Richard John Barker (born 27 October 1951) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was a middle-ranking

Cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the

Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the List of New Zealand governments, government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim A ...

Biography

Early life and career

Barker was born in the town of

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

, on New Zealand's West Coast. He attended

Greymouth High School Greymouth High School is one of two post-primary schools in Greymouth, New Zealand. The other is John Paul II High School. It is the largest school on the West Coast of New Zealand with a roll of students. As of 2021 the principal is Samantha ...

and then the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

. After working as a shop assistant,

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

, storeworker, farmhand, driver, factory worker, and quarrier, he became involved in the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s, primarily those relating to the service sector. He eventually became National Secretary of the Service Workers' Union.

Member of Parliament

Barker became a member of the Labour Party in 1973, served for a time as the Industrial Representative on the party's National Council and was also junior vice-president of the party. In the lead up to the 1993 election Barker sought the Labour nomination for the normally safe Labour seat of Heretaunga, but lost out to political advisor Heather Simpson. Later in 1993 he won the Labour nomination for the

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

electorate, defeating Auckland Tamoana Freezing Workers' Union president Pat Weir. His selection was a surprise as Weir won the floor vote of local members, but the selection panel chose Barker. The Freezing Workers' Union laid a complaint with the Labour Party's head office alleging the panel had been

stacked ''Stacked'' is an American television sitcom that aired on Fox from April 13, 2005, to January 11, 2006. Premise ''Stacked'' was described as the opposite of ''Cheers'', instead of a smart person in a "dumb" place, it is based on the concept o ...

, an assertion rejected by party secretary Tony Timms. At the 1993 election, he succeeded in winning the Hastings electorate, winning a seat that was previously held 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 ...

. Soon after entering parliament he supported

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 ...

in her successful leadership challenge to

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 ...

. He was re-elected in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

for the reconfigured seat of Tukituki. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

he lost the seat in what was a large swing against the sitting Labour government in the provincial areas and returned 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 ...

as a

list MP A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than a geographic electoral district. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs only in ...

. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Barker tried unsuccessfully to regain the seat of Tukituki and for the second time was returned to parliament as a Labour list MP. He stood in one of the safest National seats,

Taranaki-King Country Taranaki-King Country is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Taranaki-King Country is Barbara Kuriger of the National Party. She has held th ...

, in 2011 and was not high enough on the Labour list to remain an MP.

Cabinet minister

In 2002 Labour was re-elected for a second term and Barker was appointed to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Minister of Customs The Minister of Customs was a position in the Cabinet of the Government of Canada responsible for the administration of customs revenue collection in Canada. This position was originally created by Statute 31 Vict., c. 43, and assented to on 22 May ...

Minister for Courts The Minister for Courts (or Minister of Courts) is a minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the support and administration of the courts system. It was split from the Justice portfolio in 1995. List of ministers ;Key ...

, Associate Minister of Justice, and Associate Minister of Social Services and Employment. During the 2002–2005 term, he was given additional responsibility as

Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector The Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector is a minister in the government of New Zealand. The minister oversees the government's relationship to the community and voluntary sector and the services they provide. The minister is also r ...

and Minister for Small Business. In 2005, Barker was re-appointed to Cabinet as the

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Minister for Courts, Minister of Civil Defence and Minister of Veterans' Affairs. Barker lost his ministerial warrants following Labour's defeat in the 2008 election; however, Barker was appointed by the House of Representatives to the role of Assistant Speaker for the

49th New Zealand Parliament The 49th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2008 election. It comprised 122 members, including an overhang of two seats (an increase of one from the 48th Parliament) caused by the Māori Party having won two more electorate seats than ...

for the session 2008–11. As a cabinet minister, Barker was entitled to the title of

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

and became The Hon. Rick (Richard) Barker which is a title he was granted for the rest of his life after his term of office.

Post-parliamentary roles

Barker was elected to the

Hawke's Bay Regional Council Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

in 2013, representing the Hastings constituency. In 2016 he was appointed deputy chair of the council. On 30 June 2021 he was elected chair, holding the role until October 2022. In June 2018, Barker was appointed chairperson of the

West Coast District Health Board The West Coast District Health Board (West Coast DHB or WCDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the West Coast region of New Zealand. In July 2022, the West Coast DHB's functions and responsibilities were take ...

by the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

, David Clark. He was reappointed in December 2019.

Personal life

He is married to Patsy and has three children.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Hon Rick Barker
at the New Zealand Parliament website , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Rick 1951 births Living people Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs University of Otago alumni People from Greymouth New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Greymouth High School Hawke's Bay regional councillors West Coast District Health Board members