Andrew Falloon | |
|---|---|
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forRangitata | |
| In office 23 September 2017 – 21 July 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Jo Goodhew |
| Succeeded by | Jo Luxton |
| Majority | 6,331 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1983-08-29)29 August 1983 (age 42) |
| Political party | National |
| Other political affiliations | ACT (formerly) |
Andrew Hamilton Falloon (born 29 August 1983)[1] is a former New Zealand politician, serving as aMember of Parliament in theHouse of Representatives for theNational Party from 2017 until his resignation in July 2020.
Falloon was born inAshburton in 1983. He received his education at Allenton Primary School before boarding atChristchurch Boys’ High School. He attended theUniversity of Canterbury to study political science and economics.[2]
At the2005 and2008 elections Falloon stood as a list-only candidate forACT New Zealand.[3][4] From 2007, he worked as a researcher at Parliament, before working in the ministerial offices ofRodney Hide,Phil Heatley andSteven Joyce.[2][5]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2020 | 52nd | Rangitata | 61 | National | |
At the2017 general election, Falloon contested theelectorate ofRangitata as a candidate for the National Party. Rangitata had been held by National since the electorate was created in 2008.[6] Falloon won the electorate, defeating Labour candidateJo Luxton by 6,331 votes.[7] With the National Party in Opposition, Falloon was appointed as the party's spokesperson on South Island regional development duringSimon Bridges' leadership, and spokesperson for biosecurity under the leadership of bothTodd Muller andJudith Collins.[2]
In 2020, Falloon voted for theAbortion Legislation Bill, which decriminalised abortion.[8] He supported theEnd of Life Choice Bill, which aims to legalise voluntary euthanasia.[9]
On 20 July 2020, Falloon announced that he would not seek re-election at the2020 general election, citing personal reasons following the suicide of a friend.[10] It was later reported that he had sent a pornographic image to a 19-year-old female university student.[11] The parents of the young woman emailed this information to prime ministerJacinda Ardern; Ardern's chief of staff notified National Party leaderJudith Collins. Police investigated the matter but decided that sending the image did not meet the threshold for prosecution.[12][13] According toThe New Zealand Herald, Falloon claimed that he had left his phone unattended during the party and that one of his acquaintances had sent the image. Despite insisting that he had not sent the message, Falloon reportedly offered his resignation to Collins, which she accepted.[14]
On 21 July 2020, Falloon resigned as a Member of Parliament effective immediately. His resignation accompanied media reports that he had sent two inappropriate images to two other women. Collins also stated that she "no longer trusted his story" of the incident with the first woman and "had lost confidence in him."[15][16][17] After his resignation a total of “at least five" women have reported similar behaviour by Falloon.[18][19] In response to complaints that Falloon had sent unsolicited explicit messages to multiple women, theNew Zealand Police launched an investigation into the former National MP,[20] but at the conclusion of the investigation, Police decided not to press charges against him.[21]
Data from Wikidata| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Rangitata 2017–2020 | Succeeded by |
