William Lindsay Tisch (born 9 October 1947), known as Lindsay Tisch, is a former New Zealand National Party politician.

Early life

Tisch was born in

Auckland 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 ...

, New Zealand, in 1947. When he was a child, his family moved to

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which tak ...

. He obtained a diploma in agriculture from Lincoln College. He has worked as a farmer and a rural valuer, and was a management consultant. He was a director of Landcorp (1991–1997) and is a member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand and the New Zealand Institute of Property Management. Tisch is a Justice of the Peace, a trustee of the Pohlen Hospital Foundation based in

, and a member of Matamata Lions Clubs.

Member of Parliament

He joined the National Party in 1966, and has held a number of senior roles in its organisational wing. In 1994 he served briefly as the party's president and was the party's campaign manager for the 1996 election. He was a member of Parliament from 1999 to 2017, when he retired. Tisch was selected to replace John Luxton as National's candidate in the electorate of in the 1999 election. He defeated the Labour candidate by 5,000 votes. The name of the electorate was changed back to for the 2002 election and the 2005 election; Tisch was comfortably re-elected each time. The name referred to a little-known river past

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains ...

, and Tisch was successful in lobbying to have the electorate renamed after the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

. In the 2008 election, Tisch was re-elected in the recreated

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

seat with a majority of 12,850 over

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 ...

. He was further re-elected in the 2011 election and 2014 election, after which he retired. In 2009, it was revealed Tisch was using a front company to maximise his accommodation allowance paid by the taxpayer. Tisch was claiming $410 a week which was paid to his property investment company, Heritage 653 Limited. Tisch was never a minister but held senior parliamentary roles in the National Party and in the House of Representatives. He was the National Party junior whip (2002–2005) and senior whip (2005–2006) before taking on roles as Deputy Speaker of the House (2008–2011) and Assistant Speaker of the House (2011–2017). Under former leaders

Bill English Sir Simon William English (born 30 December 1961) is a New Zealand former National Party politician who served as the 39th prime minister of New Zealand from 2016 to 2017 and as the 17th deputy prime minister of New Zealand and minister of f ...

and Don Brash, Tisch was briefly National Party spokesperson for small business (2002–2005), civil defence and emergency services (2003–2004), and internal affairs (2003–2005).

Political views

Tisch held conservative views and opposed same-sex marriage law reform. In 2004, Tisch voted against the Civil Union Act 2004, a bill making it legal for those in same-sex as well as heterosexual relationships to enter into a civil-union. In 2005, Tisch voted for Gordon Copeland's Marriage (Gender Clarification) Amendment Bill, a bill which would have amended the Marriage Act to define marriage as only between a man and woman. In 2012 and 2013, Tisch voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry in New Zealand.

Honours

Tisch was one of the 3,632 recipients of the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal, which he received for services to the public. In the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Tisch was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for services as a Member of Parliament. In the 2020 New Year Honours, his wife, Leonie, was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

, for services to health and the community.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tisch, Lindsay 1947 births Living people Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1996 New Zealand general election People from Matamata Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from Auckland Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni 21st-century New Zealand politicians