boorman being nicknamed "Landslide" by his Labour Party colleagues and the media, and he used to quip that when he drove over the Rimutaka Hill to Wellington, he would "take his majority with him".

Ejection from Parliament

Boorman's election was the subject of a legal challenge by Creech. There were two aspects to this challenge. First, Creech claimed that Boorman had violated new laws about election spending by illegally deducting the (then new) goods and services tax from his spending return, effectively reducing his declared spend by 10%. The second part challenged the validity of more than 200 votes on various grounds. Creech was assisted in his efforts by

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...

, who had won an electoral petition in Hunua nine years earlier. The Electoral Court approved Creech's petition. In 1988, after the recount was carried out, Creech was declared to have won the electorate with a majority of 34 votes (9994 to 9960). The Court also found that Boorman had breached the law by overspending on his election campaign. This outcome resulted in him being declared guilty of a corrupt practice, which meant that Boorman would have been expelled from Parliament even if Creech had not won the recount.

Post-parliamentary life

After Parliament, Boorman worked as a taxi driver. Later, Creech would tell of a time that, as the new MP, he called for a taxi and the driver was Boorman. After his defeat, his second wife Pauline Moran stood unsuccessfully for Labour in the Wairarapa electorate. In 1990, Boorman was awarded 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 ...

. He died at home in

Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...

on 30 October 2016, and was survived by Moran.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boorman, Reg 1935 births 2016 deaths 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1987 New Zealand general election New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand military personnel of the Malayan Emergency New Zealand taxi drivers