Simeon Brown

Simeon Peter Brown (born 8 April 1991) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party.

Political career

In his youth, Brown joined his local residents' association, the Clendon Residents Group, and became its Secretary. He then chaired the inaugural Manurewa Youth Council. In 2013 he was elected to the Auckland Council Manurewa Local Board, on which he also served as deputy chair.

Brown entered a submission to parliament in which he opposed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which allows same-sex couples to legally marry.

Brown stated, in an interview on his youth, that he was motivated to go into politics to stand up for the values of and fight for "hard work, personal responsibility and enterprise".

Brown is mocked on social media often, particularly with the phrase "a rare misstep for Simeon Brown.", due to frequent gaffes on his social media accounts.

In 2014 he contested the parliamentary seat of for the National Party, but lost to incumbent Labour MP Louisa Wall by a large margin, and his list placing of 64th on National's list meant he wasn't elected to Parliament.

Member of Parliament

2017–2020 term

Brown stood in the electorate of at the 2017 general election, at the age of 25. The Pakuranga electorate has been a safe seat for National since 1987 and since then it had been held by Maurice Williamson. Brown was selected as the National Party's candidate to replace Williamson after he decided not to seek re-election. Brown was elected with a majority of 14,886 votes.

In February 2018, a private member's bill introduced by Brown was drawn from the ballot. The Bill would ensure that anyone who supplies illegal synthetic drugs receives a penalty consistent with the penalty prescribed for supplying a Class C Drug. The Bill was strongly supported by family members of synthetics victim Calum Jones but voted down by Parliament.

Brown voted against the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which effectively seeks to remove abortion from the Crimes Act 1961. '' Stuff'' political reporter Henry Cooke described the MP as "one of the most socially conservative MPs in he National Party. He voted against the Bill prohibiting homosexual conversion therapy.

2020–2023 term

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Brown was re-elected in Pakuranga by a large margin of 10,050 votes, making Pakuranga the safest seat for National in terms of the candidate vote.

In the November 2020 caucus reshuffle, led by National's leader Judith Collins, Brown was admitted to the Shadow Cabinet, ranking 20 on the National Party's list, and is now holding four shadow portfolios in Police, Serious Fraud Office, Youth and Corrections.

In early May 2021, Brown received several death threats following his criticism of Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson visiting a hui held by the Waikato Mongrel Mob. He had claimed that her visit was an insult to victims of gang-related crime. In late May, Brown also received several threatening messages from Mongrel Mob members after he criticized a funeral procession in a tweet for allegedly taking over a road in Hawke's Bay. These comments were passed onto the Police. Louise Hutchinson, the Public Liaison for the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom, accused Brown of cultural insensitivity and of using gangs as a "politicking tool." Hutchinson also said that the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom had repeatedly invited Brown and the National Party to meet with them but that these invitations had been declined.

In February 2022, Brown was one of only eight MPs to vote against the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022.

In June 2022, Brown was caught in a controversy where he liked a Facebook post by fellow MP Simon O'Connor which expressed it was a "good day" following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization's overturn of US Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which curtailed abortion rights in the US. Brown later apologised for liking O'Connor's post.

On 19 January 2023, Brown was allocated the new Auckland issues portfolio in Party leader Christopher Luxon's shadow cabinet.

On 27 May 2023, Brown stated during a Bay of Plenty meeting about transport infrastructure that introducing bilingual road signs in English and Māori would create confusion and that "they should all be in English." He made these remarks when he was asked his opinion on Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency's) proposal to introduce bilingual road signs. Brown's remarks drew criticism from Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who suggested that the National Party was dog whistling on Waka Kotahi's bilingual road sign programme. In response to criticism, fellow National MP Chris Bishop stated that National had no problems with bilingualism but opined that the agency should focus on repairing portholes and upgrading roles rather than bilingual road signs. Several Māori National MPs including Tama Potaka, Harete Hipango, and Shane Reti expressed disagreement with Brown, stating that they had no objections to bilingual road signs.

Personal life

Before entering Parliament, Brown worked in commercial banking as a senior associate with the Bank of New Zealand. He studied at the University of Auckland, attaining a conjoint degree in law and commerce in 2015. Brown fought for the right of official affiliation at the University of Auckland for his group ProLife Auckland while he was president.

Brown is a Baptist Christian who attends church regularly. He lives in his electorate in Auckland with his wife Rebecca. Together they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Simeon
1991 births
Living people
People from Rotorua
New Zealand National Party MPs
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election
Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election
Candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
New Zealand anti-abortion activists
New Zealand Baptists
People educated at Manurewa High School
University of Auckland alumni