Wyatt Creech
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Wyatt Beetham Creech (born 13 October 1946) is a retired New Zealand politician. He served as the 14th
deputy prime minister of New Zealand The deputy prime minister of New Zealand () is the second-most senior member of the Cabinet of New Zealand. The officeholder usually deputises for the prime minister at official functions. Since 31 May 2025, the current deputy prime minister ...
in
Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...
's National Party government from August 1998 to December 1999.


Early life

Creech was born in
Oceanside, California Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...
, United States. His father, Jesse Wyatt Creech, hailed from North Carolina. Jesse had enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
in 1939. He served in the 3rd Defense Battalion, which saw action at
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
on 7 December 1941, the Battle of Midway Island in June 1942, and through the whole
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...
from 7 August 1942 until early 1943. Creech's mother, a New Zealander, met his father when the 3rd Defense Battalion was deployed to
Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...
, New Zealand, for rest and recovery following the successful conclusion of the Guadalcanal Campaign. When Creech was three months old, the family returned to New Zealand, settling in
Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...
where his father became a sheep and beef farmer. Creech received his primary education in
Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...
and his secondary education in
Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...
at Wanganui Collegiate. Initially Creech farmed at his family farm before obtaining an agricultural qualification 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 ...
. Following completion of that course, Creech travelled extensively overseas including an overland drive from India to the United Kingdom (passing through as well as India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, Italy, Switzerland and France). Further travel took him extensively through Eastern Europe (including Russia). On his return to New Zealand he obtained a degree double majoring in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
and
international politics International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
from
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...
. After completing his degree, Creech again travelled overseas this time with his travels focussed on North America. He subsequently returned to Wairarapa and established a
vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
in the newly developing wine growing region of Martinborough.


Entry into politics

In the 1987 election, Creech contested the Wairarapa seat for the National Party. On election night, Creech won on the provisional vote count by 65 votes, and attended the first National caucus. The official count (completed two weeks later) reversed the election night provisional count and the constituency was won by the incumbent Labour Party MP, Reg Boorman by seven votes. Creech challenged that result with a petition under the provisions of the Electoral Act; supported initially by MPs Roger McClay and
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
(who had been involved in recounts in Taupo and Hunua) but not the party hierarchy, according to Creech's account in a book by Ross Meurant. A Judicial Recount, the initial step, saw Boorman's lead reduced to one vote. Creech then launched a full Electoral Petition on two counts. First, that a number who had voted in the election were not qualified to vote in the Wairarapa constituency on various grounds (including failure to qualify under the residency rules), and second, that Boorman had violated laws that set a limit on election spending by candidates. Boorman in his counter challenge also challenged a number of votes on various grounds. In all, more than 200 votes were reviewed by the Electoral Court. The process took eleven months to complete. On 12 July 1988, the Electoral Court found in Creech's favour on both counts in its judgement on the Wairarapa Election Petition, and he took his seat immediately with a majority of 34 votes (9994 to 9960). Over his period as MP for Wairarapa his majority significantly increased from this narrow initial victory, increasing to over 7 thousand votes by the .


Cabinet minister

When the National Party won the 1990 election, Creech was appointed to the Cabinet of the fourth National government as its most junior member. Initially, his two main roles were Minister of Revenue (until 1996) and Minister of Customs (until 1993). Over the three terms of National-led governments he held a number of other Cabinet portfolios, including Associate (later Deputy) Minister of Finance (1991–1996), Minister for State Owned Enterprises (1993), Minister of Employment (1994–1996),
Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
(1996–1999), Minister for Courts (1997–1998), and
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 ...
(1999). Creech chaired the cross party committees of MPs that developed the Superannuation Accord and the Employment Accord. Creech supported
Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...
's December 1997 party-room coup against Prime Minister
Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born in Ōpunake, Taranaki, to Irish immigrants. Bef ...
, and Creech became Deputy Leader of the National Party on 8 December 1997.


Deputy Prime Minister

In August 1998, the coalition between the National Party and
New Zealand First New Zealand First (), commonly abbreviated to NZ First or NZF, is a political party in New Zealand, founded and led by Winston Peters, who has served three times as Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, deputy prime minister. The party has form ...
broke down, and New Zealand First's
Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...
was sacked as Deputy Prime Minister. Shipley appointed Creech to fill the vacancy. However, barely a year later, the Shipley government was heavily defeated by Labour. Prior to this election, Creech had stood aside from contesting the Wairarapa Electorate as the National Party candidate and became 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 ...
. Under National Party rules, his position as Deputy Leader automatically put him in the second position on National's party list, assuring his reelection despite National's heavy losses. He was appointed a member of the Privy Council just before the election. Creech became Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister of Health under Shipley. Creech remained as the party's deputy leader until February 2001, when he chose to stand down. He was replaced by
Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and Leader of the New Zealand National Party, leader of the New Zealand National Party, ...
. Creech did not stand for re-election in the 2002 election.


Post-politics career

Following his retirement from politics, Creech headed up a small group that took advantage of the opportunities created by the deregulation of the dairy industry by the founding of the Open Country Cheese Company, located near
Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which take ...
, in
Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
. This has now grown into Open Country Dairy Co Ltd with both milk powder and cheese production facilities in Waharoa (near Matamata), Waikato, Awarua (near Invercargill) and Wanganui. The original cheese company was formed on 28 November 2001 (the date on which the
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act is an Act of Parliament passed in New Zealand in 2001. The Act authorised the amalgamation of New Zealand's two largest dairy co-operatives - New Zealand Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd and Kiwi Co-operative ...
received the Royal Assent. Manufacturing commenced in October 2004. He stood down from the board of this company in 2008. In 2007 Creech and his associates launched as an offshoot from the commodity product manufacturing operation Open Country a new specialty cheese production focussed operation Kaimai Cheese (named after the local mountain range) and served from commencement as its Chairman. He stood down from the board of this company in 2013 when their assets were sold to a new producer. In 2009 he joined the board of NZ Windfarms. retiring from that board in December 2013. Creech also served for a two-year period on the boards of Seales Limited, a Waikato-based stock feed manufacturing firm, the Cognition Education Trust, a trust supporting education research in New Zealand. he then joined the board of Healthcare Holdings Limited (providing various community-based health services). In September 2009, Creech joined the New Zealand Fire Service Commission as Deputy Chair. As of mid 2014 he serves as Chair of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (replacement Crown entity for the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) and Deputy Chair of Healthcare Holdings Limited. In 2009–2010, Creech was commissioned by the Minister for the Environment and the Minister of Local Government to head a review of the performance of Environment Canterbury. Their report was highly critical of the performance and capability of the organisation, and while the recommendations were controversial, were fully implemented by the government. Creech served as part of the Solomon Islands International Election Observer Team in the 2001 General Election in that nation. He also led the New Zealand Election Observer Team in the August 2010 General Election in Solomon Islands. He also served on the International Election Observer Team for the Falkland Islands referendum on its future status in 2013. Creech served from December 2004 until June 2006 as a director of investment and property company Bluechip. He resigned in June 2006. The company failed in November 2008. As former directors, Creech and John Luxton (who resigned in October 2006) were included (2012) in two lawsuits which alleged breach of their duty to investors. No in-court proceedings in relation to this claim eventuated, and in 2014 all legal claims against the former directors were abandoned. In 2014, he was appointed chair of
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
Pouhere Taonga Board by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage,
Chris Finlayson Christopher Francis Finlayson (born 1956) is a New Zealand lawyer and former Member of Parliament, representing the National Party. He was elected to Parliament in 2005. In the Fifth National Government, from 2008 to 2017, he was Attorney-G ...
.


Honours and awards

In 1990, Creech was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was appointed a
Companion 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 ...
, for services as a Member of Parliament.


Notes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creech, Wyatt 1946 births American emigrants to New Zealand Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Living people Massey University alumni Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand National Party MPs Victoria University of Wellington alumni People from Masterton People from Martinborough People from Oceanside, California New Zealand list MPs Ministers of education of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Deputy prime ministers of New Zealand New Zealand people of American descent 21st-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers of health of New Zealand