Richard Westwood Worth (3 July 1948 – 10 May 2022) was a New Zealand politician of the
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...
. He was the Member of Parliament for
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
from 1999 to 2005 and a
list MP
A list MP is a member of parliament (MP) elected from a party list rather than from by a geographical constituency. The place in Parliament is due to the number of votes that the party won, not to votes received by the MP personally. This occurs ...
from 2005 to 2009.
Prior to entering Parliament, Worth studied law and business administration, and had a career in law and management. such as being the executive chair of the law firm
Simpson Grierson
Simpson Grierson is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1887; it is ranked in the top legal firms in that country, and the largest by headcount. The firm is a partnership comprising 48 partners and consultants supported by around 160 l ...
. Worth joined the
Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
History
Early history
The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...
s, rising to captain, and had the role of Chief of Naval Reserves for four years. He worked as consul to Columbia and honorary consul to Monaco.
Worth entered Parliament in 2005, after winning the Epsom electorate. He was in opposition from 2005 to 2008 and in government from 2008 until 2009. His roles in government included Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for
Land Information, and Associate Minister of Justice. He opposed the
Civil Union Act 2004
The Civil Union Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed into law on Thursday 9 December 2004 by a final vote of 65–55 in the New Zealand Parliament.private members bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
to address
miscarriages of justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...
. As Minister for Land Information, Worth introduced the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill in 2008 that sought to correct historic errors relating to land status.
Worth resigned from Parliament in June 2009. Party leader John Key said that Worth's conduct "
idnot befit a minister and I will not have him in my Cabinet", and said if he had not resigned he would have removed him from his Cabinet positions. While allegations about him were made public and police investigated, Worth was not charged. It was never publicly announced what caused Key to lose confidence in Worth and require his resignation. His roles after leaving Parliament included returning to the role of
honorary consul
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
to
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
.
Worth was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(military division) in the
1994 New Year Honours for his work in the Naval Volunteer Reserves.
Early life and career
Born in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, Worth obtained an
LLB
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
(Hons) and
Master of Jurisprudence Master of Jurisprudence is sometimes used as an alternative name for both Master of Laws and Master of Juridical Science.
Offered within United States law schools, students of a Master of Jurisprudence (abbreviated as M.J. and/or M.Jur.), curriculu ...
(First Class) from 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 ...
and a
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
(Distinction) from
Massey University
Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...
.
He obtained a
PhD from
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia.
Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...
(RMIT) with a thesis entitled ''The Closer Economic Relationship Between Australia and New Zealand: choices other than quiescence or withdrawal in the face of conflict?'', which he completed in 2004.
Worth had a career in law and management, including being the executive chairperson of
Simpson Grierson
Simpson Grierson is a New Zealand commercial law firm founded in 1887; it is ranked in the top legal firms in that country, and the largest by headcount. The firm is a partnership comprising 48 partners and consultants supported by around 160 l ...
, one of New Zealand's larger law firms, from 1986 to 1999. He was the consul for
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
for six years, and later, the honorary consul for
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
for eight.
He was also a director of
Prada America's Cup (NZ) Limited, but would later quit after suggestions it was disloyal for an MP to be linked to a syndicate challenging the New Zealand team.
Worth joined the
Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).
History
Early history
The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...
s in 1968, rising to captain, and had the role of Chief of Naval Reserves from July 1990 to July 1994. Worth was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(military division) in the
1994 New Year Honours for his work in the Naval Volunteer Reserves.
Worth has also been involved in the
Order of St John who, in 2008, made him a Knight of the Order of St John.
Worth was married and had one daughter.
Member of Parliament
Electoral history and roles
Worth entered
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 ...
when he successfully stood as the
National Party's candidate for the
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
electorate of
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...
in the
1999 election, winning with a majority of 1,908. National did not win the election overall and so Worth became an Opposition MP. He was re-elected in the
2002 election with an increased majority of 5,619. In his first six years in Parliament, Worth served on the Regulations Review committee and Law and Order committee, and had appointments as the National Party spokesperson for defence, veterans' affairs and justice.
Worth lost his electorate seat in the
2005 election to 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 ...
leader
Rodney Hide
Rodney Philip Hide (born 16 December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician of the ACT New Zealand party. Hide was a Member of Parliament for ACT from 1996 until 2011, was ACT's leader between 2004 and 2011, and represented the constituency f ...
.
Hide had put out a tactical voting message calling on National voters to support him in order to elect a coalition partner for National; without winning Epsom, ACT was unlikely to win another electorate seat or to get five percent of the party vote, so would not enter Parliament. National and Worth continued to fight for the seat, but Worth lost by more than 3,000 votes.
Worth was however elected as a list MP, and National's party vote in Epsom was the highest of any electorate in the country in that election. When
John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
became National Party leader in November 2006, Worth was reassigned to the economic development portfolio.
At the
2008 election, Worth lost Epsom again, this time by nearly 13,000 votes, but was re-elected on the party list. National's highest party vote was again in Epsom. National also won the election overall. Worth became Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for
Land Information, Minister Responsible for
Archives New Zealand
Archives New Zealand (Māori: ''Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga'') is New Zealand's national archive and the official guardian of its public archives. As the government's recordkeeping authority, it administers the Public Records Act 2005 and ...
, Minister Responsible for the
National Library
A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...
and Associate Minister of Justice. Worth was reportedly a contender for
Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
, with the support of the previous speaker
Jonathan Hunt, but
Lockwood Smith
Sir Alexander Lockwood Smith (born 13 November 1948) is a New Zealand politician and diplomat who was High Commissioner of New Zealand to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2017, and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2013.
S ...
was selected instead.
Policies and actions
Worth's
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
in February 2000 focused on trade, economics and Asia.
In 2002 he faced questions from his party for sightseeing in Cairo instead of attending a Maori Battalion service during an official trip to Egypt.
In 2005 he proposed the creation of a National Day to replace Waitangi Day. He proposed 24 May, the day that the New Zealand colony was granted a representative constitution by the British Parliament.
Worth was a member of the Select Committee hearing submissions about the
Civil Union Bill. He was a strong opponent of the bill, which allowed legal recognition of same-sex couples though a second class of relationships besides marriage. Worth was concerned that civil unions were in effect marriages, and he described the government as "anti-family" and said that "marriage is a valuable institution in civil society and it is important that its value is not degraded or diminished by Act of Parliament." Worth said that civil unions would discriminate against non-sexual relationships, and proposed an amendment to the bill which would allow any two people, including family members and friends, to register a civil relationship that established certain rights such as right to visit in hospital or make medical decisions. Worth reported that this amendment had about one-third of the votes in the Committee stage and was not included into the bill. Ultimately the bill was passed and became the
Civil Union Act 2004
The Civil Union Act 2004 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed into law on Thursday 9 December 2004 by a final vote of 65–55 in the New Zealand Parliament.private members bill
A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
to address
miscarriages of justice
A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...
. However, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
recommended to the Labour Government that they not adopt it. The Deputy Prime Minister of the time,
Michael Cullen, wrote to Worth about his bill saying it was too broad and might have unwarranted constitutional and fiscal consequences, that the Government would not support it.
As Minister for Land Information, Worth introduced the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill in 2008. This bill sought to correct historic oversights, errors or omissions relating to land status. It consisted of a number of specific reclassifications of land. The bill was ultimately enacted in 2015, after Worth had left Parliament.
In March 2009 he was reprimanded by his leader John Key for failing to mention that he was connected to a company that stood to gain from official visit to India. During the trip Worth both spoke on behalf of the Government and also arranged personal business deals. Worth did not consider there to be any conflict of interest. He later disengaged from his Indian business interests and stepped down as chair of the New Zealand India Trade Group.
Resignation
On 3 June 2009 Prime Minister
John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to ...
issued a press release announcing Richard Worth had resigned as a Minister. The press release stated that Worth had "advised me of some private matters in respect of which he felt it appropriate that he should resign as a Minister", and that Key would make no further comment about these matters.
The same day, the
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...
issued a statement saying an allegation had been made against a sitting MP and that they were beginning a preliminary investigation. Key confirmed that Worth was the subject of a police investigation. Key would not say if the matter reported to police was the reason for the resignation, saying instead that Worth's conduct "
idnot befit a minister and I will not have him in my Cabinet,
'' and had Worth not resigned he would have been sacked. The woman who laid the police complaint was never identified, with it only being revealed that she was a Korean businesswoman.
Key also stated that some weeks prior he had received a separate allegation that Richard Worth had "
ade
Ade, Adé, or ADE may refer to:
Aeronautics
*Ada Air's ICAO code
* Aden International Airport's IATA code
*Aeronautical Development Establishment, a laboratory of the DRDO in India
Medical
* Adverse Drug Event
*Antibody-dependent enhancement
* A ...
a nuisance of himself towards women", which Key investigated and had received assurances that those allegations were not correct.
This other accusation was presented to Key by then-leader of the Opposition,
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition between 11 No ...
.
The woman behind this allegation was revealed to be Neelam Choudary, an active member of the
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party ( mi, Rōpū Reipa o Aotearoa), or simply Labour (), is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers descr ...
. According to Choudary, Worth first contacted her on 26 November 2008, and altogether, forty texts and sixty telephone calls ensued, continuing until 23 February 2009. Choudary, an ethnic Indian, alleged that she was offered a job as an ethnic affairs advisor or board member in return for romantic favours. She also alleged that inappropriate and vulgar telephone calls included asking her to buy transparent garments, and that his conduct was unacceptable and unwanted. Neelam Choudary herself faced scrutiny when it was later revealed that her husband, Kumar Akkineni Choudary, had been convicted the year before for his role in an immigration scam.
Worth declared that he was innocent of any crime. Prime Minister Key reiterated that there was no future for Worth within his Cabinet, and warned that suspension or expulsion from the National caucus was still a prospect. Worth resigned from Parliament on 12 June 2009 (effective 16 June 2009), citing that his role as a Member of Parliament was compromised due to "the avalanche of rumour and innuendo," and he wished to seek a new direction in international trade. After Worth's parliamentary resignation,
Cam Calder
Campbell Gordon Calder (born 1952), known as Cam Calder, is a New Zealand doctor and politician who represented the National Party as a member of the House of Representatives from 2009 to 2014.
Background
Originally a dentist by trade, Calder ...
took his place as the next eligible person on the current
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party ( mi, Rōpū Nāhinara o Aotearoa), shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand politics, alongside ...
list
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
.
In early July 2009 it was reported that the woman who made the original allegation to police had withdrawn her complaint and police dropped the matter.
In November 2009, police announced that Worth would not face charges.
As of July 2009, Choudary had not made the text exchanges public,
though she sent copies of 34 texts from Worth, and her phone logs, to Key.
Labour did not pursue the matter further.
It was never publicly announced what caused Key to lose confidence in Worth and require his resignation.
Post-parliamentary career
In October 2010, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade may refer to:
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (Jamaica)
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (New Zealand)
* Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (South Korea)
South Korea's Ministry of ...
announced that Worth had been reappointed
honorary consul
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
to
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, a role he had held before entering Parliament.
Monaco had appointed him to the role at least a year prior, but
Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
Murray McCully
Murray Stuart McCully (born 19 February 1953) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2017.
Early life
Born in Whangārei, McCully was educated at Arap ...
sought legal advice on whether he could refuse the application and held up the appointment until approving it in October 2010.
As of April 2020, Worth still held the role which has seen him attend the wedding of
Prince Albert II
Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005.
Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...
to
Charlene Wittstock
Charlene (' Charlene Lynette Wittstock; French: ''Charlène'';Since her marriage, her name has been Gallicised by adding a grave accent to her name in French documents. born 25 January 1978) is the princess consort of Monaco and a former Olympic ...
.
Worth died on 10 May 2022.
Notes
References
External links
Navy Biography''The closer economic relationship between Australia and New Zealand: choices other than quiescence or withdrawal in the face of conflict''2004, Ph.D. thesis, Richard W. Worth.5
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worth, Richard
1948 births
2022 deaths
Massey University alumni
New Zealand National Party MPs
New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Auckland
University of Auckland alumni
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
New Zealand list MPs
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand sailors
21st-century New Zealand politicians