Damien Peter O'Connor (born 16 January 1958) is a

New Zealand Labour Party The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...

politician who served as

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister for Land Information and Minister for Rural Communities in the

Sixth Labour Government The Sixth Labour Government has governed New Zealand since 26 October 2017. It is headed by Jacinda Ardern, the Labour Party leader and prime minister. Following the 2017 general election held on 23 September, the New Zealand First party h ...

. He previously served as a cabinet minister in the

Fifth Labour Government The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance Party. While undertaking ...

. He had been a member of Parliament since 1993 and represented the

West Coast-Tasman West Coast-Tasman electorate boundaries used since the West Coast-Tasman is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. Since its formation for the , it has been held by Damien O'Connor of the Labour Party apart from one parliamentary term, when N ...

electorate. He is now on the Labour list.

Early years

O'Connor was born in Westport in 1958. He attended primary school in his home town before going on to

St Bede's College, Christchurch St. Bede's College is a state integrated Roman Catholic day and boarding school in Christchurch, New Zealand, for boys aged 12 (Year 9) to 18 (Year 13). St. Bede's is the oldest Roman Catholic Boys' College in New Zealand's South Island. It is ...

, a Roman Catholic school, and Lincoln University. Before becoming an MP, he worked in a variety of jobs in farming and tourism. During a five-year stint in Australia, he worked as a machinery operator and in sales. On his return to New Zealand he established Buller Adventure Tours, an adventure tourism company, which he owned and operated in a partnership.

Member of Parliament

Fourth National Government, 1993–1999

He was first elected to Parliament in the 1993 election, recapturing the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

seat for Labour after the upset victory of

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Margaret Moir Margaret Moir (born 9 September 1941) is a former New Zealand politician of the National Party. Previously, she was the elected chairman of the West Coast Regional Council. Biography Moir was born in Kimberley, South Africa, and was ...

in the 1990 election. When

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

successfully challenged

Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author. Michael Moore may also refer to: Academia * Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education * Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor * Michael Moore ...

for the party leadership after the election, O'Connor supported Moore. Later, he said in 2018 that this had set his career back. Unlike other MPs who entered Parliament in 1993, O'Connor was not named a minister in Clark's first ministry in 1999. He was, however, appointed as chair of the Primary Production select committee. He won the reconfigured

seat in the 1996 election, and was the MP for the electorate until he lost it to National's

Chris Auchinvole Christopher John Auchinvole (born 7 March 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He represented the National Party in the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2014. Early years Auchinvole was born in Prestwick, Ayrshire, Scotland, on 7 March 19 ...

during the 2008 election.

Fifth Labour Government, 1999–2008

After the 2002 election he was appointed an associate minister in four portfolios: agriculture, health, racing and rural affairs. He succeeded Annette King as Minister for Racing in a 2003 reshuffle. After the 2005 election, in what would become the final term of the

, O'Connor was promoted to be

Minister of Corrections The Minister of Corrections in New Zealand is the cabinet member appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of the Department of Corrections. The current Minister of Corrections is Kelvin Davis. Responsibilities The Minister of Correcti ...

and

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

. He lost the Corrections role in 2007, following calls for his resignation over the previous year over the

murder of Liam Ashley Liam Ashley was a 17-year-old child from North Shore City, Auckland who was murdered on 24 August 2006, by George Charlie Baker, a prisoner from North Shore, Auckland. The crime occurred2008 general election, the Labour government was defeated by the National Party and O'Connor lost the West-Coast Tasman electorate to National Party list MP

by 971 votes. At this election O'Connor also stood as a list candidate for the first time since 1996; however, his position of 37 was too low for him to return to Parliament as a Labour Party list MP immediately. O'Connor eventually returned to Parliament after the retirement of former deputy leader Michael Cullen in May 2009. He retook West-Coast Tasman for Labour in 2011 and has held the seat since, defending challenges from former Westland District Mayor

Maureen Pugh Maureen Helena Pugh (born 1958) is a New Zealand politician who is a Member of Parliament for the National Party. She has twice appeared to have won a list seat based on preliminary results, then missed out on a seat when the final results cam ...

in 2014 and 2017. In Opposition between 2009 and 2017, O'Connor held various spokesperson roles including agriculture, biosecurity, fisheries, food safety, primary industries and rural affairs.

Sixth Labour Government, 2017–2023

When the Labour Party formed a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

and the Greens in 2017, O'Connor was appointed

, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Food Safety, Minister for Rural Communities and Associate Minister (later Minister of State) for Trade and Export Growth. An early challenge for O'Connor in the Agriculture portfolio was managing the

2017 Mycoplasma bovis outbreak Biosecurity in New Zealand guards against threats to agriculture and biodiversity, with strict border control measures being taken to prevent unwanted organisms from entering the country. __NOTOC__ New Zealand is an island nation that is geograph ...

, opting to attempt eradication to save the projected $1.3 billion cost in lost production to the industry over 10 years, with ongoing productivity losses across the farming sector. On Agriculture, O'Connor has said there is a new “collective wisdom through generational change in farming, which means we are more closely aligned than some on the fringes wish to portray’’. During the 2020 general election, O'Connor was re-elected in West Coast-Tasman by a final margin of 6,208 votes, defeating National's candidate

. In early November 2020, O'Connor maintained his Agriculture, Biosecurity, and Rural Communities ministerial portfolios while becoming the lead Minister for Trade and Export Growth and assuming the Land Information ministerial portfolio. In late January 2021, O'Connor drew media attention when he stated during an interview with

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's ''

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'' "Australia "should follow us ew Zealandand show respect to China." His comments came at a time of heightened Australian-China tensions relating to Australian legislation targeting foreign investment and Chinese trade sanctions against Australia. O'Connor's remarks were criticised as unhelpful to Australia and "at odds with reality" by

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Dave Sharma Devanand Noel "Dave" Sharma (born 21 December 1975) is an Australian former politician and former public servant and diplomat who served as member of parliament for Wentworth from 2019 to 2022. He lost the seat at the 2022 election to indep ...

. While the Chinese state-owned newspaper ''

Global Times The ''Global Times'' () is a daily tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese ultra-nationalistic perspective. The publi ...

'' praised Wellington's perceived openness towards Beijing, O'Connor's remarks were criticised by

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

academic Robert Ayson,

International Service for Human Rights The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is an independent, non-profit organization with offices in Geneva and New York which promotes and protects human rights by supporting human rights defenders, strengthening human rights standards ...

director Phil Lynch and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

director Elaine Person for implying that New Zealand was prioritising trade with China over human rights. Following the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, O'Connor has since said it is important New Zealand does not send ministers to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, stating "we've been very strong on those issues around human rights and unnecessary discrimination. We should continue to do that." O'Connor has led various trade negotiations across the world in his role as Minister for Trade and Export Growth, including an historic $1.8 Billion EU Free Trade Agreement in 2022. O'Connor was the Facilitator of the Fishing Subsidy negotiations at the 12th World Trade Organisation Conference and delivered an agreement with new rules barring countries from subsidising illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. At the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum ministers’ meeting, O'Connor joined a staged walkout when the Russian Minister spoke, with the shared statement including “We condemn in the strongest terms, the unprovoked war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine." In early July 2023, O'Connor accompanied Prime Minister

Chris Hipkins Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of the Sixth Labour Government's Cabinet as Minister of Education, Minister of Police, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the ...

to Brussels for the signing of the New Zealand-European free trade agreement. He described the agreement as a "bloody good deal" that had involved several years of tough negotiations. The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

subsequently ratified the NZ-EU free trade agreement on 23 November 2023. During the

2023 New Zealand general election The 2023 New Zealand general election to determine the composition of the 54th Parliament of New Zealand is planned to be held on 14 October 2023, after the currently elected 53rd Parliament is dissolved or expires. Voters will elect 120 memb ...

, O'Connor was unseated by National MP

, who won the West Coast-Tasman by a margin of 1,017 votes. Despite losing his seat, O'Connor was re-elected to Parliament on the Labour Party list. In mid November 2023, O'Connor represented New Zealand at the 2023 APEC summit since incoming Prime Minister

Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who is currently serving as leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP ...

was unable to attend due to ongoing coalition-forming negotiations with the ACT and

parties.

Sixth National Government, 2023–present

Following the formation of the National-led coalition government in late November 2023, O'Connor became spokesperson for trade and associate spokesperson for foreign affairs and transport in the Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.

Political views

O'Connor is regarded as an " economic dry" on the

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of Liberty, freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convent ...

of the Labour Party. His approach to life and politics in New Zealand is very “upfront and honest’’. In April 2011 O'Connor attracted criticism from Labour Party leader

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 ...

after describing the list MP selection process as being run by "self-serving unionists and a gaggle of gays." O'Connor was disappointed the system did not deliver better results for rural and provincial candidates, such as himself, who were outside the party's power blocs, and apologised for his comments. He is a staunch advocate for the rural and provincial people with strong family ties to the Labour Party's establishment. He has stated that the “timing and decisions’’ on some of Parliament’s conscience votes may have portrayed him as something else, but that’s “a long way from the truth’’. In 2012, he was one of four Labour MPs who voted against the Marriage Amendment Bill, which permitted same sex marriage in New Zealand. He has since attended the Pride Parade in London with his daughter who, in 2012, publicly challenged him on his vote stating "Why should they be denied the same human right everyone else is entitled to just because they love someone the same sex?" In 2014, O'Connor voted with the governing National Party (and against the Labour Party) to support the West Coast Windblown Timber Bill, which allowed the Government to recover storm-blow timber on the West Coast following

Cyclone Ita Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita was the strongest tropical cyclone in the Australian region by central pressure, since George in 2007, and since Monica in 2006 by wind speed. The system was first identified over the Solomon Islands as a tropical lo ...

. O'Connor does not oppose

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, but has voted cautiously on the matter to ensure legislation is strong enough to protect society's most vulnerable. He voted against

Michael Laws Michael Laws (born 1957) is a New Zealand politician, broadcaster and writer. Laws was a Member of Parliament for six years, starting in 1990, initially for the National Party. In Parliament he voted against his party on multiple occasions an ...

' Death with Dignity Bill in 1995, Peter Brown's Death with Dignity Bill in 2003 and

David Seymour David Seymour may refer to: * David Seymour (English politician) (died 1557/58), 14th-century Member of Parliament (MP) for Wareham and Great Bedwyn *David Seymour (New Zealand politician) (born 1983), leader of the ACT Party *David Seymour (photo ...

End of Life Choice Bill The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that seeks to give people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted dying. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health confirmed that, "The Bill uses “a ...

in 2019. He also opposed the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2020, but voted in favour in its first reading. He has since stated he "absolutely do ssupport New Zealand's laws on abortion" and, relating to the overturning of ''Roe v Wade'' in the United States, said "what we see coming from the US is clearly disturbing and shocking". O'Connor has stated he believes in a woman's right to choose without judgement, but believed the bill required a "technical protection" for the premises of gender or disability. In December 2023, O'Connor described Israel's actions in Gaza during the

2023 Israel-Hamas war 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

as amounting to genocide. He stated "that no person with any ounce of moral courage can see this as anything but horrific, nothing more than a genocide." In response, Labour leader

and fellow Labour MP

Phil Twyford Philip Stoner Twyford (born 4 May 1963) is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū. Early years Twyford was born in 1963 in Auckland ...

clarified that O'Connor's remarks did not represent the Labour Party's position on the conflict.

Business activities

O'Connor is past president of the Buller Promotion Association, a member of the West Coast Tourism Development Group, a member of the West Coast Business Development Board and a founding director of Buller Community Development Company. He also won West Coast Young Farmer of the Year.

Personal life

O'Connor separated from his wife Vicky after twelve years of marriage in 2004. The couple had four children. He has a daughter with his new partner, Sharon Flood. Labour Party MP for Ōhāriu and former Police Association president

Greg O'Connor Greg O'Connor is a composer and songwriter who has composed scores for over 30 television series and has written numerous featured songs for TV, films and commercials. He is a Primetime Emmy winner and a four-time Emmy nominee. He has scored pro ...

is his cousin.

Notes

References

External links

Parliamentary website page
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Oconnor, Damien 1958 births Living people New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand People from Westport, New Zealand Place of birth missing (living people) New Zealand list MPs New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni People educated at St Bede's College, Christchurch Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election 21st-century New Zealand politicians Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election Agriculture ministers of New Zealand