Richard John Barker (born 27 October 1951) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was a middle-ranking Cabinet minister in the

Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 10 December 1999 to 19 November 2008. Labour Party leader Helen Clark negotiated a coalition with Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance Party. While undertakin ...

Biography

Early life and career

Barker was born in the town of

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

, on New Zealand's West Coast. He attended

Greymouth High School Greymouth High School is one of two post-primary schools in Greymouth, New Zealand. The other is John Paul II High School. It is the largest school on the West Coast of New Zealand with a roll of students. As of 2021 the principal is Samantha ...

and then 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 ...

. After working as a shop assistant,

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

, storeworker, farmhand, driver, factory worker, and quarrier, he became involved in the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

s, primarily those relating to the service sector. He eventually became National Secretary of the Service Workers' Union.

Member of Parliament

Barker became a member of the Labour Party in 1973, served for a time as the Industrial Representative on the party's National Council and was also junior vice-president of the party. In the lead up to the 1993 election Barker sought the Labour nomination for the normally safe Labour seat of Heretaunga, but lost out to political advisor Heather Simpson. Later in 1993 he won the Labour nomination for the

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

electorate, defeating Auckland Tamoana Freezing Workers' Union president Pat Weir. His selection was a surprise as Weir won the floor vote of local members, but the selection panel chose Barker. The Freezing Workers' Union laid a complaint with the Labour Party's head office alleging the panel had been stacked, an assertion rejected by party secretary Tony Timms. At the 1993 election, he succeeded in winning the Hastings electorate, winning a seat that was previously held by the National Party. Soon after entering parliament he supported

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

in her successful leadership challenge to Mike Moore. He was re-elected in 1996, 1999, and 2002 for the reconfigured seat of Tukituki. In 2005 he lost the seat in what was a large swing against the sitting Labour government in the provincial areas and returned 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 ...

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 ...

. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Barker tried unsuccessfully to regain the seat of Tukituki and for the second time was returned to parliament as a Labour list MP. He stood in one of the safest National seats,

Taranaki-King Country Taranaki-King Country electorate boundaries used since the Taranaki-King Country is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Taranaki-King Country ...

, in 2011 and was not high enough on the Labour list to remain an MP.

Cabinet minister

In 2002 Labour was re-elected for a second term and Barker was appointed to Cabinet as

Minister of Customs The Minister of Customs was a position in the Cabinet of the Government of Canada responsible for the administration of customs revenue collection in Canada. This position was originally created by Statute 31 Vict., c. 43, and assented to on 22 M ...

, Minister for Courts, Associate Minister of Justice, and Associate Minister of Social Services and Employment. During the 2002–2005 term, he was given additional responsibility as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector and Minister for Small Business. In 2005, Barker was re-appointed to Cabinet as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Courts, Minister of Civil Defence and Minister of Veterans' Affairs. Barker lost his ministerial warrants following Labour's defeat in the 2008 election; however, Barker was appointed by the House of Representatives to the role of Assistant Speaker for the

49th New Zealand Parliament The 49th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2008 election. It comprised 122 members, including an overhang of two seats (an increase of one from the 48th Parliament) caused by the Māori Party having won two more electorate seats than ...

for the session 2008–11. As a cabinet minister, Barker was entitled to the title of

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

and became The Hon. Rick (Richard) Barker which is a title he was granted for the rest of his life after his term of office.

Post-parliamentary roles

Barker was elected to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council in 2013, representing the Hastings constituency. In 2016 he was appointed deputy chair of the council. On 30 June 2021 he was elected chair, holding the role until October 2022. In June 2018, Barker was appointed chairperson of the

West Coast District Health Board The West Coast District Health Board (West Coast DHB or WCDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the West Coast region of New Zealand. In July 2022, the West Coast DHB's functions and responsibilities were tak ...

by the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

, David Clark. He was reappointed in December 2019.

Personal life

He is married to Patsy and has three children.

Notes

References

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External links

Hon Rick Barker
at the New Zealand Parliament website , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Rick 1951 births Living people Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs University of Otago alumni People from Greymouth New Zealand list MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People educated at Greymouth High School 21st-century New Zealand politicians Hawke's Bay regional councillors West Coast District Health Board members