David Allan Highet (27 May 1913 – 28 April 1992) was a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1966 to 1984, representing the National Party for

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

, holding the then largest majorities in the House.

Early life and family

Highet was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, the second son of David and Elsie Highet. He attended

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

. Highet's older brother, William Bremner Highet, was an Otago University scholar and professor of neurosurgery, who died when the was sunk in 1942. Highet's uncle was Harry Highet, the civil engineer who designed the

P-class sailing dinghy The P-Class is a type of small single sail dinghy, popular as a training boat for young people in New Zealand. This class is famous for being the sailing trainer vessel for many new entrants into the sport, and virtually every famous New Zealand ...

. Highet attended the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

, from where he graduated with a

BCom A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa ...

. Highet tried to enlist in the New Zealand Army in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but was declined due to having suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in the 1930s. He served in the

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

, reaching the rank of captain. Highet practised as an accountant and businessman, and was active in the establishment of the Wellington division of the National Party. In the 1950s, Highet was a Wellington City Councillor after winning a 1955 by-election. In 1954, Highet won the National nomination for the electorate. Highet's opponent, Labour candidate

Frank Kitts Sir Francis Joseph Kitts (1 May 1912 – 16 March 1979) was a New Zealand politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Wellington, holding the post from 1956 to 1974. He was the Labour Member of Parliament for between and 1960. Early lif ...

, went on to win the seat, and later became the longest-serving

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

. Highet moved to Auckland in the 1950s, becoming the senior partner in Highet and Toomey, an Auckland accounting firm. In 1960 he became general manager of L. J. Fisher and Co., Ltd and in 1962 he succeeded

Hugh Watt Hugh Watt (19 March 1912 – 4 February 1980) was a New Zealand politician who was a Labour member of Parliament and the acting prime minister of New Zealand between 31 August and 6 September 1974, following the death of Prime Minister Norm ...

to become executive director of the Auckland City Development Association. Highet was first married to Patricia Hoyles, and they had a daughter and a son. In 1976, Highet married prominent New Zealand artist and television personality

Shona McFarlane Shona Graham McFarlane (27 March 1929 – 29 September 2001) was a New Zealand artist, journalist and broadcaster. Biography McFarlane was born in Gore and educated at Otago Girls' High School, and studied teaching at the Dunedin Teachers' C ...

Member of Parliament

Highet was elected to Parliament in the 1966 elections as MP for the Auckland electorate of

, succeeding retiring speaker

Ronald Algie Sir Ronald Macmillan Algie (22 October 1888 – 23 July 1978) was a New Zealand politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives for six years in the 1960s. He described himself as "a Tory in the old tradition". Early life Alg ...

. He defeated future colleague

George Gair George Frederick Gair (13 October 1926 – 17 August 2015) was a New Zealand politician. He was once deputy leader of the National Party in the New Zealand Parliament, and was considered by many to be a possible contender for the leadership it ...

for the nomination as National's candidate for the seat. Highet was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

in 1971, becoming

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

, Minister of Local Government and associate Minister for Health and Social Welfare. The National Party lost the 1972 elections, and Highet was in opposition until 1975. When

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

contested the leadership of the National Party in 1974, Highet was one of two National MPs to support Marshall.

Cabinet Minister

With the National Party winning the 1975 elections, Highet 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 * Filing ...

again, becoming Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Local Government, New Zealand's first Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Sport. Highet was particularly well regarded for his interest in the arts and sport, having been an opera singer and representative sportsman in his youth. Highet founded the National Youth Orchestra, and was a founding Director of the International Festival of the Arts. During his time as Minister for the Arts, Highet founded the

New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; mi, Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amende ...

, the

Hillary Commission Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The org ...

, and was actively involved in the organisation of the Historic Places Trust, the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Symph ...

, the

Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...

, and the Arts Council.

Legislation

In 1976, Highet introduced the

Waitangi Day Act There have been two Waitangi Day Acts passed by the New Zealand Parliament: the Waitangi Day Act 1960 and the Waitangi Day Act 1976. Neither made 6 February (Waitangi Day) a public holiday; this was done by the New Zealand Day Act 1973. The firs ...

, changing the name of New Zealand's national day back to

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wai ...

. In 1977, following a petition to the House, Highet introduced

God Defend New Zealand "God Defend New Zealand" (, meaning 'New Zealand') is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the King". Legally the two have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used. Originally written as a ...

, as New Zealand's official national anthem alongside

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

. As Minister of Internal Affairs, Highet oversaw the passage of the Citizenship Act 1977, establishing a New Zealand Citizenship as a separate citizenship, and making British citizens legal aliens for the first time. In November 1979 Highet suggested that the design of the Flag of New Zealand should be changed, and sought an artist to design a new flag with a silver fern on the fly. The proposal attracted little support however.

Think Big

In 1977, Highet introduced the expression "

Think Big In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

" in a speech to a National Party Conference, as a description of the Government's then-ambitious major projects in the Energy sector. Highet, as Minister of Racing, named the policy after Melbourne Cup-winning racehorse

. Highet was considered to be a social liberal, and was among a handful of economically liberal members of Muldoon's cabinet.

1980 Olympic boycott

Highet was Sports Minister when cabinet decided to support the United States-led boycott to the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Government stepped in and threatened the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (NZOCGA) with funding cuts and cancelled leave for competitors who were in the

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

. Highet appealed to the athletes to "think beyond heirown hopes and ambitions ... any athletes who did go to the Olympic Games would be letting New Zealand down".

1981 Springbok Tour

Highet was Minister for Sport during the 1981 Springbok Tour. While Prime Minister Muldoon announced that the New Zealand Government would not intervene to stop the tour going ahead, Highet made public statements indicating that he could use his authority as Internal Affairs Minister, responsible for lotteries funding, to withdraw financial contributions to the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

if the Tour proceeded.

Retirement

Highet suffered grave illness in early 1984, one of the reasons Muldoon called a snap election. Highet retired from politics at the 1984 elections, at the age of 71. National Party member Doug Graham, who had unsuccessfully challenged Highet for the National Party nomination in 1981, won the selection, and succeeded Highet that year. In the

1986 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1986 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, Highet was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services.

References

* ''All Honourable Men'' Auckland University Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Highet, Allan 1913 births 1992 deaths People educated at Otago Boys' High School Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand National Party MPs University of Otago alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates New Zealand Symphony Orchestra people Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Wellington City Councillors Politicians from Dunedin New Zealand military personnel of World War II