Timothy John Costley (born ) is a New Zealand politician. He was elected as the Member of Parliament in the

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

for Ōtaki, representing the National Party, in the 2023 general election. He was previously a pilot with the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

(RNZAF).

Early life and education

Costley was raised in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

by his parents, who were both teachers. He has one sister and one brother and was educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School. He studied at

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

, graduating with 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 ...

degree in mathematical physics, and at

Cranfield University Cranfield University is a postgraduate-only public research university in the United Kingdom that specialises in science, engineering, design, technology and management. Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics (CoA) in 1946. Throug ...

in the United Kingdom where he earned a master's degree in international defence and security. He also has a Diploma in Business.

Military career

Costley joined the

(RNZAF) in 2001 as a pilot. He operated

Bell UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered hel ...

and

NHIndustries NH90 The NHIndustries NH90 is a European medium-sized, twin-engine, multirole military helicopter. It was the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.Perry, Dominic"Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helicop ...

helicopters. He saw operational flying service in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

and

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

. He also completed a tour of duty in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and was involved in numerous rescue missions in New Zealand and humanitarian missions in both

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. Costley was second-in-command of pilot training and command of the NH90 helicopters for the RNZAF. In 2014, Costley was seconded as an

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

, as an officer of the British royal household assisting members of the royal family. He later achieved the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

and finished his career as Commanding Officer of the Flying Training Wing at Ohakea airbase. In 2007, while Costley was stationed in East Timor, he featured in a tongue-in-cheek video that went viral online and was later used for RNZAF recruitment. Costley founded The Missing Wingman Trust, a charity that supports the families of RNZAF families where someone is killed, wounded, injured or ill.

Member of Parliament

In November 2019, Costley was selected as the National Party candidate for the Ōtaki electorate at the 2020 general election. He lost to Labour Party candidate

Terisa Ngobi Terisa Telesia Ngobi is a New Zealand politician. She was the Member of Parliament for Ōtaki representing the Labour Party from 2020 to 2023. Early life Born in Levin, she is of Samoan and Scottish descent. Before entering Parliament, she ...

by 2,988 votes. Costley was again selected to run as the National Party candidate in the Ōtaki electorate during the

2023 New Zealand general election The 2023 New Zealand general election was held on 14 October 2023 to determine the composition of the 54th New Zealand Parliament, 54th Parliament of New Zealand. Voters elected 122 members to the unicameral New Zealand House of Representatives ...

. Final results showed a "commanding win", with Costley receiving over 22,145 votes, a lead of more than 6,271 votes over Ngobi. Costley gave his maiden statement in Parliament on 12 December 2023. He currently sits on the foreign affairs, defence and trade committee and the governance and administration committee. In June 2024, Costley attracted media attention after claiming over NZ$36,000 worth of housing allowance to live in a

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

apartment that he owned. In response to criticism,

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 ...

and National Party leader

Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (; born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who has served as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand since 2023 and as leader of the National Party since 2021. He previously served ...

defended Costley, stating that Members of Parliament often left late at night and that his 58km commute to his home in

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kāpiti Coast, north of the Wellington, New Zealand. The name is a Māori language, Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the flathead grey mullet, grey mullet". The area surrounding the town is notable fo ...

was impractical.

Personal life

Costley and his wife Emma have three daughters.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costley, Tim Living people New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel Massey University alumni Alumni of Cranfield University Unsuccessful candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at Palmerston North Boys' High School