Kieran Michael McAnulty (born 31 January 1985) is a

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 ...

politician. 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 ...

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, he is a minister outside Cabinet and the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the Wairarapa electorate. Formerly the Chief Government Whip, McAnulty is now the Minister for Racing and

Emergency Management Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actuall ...

as of June 2022.

Personal life

McAnulty was born in Eketahuna. McAnulty's family have lived in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

area for more than 170 years, with his great grandmother's great grandfather, Henry Burling arriving as an early settler in what is now the town of

Featherston Featherston is a surname of English origin, at least as old as the 12th century. The link with "Featherstone" is probably not traceable, but people researching both spellings (and others such as "de Fetherestanhalgh") contribute to the collection o ...

. McAnulty completed a thesis at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

in 2011 titled ''The role of political positioning in party performance in the 2008 New Zealand General Election''. He has previously worked for the T.A.B. as a bookmaker covering the racing industry and an economic development advisor for the Masterton District Council. He is a volunteer firefighter, board member of both Wings over Wairarapa and

Golden Shears The Golden Shears International Shearing and Woolhandling Championships is the world's most prestigious sheep shearing event. It was founded in Masterton, New Zealand, and been held in the town's War Memorial Stadium each March since 1961. It in ...

, a trustee of the Masterton Community Trust and Chair of Relay For Life. In September 2016 McAnulty wrestled a car thief who was trying to steal his ute to the ground in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

Political career

McAnulty stood in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

electorate of at the , but was defeated by National's Alastair Scott. He had previously been offered the Wairarapa candidacy in 2011, but declined.

Member of Parliament

McAnulty stood for Labour in Wairarapa again in the and reduced Scott's majority but failed to win the electorate. He instead entered Parliament via the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

, where he was ranked 38. In November 2017 he was appointed Labour'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 ...

. On 25 September 2019, McAnulty was ejected from Parliament by the

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 ...

Trevor Mallard Trevor Colin Mallard (born 17 June 1954) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. First elected to Parliament in 1984, he was Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2017 until 2022. Mallard was a Cabinet m ...

for making disparaging remarks about National Party leader

Simon Bridges Simon Joseph Bridges (born 12 October 1976) is a former New Zealand politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2018 and 2020, and as the Member of Parliament for Tauranga from the to ...

during a Parliamentary debate about

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 ...

Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...

's meeting with

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Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. In addition, Mallard also ejected

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

Shane Jones Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

for similar disruptive behaviour. During the

2020 New Zealand general election The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...

, McAnulty contested the Wairarapa electorate for Labour, taking it by a final margin of 6,545 votes. On 2 November 2020, following the election, the Labour caucus elected McAnulty as its chief whip. Kieran McAnulty ministerial appointment 3

Kieran McAnulty ministerial appointment 3

In a June 2022 reshuffle, McAnulty was appointed as Minister for Racing,

Minister for Emergency Management The Minister for Emergency Management is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Murray Watt following the swearing in of the full Albanese ministry on 1 June 2022. In the Government of Australia, the minister adm ...

and associate Minister of Local Government and of Transport by Prime Minister

. McAnulty's role as Minister for Racing gives him responsibility for the running of the

Totalisator Agency Board The Totalisator Agency Board, universally shortened to TAB or T.A.B., is the name given to monopoly totalisator organisations in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They operate betting shops and online betting. They were originally governm ...

, which he worked for before entering politics. In August 2022, McAnulty was implicated in bullying accusations by fellow Labour MP Gaurav Sharma. Sharma accused McAnulty of "gaslighting me, shouting at me, degrading me in front of caucus members and other attendees at events and telling me that I was a terrible MP". The Labour Party, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, reject these claims.

Political views

McAnulty identifies as a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and supports a

New Zealand republic New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic. The campaign chair is Lewis Holden, an Auckland political activist and businessman. The organisation is not aligned w ...

, with a local head of state. McAnulty was previously treasurer of the

New Zealand Republic New Zealand Republic Inc. is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic. The campaign chair is Lewis Holden, an Auckland political activist and businessman. The organisation is not aligned w ...

campaign before entering parliament. McAnulty, despite the profession of his

Catholic 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 ...

faith, is in favour of more open abortion laws. He stated in Parliament "I was raised that my religious views are mine only. So I will not use my vote today to impose any particular view that I may have to prevent the choice of a woman to make on her own body." McAnulty is in favour of decriminalising

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

, and has admitted to smoking cannabis twice.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAnulty, Kieran New Zealand socialists Living people 1985 births People educated at Chanel College, Masterton New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election New Zealand firefighters University of Otago alumni