Gareth Hughes (politician)
Encyclopedia
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
.
, and, after attending Gisborne Boys' High School
, studied religious studies, history and politics at Victoria University of Wellington
. 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
.
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.
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
. He took a seat in Parliament as the next person on the Green party list following the retirement of Jeanette Fitzsimons
Jeanette Fitzsimons
Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons, CNZM is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010.-Career:...
.
Early life
Hughes grew up 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...
, and, after attending 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...
, studied religious studies, history and politics at 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...
. He worked for Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
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
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
and chaining himself to the gates of McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
New Zealand distribution centre in Wiri, Auckland, protesting against the use of genetically modified chicken feed.
In the 2008 elections
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...
, Hughes stood in the Ōhariu electorate
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...
, 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
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Member of Parliament
Following the retirement of list MP Jeanette FitzsimonsJeanette Fitzsimons
Jeanette Mary Fitzsimons, CNZM is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist. She was the co-leader of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from 1995 to 2009, and was a Member of Parliament from 1996 to 2010.-Career:...
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
Republicanism in New Zealand
Republicanism in New Zealand is a theoretical political concept, the implementation of which would result in changing New Zealand's current constitutional monarchy to that of a republic...
.
Hughes is the Green Party's spokesperson on housing, ICT, libraries and archives, tertiary education, GE, food, oceans, transport, and youth.
External links
- Green Party biography
- Gareth Hughes at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Hughes' personal blog