Richard John Hubbard (born 18 November 1946) is a New Zealand businessman and politician, founder and former principal of
Hubbard Foods
Hubbard Foods Ltd is a New Zealand manufacturer of breakfast cereals based in Auckland. It sells cereals under its ''Hubbard'' brand and private labels. Its founder is Dick Hubbard, who stepped down as Chief executive officer, CEO from 2004-20 ...
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 ...
, and
mayor of Auckland City
The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...
from 2004 to 2007. He was elected mayor of Auckland City on 9 October 2004, succeeding
John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to:
Politics and law
*Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament
* John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
*John Gray Banks (188 ...
, who in turn succeeded Hubbard as mayor on 13 October 2007.
Early life and family
Born in
Paeroa
Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 k ...
on 18 December 1946, Hubbard is the son of Colin Hubbard and Margaret Hubbard (née Syme). He was educated at Paeroa College from 1960 to 1964, and then studied at Massey University from 1965 to 1969, graduating with a Bachelor of Technology (Food).
In 1970 Hubbard married Diana Reader, and the couple went on to have two children, including the transgender weightlifter
Laurel Hubbard
Laurel Hubbard (born 9 February 1978) is a New Zealand weightlifter. Selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympic Games. Prior to making her Olympic debut, Hubbard achieved ...
.
Business interests
Hubbard is the founder of
Hubbard Foods
Hubbard Foods Ltd is a New Zealand manufacturer of breakfast cereals based in Auckland. It sells cereals under its ''Hubbard'' brand and private labels. Its founder is Dick Hubbard, who stepped down as Chief executive officer, CEO from 2004-20 ...
. His management of Hubbard Foods gained some prominence for its participation in and promotion of socially responsible business perspectives. Hubbard also spent a few years managing the Food Processing Factory in
Niue
Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...
, processing mainly lime, passionfruit and papaya. He was the principal until he sold the business in 2018 to Harry and
Graeme Hart
Graeme Richard Hart (born 1955) is a New Zealand billionaire businessman and the country's wealthiest person.Sustainable Business Network) and became chairman of the New Zealand National Parks & Conservation Foundation. He has been a supporter of
Outward Bound
Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organizations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt and Kurt Hahn in 1941. Today there are organizations, called schools, in over 35 countries which are att ...
in New Zealand.
Mayoral term
Hubbard was elected as part of a broad swing to the centre-left in the 2004 Auckland City local government elections, predicated on concerns about the style of the previous mayor, and proposals to construct a major new multi-laned road through the city's relatively affluent eastern suburbs. Although formally independent, Hubbard's support on Auckland's council was derived from the centre-left leaning City Vision, Labour, and
Action Hobson
Action Hobson was a centrist council ticket in the Hobson Ward of Auckland City, New Zealand. The ticket was formed to combat the proposed Eastern Transport Corridor being proposed by Mayor of Auckland City, John Banks (New Zealand politician), J ...
tickets.
Re-election bid, 2007
Hubbard was defeated by
John Banks John Banks or Bankes may refer to:
Politics and law
*Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet (1627–1699), English merchant and Member of Parliament
* John Banks (American politician) (1793–1864), U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania
*John Gray Banks (188 ...
in the 2007 local body elections, by a margin of 10,000 votes. Hubbard won 35,314 of the votes compared to Bank's 45,387 votes in an election marked by low voter turn-out.
Political positions
Hubbard endorsed the Labour Party prior to the 2017 general election, appearing in a series of promotional videos and donating $15,000 to the campaign. He stated that he regarded himself as a swing voter and had voted for both
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
and Labour previously, but was "very concerned about our slow progress on climate" under the incumbent government.
Honours and awards
Hubbard was conferred an honorary
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree by Massey University in 1999. In the
2001 New Year Honours
The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...
, he was appointed an
Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...