John McGregor Carter (born 8 May 1950) is a New Zealand politician, and member of the
National Party. He represented the
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...
,
Far North and
Northland electorates in Parliament from 1987 until July 2011, when he became New Zealand's
High Commissioner to the
Cook Islands
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, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, langu ...
. Since the October
2013 local elections, he was mayor of the
Far North District for 9 years until his retirement from politics in 2022.
Early life
He was born in
Te Kōpuru
Te Kōpuru is the largest community on the Pouto Peninsula in Northland, New Zealand. The Wairoa River separates the peninsula at this point from the main North Auckland Peninsula to the east. Dargaville is to the north.
History and culture
...
, Northland and educated at
Otamatea High School. Before entering politics, Carter worked as a local government administration official.
He was the
county clerk and principal officer at Hokianga County Council until his election to Parliament in 1987.
Carter is married, and has one daughter and two sons.
Political career
Member of Parliament
Carter was elected to
Parliament in the
1987 election, winning the
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...
electorate. He continued to represent the area when the seat changed names to
Far North in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
and later
Northland. The National Party came to power in the
1990 election and Carter was appointed as the Junior Government
Whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
, and later Senior Government Whip until 1995 and again from 1996 to mid-2004.
Carter was sacked as whip in 1995, after he phoned into a
talkback radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
show, hosted by fellow National MP
John Banks, impersonating a work-shy
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
called Hone, causing widespread offence.
In the first term of the
Fifth National Government
Neville Chamberlain formed the Chamberlain war ministry in 1939 after declaring war on Germany. Chamberlain led the country for the first eight months of the Second World War, until the Norway Debate in Parliament led Chamberlain to resign a ...
, Carter was a Minister outside of Cabinet, holding the
Civil Defence
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitig ...
,
Senior Citizens,
Racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
and Associate
Local Government portfolios.
He also chaired the Auckland Governance Legislation
select committee.
In February 2011, the government announced that Carter would be the next High Commissioner to the Cook Islands.
He left Parliament in July 2011,
but his departure did not result in a by-election, as the vacancy occurred within six months of the next general election.
On 13 June 2011 Carter was granted the right to retain the title of
The Honourable for his lifetime. He retired as New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands in July 2013.
Local government
Carter returned to the
Far North District of New Zealand, successfully running for Mayor of the District at the 2013 local elections, defeating the incumbent
Wayne Brown. He was re-elected again in both
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh c ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
He lives at
Waipapakauri Ramp on
Ninety Mile Beach.
In October 2021, Carter expressed opposition to 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 ...
's
Three Waters reform programme
The Water Services Reform Programme (formerly known as Three Waters) is a public infrastructure restructuring programme launched by the Sixth Labour Government to centralise the management of water supply and sanitation in New Zealand. It origi ...
, describing it as a "mistake."
Political views
Carter is a supporter of the
monarchy in New Zealand
The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, ascended the throne following the death of his moth ...
. In 1992, a year described by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
as her ''
annus horribilis
(pl. ''anni horribiles'') is a Latin phrase, meaning "horrible year". It is complementary to , which means "wonderful year".
Origin of phrase
The phrase was used in 1891 in an Anglican publication to describe 1870, the year in which the dogma ...
'', Carter called on New Zealanders to write in to express their support for her, having written to ''
The Times'' of London criticising the British media's apparent lack of respect towards the Queen. Inundated with letters of support, he remarked that "we wanted her to know we cared". In March 1994 he publicly disavowed
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 to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Tar ...
's call for a
New Zealand republic
New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic.
The campaign chair is Lewis Holden, an Auckland political activist and businessman. The organisation is not aligned w ...
.
Honours
In 1990, Carter was awarded the
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people.
Background
The New Zea ...
.
In the
2012 New Year Honours
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, he 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 p ...
for services as a Member of Parliament.
References
External links
John Carterofficial site
Profileat National party
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, John
1950 births
Living people
New Zealand National Party MPs
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand monarchists
People from Te Kōpuru
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
High Commissioners of New Zealand to the Cook Islands
Mayors of places in the Northland Region
21st-century New Zealand politicians