Preceded by Jeanette Fitzsimons Role New Zealand Politician Name Gareth Hughes | Signature Political party Green Spouse Meghan Hughes | |
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Born 31 October 1981 (age 42)
Gisborne, New Zealand ( 1981-10-31 ) Children Arlo (b. 2008) and Zoe (b. 2010) Residence Wellington, New Zealand Education Victoria University of Wellington Party Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand | ||
Gareth hughes on the prime minister s poor leadership 11 feb 2016
Gareth Thomas Llewelyn Hughes (born 31 October 1981) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Green Party. He took a seat in Parliament as the next person on the Green party list following the retirement of Jeanette Fitzsimons in February 2010.
Contents
- Gareth hughes on the prime minister s poor leadership 11 feb 2016
- Green mp gareth hughes on this bare minimum government
- Early life
- Member of Parliament
- References
Green mp gareth hughes on this bare minimum government
Early life
Hughes grew up in Gisborne, and, after attending Gisborne Boys' High School, 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 2000–2005, and then worked for the Green Party on climate change issues. He is married with two children, Arlo and Zoe.
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 the 2008 elections, Hughes stood in the Ōhariu electorate, placing fourth with 7.06% of the vote. However, Hughes was campaigning mostly for the party vote, of which the Green Party gained 9.13%.
In 2009 Hughes co-ordinated Greenpeace New Zealand's 'Sign On' campaign, which called for stronger action on climate change.
Member of Parliament
Following the retirement of list MP Jeanette Fitzsimons Hughes was declared elected as the next candidate on the Green party list, ranked at place 11. He 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.
Hughes is 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.
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.