Harold Valentine Ross Robertson (known as Ross Robertson) (born 1949) is a New Zealand

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...

 politician for 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....

. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1987.

Early life

Robertson was born 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...

. Before entering politics, he was an industrial engineer

Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials, analysis...

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Member of Parliament

Robertson was first elected to Parliament in the 1987 elections

New Zealand general election, 1987

The 1987 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 43rd sitting of the New Zealand Parliament. The governing New Zealand Labour Party, led by Prime Minister David Lange, was re-elected for a second term, although the Opposition National Party made gains...

, representing Papatoetoe

Papatoetoe (New Zealand electorate)

Papatoetoe is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, and is part of greater Auckland.-Population centres:The electorate is urban-suburban, based on the suburb of Papatoetoe, and is in South Auckland.-History:...

. Since the 1996 elections

New Zealand general election, 1996

The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...

, when the Papatoetoe seat was abolished, Robertson has represented the seat of Manukau East

Manukau East

Manukau East is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate.It is currently held by Ross Robertson MP.-Suburbs:In 2007, large changes were made to the Manukau East electorate. Its northern boundary extended past the Tāmaki River to almost as far as Sylvia Park Rd to incorporate Middlemore, Otahuhu and...

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In the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand

Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand

The Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand between 10 December 1999 and 19 November 2008.-Overview:The fourth National government, in power since 1990, was widely unpopular by 1999, with much of the public antagonised by a series of free-market economic reforms,...

 he was an assistant speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

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In 2006 Robertson reported to the New Zealand Police

New Zealand Police

The New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...

 that a marijuana lab was operating next to his electorate office in Otara

Otara

Ōtara is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, situated 18 kilometres to the southeast of the Auckland CBD. Ōtara lies near the head of the Tāmaki River , which extends south towards the Manukau Harbour...

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