Peter Neilson (12 July 1954 – 9 February 2022) was a New Zealand businessman and politician who was a Labour Party Member of Parliament in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

Biography

Early life and career

Neilson's father was born in Auckland, but raised in England. Neilson was born on 12 July 1954 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, and moved to New Zealand in 1958 with his family. He was educated at

Glendowie College Glendowie College is a public secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand. History The college was opened in 1961, with fewer than 200 pupils. The technology block, now Addams Building, was the only building established at the time of the school' ...

and

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, where he graduated with a bachelor of commerce in 1977. He had one son and one daughter with his wife Megan Clark. He became an economist and later a senior research officer at the

Department of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

Political career

Neilson joined the Labour Party in 1972 and stood for the

Auckland Regional Authority The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

in the 1974 local elections on a Labour ticket alongside future parliamentary colleagues

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 ...

and

Richard Northey Richard John Northey (born 28 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. He served on the Auckland Council between 2010 and 2013, and is a member of the Labour Party. Biography Early ...

. He stood in the

Auckland city Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

ward but was unsuccessful. He was later Labour's campaign chairman at the 1977 local elections, chair of the Tamaki electorate committee, Secretary of Labour's Youth Council and Treasurer of the Wellington Labour Local Body Committee.

Member of parliament

He represented the Wellington electorate of Miramar in Parliament from to 1990, when he was defeated by Graeme Reeves. In 1983 he was appointed Labour's spokesperson for Employment and Productivity by Labour leader

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

. He became chairman of a convenor and secretary of a caucus economic committee and tasked with finding methods to leave the then current wage and price freeze in New Zealand. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the construction of New Zealand's first state house located in the Miramar electorate, Neilson and Minister of Housing,

, carried a coffee table through the same door that former Prime Minister

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government from 1935 until his death in 1940. Savage was born in the Colony ...

had done 50 years before. The stunt was referred to as an act of "overt symbolism".

Cabinet minister

In 1984 Neilson was appointed a Parliamentary Under-Secretary to Minister of Trade and Industry during

Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda of ...

. In Labour's second term Neilson was a member of the

New Zealand Cabinet The Cabinet of New Zealand ( mi, Te Rūnanga o te Kāwanatanga o AotearoaTranslated as: "The Rūnanga (literally 'Council') of the Government of New Zealand") is the New Zealand Government's body of senior Ministers in the New Zealand Governmen ...

from 1987 to 1990. He was Minister of Revenue, Customs, Works and Development and Associate Minister for State‑Owned Enterprises and Finance. As a minister he privatised the Government Printing Office and State Insurance Company.

Later life and death

After exiting parliament Neilson began a career as a business consultant. He undertook several overseas commissions for

Ernst & Young Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...

before leaving to become Chief Executive Officer of the

Sustainable Business Network The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) is a membership-based social enterprise located in Auckland, New Zealand. The network was created in October 2002 by founder and CEO Rachel Brown. History The network was founded by Rachel Brown in 2002, w ...

. From 2011 until 2016 he was chief executive of the New Zealand Financial Services Council. He was Chairperson of the Simplicity Charitable Trust, which manages a

KiwiSaver The KiwiSaver scheme, a New Zealand savings scheme, came into operation from Monday, 2 July 2007. Participants can normally access their KiwiSaver funds only after the age of 65, but can withdraw them in certain limited circumstances, for exampl ...

scheme in New Zealand. He was also a board member for the National Foundation for Deaf & Hard of Hearing. Neilson made a return to politics and was a Labour Party candidate in the

Manurewa-Papakura ward Manurewa-Papakura Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects two councillors and covers the Manurewa and Papakura Local Boards. The two councillors are currently Angela Dalton and Daniel Newman. Demographics Manurewa-Papakura ward covers a ...

for the

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

at the

2019 Auckland local elections The 2019 Auckland local elections took place between September and October 2019 by postal vote as part of nation-wide local elections. The elections were the fourth since the merger of seven councils into the Auckland Council, which is composed ...

. He was unsuccessful. He died on 9 February 2022, at the age of 67.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neilson, Peter 1954 births 2022 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates People from Birmingham, West Midlands University of Auckland alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election