Matt Robson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parl. | Electorate | List Pos. | Party |
| 45th | List | 7 | Alliance |
| 46th | List | 3 | Alliance |
| 47th | List | 2 | Progressives |
Matthew Peter (Matt) Robson (5 January 1950 - ) is a New Zealand politician. He is deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive.
Robson was born in Brisbane, Australia. He attained an MA (Hons) in Political Studies and later studied law, and worked both as a lawyer and a teacher. He also spent three years in the Netherlands as a technical editor.
Robson was originally a member of the Labour Party, holding several positions within the party organisation. He was deeply opposed to the policies of Roger Douglas, the Labour Party's Minister of Finance, and when Jim Anderton, a Labour MP, quit the party, Robson followed him. Robson was heavily involved in the establishment of Anderton's NewLabour Party, which later became the core of the Alliance.
Robson was elected to Parliament as an Alliance list MP in the 1996 elections, and again in the 1999 elections. In the Labour-Alliance coalition government, lasting from 1999 to 2002, Robson was Minister of Corrections, Minister for Courts, Minister for Land Information, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (with responsibility for foreign aid). Towards the end of 1999, however, the Alliance began to collapse, with a rift opening between the party organization and its parliamentary leadership. In this dispute, Robson sided with the parliamentary leader, Anderton. When Anderton finally left the Alliance and established the Progressive Coalition (now the Progressive Party), Robson followed him and became the new party's deputy leader. In the 2002 elections, the Progressives only won 1.7% of the vote. However, Anderton easily held onto his seat, allowing Robson, as the 2nd-ranked person on the Progressive list, to return to Parliament. However, the Progressives' strength was considerably weaker compared to that of the Alliance in 1999, so Robson lost his cabinet posts.
Robson has a relatively high public profile, compared to the size of his party, and is known for his views on foreign affairs and justice. Along with the Green Party's Keith Locke, Robson has been campaigning on behalf of detained asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui. In 2002, Robson introduced a Private Member's bill providing for four weeks of paid annual leave for all workers, a proposal that the Labour Party initially opposed. Robson's legislation, however, ultimately forced Labour to either vote in favour of the bill or risk alienating its trade union supporters, who vociferously advocated it. The legislation was passed into law with Labour's support and takes effect from 2007. Robson also introduced legislation to raise the minimum alcohol purchasing age to 20, and in Parliament espoused policies to combat drug and alcohol abuse.
In the 2005 elections, the Progressive vote collapsed further, and this time was not enough for Robson to remain in Parliament. He has since returned to law.
Despite having achieved high political office in New Zealand, Robson did not become a naturalised citizen until 2000. Under the terms of New Zealand's Electoral Act, anyone permanently resident before August 1975 has the right to vote and stand for election.
