Steffan John Browning (born 3 July 1954) is a New Zealand politician of the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisationa ...

. He was elected as a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in 2011 and retired in 2017.

Early life

Browning was born in Clyde, New Zealand in 1954. He has been employed by the Soil & Health Association as its spokesperson since 2003.

Political career

Browning is a member of the

. He was ranked 19th on their party list at the , eleventh in 2005 and twelfth in 2008. He stood as the Greens candidate in the Kaikōura electorate. Browning was placed in tenth place on the Green Party list for the , when he was elected to Parliament, with the Greens gaining 14 seats. For the , he was initially demoted to number 15, but was number 14 on the final list after twelfth-ranked Holly Walker subsequently withdrew from the list. The Greens again won 14 seats and Browning returned to parliament as their last MP from the party list. Based on preliminary election results, he would have missed out.

Homeopathy controversy

In November 2014 the Green Party stripped Browning of his natural health products portfolio, after he signed and shared an online petition supporting the use of

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a di ...

to treat Ebola virus disease. Party co-leader Metiria Turei described Browning's actions as "a mistake", and said that the portfolio change was designed to reassure the public that the Greens "take health issues seriously". Browning said he did not oppose homeopathy on a personal level.

Announcement that he would not contest the 2017 general election

On 15 December 2016, he announced alongside Catherine Delahunty that he will not be seeking re-election in the .

References

External links

Profile at Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand website

Profile at New Zealand Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Steffan 1954 births Living people Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand politicians People from Clyde, New Zealand