Doug Graham

The Right Honourable Sir Douglas Graham KNZM
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Remuera
In office 14 July 1984 – 12 October 1996
Preceded by	Allan Highet
Succeeded by	Seat abolished
Minister of Justice
In office 2 November 1990 – 1 February 1999
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	Bill Jeffries
Succeeded by	Tony Ryall
Attorney-General of New Zealand
In office 5 December 1997 – 5 December 1999
Prime Minister	Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	Paul East
Succeeded by	Margaret Wilson
Personal details
Born	(1942-01-12) 12 January 1942 Auckland,  New Zealand
Political party	National
Profession	Lawyer

Sir Douglas Arthur Montrose "Doug" Graham KNZM (born 12 January 1942) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party.

Early life and family

Graham was born in Auckland, and attended Southwell School and Auckland Grammar School. He obtained an LLB from the University of Auckland and became a lawyer, establishing his own practice in 1968. From 1973 to 1983, he lectured in legal ethics at the University of Auckland.

His great-grandfather Robert Graham was a member of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th New Zealand parliaments, from 1855 to 1868. In 2008, his brother Kennedy Graham was elected to parliament representing the Green Party.^[1][2]

Member of Parliament

Graham was elected to Parliament in the 1984 elections as MP for the Auckland electorate of Remuera, replacing the retiring member Allan Highet.

Cabinet minister

When the National Party won the 1990 elections, Graham was appointed to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Justice, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, and Minister of Cultural Affairs. In 1991, he became Minister in Charge of Treaty Negotiations, perhaps his most prominent role. He was widely praised by both Pākehā and Māori for his work on numerous Treaty settlements, although opponents of the process have voiced criticisms of his policies. Later, Graham also became Attorney General and Minister for Courts. In the 1996 elections, when the Remuera seat was abolished, Graham became a list MP. He was ranked sixth on National's party list, a relatively high placing.

On 21 May 1998 Graham was appointed to the Privy Council and became the Right Honourable Douglas Graham.^[3]

Life after politics

He retired from politics at the 1999 election. In the 1999 New Year Honours List Graham was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit "for services as a Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament".^[4][5]

On 24 February 2012 he was convicted, along with fellow former Justice Minister Bill Jeffries and two other men, of breaching the Securities Act by making untrue statements to investors in his capacity as a director of Lombard Finance.^[6] Justice Robert Dobson wrote, "I am satisfied that the accused genuinely believed in the accuracy and adequacy of the ... documents", but that the offences were ones of strict liability so there was no need for "any form of mental intent to distribute documents that were false or misleading".^[7] Graham was sentenced to 300 hours community service and ordered to pay $100,000 in reparation. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction and increased his sentence to six months home detention and 200 hours community work.^[8] The Supreme Court has granted Graham leave to appeal against the sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal, but refused leave to appeal against the convictions.^[9] Retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Edmund Thomas described his convictions as a "grievous miscarriage of justice", saying of the crucial piece of evidence that "you would never ever convict a dog on the basis of the schedule".^[10] There have also been calls for his knighthood to be revoked,^[11] but Prime Minister John Key announced on 1 November 2013 that Graham would keep his knighthood.^[9]

References