Arthur James Faulkner (20 November 1921 – 15 May 1985) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Early life and career
Faulkner was born in the
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
suburb of
Devonport in 1921. He was educated at Takanini School then Otahuhu District High School and after finishing his education he found employment as a sales clerk. At the age of 15 he joined the
Labour Party and worked as a party organiser and later a branch secretary.
At the outbreak of
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 ...
Faulkner joined the
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
and became a fighter pilot. He saw action in both Europe and North Africa flying a
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
.
He showed his prowess as a fighter pilot by being the first Allied pilot to land at
Anzio
Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.
Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
, Italy, when Allied forces fought their way ashore during
Operation Shingle
The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The ope ...
.
After returning to New Zealand after the war he was employed as the credit manager of a furniture company.
Political career
Member of Parliament
Faulkner stood unsuccessfully for the
Franklin
Franklin may refer to:
People
* Franklin (given name)
* Franklin (surname)
* Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class
Places Australia
* Franklin, Tasmania, a township
* Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...
electorate in
and the
North Shore electorate in . At the
Bay of Plenty by-election in May 1957 he was Labour's campaign organiser.
He then stood for and won the
Roskill electorate in , and held the seat to 1981, when he retired. Faulkner was a backbencher during the government of
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 ...
before spending 12 years in opposition. During this period he spoke frequently on defence matters in the house and it was no surprise when Labour leader
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...
designated Faulkner as Labour's defence spokesman in 1965. He was particularly critical of New Zealand's involvement in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
Earlier that year he stood unsuccessfully for the position of Kirk's deputy. He was beaten by the incumbent
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 Norma ...
by 24 votes to 8 with
Norman Douglas
George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing.
...
receiving 2 votes.
When United States
Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew (November 9, 1918 – September 17, 1996) was the 39th vice president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1973. He is the second vice president to resign the position, the other being John ...
visited
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
in mid-January 1970, Faulkner along with several other Labour Members of Parliament including
Bob Tizard
Robert James Tizard (7 June 1924 – 28 January 2016) was a Labour politician from New Zealand. He served as the sixth deputy prime minister, the minister of Finance, minister of Health and minister of Defence.
Biography Early life and career ...
,
Jonathan Hunt, and
Martyn Finlay
Allan "Martyn" Finlay (1 January 1912 – 20 January 1999) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Labour Party. He was an MP in two separate spells and a member of two different governments, including being a minister in the latter wh ...
boycotted the state dinner to protest American policy in Vietnam. However, other Labour MPs including Opposition Leader
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...
attended the function which dealt with the
Nixon Doctrine
The Nixon Doctrine (also known as the Guam Doctrine) was put forth during a press conference in Guam on July 25, 1969 by President of the United States Richard Nixon and later formalized in his speech on Vietnamization of the Vietnam War on Novembe ...
.
Cabinet minister
He was a
Cabinet Minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
, and was appointed by Kirk as
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
from 1972 to 1974 in the
Third Labour Government. Within days of being sworn in as a minister he ended New Zealand's
compulsory military training scheme which fulfilled a key election campaign pledge by Labour.
Faulkner strongly opposed New Zealand having sporting contact with
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
during the
Apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
period and argued that the proposed 1973 Springbok tour should be cancelled. He told cabinet that he would resign rather than instruct troops to combat protesting civilians and that in any case the military was not trained to assist police in preserving civil order. The tour eventually did not go ahead. He was also briefly
Minister of Works from August to September 1974. He was often called to serve in an acting role in other portfolios including lands, education, island affairs, agriculture and fisheries. He was particularly noted for his success in education and lands where he initiated the governments
Ohu scheme of work groups for alternative communities in rural areas.
He stood a second time for deputy to
Bill Rowling
Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...
in
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
following the death of Kirk. He was popular in caucus due to his amiable personality, but both chief whip
Ron Barclay
Ronald Morrison Barclay (2 September 1914 – 29 April 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Early life and family
Born in Little River, New Zealand in 1914, he received his education at the Christchurch Technical College. ...
and senior minister
Warren Freer
Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 – 29 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He represented the Mount Albert electorate from 1947 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician ever ...
saw him as indecisive and not leadership material. As Barclay learned that Faulkner could win on the first ballot, he got Freer to stand for deputy to split the vote.
Bob Tizard
Robert James Tizard (7 June 1924 – 28 January 2016) was a Labour politician from New Zealand. He served as the sixth deputy prime minister, the minister of Finance, minister of Health and minister of Defence.
Biography Early life and career ...
, narrowly, won on the fourth ballot 28 votes to 26. In a surprise move, Rowling decided to remove Faulkner as Defence minister and instead appointed him as
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
instead. One of his strengths was his abilities as a conciliator, a talent which served him well in the Labour portfolio, deemed to be the most demanding job in the Third Labour Government.
Rowling also appointed him
Minister of State Services. Faulkner's critics suggested he was too ready to agree with all points of view but settle for none, whilst others thought he was skilled at reaching amicable agreements that never fully conceded to one side while still satisfying all parties. Those skills were underutilised in the defence portfolio but which led Rowling to shift his responsibilities.
Party president
Following the defeat of the government, he was elected President of the Labour Party in May 1976. As President he devoted his energies to rebuilding the party organisation. He was President of the party for three years until he stepped down and was succeeded by
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989.
Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...
, who had been defeated by Faulkner at the 1978 conference 693 votes to 422 for the presidency.
As president he was successful in retaining party members whilst in opposition but was heavily criticised for his role in several messy candidate selections ahead of the (particularly and ).
In opposition again, Faulkner was appointed Shadow Minister of Labour and Employment by Rowling. Labour was defeated again in after which he was instead made Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence. In 1979 he suffered health issues related to a
gallstone
A gallstone is a calculus (medicine), stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to ...
. He was absent from Parliament for over a month and was relieved of some minor portfolio responsibilities by Rowling (electoral reform and accident compensation) to ease his recovery.
Faulkner came under increasing pressure to retire, primarily due to his age. He reluctantly decided not to stand again ahead of the election. Despite having privately discussed retiring with Rowling, his retirement announcement came as a surprise to media as he had already been selected by Labour to re-contest the seat for the next election. He clarified the late announcement by stating that he didn't want to give political opponents any indication to gear up their preparations to contest the seat.
There was much speculation that Anderton would attempt to take his place in Roskill, but after a hostile reaction to the notion in caucus Anderton decided not to seek the Roskill nomination. He was eventually replaced by
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
. Faulkner's final act in Parliament was to move the
Gleneagles Agreement
In the Gleneagles Agreement, in 1977, Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers agreed, as part of their support for the international campaign against apartheid, to discourage contact and competition between their sportsmen and sporting organi ...
Bill which appropriately reflected his career long opposition to Apartheid.
Later life and death
In October 1984 he was appointed as a member of the board of
Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand Limited () is the flag carrier airline of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 20 domestic and 30 international destinations in 18 countries, primarily around and within the Pacific ...
by the
Fourth Labour Government
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...
.
Faulkner died on 15 May 1985 at his home in Auckland, aged 63. He was survived by his wife and five children.
Personal life
He married May (Peg) Cox in 1945, and they had 2 sons and 3 daughters.
Peg died in 2019.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Arthur
1921 births
1985 deaths
People from Auckland
Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
New Zealand defence ministers
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election