Charles Chauvel (politician)
Encyclopedia
Charles Pierre Chauvel (born 16 April 1969) is a New Zealand
lawyer
and politician
. Since 2006 he has been a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives
. He is the first New Zealand MP of Tahitian ancestry. Chauvel is the current Chair of the Privileges and Regulations Review Committees and is also the Labour Party
Spokesperson for the Environment and Justice.
in 1969 to Charles Chauvel Snr - who immigrated to New Zealand, where he became a graduate (and dux
) of Wesley College
, along with being one of the first Pacific Islanders to graduate with a law degree in New Zealand - and Regency Fiona Blair, whose parents moved from Scotland
after the Second World War and who eventually started a dance company in Gisborne. Chauvel's maternal grandfather was a POW during WWII. Chauvel is the second cousin to Former President of French Polynesia
and anti-nuclear activist Oscar Temaru
.
In 1985, Chauvel was awarded dux of Gisborne Boys' High School
after leaving Kings College in Auckland. While studying at the University of Auckland
, Chauvel captained the University's winning University Challenge
team in 1987. Chauvel was involved in student politics having been appointed as National Affairs Officer for the Auckland University Students' Association
in 1987. Chauvel graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington
in 1989, and a Master of Jurisprudence (with Distinction) in 1994 from the University of Auckland.
In addition, the International Training Centre of the ILO
in Turin (Italy) awarded Chauvel the Diploma in International Labour Standards in 2001, and also holds a Certificate in Health Economics (with Merit) from Victoria University of Wellington (awarded 1993) along with a Certificate in Public International Law from the Hague Academy of International Law
(1997).
(Australia) profession in 2003. Chauvel has appeared in a number of significant cases throughout the New Zealand court system, including in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in London
(prior to the abolition in 2002 of appeals from New Zealand to that body) and in the Supreme Court of New Zealand
. Previously, he worked as Crown Counsel in the New Zealand Crown Law Office
in Wellington
, and prior to graduating had clerked for the country's Chief Justice
.
As a legal writer and editor, Chauvel wrote the re-issued Public Safety Title and served as consulting editor for a re-issue of the Gaming Law Title in the Laws of New Zealand Legal Encyclopedia. He has served as a member of the editorial board of Mazengarb's Employment Law, Butterworth's Employment Law Bulletin and other employment-related publications. Chauvel has also co-authored two books, the New Zealand Employment Law Guide (LexisNexis, 2002) and Employment Mediation (Thomson Brookers, 2005). Prior to entering Parliament, Chavuel was on the board of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
(2003–2005), having become a partner in the Minter Ellison Legal Group at age 30 in 2000, and being based in the Wellington, and later their Sydney
, offices. The 2005/6 edition of the Asia Pacific Legal 500 listed him as a "Leading Individual" in employment law.
, New Zealand's largest energy-generation company (2005, having served as a director of that company from 2002).
A member of the Labour Party since 1985, Chauvel has held a number of party positions including Chair of the Princes Street Branch, President of Young Labour
(then known as Labour Socialist Youth), membership of the Party's controlling body (the New Zealand Council) and Policy council and co-Chair of Rainbow Labour
. During his first few years in the Labour party, Chauvel had become increasingly concerned at the direction of the 4th Labour Government’s
economic policy, and many of its Ministers’ indifference to Party and public opinion. Chauvel describes these early years:
As a result of expressing these concerns, he was locked out of meetings of the Auckland Central LEC (Labour Electorate Committee) by backers of the then Auckland Central
MP Richard Prebble
. Chauvel also developed a friendship with Labour party stalwart and former MP for Pencarrow
Sonja Davies, Chauvel being mentioned in the second volume of Davies' autobiography "Marching On". Chauvel joined several Labour and Union members who spoke at her funeral in 2005, and continues to give lectures about his memories of Davies and her accomplishments. Chauvel admits that it was her that got him thinking about running for office:
, finishing second to the National Party's
Bill Birch
. Chauvel next stood in 2005
as Labour's candidate for Ohariu-Belmont, finishing second to United Future leader Peter Dunne
. In the 2005 New Zealand general election
, the Labour Party ranked Chauvel 44th on its party list. On election-night returns, he failed by one seat to enter Parliament. Despite this, Chauvel was lauded by the National Business Review
as 'the most exciting newcomer in red colours' who received 'great support within the [Labour] party'. However due to the Mixed Member Proportional
(MMP) electoral system operative in New Zealand, should any Labour List MP retire, resign or die during the 48th Parliament
, Chauvel would be the next MP on the party list to enter as a Member of Parliament.
announced his retirement on 10 July, (effective 1 August 2006), Chauvel entered the House of Representatives as a Member.
In his maiden statement Chauvel described his parents' first years in New Zealand:
Chauvel also indicated that New Zealand's future is dependent on immigration:
On 1 September 2008, the Labour Party published its list for the 2008 general election
and ranked Chauvel at number 27, up 17 places on his 2005 ranking. In the 2008 general election he placed (a much more narrow) second place to Peter Dunne in the Ohariu electorate, a result that meant that Ohariu had gone from being regarded as a safe seat for its incumbent to the eighth most marginal in the country. Chauvel returned to Parliament because of his list placing.
Chauvel has been confirmed as the Labour party candidate for the Ohariu electorate in the 2011 General Election
, the third time he has run in that electorate (including the former Ohariu-Belmont electorate in 2005). Chauvel's nomination was uncontested. He has also moved up 16 places to number 11 in the 2011 Labour Party List.
. Chauvel served in both roles for the remainder of the 48th Parliament. Chauvel being the only Labour List MP based in the Wellington region, concentrated on representing the geographical areas within the Wairarapa and Ohariu-Belmont (and later Ohariu
) electorates (being the only general electorates not held by Labour MPs in the region).
At the first reshuffle after the 2008 General Election, Chauvel became spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy as well as Associate Spokesperson for Commerce and Justice.
On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader Phil Goff
appointed Chauvel to be Portfolio Spokesperson for the Environment, and shifted the portfolio of Energy to Nanaia Mahuta
. This was the first shadow cabinet reshuffle since losing the 2008 general election to National, as a result of the Ministerial Credit Card scandal involving three Labour MPs. Along with Mahuta, Chauvel moved to the parliamentary front bench.
In early 2011, Chauvel was promoted up one spot to number 11 on the Parliamentary Caucus rankings, and his Climate Change portfolio was replaced with Justice (as well as losing his associate roles)
Chauvel currently chairs two committees of the 49th Parliament
: The Privileges Committee, which deals with contempts of Parliament, and the Regulations Review Committee, having responsibility for scrutiny of delegated legislation. He is also a member of the Parliament's Commerce Committee. Chauvel serves in the Labour Party's Pacific Islands Caucus and its Rainbow Caucus. He also serves as a member of the Party's Union Caucus, having retained membership of the Service and Food Workers' Union since working as the Legal Officer for one of its predecessor unions from 1989 to 1991. He co-convenes the New Zealand Parliament's Amnesty International
Chapter, as well as chairing the New Zealand/European Union Parliamentary Friendship Group.
In February 2009, he and the former leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, Helen Clark
(now the Administrator of the United Nations' Development Program), were appointed as New Zealand's inaugural representatives on the Board of the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, the regional partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's major initiative against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In June 2010, Chauvel was appointed as a member of the United Nations Global Commission on HIV and the Law According to the United Nations' Development Program (who along with UNAIDS launched the Commission), the "commissioners will gather and share evidence about the extent of the impact of law and law enforcement on the lives of people living with HIV and those most vulnerable to HIV. They will make recommendations on how the law can better support universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support." Chauvel is the sole New Zealand representative on the 14 person Commission.
Chavuel is a regular contributor to the Labour Party MPs' blog
, Red Alert and has written guest posts for other NZ blogs including No Right Turn and the Yes Vote campaign.
Since becoming an MP, Chauvel has been a participant in the deliberation of emissions trading legislation
. Chauvel was chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee when the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill was debated in the final months of the 48th Parliament. At the start of the 49th Parliament, Chauvel was a member of the ad hoc Committee on the Review of Climate Change Legislation (chaired by Peter Dunne), established as part of the confidence and supply agreement between the National and ACT parties.
It had been clearly signaled by the new administration that they intended to delay the implementation of the ETS, and while the ETS Review report did not make any specific recommendations to amend either the ETS or the Climate Change Response Act 2002, The Climate Change Minister Nick Smith
reaffirmed the Government's intentions. Chauvel with fellow Labour MPs David Parker and Moana Mackey
tried to reach an agreement with the National Government on supporting amendments to the new legislation proposed by the Government, but the talks stalled after the Government announced their agreement with the Maori party
to gain the necessary support in Parliament to pass the amended legislation through its first reading (although eventually, all but one member of the Maori party caucus supported the legislation through all readings of the bill).
The Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill was tabled on September 24, 2009. Chauvel appeared on the Finance and Expenditure Committee where the bill was reviewed. The Select Committee reported to the House that no changes could be agreed to (something that is rare for a Government backed bill) and that all parties represented in the Committee published minority views. The Government's amendements were passed by Supplementary Order Paper during the Committee stage of the bill's passage. Acknowledging that the bill would be passed, Chauvel tabled a number of amendments by SOP including:
None of Chauvel's SOPs were incorporated into the final legislation.
In December 2009 Chauvel attended the COP15 Climate Change conference to observe the international negotiations, choosing to pay his own way to the event. As he has done for several years, Chauvel also paid the carbon offsets for the air travel as part of the trip. Chauvel blogged about his time at Copenhagen
through the Red Alert blog.
The following year, Chauvel attended (again at his own expense) the COP16 Climate Change conference, where he blogged about his observations via the Red Alert blog.
s
and believes that Queen Elizabeth II should be New Zealand's last overseas-resident head of state
. He has said that New Zealanders "need to show we can stand on our own two feet as a country, and having our own home-grown head of state should be part of that."
Chauvel has also challenged traditional symbols of New Zealand identity. Chauvel states that he does not believe New Zealand's "flag... coat of arms and... other symbols of nationality match our national sense of identity any longer", and offers the opinion that New Zealanders "need to begin to re-imagine them" in order to maximize the benefits from a transition to a republic.
On 5 August 2010 Chauvel introduced a members Bill
for a consultative commission followed by a referendum on the New Zealand flag
.
The issue of provocation has received much publicity in New Zealand recently due to the high-profile trials of Clayton Weatherston
and Ferdinand Ambach, both of whom attempted to plead provocation in court (the latter successfully).
The repeal of the partial defence of provocation to murder (s169 of the Crimes Act 1961) has been one of Chauvel's personal issues since entering Parliament. The Law Commission, in their 2007 report on the issue, also argued for repeal. Historically the provocation defence has been used by men "defending themselves" from the sexual advances of other men (with some notable exceptions). Chauvel states that:
In 2009 Chauvel and fellow Labour MP Lianne Dalziel
worked together in an attempt to pass a Member's Bill repealing the provocation defence. The bill was "effectively adopted" by the Government. The Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill passed on Thursday 26 November 2009 with 116 votes to five - the ACT Party voicing the only opposition. Whilst some - including the New Zealand Law Society
- viewed the repeal as a knee-jerk reaction to two specific cases, it appears that the New Zealand public in general support the move.
Chauvel sponsored a Member's bill, the Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill, which would have covered the following areas:
The Bill was later transferred to fellow Labour MP (and Labour Party Spokesperson on Consumer Affairs) Carol Beaumont
and was defeated at its first reading in July 2010.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. Since 2006 he has been a Member of Parliament in the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
. He is the first New Zealand MP of Tahitian ancestry. Chauvel is the current Chair of the Privileges and Regulations Review Committees and is also the Labour Party
New Zealand Labour Party
The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....
Spokesperson for the Environment and Justice.
Early years
Chauvel was born in GisborneGisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
in 1969 to Charles Chauvel Snr - who immigrated to New Zealand, where he became a graduate (and dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
) of Wesley College
Wesley College, Auckland
Wesley College is a secondary school in Pukekohe, New Zealand. The school provides education from year 9 to 13.The school was founded by members of the Methodist Church in 1844, making it one of the country's oldest schools. Initially located in Grafton and then the Three Kings area of Auckland, it...
, along with being one of the first Pacific Islanders to graduate with a law degree in New Zealand - and Regency Fiona Blair, whose parents moved from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
after the Second World War and who eventually started a dance company in Gisborne. Chauvel's maternal grandfather was a POW during WWII. Chauvel is the second cousin to Former President of French Polynesia
President of French Polynesia
This is the list of Presidents of French Polynesia.-See also:*List of monarchs of Tahiti*Colonial and Departmental Heads of French Polynesia-External links:*...
and anti-nuclear activist Oscar Temaru
Oscar Temaru
Oscar Manutahi Temaru is a French Polynesian politician. He has been President of French Polynesia , a French dependency with broad powers of self-rule, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from 2007 to 2008, in 2009, and again since 1 April 2011.-Career:He first served as the President...
.
In 1985, Chauvel was awarded dux of Gisborne Boys' High School
Gisborne Boys' High School
Gisborne Boys' High School is a boys' secondary school situated in Gisborne, New Zealand that was originally founded as a Co-Ed school in 1909 and was known as Gisborne High School. In 1956 the school became Gisborne Boys High School when the original school was split into two single-sex...
after leaving Kings College in Auckland. While studying at the University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
, Chauvel captained the University's winning University Challenge
University Challenge (New Zealand)
University Challenge was a long-running New Zealand television quiz show. The format was based on the British show of the same name, which was itself based on the American College Bowl...
team in 1987. Chauvel was involved in student politics having been appointed as National Affairs Officer for the Auckland University Students' Association
Auckland University Students' Association
The Auckland University Students' Association , founded in 1891, represents students at the University of Auckland. AUSA organises student events, publicises student issues, administers student facilities, and assists affiliated student clubs and societies. It also produces Craccum magazine and bFM...
in 1987. Chauvel graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) from Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
in 1989, and a Master of Jurisprudence (with Distinction) in 1994 from the University of Auckland.
In addition, the International Training Centre of the ILO
Ilo
Ilo is a port city in southern Peru, with some 58,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the Moquegua Region and capital of the province of Ilo.-History:...
in Turin (Italy) awarded Chauvel the Diploma in International Labour Standards in 2001, and also holds a Certificate in Health Economics (with Merit) from Victoria University of Wellington (awarded 1993) along with a Certificate in Public International Law from the Hague Academy of International Law
Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands...
(1997).
Legal career
The New Zealand legal profession admitted Chauvel as a member in 1990, and the New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
(Australia) profession in 2003. Chauvel has appeared in a number of significant cases throughout the New Zealand court system, including in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(prior to the abolition in 2002 of appeals from New Zealand to that body) and in the Supreme Court of New Zealand
Supreme Court of New Zealand
The Supreme Court of New Zealand is the highest court and the court of last resort in New Zealand, having formally come into existence on 1 January 2004. The court sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, based in London...
. Previously, he worked as Crown Counsel in the New Zealand Crown Law Office
Crown Law Office (New Zealand)
The Crown Law Office of New Zealand offers legal advice to the New Zealand Government. The Solicitor-General of New Zealand, David Collins, is the organisation's chief executive. Collins has held this position since August 2006. The position itself was established in 1875....
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, and prior to graduating had clerked for the country's Chief Justice
Chief Justice of New Zealand
The Chief Justice of New Zealand is the head of the New Zealand judiciary, and presides over the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Before the establishment of the latter court in 2004 the Chief Justice was the presiding judge in the High Court of New Zealand and was also ex officio a member of the...
.
As a legal writer and editor, Chauvel wrote the re-issued Public Safety Title and served as consulting editor for a re-issue of the Gaming Law Title in the Laws of New Zealand Legal Encyclopedia. He has served as a member of the editorial board of Mazengarb's Employment Law, Butterworth's Employment Law Bulletin and other employment-related publications. Chauvel has also co-authored two books, the New Zealand Employment Law Guide (LexisNexis, 2002) and Employment Mediation (Thomson Brookers, 2005). Prior to entering Parliament, Chavuel was on the board of Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts
Minter Ellison Rudd Watts is a full-service law firm in New Zealand, founded over 130 years ago. With offices in Auckland and Wellington, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts employs over 200 staff, including 43 partners....
(2003–2005), having become a partner in the Minter Ellison Legal Group at age 30 in 2000, and being based in the Wellington, and later their Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, offices. The 2005/6 edition of the Asia Pacific Legal 500 listed him as a "Leading Individual" in employment law.
Other Accomplishments
Chauvel was appointed in 1995 by the then National Government to the Board of the New Zealand Public Health Commission, the Crown agency responsible for advising the Minster of Health on public health policy, health monitoring, consultation and the purchase of public health services. Chauvel has also been the Chair of the New Zealand Aids Foundation (1996, after serving as a member of its board from 1990 to 1994); as Deputy Chair of the New Zealand Lotteries Commission, the entity that operates the New Zealand state lottery (2000–2004); and as Deputy Chair of Meridian EnergyMeridian Energy
Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand state-owned electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 32 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending 31 December 2009, and is the fourth-equal largest retailer, with...
, New Zealand's largest energy-generation company (2005, having served as a director of that company from 2002).
Involvement with the Labour Party
Background
Chauvel describes his political interest starting while still young at home in Gisborne:-
- "[Chauvel's parent's were] political with a small p. My parents, both of whom were immigrants to New Zealand, weren't particularly partisan, but they were very aware of what it was like to be in a new country. And so, probably more than in other families we talked a lot about the issues that excited them and came to their attention from that perspective...I remember that our dinner table was...a place were a lot of ideas were discussed...I imagine like a lot of people in Gisborne in the early seventies wanting to fit in they [his parents] voted National. That changed later on...and I think that's where my interest in politics came from"
A member of the Labour Party since 1985, Chauvel has held a number of party positions including Chair of the Princes Street Branch, President of Young Labour
Young Labour (New Zealand)
Young Labour is an official sector of the New Zealand Labour Party. All New Zealand Labour Party members aged 15 to 25 are members of Young Labour.-Description:...
(then known as Labour Socialist Youth), membership of the Party's controlling body (the New Zealand Council) and Policy council and co-Chair of Rainbow Labour
Rainbow labour
Rainbow Labour is part of the New Zealand Labour Party. It started as a branch in Chris Carter's Auckland Waipareira electorate in 1997, just after Chris Carter had been narrowly defeated in the election the previous year. At about the same time, Tim Barnett, newly elected to Parliament as an...
. During his first few years in the Labour party, Chauvel had become increasingly concerned at the direction of the 4th Labour Government’s
Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It enacted major social and economic reforms, including reformation of the tax system. The economic reforms were known as Rogernomics after Finance Minister Roger Douglas...
economic policy, and many of its Ministers’ indifference to Party and public opinion. Chauvel describes these early years:
-
- "When the Lange Government was new, I was excited by the change in the air from the Muldoon years. I thought the nuclear free policyNew Zealand's nuclear-free zoneIn 1984, Prime Minister David Lange barred nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from using New Zealand ports or entering New Zealand waters. Under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987, territorial sea, land and airspace of New Zealand became nuclear-free zones...
was great, I thought homosexual law reform was an exciting initiative, the whole opening of society was something that really interested me, so that was the initial attraction...I wasn't [that economically literate when he first joined the Labour party] and at that stage that part of the agenda [Rogernomics] wasn't so obvious. Later on, particularly during the second term of that Government when I was at University I became very concerned about the pace of the change, coming from a rural electorate where people were being thrown out of work because the reforms were being implemented so quickly, made me realise that there was something wrong. But my choice was to stay inside the Labour party and to try to bring about change from within, to slow down those reforms."
- "When the Lange Government was new, I was excited by the change in the air from the Muldoon years. I thought the nuclear free policy
As a result of expressing these concerns, he was locked out of meetings of the Auckland Central LEC (Labour Electorate Committee) by backers of the then Auckland Central
Auckland Central
Auckland Central is a New Zealand electoral division returning one member to the New Zealand House of Representatives. Its current representative is Nikki Kaye, a member of the National Party; she has represented the seat since 2008....
MP Richard Prebble
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.-Early and personal life:...
. Chauvel also developed a friendship with Labour party stalwart and former MP for Pencarrow
Pencarrow (New Zealand electorate)
Pencarrow is a former Parliamentary electorate in the lower Hutt Valley of New Zealand, from 1978 to 1996.-Population centres:The electorate is based on the southern part of the city of Lower Hutt.-History:...
Sonja Davies, Chauvel being mentioned in the second volume of Davies' autobiography "Marching On". Chauvel joined several Labour and Union members who spoke at her funeral in 2005, and continues to give lectures about his memories of Davies and her accomplishments. Chauvel admits that it was her that got him thinking about running for office:
-
- "Sonja Davies, who'd been a big influence on me on my first job, was in her last days and one of the things she said to me at the time was look, you're doing very well, that's great. But are you the sort of person who would want to look back on it all after twenty or thirty years and say 'well I made a heap of money'. She said I think you'll want something more than that and it got me thinking...and I do hope that I will be able to look back at whatever I end up doing in Parliament and otherwise and be able to say that I did something other than just pile up cash in the bank...I don't want to be in Parliament forever, but I do want to be there for a period of time such as I can get some things done, and leave feeling that I have achieved something."
Political Candidate
Chauvel stood as Labour's electoral candidate for Maramarua in 1990New Zealand general election, 1990
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...
, finishing second to the National Party's
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
Bill Birch
Bill Birch
Sir William Francis Birch, GNZM , usually known as Bill Birch, is a former New Zealand politician. He served as Minister of Finance for several years in the fourth National government.-Early life:...
. Chauvel next stood in 2005
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
as Labour's candidate for Ohariu-Belmont, finishing second to United Future leader Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne
Peter Dunne is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament who leads the United Future political party. He has served as a Cabinet minister in governments dominated by the centre-left Labour Party as well as by the centre-right National Party...
. In the 2005 New Zealand general election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
, the Labour Party ranked Chauvel 44th on its party list. On election-night returns, he failed by one seat to enter Parliament. Despite this, Chauvel was lauded by the National Business Review
National Business Review
The National Business Review is a weekly New Zealand newspaper aimed at the business sector. The paper is owned by Barry Colman who also publishes the Grocers Review and several other small trade publications....
as 'the most exciting newcomer in red colours' who received 'great support within the [Labour] party'. However due to the Mixed Member Proportional
Electoral system of New Zealand
In 1994 New Zealand officially adopted mixed member proportional representation as its electoral system for the House of Representatives after many years of first-past-the-post voting. The first MMP election was held in 1996....
(MMP) electoral system operative in New Zealand, should any Labour List MP retire, resign or die during the 48th Parliament
48th New Zealand Parliament
The 48th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Its composition was determined at a general election held on 17 September 2005. The new parliament met for the first time on 7 November 2005...
, Chauvel would be the next MP on the party list to enter as a Member of Parliament.
Member of Parliament
When Cabinet Minister Jim SuttonJim Sutton
James Robert Sutton, CNZM , generally known as Jim Sutton, was a New Zealand politician from 1984–1990 and from 1993–2006. He has held a range of ministerial portfolios including Agriculture, Forestry, Rural Affairs, Biosecurity, and Trade Negotiations.-Biography:Sutton was born in...
announced his retirement on 10 July, (effective 1 August 2006), Chauvel entered the House of Representatives as a Member.
In his maiden statement Chauvel described his parents' first years in New Zealand:
-
- "Dad’s story is a classic, and timely, reminder of the way in which immigrants, and the children of immigrants, have come to New Zealand and made their contributions to our society. His arrival in New Zealand took place some 20 years before the first modern migration here from the Pacific. So it has taken longer for the pattern of achievement that he and his family followed to be replicated more widely. But the achievements of the present generation of New Zealand born Pacific people, and their parents, are a catalogue of successes in the arts, in sport, in business and in the professions."
-
- "And my pride in my Pacific origins takes nothing away from the appreciation I feel for my European heritage. I remember one of my last conversations with Sonja Davies. I asked her about the significance of the title of her first book, Bread and Roses. In reply, she sang the line from the song: “hearts starve, as well as bodies”. If my father was the principal provider of bread during my childhood, then it was my mother and her family who provided many of the roses."
Chauvel also indicated that New Zealand's future is dependent on immigration:
-
- "To achieve future prosperity, we need more and talented people. Our country was built on immigration. We should not fear it. Diversity makes our culture much less homogenous, and our lives less dull. Immigration enriches us all, literally and figratively"
On 1 September 2008, the Labour Party published its list for the 2008 general election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...
and ranked Chauvel at number 27, up 17 places on his 2005 ranking. In the 2008 general election he placed (a much more narrow) second place to Peter Dunne in the Ohariu electorate, a result that meant that Ohariu had gone from being regarded as a safe seat for its incumbent to the eighth most marginal in the country. Chauvel returned to Parliament because of his list placing.
Chauvel has been confirmed as the Labour party candidate for the Ohariu electorate in the 2011 General Election
New Zealand general election, 2011
The 2011 New Zealand general election on Saturday 26 November 2011 determined the membership of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.One hundred and twenty-one MPs were elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives, 70 from single-member electorates, including one overhang seat, and 51 from party...
, the third time he has run in that electorate (including the former Ohariu-Belmont electorate in 2005). Chauvel's nomination was uncontested. He has also moved up 16 places to number 11 in the 2011 Labour Party List.
Roles Held
In November 2007, Chauvel became Chairperson of Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee, and in early 2008 he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney-GeneralAttorney-General (New Zealand)
The Attorney-General is a political office in New Zealand. It is simultaneously a ministerial position and an administrative office, and has responsibility for supervising New Zealand law and advising the government on legal matters...
. Chauvel served in both roles for the remainder of the 48th Parliament. Chauvel being the only Labour List MP based in the Wellington region, concentrated on representing the geographical areas within the Wairarapa and Ohariu-Belmont (and later Ohariu
Ohariu
Ōhariu is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. It was contested for the first time at the 2008 election. It is the successor to Ohariu-Belmont, first contested at the first Mixed Member Proportional election in 1996...
) electorates (being the only general electorates not held by Labour MPs in the region).
At the first reshuffle after the 2008 General Election, Chauvel became spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy as well as Associate Spokesperson for Commerce and Justice.
On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader Phil Goff
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff is the current Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. During the Fifth Labour Government, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and...
appointed Chauvel to be Portfolio Spokesperson for the Environment, and shifted the portfolio of Energy to Nanaia Mahuta
Nanaia Mahuta
Nanaia Cybelle Mahuta BA, MA in social anthropology, is a New Zealand politician and was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand. She was Minister of Customs, Minister of Local Government, Minister of Youth Development, Associate Minister for the Environment and Associate...
. This was the first shadow cabinet reshuffle since losing the 2008 general election to National, as a result of the Ministerial Credit Card scandal involving three Labour MPs. Along with Mahuta, Chauvel moved to the parliamentary front bench.
In early 2011, Chauvel was promoted up one spot to number 11 on the Parliamentary Caucus rankings, and his Climate Change portfolio was replaced with Justice (as well as losing his associate roles)
Chauvel currently chairs two committees of the 49th Parliament
49th New Zealand Parliament
The 49th New Zealand Parliament was elected at the 2008 election. It consists of 122 members, including an overhang of two seats caused by the Māori Party having won two more electorate seats than its share of the party vote would otherwise have given it. The Parliament will serve from 2008 until...
: The Privileges Committee, which deals with contempts of Parliament, and the Regulations Review Committee, having responsibility for scrutiny of delegated legislation. He is also a member of the Parliament's Commerce Committee. Chauvel serves in the Labour Party's Pacific Islands Caucus and its Rainbow Caucus. He also serves as a member of the Party's Union Caucus, having retained membership of the Service and Food Workers' Union since working as the Legal Officer for one of its predecessor unions from 1989 to 1991. He co-convenes the New Zealand Parliament's Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Chapter, as well as chairing the New Zealand/European Union Parliamentary Friendship Group.
In February 2009, he and the former leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
(now the Administrator of the United Nations' Development Program), were appointed as New Zealand's inaugural representatives on the Board of the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund, the regional partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's major initiative against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In June 2010, Chauvel was appointed as a member of the United Nations Global Commission on HIV and the Law According to the United Nations' Development Program (who along with UNAIDS launched the Commission), the "commissioners will gather and share evidence about the extent of the impact of law and law enforcement on the lives of people living with HIV and those most vulnerable to HIV. They will make recommendations on how the law can better support universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support." Chauvel is the sole New Zealand representative on the 14 person Commission.
Chavuel is a regular contributor to the Labour Party MPs' blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, Red Alert and has written guest posts for other NZ blogs including No Right Turn and the Yes Vote campaign.
Climate Change
- See: Climate change in New ZealandClimate change in New ZealandClimate change in New Zealand, in the sense of anthropogenic global warming during the 20th century, is apparent in the instrumental record, in New Zealand's participation in international treaties and in social and political debates. Climate change is being responded to in a variety of ways by...
Since becoming an MP, Chauvel has been a participant in the deliberation of emissions trading legislation
New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme
The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme is a national all-sectors all-greenhouse gases all-free allocation uncapped emissions trading scheme...
. Chauvel was chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee when the Climate Change (Emissions Trading and Renewable Preference) Bill was debated in the final months of the 48th Parliament. At the start of the 49th Parliament, Chauvel was a member of the ad hoc Committee on the Review of Climate Change Legislation (chaired by Peter Dunne), established as part of the confidence and supply agreement between the National and ACT parties.
It had been clearly signaled by the new administration that they intended to delay the implementation of the ETS, and while the ETS Review report did not make any specific recommendations to amend either the ETS or the Climate Change Response Act 2002, The Climate Change Minister Nick Smith
Nick Smith (New Zealand)
Nicolas Rex "Nick" Smith is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand Parliament as a National Party MP...
reaffirmed the Government's intentions. Chauvel with fellow Labour MPs David Parker and Moana Mackey
Moana Mackey
Moana Lynore Mackey is a New Zealand politician and has represented the New Zealand Labour Party in the Parliament of New Zealand since 2003. She has Māori, Irish, Scottish and Spanish ancestry....
tried to reach an agreement with the National Government on supporting amendments to the new legislation proposed by the Government, but the talks stalled after the Government announced their agreement with the Maori party
Maori Party
The Māori Party, a political party in New Zealand, was formed on 7 July 2004. The Party is guided by eight constitutional "kaupapa", or Party objectives. Tariana Turia formed the Māori Party after resigning from the Labour Party where she had been a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour-led...
to gain the necessary support in Parliament to pass the amended legislation through its first reading (although eventually, all but one member of the Maori party caucus supported the legislation through all readings of the bill).
The Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill was tabled on September 24, 2009. Chauvel appeared on the Finance and Expenditure Committee where the bill was reviewed. The Select Committee reported to the House that no changes could be agreed to (something that is rare for a Government backed bill) and that all parties represented in the Committee published minority views. The Government's amendements were passed by Supplementary Order Paper during the Committee stage of the bill's passage. Acknowledging that the bill would be passed, Chauvel tabled a number of amendments by SOP including:
- SOP 94 Would prescribe both medium and long-term targets for emissions reductions in law, and establishes an Advisory Committee on Climate Change as an independent Crown Entity with the goal of advising on climate change policy and on target-setting.
- SOP 95 Would remove the 50% discount during the 2010 - 2012 "transitional period", and raises the price cap from $25 to $100
- SOP 96 would place a cap on free allocation to industrial and agricultural emitters, based on 2005 emissions. It makes no change to phase-out rates
- SOP 97 would create full transparency by making every Government allocation to be published and requiring any applicant to declare any donations made to political parties in the past year.
None of Chauvel's SOPs were incorporated into the final legislation.
In December 2009 Chauvel attended the COP15 Climate Change conference to observe the international negotiations, choosing to pay his own way to the event. As he has done for several years, Chauvel also paid the carbon offsets for the air travel as part of the trip. Chauvel blogged about his time at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
through the Red Alert blog.
The following year, Chauvel attended (again at his own expense) the COP16 Climate Change conference, where he blogged about his observations via the Red Alert blog.
Trans-Tasman Rankings
The political publication Trans-Tasman has reviewed Charles Chauvel each year since he became an MP, as part of their annual review of Parliament (known as Roll Call). MPs are scored between one (lowest) and ten (highest) out of ten for their work during the year. Although scoring quite low initially, as is common for new MPs, he has always improved his ranking each year:| Year | Score | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 1/10 | Still breathing through his nose but it’s time for Labour’s rookie to show why he was on the list. |
| 2007 | 3/10 | Overlooked for Cabinet and let his displeasure show. Apparently others don’t share his opinion of himself. New chair of Finex gives him a chance to impress - he’s still being slated as one of the party’s rising stars. |
| 2008 | 4.5/10 | Would have been a hero if he’d beaten Peter Dunne in Ohariu and wasn’t far off. Good campaign after a much better year. |
| 2009 | 5.5/10 | An effective, intelligent MP who hit his straps this year and showed what he’s capable of. Overlooked for cabinet when Labour was in power, he’s showing they were wrong. |
| 2010 | 6/10 | Should be on the front bench, deserves to be there more than some who are. Doesn’t get mixed up in rows and rhetoric, knows his issues and commands attention in the House. |
Conscience Votes
Since entering Parliament, Chauvel has made eight conscience voteConscience vote
A conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party....
s
| Bill | Chauvel's vote | Total Ayes | Total Noes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manukau City Council (Control of Street Prostitution) Bill | Against | 46 | 73 | Motion not agreed to |
| Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction: Purchase Age) Bill | Against | 49 | 72 | Motion not agreed to |
| Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill | For | 70 | 51 | Motion agreed to |
| Easter Sunday Shop Trading Amendment Bill | Against | 37 | 84 | Motion not agreed to |
| Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill | For (vote by proxy) | 34 | 84 | Motion not agreed to |
| Liquor Advertising (Television and Radio) Bill | For | 36 | 80 | Motion not agreed to |
| Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill | Against (vote by Proxy) | 59 | 62 | Motion not agreed to |
| Manukau City Council (Regulation of Prostitution in Specified Places) Bill | Against (vote by Proxy) | 82 | 36 | Motion agreed to |
Republicanism and national identity
Chauvel is a member of the Republican Movement of Aotearoa New ZealandRepublican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Republican Movement of Aotearoa New Zealand is an organisation formed in 1994 whose object is to support the creation of a New Zealand republic . It is Chaired by Lewis Holden. The patron of the Movement is Keri Hulme, a New Zealand writer famous for her 1985 Booker Prize winning novel The Bone...
and believes that Queen Elizabeth II should be New Zealand's last overseas-resident head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
. He has said that New Zealanders "need to show we can stand on our own two feet as a country, and having our own home-grown head of state should be part of that."
Chauvel has also challenged traditional symbols of New Zealand identity. Chauvel states that he does not believe New Zealand's "flag... coat of arms and... other symbols of nationality match our national sense of identity any longer", and offers the opinion that New Zealanders "need to begin to re-imagine them" in order to maximize the benefits from a transition to a republic.
On 5 August 2010 Chauvel introduced a members Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
for a consultative commission followed by a referendum on the New Zealand flag
Flag of New Zealand
The flag of New Zealand is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton, and four red stars with white borders to the right. The stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross....
.
Repeal of the Provocation Defence
- See:Gay Panic Defence
The issue of provocation has received much publicity in New Zealand recently due to the high-profile trials of Clayton Weatherston
Murder of Sophie Elliott
On 9 January 2008, 22-year-old Sophie Kate Elliott was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Clayton Robert Weatherston , in Dunedin, New Zealand...
and Ferdinand Ambach, both of whom attempted to plead provocation in court (the latter successfully).
The repeal of the partial defence of provocation to murder (s169 of the Crimes Act 1961) has been one of Chauvel's personal issues since entering Parliament. The Law Commission, in their 2007 report on the issue, also argued for repeal. Historically the provocation defence has been used by men "defending themselves" from the sexual advances of other men (with some notable exceptions). Chauvel states that:
-
- "If a man is on the receiving end of an unwanted advance from another man, then he needs to learn to say “no”. If the advance is accompanied by physical pressure or contact, then reasonable – but never deadly – force to repel the pressure should be the absolute maximum allowed by the law."
In 2009 Chauvel and fellow Labour MP Lianne Dalziel
Lianne Dalziel
Lianne Audrey Dalziel is a member of the New Zealand Parliament and was Minister of Immigration, Commerce, Minister of Food Safety and Associate Minister of Justice in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand...
worked together in an attempt to pass a Member's Bill repealing the provocation defence. The bill was "effectively adopted" by the Government. The Crimes (Provocation Repeal) Amendment Bill passed on Thursday 26 November 2009 with 116 votes to five - the ACT Party voicing the only opposition. Whilst some - including the New Zealand Law Society
New Zealand Law Society
The New Zealand Law Society is the parent body for barristers and solicitors in New Zealand. It was established in 1869, and regulates all lawyers practising in New Zealand...
- viewed the repeal as a knee-jerk reaction to two specific cases, it appears that the New Zealand public in general support the move.
Fringe and payday lender reform
In a blog post written by Chauvel, he illustrates his position on loan sharks:-
- "Ever since I became an MP, an issue that I have supported is the regulation of so called "loan sharks". Loan sharks prey on the vulnerable with unscrupulous rates of interest and this includes many of our Pacific people. They are the scourge of our community and instead of lending a helping hand keep borrowers in poverty. It is common for payday lenders to charge interest at rates between "only" 8% and 15% per week, compounding well into four figures at a time when mainstream rates have declined."
Chauvel sponsored a Member's bill, the Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill, which would have covered the following areas:
- Part 1: Amends the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 by capping the interest rate lenders can charge under a consumer credit contract at 48%. It also renders a contract oppressive if the lender reasonably believes the borrower will not be able to repay the loan.
- Part 2: Amends the Credit (Repossession) Act 1997 by limiting the amount a creditor can recover from a debtor by restricting loansharks to recover the value of the goods at the time they are sold instead of when the goods were purchased.
- Part 3: Would allow pawnbrokers to charge administration fees if they are registered under the Second Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 2004. By charging penalty fees as well as interest, companies would not need to set high interest rates for those who legitimately pay their loans on time.
The Bill was later transferred to fellow Labour MP (and Labour Party Spokesperson on Consumer Affairs) Carol Beaumont
Carol Beaumont
Carol Ann Beaumont is a politician from New Zealand. She was elected to represent the Labour Party on the party list at the 2008 general election. Beaumont stood in the Maungakiekie electorate, finishing a close second.-Professional life:...
and was defeated at its first reading in July 2010.