Simeon Brown
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Simeon Peter Brown (born 8 April 1991) is a New Zealand politician and
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 o ...
in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
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 The Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand, which since 19 August 2013, allows same-sex couples to legally marry. The Act was proposed as a member's bill by MP Louisa Wall in May 2012, and ...
, 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 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
he contested the parliamentary seat of for the National Party, but lost to incumbent Labour MP
Louisa Wall Louisa Hareruia Wall (born 17 February 1972) is a former New Zealand Labour Party politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2011 to 2022. She has represented New Zealand in both netball as a Silver Fern and rugby union as a m ...
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 Maurice Donald Williamson (born 6 March 1951) is a New Zealand diplomat and former politician who represented Pakuranga in the House of Representatives as a member of the National Party. He held several ministerial portfolios both inside and ...
. 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 Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cl ...
.


2020–2023 term

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 ...
, 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 Judith Anne Collins (born 24 February 1959) is a New Zealand politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 14 July 2020 to 25 November 2021. She was the second female Leader of the Natio ...
, 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 A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
co-leader
Marama Davidson Marama Mere-Ana Davidson (née Paratene; born 1973) is a New Zealand politician who entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2015 as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, of which she is the female co-leader. In October 2 ...
visiting a hui held by the Waikato
Mongrel Mob The Mongrel Mob (sometimes self-labelled as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or colloquially known as the Mob) is an organised street gang and Prison gang based in New Zealand. With a network of more than thirty chapters throughout the country and additio ...
. 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 Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...
. 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 The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that bans conversion therapy practices that seek to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The Bil ...
. In June 2022, Brown was caught in a controversy where he liked a Facebook post by fellow MP
Simon O'Connor Simon David O'Connor (born 25 February 1976) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party. He has represented the Tāmaki electorate since 2011. He is a member of ...
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 ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...
, 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 Christopher Mark Luxon (born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who is currently serving as leader of the New Zealand National Party and the Leader of the Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament (M ...
's shadow cabinet. On 27 May 2023, Brown stated during a
Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...
meeting about transport infrastructure that introducing bilingual road signs in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
and
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
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 Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of the Sixth Labour Government's Cabinet as Minister of Education, Minister of Police, Minister for the Public Service and Leader of the ...
, 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 Christopher Bishop (born 4 September 1983) is a New Zealand National Party politician who was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2014 as a list MP. Bishop won the Hutt South electorate in 2017 but lost the seat in 20 ...
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 Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
National MPs including
Tama Potaka Tama William Potaka (born 1976) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives representing the Hamilton West electorate. He is a member of the National Party and was chief executive of Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki ...
, Harete Hipango, and
Shane Reti Shane Raymond Reti (born 5 June 1963) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, first elected at the 2014 general election. He is a member of the New Zealand National Party and served as its deputy ...
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 , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, 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