Name Paddy Kearins Role Member of Parliament | Died 1974 | |
Patrick (Paddy) Kearins MBE (died 1974) was a Member of Parliament for Waimarino, in the North Island of New Zealand.
Member of Parliament
Kearins was the MP for Waimarino in the New Zealand House of Representatives for eight years from 1946 to 1954.
In 1953 Kearins crossed the floor of parliament and voted with the government to support the Licensing Amendment Bill (No. 2). This Bill proposed that the licensing of the King Country, part of Kearins' electorate, be subject to a referendum.
Later in 1953, following an electoral redistribution, Kearins' electorate of Waimarino was abolished and a new electorate of Rotorua established in its place. Rotorua contained the northern part of his former electorate, including the towns of Taupo (which was previously located in Waimarino), Rotorua, and Tokoroa. However, at the candidate selection for Rotorua, Ray Boord won the nomination and was subsequently elected, and "Labour lost its only farming voice... sacrificed by the party machine".
He was awarded the Coronation Medal in 1953 and an MBE in 1970. Kearins later served as Mayor of Taihape. He died in 1974.