Mark Stuart Cameron is a New Zealand politician and dairy farmer who was elected to the New Zealand parliament at the 2020 general election as a representative of the

ACT New Zealand ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...

party.

Early life and career

Mark Cameron is a dairy farmer from

Ruawai Ruawai is a small town located 30 km south of Dargaville in Northland, New Zealand. The name literally translated from Maori means 'two waters' referring to the nearby Northern Wairoa River and Kaipara Harbour. The township primarily serv ...

in Northland. Cameron has lived and farmed in the Northland region for 30 years, and is married with three children.

Political career

In 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 ...

, Cameron ran for the electorate of Northland, coming in at fourth place via the ACT Party list. He was selected as the ACT Party spokesman for Primary Industries, Regional Economic Development and Biosecurity. Cameron is a prominent spokesman for issues in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

communities such as farming regulations and mental health. Cameron has been critical of several climate change measures taken by the New Zealand government, stating that some scientists and politicians are "''perpetuating an environment of fear''" against rural farmers. Cameron advocates for more regional solutions to tackle environmental issues, rather than top-down government policy. Cameron was an advocate of the

End of Life Choice Act 2019 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 ...

. During parliamentary

question time A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...

on 18 November 2021, Cameron asked Minister for Rural Communities

Damien O'Connor Damien Peter O'Connor (born 16 January 1958) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who currently serves as Minister of Agriculture, Minister for Biosecurity, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, Minister for Land Information and Minister ...

, who was absent and was represented by his colleague

Stuart Nash Stuart Alexander Nash (born August 1967) is a politician from New Zealand. He was a list member of the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from to 2011, and was re-elected in the as representative of the Napier electorate. He ente ...

, if he had met the leaders of farming advocacy group Groundswell NZ. In response, Nash alleged that the group promoted racism and

vaccine hesitancy Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain abou ...

. When Cameron reiterated his question, Nash told Cameron to avoid posing with someone holding an anti-vaccination sign at a Groundswell protest. Nash's remarks were criticised as slanderous by Groundswell NZ leader Bryce McKenzie, who emphasized the group's efforts to combat racism and anti-vaccination sentiment among its members and social media platforms. A few days after the exchange with Nash,

Newshub ''Newshub'' (stylised as ''Newshub.'') is a New Zealand news service that airs on the television channels Three and Eden, as well as on digital platforms. It formerly operated across radio stations run by MediaWorks Radio until December 202 ...

reported that in 2019 Cameron had made online comments referring to

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

as a "feckless wench" and "vacuous teenager," and endorsing the repurposing of the

MAGA Maga or MAGA may refer to: MAGA * Make America Great Again, a political slogan famously used by Donald Trump * Museo MAGA, a modern-art museum in Gallarate, Italy * ''maga'', the logo of the Cornish Language Partnership, an organisation promot ...

acronym to stand for "Make Ardern go away." He had also described

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

as "making his country awesome." When asked about the comments, Cameron expressed regret for what he described as "flippant remarks," made while he was "a civilian, not a parliamentarian."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Mark 1970s births Living people People from the Kaipara District ACT New Zealand MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs New Zealand farmers Year of birth missing (living people)