Jack Elder

Jack Arnold Elder (born 3 July 1949) is a New Zealand former politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the Labour Party, New Zealand First and Mauri Pacific.

The Honourable Jack Elder
27th Minister of Internal Affairs
In office 16 December 1996 – 10 December 1999
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	Peter Dunne
Succeeded by	Mark Burton
31st Minister of Police
In office 16 December 1996 – 31 August 1998
Prime Minister	Jim Bolger Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	John Luxton
Succeeded by	Clem Simich
9th Minister of Local Government
In office 9 August 1999 – 10 December 1999
Prime Minister	Jenny Shipley
Preceded by	Tony Ryall
Succeeded by	Sandra Lee
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
In office 14 July 1984 – 27 November 1999
Constituency	West Auckland (1984–93) Henderson (1993–96) List (1996–99)
Personal details
Born	3 July 1949
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour (1966–1996) New Zealand First (1996–1998) Mauri Pacific (1998–1999)
Other political affiliations	New Zealand Democratic Coalition
Spouse(s)	Claire Girling-Butcher (died 13 November 1999)
Children	Dr Edward Elder
Profession	Teacher

Early life

Jack Elder was born and raised in West Auckland, attending New Lynn Primary, Avondale Intermediate and Kelston Boys High School – where he was head boy and captain of the rugby first fifteen.[1] Elder studied politics and history at the University of Auckland and alongside future Prime Minister Helen Clark and future Minister of Foreign Affairs Phil Goff was a member of Princes Street Labour. Elder was awarded a B.A in both History and Political Studies as well as a M.A in Political Studies. He then became a teacher at schools such as Henderson High School from 1974 to 1977 and Rutherford College from 1979 to 1981.[2]

He was a member of the New Lynn Borough Council from 1976 to 1983 including being elected Deputy Mayor in 1980.[2]

In 1975 he unsuccessfully sought the Labour Party candidacy for the Onehunga electorate alongside 26 other aspirants following the retirement of Hugh Watt, but lost to Frank Rogers.[3] In 1980 he put his name forward to replace long serving MP Warren Freer in the safe Labour seat of Mount Albert, but missed out on the nomination to Helen Clark.[4][5]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1984–1987	41st	West Auckland		Labour
1987–1990	42nd	West Auckland		Labour
1990–1993	43rd	West Auckland		Labour
1993–1996	44th	Henderson		Labour
1996	Changed allegiance to:			NZ First
1996–1998	45th	List	7	NZ First
1998–1999	Changed allegiance to:			Mauri Pacific

Elder was first elected to Parliament in the 1984 election as the Labour MP for West Auckland, having previously made unsuccessful attempts in Helensville in the 1978 election and the 1981 election. He was re-elected in the 1987 election, the 1990 election, and in the 1993 election.

In 1990, Elder was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[6] After the 1990 election he was appointed Shadow Minister of Agriculture by Mike Moore.[7] In January 1993 he also picked up the Overseas Trade portfolio in a minor reshuffle.[8]

Within the Labour Party, Elder was a staunch supporter of Moore, and belonged to the more economically liberal wing of the party. When Helen Clark replaced Moore as party leader he was dropped from the Agriculture portfolio, but continued as Shadow Minister of Overseas Trade.[9] Elder remained aligned with Moore and consequently he was ranked 40th on Labour's party list, the lowest of any sitting MP. In response he questioned his ties with Labour and position in parliament, not ruling out resigning and forcing a by-election.[10]

I don't have to stay in politics ... things have changed dramatically since I was elected a Labour candidate in 1984 and from when Mike Moore was leader. Instead of staying close to the issues which affect families, we [Labour] are getting further and further away from that because the people who now have control of the party don't see that primarily as the party's role. They have another vision altogether. They believe in the patchwork quilt. They think they can get a majority by patching together feminists, gays and other minorities.[10]

Clark countered Elder's critiques saying Elder's list ranking reflected his lack of achievements as an MP. Elder bridled at Clark's comments, pointing to his 29 year membership and his time as Shadow Minister of Agriculture where he laboriously explained party policy to "incredulous farmers". He was clear that he didn't blame Clark and thought party processes and policies were responsible for his dissatisfaction.[11]

When suggestions arose that Moore would found a new party, Elder was considered likely to follow.[10] In the end, Moore remained with Labour, but Elder was still dissatisfied. On 3 April 1996, Elder left the Labour Party to join New Zealand First, a centrist conservative party led by Winston Peters. He became New Zealand First's spokesman for local government.[12]

National Coalition Government

In the 1996 election, Elder was re-elected to Parliament as a list MP for New Zealand First, having unsuccessfully contested the Waipareira electorate. When New Zealand First formed a coalition with the governing National Party, Elder was appointed to Cabinet, becoming Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Police,[13] and Minister of Civil Defence. As Minister of Police Elder officially opened the Queenstown Police Station on Friday 10 July 1998. When New Zealand First's coalition with National began to collapse, however, Elder joined the group of MPs who quit New Zealand First and continued to offer support to the Government. He officially left New Zealand First on 18 August 1998. In exchange for his continued support for the government, Elder was allowed to remain Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Civil Defence, although he was no longer part of Cabinet.

Later, Elder joined with four other former New Zealand First MPs to found the Mauri Pacific Party. Elder eventually chose not to seek re-election, and retired from politics at the 1999 election.

Later life

Elder spent time off from working, before returning to teaching two years after leaving Parliament.[14]

Notes

1. Profiling the events that shaped our community, 1967 (abstract), Western Leader, 11 February 2003, p. 5.
2. Who's Who 1996, p. 45. sfn error: no target: CITEREFWho's_Who1996 (help)
3. "Local Contractor Beats Big Names in Onehunga Selection". The New Zealand Herald. 18 August 1975. p. 3.
4. "Party Hopefuls Queue For A Safe Seat". The New Zealand Herald. 14 April 1980. p. 2.
5. "Labour Choice For Seat". The New Zealand Herald. 15 April 1980. p. 1.
6. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 133. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
7. "Labour line-up". The New Zealand Herald. 6 December 1991. p. 5.
8. "Laidlaw fills posts of predecessor". The New Zealand Herald. 28 January 1993. p. 5.
9. "The Labour Shadow Cabinet". The Dominion. 14 December 1993. p. 2.
10. Herbert, Patricia (30 October 1995). "Elder ponders forcing byelection". The New Zealand Herald. p. 5.
11. Edwards, Brent (1 November 1995). "'I'm no star, but after 29 years I deserve better'". The Evening Post. p. 2.
12. Edwards, Brent (3 April 1996). "Two more MPs cross the floor to NZ First". The Evening Post. p. 1.
13. Chronology of Roles, Ministerial Inquiry into INCIS, Ministry of Justice, November 2000.,
14. Kerry Williamson (16 May 2009). "Registry idea shelved after pro-gun lobbying". Fairfax NZ News.

References

• Who's Who in the New Zealand Parliament 1996. Wellington: Parliamentary Service. 1996.