Frederick Miroslav Gerbic (10 March 1932 – 29 October 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Gerbic was born in

Kaitaia Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of ...

in 1932. He became an electrical lineman and later married Joy Constance Nisbet and had three children together. He was a trade union organiser before being appointed as Auckland's industrial conciliator. From 1962 to 1965 he was a member of the

New Lynn New Lynn is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres to the southwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is located along the Whau River, one of the narrowest points of the North Island, and was the locat ...

Borough Council. He was involved in the Labour Party and became the chairman of the

electorate committee. He resigned as chairman in 1966 in protest of the party head office forcing the retirement of New Lynn MP

Rex Mason Henry Greathead Rex Mason (3 June 1885 – 2 April 1975) was a New Zealand politician. He served as Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Education, and Minister of Native Affairs, and had a significant influence on the directio ...

. At the 1971 local-body elections he was a Labour candidate for the Auckland Electric-Power Board, but was unsuccessful.

Member of Parliament

He was elected in the ensuing by-election to replace Frank Rogers in the seat of

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is a ...

when Rogers died in 1980. After winning the Labour nomination, Gerbic took a leave of absence from his job as an Industrial Conciliator. As he was not classified as a civil servant under the electoral act he was not obliged to resign his position. He was cautioned in regards to his role by the Minister of Labour

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

on his future as an Industrial Conciliator in the event he lose the election. Bolger's warning was made in retaliation to Gerbic's criticisms of the government's response to an industrial dispute holding up construction of the Mangere Bridge. In February 1982 he was elected to the Shadow Cabinet and appointed Shadow Minister of Labour and State Services by party leader Bill Rowling. He had a portfolio shift a year later when

David Lange David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...

replaced Rowling as leader, being instead appointed as spokesperson for industrial conciliation and accident compensation. After the he was appointed as an undersecretary to the Ministers of Immigration, Transport, Civil Aviation and Meteriological Services. Gerbic was later a Minister without Portfolio, outside of cabinet, towards the end of the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

. He was associate Minister of Immigration, Transport, Civil Aviation and Meteriological Services from 9 February 1990 to 2 November 1990. Parliamentary colleague

Michael Bassett Michael Edward Rainton Bassett (born 28 August 1938) is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government. He is also a noted New Zealand historian, and ha ...

described Gerbic as a "boss' man" who would always take the side of whoever was leader. Jonathan Hunt said he had a very generous spirit and an infectious sense of humour. He retired from politics in 1990, after he was defeated by National's Grahame Thorne. After leaving parliament Gerbic found himself centered in a political scandal when in September 1992 rebel National MP

Gilbert Myles Gilbert Colin Myles (born 18 October 1945) is a former New Zealand politician who entered Parliament for the National Party in 1990, then split from the party in 1991 and sat as an independent, before representing the Liberal Party, the Allianc ...

accused him of operating a

graft Graft or grafting may refer to: *Graft (politics), a form of political corruption * Graft, Netherlands, a village in the municipality of Graft-De Rijp Science and technology *Graft (surgery), a surgical procedure *Grafting, the joining of plant t ...

while a minister. Myles, under Parliamentary privilege, alleged that Gerbic took financial donations in exchange for residency approvals in his capacity as associate Minister of Immigration and in support tabled a transcript of an alleged tape recorded conversation between two Auckland Labour Party members. Gerbic denied the allegations and maintained his innocence throughout. The claims were investigated by John McGrath QC who found no evidence of impropriety by Gerbic and dismissed Myles' claims.

Later life and death

Following politics he worked for an immigration consultancy firm with former National MP

Aussie Malcolm Anthony George "Aussie" Malcolm (born 11 December 1940) is a former National Party politician in New Zealand. Early years Malcolm was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1940. He was educated in Canada and Australia (Sydney Church of England Gram ...

. Malcolm described Gerbic as "very much part of the old Labour school that had the interests of the ordinary man at heart." In the

1993 Queen's Birthday Honours The 1993 Queen's Birthday honours were 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 Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's ...

, Gerbic was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(civil division), for public services. Gerbic died at his home in Hillsborough on 29 October 1995 whilst mowing his lawn.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerbic, Frank 1932 births 1995 deaths New Zealand people of Croatian descent New Zealand trade unionists Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1990 New Zealand general election People from Kaitaia