Richard Northey
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Richard John Northey (born 28 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. He served on the
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 ...
between 2010 and 2013, and is a member of the Labour Party.


Biography


Early life and career

Northey was born in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
in 1945 and was educated at
Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...
. He then attended the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
where he obtained a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in chemistry and physics and a first class
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
in political science. He then found employment as a youth and recreation officer, arts advisor and employment officer. He became president of the New Zealand Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and served on the committee of the New Zealand Consultative Committee on Disarmament. He was also an executive member of the Auckland District Council of Social Service and Citizens' Advocacy and the president of the Citizens Association for Racial Equality (CARE). He joined the Labour Party and became chairman of Princes Street Labour as well as the Eden Central and Orakei branches. Later he was chair of the Tamaki and Eden electorate committees. Northey also was the vice-president, and later president, of the Auckland Labour Regional Council and was a member of Labour's national executive as a youth representative.


Local body politics

Northey first stood as a Labour Party candidate for the
Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...
at the 1968 local elections. He stood for the council unsuccessfully four times before finally winning a seat at a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in February 1979. He lost his seat at the next election in 1980. After exiting the council Northey stood unsuccessfully for Parliament against the then
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
,
Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st prime minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Departing from National Party convention, Mu ...
, in the Tamaki electorate in the 1981 election. In the 1983 local elections Northey regained a seat on the city council before deciding not to stand for re-election in 1986.


Member of Parliament

He was first elected to
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in the 1984 election as MP for Eden, replacing National's Aussie Malcolm. He was re-elected in the 1987 election, but was defeated in the National Party's landslide victory in the 1990 election. During this time he was chair of the Auckland Labour MPs Lobby. In 1986 Northey led the New Zealand government's youth delegation to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, attended the inter-parliamentary union conference in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
in 1987 and was a delegate at the first parliamentary conference on the global environment in Washington in 1990. In September 1990 he stood for the Labour Party leadership against Foreign Affairs Minister
Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author. Michael Moore may also refer to: Academia * Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education * Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor * Michael Mo ...
. His candidature was a surprise to most given that he was not a member of cabinet. He was defeated by Moore by the wide margin of 41 votes to 15. After losing his seat in 1990, he attempted to regain a seat on the Auckland City Council. He stood as a candidate in a 1991 by-election for the Maungakiekie Ward, finishing runner-up to Ken Graham. In the 1993 election he returned to Parliament, now representing
Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is ...
which he took off National's Grahame Thorne. He was selected as the Labour candidate in Onehunga in preference to Chris Diack, a supporter of controversial former finance minister
Roger Douglas Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician, economist and accountant who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He is most recognised for his key involvement in New Zealand's radical economic rest ...
. After missing out on the nomination Diack and his allies in the branch drained the electorate cash accounts by lump paying more than $6000 in outstanding debts to party headquarters, leaving just $7 to fund Northey's campaign in an act of spite. They then took ownership of an income-earning rental house from the Onehunga Labour Party and used it to instead fund the ACT Party (to whom Diack defected to in 1994) before finally being returned to the Labour Party after a long legal case in 2004. After re-entering Parliament Northey was aligned to
Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008 and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
who replaced Moore as leader. Clark appointed him Labour's Shadow Minister of Local Government and Youth Affairs. In a 1995 reshuffle he was also given the disarmament and arms control portfolio. In the 1996 election he contested the Maungakiekie seat after boundary changes caused by the introduction of
mixed-member proportional Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral systems which combine local winner-take-all elections with a compensatory tier with party lists, in a way that produces pr ...
(MMP) representation, but was defeated in an upset by National's Belinda Vernon. He was not ranked high enough on Labour's list to remain in Parliament. In June 2020 it was revealed that the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service had spied upon Northey during his time in Parliament, under the pretext of his support for racial equality and nuclear disarmament. At the time he was chair of the Justice and Law Reform Select Committee, which was responsible for financial oversight of the SIS, and of legislation altering its powers.


Return to local politics

He has since entered local politics, serving on the
Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...
holding senior committee roles. He was elected to the Penrose Ward in 1998 until 2001 when he changed to the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Ward, holding his seat until the council was abolished in 2010. In 2007, Richard Northey became leader of the
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 bloc on council. Northey became a member of Labour's national council for six years and was chairman of the party's policy committee. In 2000 he stood unsuccessfully to replace Bob Harvey as President of the Labour Party, but was defeated by Mike Williams. He was elected to the new
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 ...
in 2010, representing the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward. In 2013 he contested the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward again but was defeated by Denise Krum. At the 2016 Auckland elections, Northey was elected as a member of the Waitematā Local Board for the
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 ...
ticket. He was re-elected in the 2019 Auckland local elections, and was subsequently elected Chair of the Local Board.


Personal life

He was a
lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
in political studies and planning at the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
. In the 2002 New Year Honours, 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 public services.


Notes


References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Northey, Richard 1945 births Living people People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of the University of Auckland New Zealand Labour Party MPs Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Auckland Councillors Auckland City Councillors Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election