Doug Woolerton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Parl.	Electorate	List Pos.	Party
45th	List	8	NZ First
46th	List	5	NZ First
47th	List	5	NZ First
48th	List	5	NZ First

Doug Woolerton is a New Zealand politician. He was educated at Hamilton Boys' High School, and became a dairy farmer. Woolerton was originally a member of the National Party, and stood for selection for the seat of Hamilton West in 1990. However he was beaten by Grant Thomas who later won the seat. Woolerton left the National Party in 1992 to form the New Zealand First party with Winston Peters.

Woolerton first entered Parliament in the 1996 elections, becoming a list MP after being ranked fifth on the New Zealand First party list. He has remained an MP since then. Woolerton has a background in agriculture, having been a farmer for twenty-one years and director of a milk company for nine.

He was the president of New Zealand First from the party's inception until 2005 when he resigned in protest against Winston Peters taking a visible role in the Labour-led government as Minister of Foreign Affairs. More recently, there have been frictions between current New Zealand First Party President Dail Jones on the one hand, and Woolerton and Brian Donnelly on the other over the latter's support for Sue Bradford's private members bill to outlaw parental corporal punishment of children (or smacking)[1]