Name Richard Prebble Preceded by Division Re-Created Siblings Mark Prebble | ||
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Role New Zealand member of Parliament Books Out of the Red, I've Been Writing Political party New Zealand Labour Party, ACT New Zealand |
Zbtv richard prebble
Richard William Prebble, CBE (born 7 February 1948), was for many years a member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 1996–2004.
Contents
- Zbtv richard prebble
- Richard prebble still has it
- Early and personal life
- 1975 election to 1984
- 1984 and 1987 elections
- 1990 and 1993 elections
- ACT New Zealand
- 1996 election
- 1999 election
- 2002 election
- Retirement
- Publications
- References

Richard prebble still has it
Early and personal life

Prebble was born in Kent, England, to Kenneth Ralph Prebble and Mary Prebble (née Thoad), and raised in Auckland. His father was an Anglo-Catholic Anglican priest, and a leader in the Charismatic Renewal as archdeacon at St. Pauls, on retirement he and Mary were received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Prebble's older brother, John Prebble QC, is a law professor at Victoria University of Wellington. His younger brother, Mark Prebble was the State Services Commissioner and head of New Zealand's public service. John's daughter Antonia Prebble is an actor with a number of television roles.
Prebble has been married three times. His first wife was Nancy Cocks, and his second was Doreen Kuper, a former Honorary Consul for the Solomon Islands in New Zealand. His current wife is former Press Gallery radio journalist Ngahuia Wade.
1975 election to 1984
Prebble was originally a member of the Labour Party and stood as its candidate for the Auckland Central electorate in the 1975 election. His candidacy was successful.
From 1975 to 1984 Labour was in opposition, and Ross Meurant recalled that:
Sir Rob has often said that when he was in government, the most irritating and damaging of his opponents was Richard Prebble. "Always at it" said Sir Rob, "Always a bother to us. Even if some thought he was mad the way he carried on, we never knew what he was going to come up with next."1984 and 1987 elections
When the Fourth Labour Government was formed after the 1984 elections, Prebble aligned himself with Roger Douglas, the controversial Minister of Finance, and was an associate finance minister. Douglas, Prebble and David Caygill were together dubbed "the Treasury Troika", and were responsible for most of the economic reform undertaken by the Labour government. The "Rogernomics" reforms, which were based on free market economic theory, were unpopular with many traditional Labour supporters.
1990 and 1993 elections
Prebble retained his Auckland Central seat in the 1990 election. In the 1993 election, Prebble lost his seat to Sandra Lee-Vercoe, deputy leader of the left-wing Alliance.
In the 1995 New Year Honours, Prebble was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for public services.
ACT New Zealand
New Zealand switched to the mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation electoral system in 1996. Roger Douglas established the ACT New Zealand party, and was joined by Prebble. In March 1996, Douglas stepped down as the new party's leader, and Prebble took over.
1996 election
In the 1996 election, the first to be held under MMP, ACT won eight seats in Parliament. Prebble won the Wellington Central electorate.
1999 election
Prebble lost his Wellington Central seat in the 1999 election, but remained in Parliament as a list MP and leader of ACT.
2002 election
Prebble was re-elected as a list MP and leader of ACT in the 2002 election.
Retirement
Prebble was replaced as ACT leader by Rodney Hide in 2004, and did not stand in the 2005 election.
Prebble's book, Out of the Red, was released on 23 October 2006.