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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
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 ...
between 2010 and 2013, and is a member of the
Labour Party.
Biography
Early life and career
Northey was born in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
in 1945 and was educated at
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
. He then attended the
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 obtained a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in chemistry and physics and a first class
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in political science.
He then found employment as a youth and recreation officer, arts advisor and employment officer. He became president of the New Zealand Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and served on the committee of the New Zealand Consultative Committee on Disarmament. He was also an executive member of the Auckland District Council of Social Service and Citizens' Advocacy and the president of the
Citizens Association for Racial Equality (CARE).
He joined the
Labour Party and became chairman of
Princes Street Labour as well as the Eden Central and Orakei branches. Later he was chair of the
Tamaki and
Eden electorate committees. Northey also was the vice-president, and later president, of the Auckland Labour Regional Council and was a member of Labour's national executive as a youth representative.
Local body politics
Northey first stood as a
Labour Party candidate for the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
at the
1968 local elections. He stood for the council unsuccessfully four times before finally winning a seat at a
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
in February 1979. He lost his seat at the next election in 1980. After exiting the council Northey stood unsuccessfully for Parliament against the then
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Robert Muldoon
Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party.
Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...
, in the
Tamaki electorate in the
1981 election. In the
1983 local elections Northey regained a seat on the city council before deciding not to stand for re-election in 1986.
Member of Parliament
He was first elected to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in the
1984 election as MP for
Eden, replacing National's
Aussie Malcolm
Anthony George "Aussie" Malcolm (born 11 December 1940) is a former National Party politician in New Zealand.
Early years
Malcolm was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1940. He was educated in Canada and Australia (Sydney Church of England Gram ...
. He was re-elected in the
1987 election, but was defeated in the
National Party's landslide victory in the
1990 election. During this time he was chair of the Auckland Labour MPs Lobby. In 1985 Northey led the New Zealand government's youth delegation to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, attended the inter-parliamentary union conference in
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
in 1987 and was a delegate at the first parliamentary conference on the global environment in Washington in 1990. In
September 1990 he stood for the Labour Party leadership against Foreign Affairs Minister
Mike Moore Michael Moore is an American filmmaker and author.
Michael Moore may also refer to:
Academia
* Michael G. Moore (fl. 1970s–2020s), professor of education
* Michael S. Moore (academic) (fl. 1960s–2020s), American law professor
* Michael Moore ...
. His candidature was a surprise to most given that he was not a member of cabinet. He was defeated by Moore by the wide margin of 41 votes to 15.
After losing his seat in 1990, he attempted to regain a seat on the Auckland City Council. He stood as a candidate in a
1991 by-election for the Maungakiekie Ward, finishing runner-up to Ken Graham.
In the
1993 election he returned to Parliament, now representing
Onehunga
Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...
which he took off National's
Grahame Thorne. He was selected as the Labour candidate in Onehunga in preference to Chris Diack, a supporter of controversial former finance minister
Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became arguably best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 198 ...
. After missing out on the nomination Diack and his allies in the branch drained the electorate cash accounts by lump paying more than $6000 in outstanding debts to party headquarters, leaving just $7 to fund Northey's campaign in an act of spite. They then took ownership of an income-earning rental house from the Onehunga Labour Party and used it to instead fund the
ACT Party (to whom Diack defected to in 1994) before finally being returned to the Labour Party after a long legal case in 2004.
After re-entering Parliament Northey was aligned to
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 ...
who replaced Moore as leader. Clark appointed him Labour's Shadow Minister of Local Government and Youth Affairs. In the
1996 election he contested the
Maungakiekie seat after boundary changes caused by the introduction of
mixed-member proportional
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
(MMP) representation, but was defeated in an upset by National's
Belinda Vernon. He was not ranked high enough on Labour's list to remain in Parliament.
In June 2020 it was revealed that the
New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS or SIS; mi, Te Pā Whakamarumaru) is New Zealand's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for providing information and advising on matters including national security (inc ...
had spied upon Northey during his time in Parliament, under the pretext of his support for racial equality and nuclear disarmament. At the time he was chair of the Justice and Law Reform Select Committee, which was responsible for financial oversight of the SIS, and of legislation altering its powers.
Return to local politics
He has since entered local politics, serving on the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
holding senior committee roles. He was elected to the Penrose Ward in 1998 until 2001 when he changed to the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Ward, holding his seat until the council was abolished in 2010. In 2007, Richard Northey became leader of the
City Vision
City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Regi ...
-Labour bloc on council.
Northey became a member of Labour's national council for six years and was chairman of the party's policy committee. In 2000 he stood unsuccessfully to replace
Bob Harvey as President of the Labour Party, but was defeated by
Mike Williams.
He was elected to the new
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 ...
in 2010, representing the
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward.
In 2013 he contested the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward again but was defeated by
Denise Krum.
At the
2016 Auckland elections, Northey was elected as a member of the Waitematā Local Board for the
City Vision
City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Regi ...
ticket. He was re-elected in the 2019 Auckland local elections, and was subsequently elected Chair of the Local Board.
Personal life
He was a
lecturer
Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
in political studies and planning at the
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 ...
. In the
2002 New Year Honours, he was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...
, for public services.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Northey, Richard
1945 births
Living people
People educated at Auckland Grammar School
University of Auckland alumni
University of Auckland faculty
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Auckland Councillors
Auckland City Councillors
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1981 New Zealand general election