Clifford Lorrie Hunter (11 May 1900 – 1 July 1990) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life and family

Hunter was born at

Waimea West The Waimea Plains is a small but fertile area of low-lying land southwest of the port city of Nelson, situated on Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere in the South Island of New Zealand. It is irrigated by the Waimea River from the Waimea Inlet in the n ...

on 11 May 1900, the son of Gordon MacKay Hunter and Edith Constance Hunter (née Andrews). His father was an "active supporter" of Independent MHR for Nelson,

Harry Atmore Harry Atmore (14 December 1870 – 20 August 1946) was a New Zealand Independent Member of Parliament for Nelson in the South Island. Harry Atmore held the Nelson seat as an Independent for a total of thirty years from 1911 to 1914 and th ...

. Hunter married Theresa Anne Gertrude Pye in

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 ...

on 24 August 1921. After leaving school Hunter became a flax and scrub cutter before moving to

in 1920 to become a tram driver. He joined the trade union movement and became president of the Wellington Tramways' Union and later vice-president of the Tramways Federation of New Zealand. He was also a dominion councillor of the Alliance of Labour and a long time member of the Workers' Educational Association (WEA).

Political career

Shortly after moving to Wellington in 1920 Hunter joined the Labour Party and was secretary of Labour's

Island Bay Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore in ...

branch. Hunter unsuccessfully contested the in the for the Labour Party against the incumbent,

Joseph Linklater Joseph Linklater (12 March 1876 – 25 April 1961) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament. Military service Linklater saw active service as a private in the 6th New Zealand Contingent during the Second Boer War. During World War I he was a ...

of the Reform Party. Initially he was set to stand in but changed to Manawatu at the insistence of Labour's general-secretary

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 ...

. In , Hunter in turn beat Linklater. In , Hunter was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

’s John Cobbe.

Later life and death

After his defeat he moved to Auckland to take up a position as a conciliation commissioner where he mediated between workers and employers in industrial disputes. He retired from the role in 1969 but was recalled to his position temporarily in 1974 when the entire industrial award system had to be re-negotiated following then end of economic stabilisation regulations. In the

1987 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

, Hunter was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for public services. Earlier that year he had tacitly supported many of the controversial "

Rogernomics In February 1985, journalists at the ''New Zealand Listener'' coined the term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics" (by analogy with "Reaganomics"), to describe the neoliberal economic policies followed by Roger Douglas. Douglas ...

" reforms. In 1990, he 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 ...

. He died in Waitakere Hospital in 1990, survived by his son and four daughters (his wife Anne having predeceased him in 1965). At the time of his death he was the last surviving member of the

First Labour Government The first MacDonald ministry of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tall ...

. He was buried in Purewa Cemetery, Auckland.

Notes

References

* * 1900 births 1990 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs People from Brightwater Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1938 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Burials at Purewa Cemetery New Zealand trade unionists {{NZLabour-politician-stub