Gareth Hughes (politician)

Early life

Hughes grew up in Gisborne. After attending Gisborne Boys' High School, he studied religious studies, history and politics at Victoria University of Wellington. He became a vegetarian while a student. He worked for Greenpeace in Australia and New Zealand from 2000 to 2005, and then worked for the Green Party on climate change issues. He is married and has two children.

In May 2004, Hughes was arrested after dressing as Ronald McDonald and chaining himself to the gates of McDonald's New Zealand distribution centre in Wiri, Auckland, protesting against the use of genetically modified chicken feed. In 2009 Hughes co-ordinated Greenpeace New Zealand's 'Sign On' campaign, which called for stronger action on climate change.

Member of Parliament

Hughes contested the 2008 election for the Green Party. Placed at 11 on the party list and campaigning mostly for the party vote, Hughes finished fourth in the Ōhariu electorate. The party did not poll sufficiently high for Hughes to be elected immediately, but he was declared elected after the retirement of list MP and former co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons. Hughes was sworn in as an MP on 16 February 2010. He was the youngest MP in Parliament at the time of his election.

In his maiden speech on 24 February 2010, Hughes declared his support for a New Zealand republic. In his first term, Hughes was the Green Party's spokesperson on housing, ICT, libraries and archives, tertiary education, GE, food, oceans, transport, and youth.

In the 2011 general election he stood in the Ōhariu electorate again and was ranked seventh on the Green party list, and was re-elected as a list MP. In the 2014 general election he stood only on the party list, ranked fifth, and was elected for a third time. During this term of Parliament, the male co-leader of the Party, Russel Norman, resigned and Hughes stood for the vacant co-leadership role as the self-described "underdog." The contest was won by first-term MP James Shaw.

Hughes, along with the rest of the Green Party, voted in support of Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, allowing same-sex couples to legally marry in New Zealand.

In November 2016, it was announced that Hughes would be running for the East Coast electorate against National Party MP Anne Tolley. This electorate is the one he was raised in. He was returned to Parliament as the Greens' fifth-ranked and longest serving list MP. When the Greens agreed to support a Labour–New Zealand First coalition Government, Hughes was not appointed to a ministerial position and instead continued as the party musterer (whip). In 2019, he announced his intention to retire at the next general election. Ahead of his retirement, and for family reasons, he relocated himself to be the Green Party's member of Parliament based in Dunedin.

After Parliament

Hughes was elected chair of the Board of Directors of the animal rights organisation SAFE in 2021. He is the New Zealand lead for the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and no longer a member of the Green Party. Hughes wrote A Gentle Radical, a biography of Fitzsimons published in 2022.

Notes

References

References

1. [[Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. (16 February 2010). "List Member Vacancy". [[New Zealand Parliament]].
2. (28 January 2010). "Fitzsimons steps down as MP – effective immediately". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
3. (17 November 2019). "Gareth Hughes to stand down at next election".
4. Menkes, Emily. (5 March 2010). "Introducing NZ's youngest MP". [[Otago Daily Times]].
5. "Gareth Hughes – List member, Green Party". New Zealand Parliament.
6. "Gareth Hughes". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.
7. [http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/3271914/Meet-the-Green-Partys-new-MP "Meet the Green Party's new MP"], [[Stuff.co.nz]], 28 January 2010
8. "Election08 Green Party Candidates". www.greens.org.nz.
9. (28 January 2010). "Young blood for Greens". [[Television New Zealand]].
10. (28 January 2010). "Meet the Green Party's new MP". [[Stuff.co.nz]].
11. (12 February 2010). "New list MP for Green Party". Chief Electoral Office.
12. Wood, Jackson. (11 August 2008). "Politics: Gareth Hughes Interview". [[Salient (magazine).
13. "Journals of the House for the week beginning Tuesday, 16 February 2010". [[New Zealand Parliament]].
14. (24 February 2010). "Gareth Hughes: Maiden Speech". voxy.co.nz.
15. Gareth Hughes. (25 February 2010). "Gareth Hughes Maiden Speech". [[Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand]].
16. (11 May 2010). "Bethune needs report for his defence, Greens say". Guide2.co.nz.
17. (18 May 2010). "KiwiRail focus off the track, says expert". [[Television New Zealand]].
18. (5 March 2015). "Gareth Hughes 'underdog' for Green Party leadership".
19. (30 May 2015). "James Shaw named new Greens co-leader". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
20. Harkanwal Singh. (17 April 2013). "Marriage equality bill – How MPs voted". [[Stuff.co.nz]].
21. Ashton, Andrew. (22 November 2016). "Hughes gets Greens light to take on Tolley". The Gisborne Herald.
22. "Longest-serving Greens MP Gareth Hughes plans to 'reconnect with activist roots' after retirement". TVNZ.
23. (21 October 2017). "Green Party announces ministers".
24. Houlahan, Mike. (17 March 2020). "Veteran Greens MP Hughes happy to represent Dunedin".
25. (2021-11-10). "Gareth Hughes Becomes Chair Of SAFE's Board Of Directors". [[SAFE (New Zealand organisation).
26. Manhire, Toby. (15 June 2022). "'50 years on they still haven't been around the cabinet table': Gareth Hughes on the Greens and Jeanette Fitzsimons". [[The Spinoff]].
27. Walker, Holly. (2022-06-05). "Book review: A Gentle Radical, by Gareth Hughes". [[Stuff (website).