Brian Neeson

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Brian Kevin Neeson (born 30 September 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1990 to 2002, representing the National Party, and a member of the Waitemata District Health Board from 2004 - 2010.

Early life

Neeson was born in Durban, South Africa, and came to New Zealand when six years old. He worked in a number of jobs, having owned a restaurant and retail meat business and worked as a real estate consultant and property developer. He later managed a private investment company.

Political career

Parliament of New Zealand
Years Term Electorate List Party
1990–1993 43rd Te Atatu National
1993–1996 44th Waitakere National
1996–1999 45th Waipareira 35 National
1999–2002 46th Waitakere 34 National

Neeson represented a number of West Auckland electorates in his career, with frequent boundary changes meaning that he never ran in any electorate as an incumbent. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1990 election as MP for the Te Atatu seat, and in the 1993 elections, he successfully contested the Waitakere seat. In the 1996 elections, he successfully contested the Waipareira seat, and in the 1999 elections, he contested the Waitakere seat once again.

In the 2002 elections, he sought the National Party nomination for the new seat of Helensville, which had absorbed most of the Waitakere electorate. However, he was controversially defeated for selection by John Key, a new candidate. Neeson considered his non-selection to be a betrayal, believing that National Party president Michelle Boag had deliberately engineered his defeat in order to further her "rejuvenation" of the party.[1] Neeson quit the National Party and stood as an independent, but placed third.

After politics

In December 2009 Neeson was appointed to the Human Rights Review Tribunal.[2] The appointment was criticised by the gay community[3] and by Labour MP Grant Robertson due to Neeson's record of voting against gay rights while an MP.[4]

In 2010 Neeson was elected to the Upper Harbour Local Board of the new Auckland Council, as well as the Waitakere Licensing Trust.[5] He also ran for the Auckland Council, placing 10th in the Albany ward with 4,911 votes.[6]

References

  1. ↑ O'Sullivan, Fran (20 Jun 2002). "Secret emails reveal Boag's role in ousting MP". NZ Herald. Retrieved 13 October 2011. 
  2. ↑ "Human Rights Review Tribunal appointments". Scoop. 2009-12-18. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  3. ↑ ""Bigot" ex-MP becomes human rights panellist". GayNZ. 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  4. ↑ Claire Trevett (2009-12-22). "Human rights appointee criticised as anti-gay". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  5. ↑ "About Us: Waitakere Licensing Trust". Portage and Waitakere Trusts. Retrieved 2011-10-13. 
  6. ↑ "Auckland - Final Results". 15 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-17. 
  • 1990 Parliamentary Candidates for the New Zealand National Party by John Stringer (New Zealand National Party, 1990)
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