Ronald Leslie Bailey (15 December 1926 – 16 April 2015) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Biography
Early life and career
Bailey was born in
Napier in 1926. He grew up in various
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
camps during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and attended four different primary schools in the central North Island. After attending four different primary schools, he received his secondary education at Wairoa District High School (now
Wairoa College) and
Gisborne High School. His first jobs were as a clerk and a carpenter. He became a union organiser in 1956 where he inspected living conditions in the agricultural sector.
He and his union were staunch
Anti-communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
and allegedly he was a member of the far-right
World Anti-Communist League
The World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) is an international non-governmental organization of anti-communist politicians and groups. It was founded in 1952 as the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) under the initiative of Chiang Kai-sh ...
's New Zealand chapter.
Political career
![1975 opening plaque Hamilton Railway Station, Waikato](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/1975_opening_plaque_Hamilton_Railway_Station%2C_Waikato.JPG)
At the 1959 local body elections he was elected a member of the
Wellington Hospital Board
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 ...
for the
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city cent ...
constituency. He served for three years until 1962.
When
Phil Holloway
Philip North Holloway (22 March 1917 – 28 May 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life and career
Holloway was born in Hokitika in 1917. His father was an Anglican parson and he received his secondary ed ...
unexpectedly retired from the electorate,
Bailey contested the Labour Party nomination for the seat which resulted in a deadlock in the selection committee between himself and
Jim Bateman
James Alder Bateman (5 April 1925 – 20 October 1987) was a New Zealand politician and educationalist.
Biography Early life and career
In 1949, Bateman graduated from Victoria University College with a Master of Arts in philosophy and Diplom ...
, a
Wellington City Council
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...
lor. As a result of the deadlock the matter was referred to the party national executive. Bailey was eventually victorious for the nomination and won the seat at the subsequent election. He served seven terms and retired in 1981, when he was succeeded by
Bill Jeffries
William Patrick Jeffries (born 19 September 1945) is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Heretaunga and served as Minister of Transport and Minister of Justice.
Biography Early l ...
. Labour spent all but one of those terms in opposition, a situation he described in his valedictory speech as a "brick wall of frustration".
During his time in Parliament Bailey was noted for lobbying for a new wing for Wellington Hospital, opposing increases in railway fares in the Hutt Valley and advocating for an increase in state house building.
Bailey was Labour's junior whip from 1966 to 1972. Bailey narrowly missed out on election to cabinet following the formation of the
Third Labour Government. He was tied for the final place in cabinet with
Henry May Henry May may refer to:
*Henry May (American politician) (1816–1866), U.S. Representative from Maryland
* Henry May (New Zealand politician) (1912–1995), New Zealand politician
* Henry May (VC) (1885–1941), Scottish recipient of the Victoria C ...
(whom he had shared an office with for many years) with May narrowly winning. Prime Minister
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...
regretted two friends being pitted against one another and was relieved when Bailey took the defeat graciously. He was upset though thinking he had lost his only opportunity to ever enter cabinet. Subsequently he was given the consolation job of
Chairman of Committees from 16 February 1973 until 10 September 1974. As Chairman of Committees he deputised for the Speaker and notably chaired the session that saw the passing of Labour's short-lived
compulsory superannuation scheme. He is also reputed to have been the only Speaker to eject National leader
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 ...
from the House.
When
Bill Rowling
Sir Wallace Edward Rowling (; 15 November 1927 – 31 October 1995), commonly known as Bill Rowling, was a New Zealand politician who was the 30th prime minister of New Zealand from 1974 to 1975. He held office as the parliamentary leader of t ...
was elected Prime Minister, after Kirk died suddenly, Bailey was elected to fill the vacant seat in cabinet. He was appointed as both
Minister of Railways
A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructur ...
and
Minister of Electricity by Rowling from 10 September 1974 to 12 December 1975, when
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 ...
came to power. He remembered his time as a minister as his best in politics.
As Minister of Electricity he advocated for energy conservation and empowered the
New Zealand Electricity Department to promote advertising to curb power wastage to avoid building further generating plants.
In opposition after the unexpected defeat of the Third Labour Government Bailey initially retained a frontbench seat and from 1975 to 1979 he was Shadow Minister of Works and Development. In December 1979, impending retirement, he decided against standing for re-election to the Shadow Cabinet. He intended to enter local politics after leaving parliament. At the 1980 local-body elections he stood for the position of
Mayor of Upper Hutt, but lost to incumbent
Rex Kirton
Rex Stratton Kirton is a New Zealand local-body politician in the Wellington Region. He was mayor of Upper Hutt for 24 years until 2001, and then served three terms on the Greater Wellington Regional Council.
Biography
Kirton attended St. Patr ...
by the unexpectedly wide margin of 4,666 votes. Bailey attributed his loss to low voter turnout and local newspapers criticising his intention to do two jobs at once by remaining in parliament until the end of the term.
Later life and career
With his local-body intentions curtailed, Bailey struggled to find permanent work when he left parliament. He worked as a real estate agent for a while but found it hard to persuade people to take on high debt. For a while, he and his wife manufactured artisan chocolate at their home. He then became a review officer for the
Accident Compensation Corporation
The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC sch ...
(ACC) and went to retirement when he was 66.
Bailey remained politically active after exiting parliament and during the
Fourth Labour Government
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 o ...
he was the Auckland convenor of the
Backbone club, a party ginger group, formed to support
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 ...
against
Jim Anderton
James Patrick Anderton (born Byrne; 21 January 1938 – 7 January 2018) was a New Zealand politician who led a succession of left-wing parties after leaving the Labour Party in 1989.
Anderton's political career began when he was elected to th ...
. He remained a friend of Douglas but never went as far as to join
ACT.
They later moved to Auckland and he died there on 16 April 2015, survived by his second wife.
Honours
In 1977, Bailey was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.
In the
1987 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bailey appointed a
Companion of the Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...
for public services,
and 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 ...
.
Personal life
Bailey was married to Shirley for 29 years, when she died. They had one daughter and one son. When first elected his MP salary was so low they could not afford either a car or house. He used to travel by bicycle and the pair lived in workers' sheds alongside the
Hutt River. They were only able to purchase their own home after winning a bet on horse racing.
His second wife was Barbara; she was the electorate secretary for
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 ...
. They first met during the election campaign for the
Mangere by-election in 1977. In 1979 they married, fellow Labour MP
Russell Marshall (a Methodist minister) conducted the ceremony.
They later moved to Auckland where they lived together until Bailey's death.
Notes and references
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Ron
1926 births
2015 deaths
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
People from Napier, New Zealand
People from Upper Hutt
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
New Zealand MPs for Hutt Valley electorates
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
People educated at Gisborne Boys' High School
New Zealand real estate agents
People educated at Wairoa College
New Zealand justices of the peace
20th-century New Zealand people
Wellington Hospital Board members