Keith Reading Allen (27 November 1931 – 21 July 1984) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a Cabinet minister who held the Customs portfolio from 15 June 1982 to 21 July 1984.

Biography

He represented the

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

electorate in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

from

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

to 1984, when he died, immediately after the 1984 election. Allen was replaced in the seat by

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, ...

. In August 1983 there had been controversy over claims by Allen that he had been attacked while walking through the city at night. It was reported he had diabetes, and some concluded he may have been hallucinating or was intoxicated. A detailed account of the Keith Allen affair is provided by Sir Robert Muldoon in his book "Number 8" on page 154. In it he discusses the intrigues surrounding Allen's claim that he had been assaulted, the media fracas and a leaked medical report. What Muldoon doesn't state is that Allen was finding the job of a cabinet minister stressful and wanted to resign. According to

Barry Gustafson Barry Selwyn Gustafson (born 1938) is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Directo ...

in his biography on Muldoon entitled "His Way", Muldoon would not accept his resignation. In the documentary "Muldoon: The Grim Face of Power" reference is made to these events. It is claimed that National's Senior Whip

Don McKinnon Sir Donald Charles McKinnon (born 27 February 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 12th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and the minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand. He was the secretary-general of the Commonwealth of ...

met Muldoon on Keith Allen's behalf to explain that Allen wanted out of the Cabinet and wished to retire at the next election. Muldoon retorted: "You look after the back benchers and I'll look after the Ministers. You keep away from Keith Allen".

Hugh Templeton Hugh Campbell Templeton (born 24 March 1929) is a former New Zealand diplomat, politician and member of parliament for the National Party. Early life and family Templeton was born in Wyndham, Southland, in 1929. He was educated at Gore Hi ...

wrote that Allen announced his decision to retire in March 1984, and told Templeton he had diabetes; Templeton consulted an endocrinologist friend who raised the possibility of hypoglycaemia which could explain episodes of unusual behavior, and when consulted by Allen discovered that his diabetic medication was double the upper dose limit. With help from the specialist Allen could attend cabinet meetings again in late April. But Muldoon told Templeton, deputy

Jim McLay Sir James Kenneth McLay (born 21 February 1945) is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician. He served as the ninth deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 15 March to 26 July 1984. McLay was also Leader of the National Party and Leader ...

and chief whip Don McKinnon that the minister was his problem not theirs. On 19 July 1984 after caucus met for the last time after losing the snap election, Templeton called out to Allen as they left the Beehive:

See you on Monday (for the final cabinet meeting). He went home to Tauranga to an empty house. His marriage had broken down under the strain of politics and diabetes. Blaming himself for Muldoon’s troubles and our defeat, he drank a bottle of vodka. Next morning his close friend, Peter Barry of the Wool Board, rang to tell me that Keith had died. I observed many casualties of politics, but none more obviously a victim of Muldoon’s desire for power. Now I can see it as a sad requiem in the Muldoon era.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Keith Reading 1931 births 1984 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates 20th-century New Zealand politicians