Richard Prebble
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Richard William Prebble (born 7 February 1948) is a former member of the
New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed
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 under
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 ...
in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996 to 2004.


Early and personal life

Prebble was born in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, England, to Kenneth Ralph Prebble and Mary Prebble (née Thoad), and raised 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 ...
. His father was an Anglo-Catholic
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
priest, and a leader in the
Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...
as archdeacon at St. Pauls, on retirement he and Mary were received into the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He 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 ...
before becoming a barrister and solicitor in 1971. From 1973 to 1974 he worked overseas in
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
where he practised law. Prebble's older brother, John Prebble QC, is a law professor at
Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...
. His younger brother,
Mark Prebble Mark Prebble (born 1951) is a former New Zealand civil servant. He was the State Services Commissioner, head of New Zealand's public service from May 2004 until 30 June 2008. On 25 January 2008, Prebble announced his retirement after 32 years i ...
was the State Services Commissioner and head of New Zealand's public service. John's daughter Antonia Prebble is an actor with a number of television roles. Prebble has been married three times. His first wife was Nancy Cocks, and his second was Doreen Kuper, a former Honorary Consul for the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
in New Zealand. His current wife is former Press Gallery radio journalist Ngahuia Wade. Cocks was a member of the Labour Party's Fijian branch and in 1975 she was elected to Labour's national executive.


Member of Parliament


Opposition

Prebble was originally a member of the Labour Party and in 1965 he became chairman of the Electorate Committee. At the and elections he was a campaign organiser for Auckland Central MP
Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel '' South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. ...
. When Douglas announced his retirement Prebble was selected, aged 27, to replace him as Labour's candidate in the seat. He was successful in being elected in the Auckland Central electorate at the 1975 election. Soon after his election, owing mainly to Labour's drastic reduction in MPs in their 1975 defeat, he was made Labour's spokesman for race relations and the environment. Following the 1978 election he was given the more prominent portfolio of justice by Labour leader
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 ...
. From 1978 until 1980 he was additionally the Labour Party's junior
whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
. In 1979 Rowling decided to create a separate shadow cabinet above the caucus. Prebble was given a seat in the shadow cabinet, but was displeased at the change in portfolio allocations in which he lost justice and was instead given immigration, regional development and the environment. As a result, he refused to join the shadow cabinet to protest his allocation of portfolios he did not want. Colleagues described the move as petulant, with Prebble countering by saying "The difference in opposition to being in a shadow cabinet and being a backbencher is only in name. It's a shadow rather than a substance." He resigned as junior whip as well and returned to the backbench until March 1981 when he rejoined the shadow cabinet as Shadow Minister for Social Welfare and Pacific Island Affairs. On 2 September 1983 Prebble was injured in a head-on car collision whilst he was returning to Wellington after addressing the Taxi Proprietors' Association conference. He was taken to Dannevirke Hospital and was treated for a concussion and broken pelvis. Owed to his legal background Prebble became quickly known for his "tough, aggressive, non-compromising debating style." From 1975 to 1984 Labour was in opposition, and
Ross Meurant Alan Ross Meurant (born 26 August 1947) is a New Zealand public figure, now Honorary Consul for Morocco, who has at various times gained public attention as a police officer, businessman, politician, and political lobbyist. Early life and family ...
recalled that "Sir Rob has often said that when he was in government, the most irritating and damaging of his opponents was Richard Prebble. 'Always at it' said Sir Rob, 'Always a bother to us. Even if some thought he was mad the way he carried on, we never knew what he was going to come up with next.'"


Government

When 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 ...
was formed, after the 1984 election, Prebble was elected to the cabinet and was appointed
Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
, Minister of Civil Aviation and Meteorological Services,
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 Pacific Island Affairs. He pressed for a Pacific affairs ministerial portfolio to be established, having an interest in the experiences of Pacific Island New Zealanders due to his time working in Fiji and the large concentration of Pacific Islanders living in his constituency. During the government Prebble aligned himself with
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 ...
, the controversial
Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
, and was an associate finance minister. Douglas, Prebble and
David Caygill David Francis Caygill (born 15 November 1948) is a former New Zealand politician. Caygill was born and raised in Christchurch. He entered politics in 1971 as Christchurch's youngest city councillor at the age of 22. He served as a Member of Pa ...
were together dubbed "the Treasury Troika", and were responsible for most of the economic reform undertaken by the
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
government. The "
Rogernomics In February 1985, journalists at the ''New Zealand Listener'' coined the term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics" (by analogy with "Reaganomics"), to describe the neoliberal economic policies followed by Roger Douglas. Douglas ...
" reforms, which were based on
free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
economic theory, were unpopular with many traditional
Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
supporters. In August 1988 Prebble spoke at a public meeting in
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
and was greeted with jeering crowds of Labour supporters who were angry with the reforms and their consequent unemployment. While being interviewed by a television reporter he was hit, mid-sentence, by an egg thrown from the crowd. The egg was thrown by Christopher Owen-Cooper, a former serviceman who served in both
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, who faced a disorderly behaviour charge. Owen-Cooper was quoted by '' The Dominion'' newspaper as saying "We've all built up frustration, we're sick of what the Government's doing. They oliticianscan't give us any answers so it was time someone gave them the hurry along." He was discharged but paid $50 in costs. Prebble held more portfolios than any other minister in the government as his post of
Minister for State Owned Enterprises The Minister of State Owned Enterprises is the government minister in New Zealand responsible for trading enterprises owned by the New Zealand Government (see State-owned enterprises of New Zealand), usually in conjunction with the minister r ...
absorbed almost all the portfolios of government owned operations and assets which were scheduled to be privatised (much to the opposition of the public). As such Prebble became grossly overworked and colleagues noticed he paid little attention to his appearance with unkempt hair and ragged suits. Other ministers also felt his portfolio took up too much time in cabinet meetings. Lange, in tune with the public mood, was opposed to public asset sales and impeded Prebble's efforts in selling them. The disagreement became a very public falling-out when Lange stripped him of the State Owned Enterprises (SOE) portfolio on 4 November 1988. Prebble publicly counterattacked in a television interview that night saying that Lange was acting dictatorial and was in no state to be making decisions. Prebble commented: "He
ange Ange (English: Angel) is a French progressive rock band formed in September 1969 by the Décamps brothers, Francis (keyboards) and Christian (vocals, accordion, acoustic guitar and keyboards). Since its inception the band's music has been inspi ...
said the matter had been eating and gnawing at him and was killing him. I said I didn't think this was a proper basis for making policy. Mr Lange said in that case I should resign." The comments on television by Prebble lead to his dismissal from cabinet altogether the following day. Lange stated at a press conference that Prebble had misrepresented the detail and nature of a private conversation between the two. Prebble returned to the backbenches afterwards. In August 1989 he put himself forward to fill one of two vacant seats in cabinet, but lost a caucus ballot to
Annette King Dame Annette Faye King (née Robinson, born 13 September 1947) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011, and from 2014 until 1 March 20 ...
. When Lange's replacement as Prime Minister
Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians * Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pa ...
held a complete re-election of cabinet in January 1990 Prebble was elected and returned to the frontbench and cabinet. Palmer gave him the SOE portfolio once again and later appointed him Minister of Police as well.


1990 and 1993 elections

Prebble retained his Auckland Central seat in the 1990 election. In opposition he was appointed Shadow Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Works, Police and Pacific Island Affairs. In the 1993 election, Prebble lost his seat to Sandra Lee, deputy leader of the new left-wing
Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
party. In the
1995 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1995 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those co ...
, Prebble was appointed a
Commander 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 ...
, for public services. After leaving parliament Prebble worked making consultancy deals and moved to
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
tendering to build New Zealand's first embassy there. In 1996 he also secured a joint-venture deal to restructure Vietnam's railway system (which was still using steam engines). He also joined Auckland businessman Malcolm McConnell to create the company McConnell International.


ACT New Zealand

New Zealand switched to the
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 electoral system in 1993.
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 ...
established 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, and was joined by Prebble. Initially he did not take an active role in the party and, though frequently invited to speak at ACT functions, he stated in July 1995 that he had not intention of standing for parliament again. However, in March 1996, Douglas stepped down as the new party's leader, and Prebble took over beating former
Federated Farmers Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for all farmers: arable including fruit and vegetables, dairy and meat and their often remote communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. F ...
president
Owen Jennings Owen Jennings is a former New Zealand politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2002, representing the ACT New Zealand party. Early years Before entering politics, Jennings was a farmer. Jennings was active in New Zealand Federat ...
for the party leadership.


1996 election

In the 1996 election, the first to be held under MMP, ACT won eight seats in Parliament. Prebble won the Wellington Central electorate following a campaign that saw National Party leader and Prime Minister
Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...
predict Prebble would win rather than National’s candidate so as to help ACT win the electorate and provide National with a support party in the next government. The events were captured in the documentary ''Campaign''.


1999 election

Prebble lost his Wellington Central seat in the 1999 election, but remained in Parliament as 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 ...
and leader of ACT.


2002 election

Prebble was re-elected as a list MP and leader of ACT in the 2002 election.


Retirement

Prebble was replaced as ACT leader by
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 ...
in 2004, and did not stand in the 2005 election. Prebble's book, ''Out of the Red'', was released on 23 October 2006. He became campaign manager for ACT leading up to the 2014 election with his stated aim to bring 9 ACT MP's into Parliament; this did not eventuate however as ACT did not gain any new seats, only retaining Epsom. Prebble now lives in Rotorua and he is a columnist with ''
The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
''.


Publications

* * * * ''Prebble's contribution was the paper:'' "New Zealand: tenth by 2010." * * ''Prebble's contribution was the paper:'' "Old values, new ideas." * * * ** The second edition of this book is entitled ''Now it's time to act''. * * * ** This is the second edition of ''I've been thinking'' - containing additional material. * * * * * ''Prebble's contributions are the papers:'' "Why I do not vote National"; ''and (co-authored with''
Deborah Coddington Deborah Coddington is a New Zealand journalist and former ACT New Zealand politician. Pre-political career Coddington, born in Waipukurau, worked from 1973 to 1984 as a magazine journalist, but in 1985 moved to Russell, a town in the Bay of I ...
) "Lessons of freedom and choice."


Notes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prebble, Richard 1948 births ACT New Zealand MPs New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Living people Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand libertarians ACT New Zealand leaders University of Auckland alumni New Zealand list MPs English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1993 New Zealand general election 21st-century New Zealand politicians People educated at Auckland Grammar School