Steven Maharey (born 3 February 1953) is a New Zealand academic and former politician of the
Labour Party. Elected to Parliament for the first time in
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...
, he was
Minister of Social Development and Employment from 1999 to 2005 and
Minister of Education from 2005 to 2007. He retired from Parliament at the
2008 general election to become the Vice-Chancellor at
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 o ...
.
Early life
Maharey was born in
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
in 1953, the son of William Maharey and his wife Irene. He attended
Freyberg High School
Freyberg High School ( mi, Te Kura o Te Pou Hōia) is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Roslyn in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
Freyberg High School is named for hero of both world wars, Lord Bernard Freyberg ...
in 1966–1969. After gaining an MA Hons in
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
from Palmerston North's
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 o ...
(1972–1976), he was a lecturer at that institution from 1978, teaching both sociology and business administration. His particular specialties within sociology were
social change
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations.
Definition
Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or soci ...
and
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
.
Political career
Palmerston North City Council
Maharey served one term on the Palmerston North City Council from 1986 to 1989.
Member of Parliament
In the
1990 election, Maharey stood as the Labour Party candidate for
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
, replacing retiring MP
Trevor de Cleene, and was elected to
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
.
After Maharey left the Labour party,
Iain Lees-Galloway
Iain Francis Lees-Galloway (born 18 September 1978), initially Iain Galloway, is a New Zealand former politician. He represented the Palmerston North electorate in Parliament for the Labour Party. He was the Minister for Workplace Relations, Im ...
successfully held the seat for Labour in the
2008 election
This electoral calendar 2008 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2008 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, even though they are not elections. By-elections are ...
. He was a subscriber of
Third Way
The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from ...
political thinking.
Maharey immediately became Labour's spokesperson for broadcasting and communications under
Mike Moore. He later gained associate responsibility for education. In 1993, he instead became spokesperson for labour and employment. In 1994 he was promoted to a seat on the frontbench to replace
Peter Dunne
Peter Francis Dunne (born 17 March 1954) is a retired New Zealand politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ōhāriu. He held the seat and its predecessors from 1984 to 2017—representing the Labour Party in Parliament from 1984 ...
, who had quit the party. In a 1997 reshuffle he relinquished the labour portfolio and instead became spokesperson on social welfare.
Cabinet minister
After the
1999 election, a Labour-Alliance government was formed, Maharey became Minister of Social Services and Employment, having responsibility for
social welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
, youth services, and the reduction of unemployment. In 2002 the title changed to
Minister for Social Development and Employment. He also became Associate Minister of Education responsible for tertiary education. After the
2002 election, in which Labour was re-elected, Maharey also became Minister of Broadcasting. In a December 2004 cabinet reshuffle, Maharey was promoted to
Minister of Education,
Minister for Research, Science and Technology, Minister for Crown Research Institutes, and
Minister for Youth Affairs.
He was officially ranked fourth in the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
hierarchy.
Maharey stood down from his ministerial roles in 2007, pending his appointment as Vice-Chancellor of
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 o ...
.
In the
2009 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...
, Maharey was appointed a
Companion 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 (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
for services as a Member of Parliament.
Roles after Parliament
From 2008 until 2016, Steve Maharey was the Vice-Chancellor of
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 o ...
. During Maharey’s eight years as Vice-Chancellor, total staff numbers (FTE) increased from 3,080 in 2009, his first full year as Vice-Chancellor, to 3,213 in 2016, his last year in the role.
However, over the same time period academic staff numbers remained much the same. Student numbers (EFTS) decreased from 19,994 in 2009 to 18,994 in 2016 due to a reduction in domestic students, including extramural students, partly offset by an increase in international students.
Māori enrolments also decreased from 3,548 to 3338 students during this period.
Over the same period, the University's consolidated revenues increased from $406 million to $489 million and net assets increased from $924 million to approximately $1 billion.
However, external research income decreased from $70 million in 2009 to $67 million in 2016.
In August 2018, Maharey became the Chair of the Board of
Pharmac
The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (Māori: ''Te Pātaka Whaioranga''), better known as Pharmac, is a New Zealand Crown entity that decides, on behalf of Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, which medicines and pharmaceutical products are su ...
. During this period Pharmac underwent a period of change following a critical review. In April 2021, he became Chair of the ACC.
Controversies
While former colleague
John Tamihere described Maharey as 'smarmy' in an ''
Investigate'' magazine interview, Maharey's personality publicly surfaced during the
Christine Rankin
Christine Kathryn Rankin (born Greymouth c. 1954) is a New Zealand politician and former civil servant who served as head of the Ministry of Social Development.
Civil-service career
Rankin originally joined the Department of Social Welfare ( ...
Employment Court Hearing in 2001, where Rankin (a former head of Maharey's department whose contract was not renewed) and Maharey publicly exchanged insults. ''
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 newspape ...
'' quoted several exchanges between the two
verbatim
Verbatim means word for word.
Verbatim may also refer to:
* Verbatim (brand), a brand of storage media and flash memory
* Verbatim (horse), an American racehorse
* ''Verbatim'' (magazine), edited by Erin McKean
* Verbatim theatre
Documentary th ...
that were alleged to have occurred by Rankin. The court did not uphold Rankin's claims.
In April 2007, Maharey came under criticism for saying '
fuck
''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to ar ...
you' in parliamentary question time on 4 April. He apologised shortly afterwards. The outburst was elicited when Maharey was questioned by Jonathan Coleman about the appropriateness of his actions as broadcasting minister threatening to complain to the
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...
board when he was displeased by a host
Sean Plunket
Oliver Sean Plunket (known professionally as Sean Plunket) is a New Zealand broadcast journalist. Plunket has worked for several New Zealand broadcast media companies and stations including Radio Windy, Independent Radio News, Radio New Zealand, ...
referring to a comment Maharey had made about the need for the
Cambridge exam in Botswana as 'racist.'
Notes
References
*
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharey, Steve
1953 births
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Living people
Massey University alumni
Massey University faculty
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
Ministers of Housing (New Zealand)
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
People from Palmerston North
New Zealand education ministers
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
People educated at Freyberg High School
Vice-Chancellors of Massey University
21st-century New Zealand politicians
Palmerston North City Councillors