Chris Penk on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Christopher Aidan Penk (born 1980) is a New Zealand politician and
Penk was born in West Auckland. He attended
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
in 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 National Party.
Personal life
Penk was born in West Auckland. He attended Kelston Boys' High School
Kelston Boys' High School ("KBHS") (Te kura tuarua o nga tamatane o kerehana) is an all-boys state secondary school in Kelston, a suburb in the Waitakere region of Auckland, New Zealand. It was created in 1963 when the roll of Kelston High Scho ...
and graduated from the University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
with a Bachelor of Arts in 1999. He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
, serving as an officer on HMNZS ''Te Kaha''. He was an aide-de-camp for Governor-General Silvia Cartwright
Dame Silvia Rose Cartwright (née Poulter; born 7 November 1943) is a New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand, from 2001 to 2006. She was the second woman to hold the office, after Dame Catherine Tizard.
Ear ...
, before joining the Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
for four years.
After his military career, Penk became a property lawyer. His father, Stephen, is an Associate Dean at the University of Auckland's Law School and his brother Alex is also a lawyer.
Political career
In August 2014, Penk was selected to contest the Kelston electorate in thegeneral election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
after the resignation of Claudette Hauiti
Claudette Hauiti (born 8 May 1961) is a New Zealand journalist, broadcaster and political commentator. She was the producer of the award winning programme ''Children of the Revolution.'' Hauiti was a New Zealand politician and member of the Hous ...
. He placed second behind Carmel Sepuloni
Carmel Jean Sepuloni (born 1977) is a New Zealand politician and a member of parliament for the Labour Party. She was first elected to Parliament following the 2008 general election as a list member, becoming New Zealand's first MP of Tongan ...
. Penk was ranked 68th on the National Party's party list and was not elected to parliament.
Member of Parliament
Penk won selection as National'sHelensville
Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...
candidate for the 2017 election, replacing former prime minister John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
. He won Helensville, defeating Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
's candidate Kurt Taogaga by margin of 14,608 votes.
During the 2020 New Zealand general election
The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...
, Penk contested the Kaipara ki Mahurangi
Kaipara ki Mahurangi is an electorate to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was created for the .
Population centres
The electorate consists of a large northern section of the Auckland Region. It stretches from the border with Northl ...
electorate, defeating Labour's candidate Marja Lubeck
Maria Josina Elisabeth "Marja" Lubeck (born 1965) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.
Early life and family
Lubeck was born in the Netherlands, the eldest child of Valentin ...
by a margin of 4,435 votes.
In June 2021, in response to Winston Peters
Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...
describing National Party members as "sex maniacs", Penk made a tweet saying Peters "is the real sex maniac because he can fuck ..a whole country at once". Judith Collins
Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...
said her office asked Penk to take down the tweet. Collins said "It's just simply inappropriate, we don't use that sort of language."
On 7 December 2021, the National caucus elected him as its Senior Whip, thus making him the Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Representatives.
Penk was one of only eight MPs to vote against the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022
The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that bans conversion therapy practices that seek to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The Bil ...
. He voted against it at its first reading in July 2021 (which then-party-leader Judith Collins instructed her MPs to do), for it at its second reading, and against it at its third and final reading in February 2022.
References
External links
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Penk, Chris 1980 births Living people New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Kelston Boys' High School University of Auckland alumni 21st-century New Zealand lawyers Royal New Zealand Navy personnel Royal Australian Navy personnel New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election