Stuart Alexander Nash (born August 1967) is a politician from New Zealand. He was a
list
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
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 ...
for the
Labour Party from to 2011, and was re-elected in the as representative of the
Napier electorate. He entered Cabinet in October 2017, with the portfolios of Police, Revenue, Small Business and
Fisheries.
Nash is the great-grandson of
Sir Walter Nash
Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...
, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960.
Professional life
Born in Napier and educated at
Napier Boys' High School
Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13.
Notable alumni
Business
*Rod Drury – chief executi ...
, Nash holds master's degrees in Law, Forestry Science and Management from the
University of Canterbury
The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...
. Before moving back to his home town of Napier, he was the Director of Strategic Development at
Auckland University of Technology
Auckland University of Technology (AUT) ( mi, Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT ...
.
Political career
Early political career
In Nash was the Labour candidate for the safe
National seat of
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...
, placing third behind
Rodney Hide and
Richard Worth; having been directed by then-Prime Minister
Helen Clark to ask Labour supporters to vote for the National candidate, Richard Worth, in a strategy designed to defeat
ACT MP, Rodney Hide. The tactic didn't work, with Hide winning; though at 9,915 Labour received the highest number of party votes in this electorate at any time under the
MMP parliamentary system.
Placed at number 60 on the
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
, Nash failed to get elected.
Election to Parliament on the list
In 2007 Nash contested the Labour Party selection for the
Napier Napier may refer to:
People
* Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name
* Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders
Given name
* Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist
* Napier Waller (1893–19 ...
seat in the
2008 general election, but lost to
Russell Fairbrother, a list MP and the former Napier electorate MP. However Nash was ranked at number 36 on the party list and was subsequently elected to parliament.
After becoming a list MP Nash was appointed Labour's spokesperson for Revenue, and associate spokesperson for Trade and Forestry by
Labour leader Phil Goff.
On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader
Phil Goff appointed Nash to be portfolio spokesperson for Forestry, a position formerly held by
Mita Ririnui. In February 2011
Phil Goff announced his new caucus line up and Nash was ranked 27th, retaining all his portfolio responsibilities.
2011–2014

In the
2011 general election, Nash contested the Napier electorate seat held by National Cabinet Minister
Chris Tremain. Nash reduced Tremain's 2008 majority of 9,018 votes by 5,300 votes (the highest reduction achieved against a sitting National electorate MP) but still came second. As well, Nash was ranked 27 on the Labour list, higher than in 2008 but not high enough on the Labour list to return to Parliament as a List MP.
After leaving Parliament, Nash signed on as the chief-of-staff for newly appointed party leader
David Shearer. However, Nash resigned after just four months into the job and returned to his home town of Napier, citing the birth of his new child and focusing on winning back the electorate there.
2014–current: return to Parliament
In February 2014, Nash was selected as Labour's candidate for Napier to contest the
2014 general election. National's Tremain had retired and was succeeded by Wayne Walford, and Nash had a majority of 3,850 votes over Walford.
The electorate was also contested by
Garth McVicar for the
Conservative Party, and McVicar's 7,603 votes
cut into traditional National Party votes.
Nash retained the Napier electorate in , increasing his majority and becoming only the second Labour MP after Damien O'Connor to win and hold a seat off the National party this century.
Nash was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a
coalition government with
New Zealand First
New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Wi ...
and the
Greens
Greens may refer to:
*Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.
Politics Supranational
* Green politics
* Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics
* Global Greens
* Europ ...
. On 26 October, he was appointed as
Minister of Police, Revenue, Small Business and
Fisheries.
During the
2020 general election
The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...
, Nash retained his seat in Napier by a final margin of 5,856. On 2 November 2020, Jacinda Ardern announced that Nash would be dropping the Police, Revenue and Fisheries portfolios, and would pick up the Economic and Regional Development,
Forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
, and
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...
portfolios, while retaining Small Business.
In mid November 2021, Nash claimed that farming advocacy group
Groundswell NZ
Groundswell NZ is a farming advocacy group in New Zealand that was formed to oppose the New Zealand Government's National Policy Statement on Freshwater. The group has also sought to oppose or revise freshwater, indigenous biodiversity, climate ...
's website promoted racism and
vaccine hesitancy in response to a question by
ACT Member of Parliament
Mark Cameron. When Cameron reiterated his question, Nash told Cameron to avoid posing with someone holding an anti-vaccination sign at a Groundswell protest. In response to Stuart's remarks, Groundswell co-founder Bryce McKenzie emphasised the group's efforts to combat racism and vaccine hesitancy among its ranks. McKenzie added that the group had accepted the resignation of Groundswell member and Tatua Dairy board of directors member Ross Townshend for posting an offensive image depicting
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta as a gang member.
References
External links
*
Parliamentary webpage
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, Stuart
1967 births
Living people
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
University of Auckland alumni
University of Canterbury alumni
New Zealand list MPs
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election
21st-century New Zealand politicians
Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election