David Cunliffe | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cunliffe in 2018 | |
| 34thLeader of the Opposition | |
| In office 15 September 2013 – 27 September 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | John Key |
| Deputy | David Parker |
| Preceded by | David Shearer |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Little |
| 15thLeader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 15 September 2013 – 27 September 2014 | |
| Deputy | David Parker |
| Preceded by | David Shearer |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Little |
| 37thMinister of Health | |
| In office 31 October 2007 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Helen Clark |
| Preceded by | Pete Hodgson |
| Succeeded by | Tony Ryall |
| 51stMinister of Immigration | |
| In office 19 October 2005 – 11 November 2007 | |
| Prime Minister | Helen Clark |
| Preceded by | Paul Swain |
| Succeeded by | Clayton Cosgrove |
| Minister of Communications and Information Technology | |
| In office 15 August 2002 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Helen Clark |
| Preceded by | Paul Swain |
| Succeeded by | Steven Joyce |
| Member of Parliament forNew Lynn Titirangi (1999–2002) | |
| In office 27 November 1999 – 23 April 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Electorate re-established |
| Succeeded by | Deborah Russell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Richard Cunliffe (1963-04-30)30 April 1963 (age 62) Te Aroha, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Karen Price (1984–2015)[1] |
| Relations | Richard Seddon (great-great uncle) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
David Richard CunliffeQSO (born 30 April 1963) is a New Zealand management consultant and former politician who wasLeader of the New Zealand Labour Party andLeader of the Opposition from September 2013 to September 2014. He wasMember of Parliament (MP) forTitirangi and thenNew Lynn for theLabour Party between 1999 and 2017. He served as theMinister of Health, Minister for Communications and Information Technology and Minister of Immigration for theFifth Labour Government of New Zealand from October 2007 until November 2008.
After the defeat of the Labour Party in the2008 general election, and the resignation ofHelen Clark as the party leader, Cunliffe was appointed the party's finance spokesman and number three on thefront bench.[2] After Labour lost the2011 general election andPhil Goff stood down as party leader, Cunlifferan for the leadership, but narrowly lost toDavid Shearer.
On 26 August 2013, Cunliffe announced a second leadership bid after David Shearer's departure from the leadership and waselected on 15 September 2013. Following Labour's defeat at thegeneral election in September 2014, he resigned as leader of the Labour Party.[3]
Cunliffe was born inTe Aroha on 30 April 1963.[4] His family moved toTe Kūiti, then toPleasant Point. His father, Bill, anAnglican minister, was active in the Labour Party.[5] As a teenager he won a scholarship to study the International Baccalaureate at theUnited World College of the Atlantic inWales. Cunliffe studied politics at theUniversity of Otago, where he was a member of theOtago University Debating Society, and gained a BA with first-class honours. He worked as a diplomat from 1987 to 1994 and gained a Diploma in Social Sciences (Distinction) in economics fromMassey University in 1993. He was aFulbright Scholar and Kennedy Memorial Fellow atHarvard University’sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government, including some courses atHarvard Business and Law School in 1994 and 1995, earning aMaster of Public Administration. He worked as a management consultant withThe Boston Consulting Group inAuckland from 1995 to 1999.[6]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2002 | 46th | Titirangi | 52 | Labour | |
| 2002–2005 | 47th | New Lynn | 37 | Labour | |
| 2005–2008 | 48th | New Lynn | 31 | Labour | |
| 2008–2011 | 49th | New Lynn | 8 | Labour | |
| 2011–2014 | 50th | New Lynn | 3 | Labour | |
| 2014–2017 | 51st | New Lynn | 1 | Labour | |
Cunliffe was first elected toParliament in the1999 election, standing as the Labour candidate for theTitirangi seat. Labour formeda new Government and Cunliffe served as Chair of the Commerce Select Committee and sat on the Finance and Expenditure and Regulations Review select committees.
Due to boundary changes for the2002 election Cunliffe contested the seat ofNew Lynn, which he won. Cunliffe's party continued in Government for its second term and he was made aParliamentary Private Secretary to the Ministers of Commerce, Finance and Revenue before being elevated to theExecutive Council as a Minister outside of Cabinet in 2003. At the2005 election, Cunliffe was returned in New Lynn with 18,087 votes (8,000 more than his nearest opponent) or 55% of the electorate vote,[7] and also promoted intoCabinet.
Cunliffe retained his seat in the2008,2011, and2014 elections, during which the Labour Party was in Opposition. He served various senior roles, including as Finance Spokesperson, but was regarded as "a destabilising force" undermining the leadership of Labour Party leadersPhil Goff andDavid Shearer.[8][9] Cunliffe was eventually elected asLabour Party Leader andLeader of the Opposition for twelve months in 2013 and 2014, including at the 2014 general election where the party received its worst result in 100 years.
Cunliffe's intention to retire from politics was announced by his successor,Andrew Little, on 1 November 2016. Cunliffe officially resigned from Parliament in April 2017, near enough to the2017 election to avoid the need for aby-election.[10]
Cunliffe was appointed to theCabinet of New Zealand in 2005 for the third term of theFifth Labour Government, initially as theMinister of Immigration, Minister of Communications, Minister for Information Technology, and Associate Minister for Economic Development. He had previously held the Communications and Information Technology portfolios outside of Cabinet. A Cabinet reshuffle in 2007 saw him lose the Immigration portfolio in exchange for the more senior position asMinister of Health.
As Immigration Minister in 2006, Cunliffe initiated a major review of the Immigration Act 1987 which, under the oversight of his successors, resulted in the eventual replacement of that Act with the new Immigration Act 2009.[11][12][13][14]
Cunliffe served as an Associate Minister for Communications and Associate Minister for Information Technology from 2003 before being promoted to the primary portfolios in 2004. The two portfolios were merged into a single ministerial role in 2007.
As Minister for Communications and Information Technology he announced extensive pro-competitive reform of the telecommunications sector, includinglocal loop unbundling and operational separation of then Telecom New Zealand.[15]
In May 2006 Cunliffe was referred to theSecurities Commission by theNZX for commenting onTelecom's future dividend plans,[16] causing Telecom's stock price to drop. The Securities Commission found that no law had been breached and no action was taken.[17]
On 30 June 2008 Cunliffe was conferred the title ofHonorary Fellow of the NZCS (HFNZCS) by theNew Zealand Computer Society, theprofessional body of theICT profession in recognition of his significant contribution to the ICT sector.[18][19]
Cunliffe was promoted to the Health portfolio in 2007, replacingPete Hodgson. He received some attention when, early in the portfolio, he said to his opposition counterpartTony Ryall, "Mr Ryall, why don't you stay in your box. I'm running this show."[20][21]
In February 2008, as the Minister of Health, Cunliffe dismissed theHawke's BayDistrict Health Board over political, monetary and conflict of interest troubles.[22]Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott and a number of members of the district voiced opposition to Cunliffe's move as many of the board members were democratically elected.[23] Following the release of a Health Ministry-commissioned independent report into the matter, Cunliffe referred to the board as a "nasty little nest of self-perpetuating provincial elites".[24]
After the2008 general election defeat of the Labour Party, Cunliffe was made Labour's spokesman for finance, shadowing National'sFinance Minister,Bill English. Cunliffe had been touted as a future leader of the party, and party insiders had suggested he seriously considered challengingPhil Goff as leader in the aftermath of the 2008 election. Speculation of a leadership challenge again arose during the June 2010 expenses scandal and again afterChris Carter's resignation from the party.
After Labour lost the2011 general election and Goff stood down, Cunlifferan for the party leadership withNanaia Mahuta on a ticket for deputy leader.Grant Robertson andDavid Parker also entered the race, but subsequently backedDavid Shearer, who won the high-profile race. Robertson became deputy leader, while Parker took Cunliffe's finance spokesmanship. Shearer retained Cunliffe in a senior role on the front bench, with the economic development and associate finance roles.[25]
In November 2012 during a Labour Party conference, there was much media speculation Cunliffe would launch a challenge against David Shearer for leadership of the party.[26] On the morning of 19 November, Cunliffe confirmed he was not challenging Shearer, and would indeed back him if a vote was taken.[27] However, Cunliffe was accused of demonstrating disloyalty and subsequently stripped of his front bench position and his portfolios.[28]
On 22 August 2013, Shearer announced his resignation as leader of the Labour Party. Cunliffe was expected to make another bid for the leadership but did not confirm his candidacy immediately.[29] Victoria University of Wellington'siPredict online predictions market showed the probability of Cunliffe becoming the next leader of the Labour Party at 66%, compared to under 26% support for Shearer's deputyGrant Robertson; social development spokespersonJacinda Ardern polled at 5%, and list MPAndrew Little was on 2%.[30]
Cunliffe formally entered the2013 New Zealand Labour Party leadership election during a press conference in his New Lynn electorate office[31] His announcement came in the wake of a ONE News Colmar Brunton poll released by the current affair programme Q+A which showed Cunliffe winning the support of 29% of the eligible voters asked, and 32% of those polled who support Labour. Challengers Shane Jones and Grant Robertson were on 11% and 10%, respectively.[32] After the first public Labour Party leadership selection process in New Zealand history, Cunliffe was elected leader on 15 September 2013.[33] He won with the support of 32% of the Labour Partycaucus, 60% of Labour Party members, and 70% of affiliated unions.[34]
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Cunliffe received strong backing from the party'sgrassroots membership, although his leadership bid was supported by only one-third of the caucus.[35] Cunliffe's leadership was opposed by many Labour MPs; several of his colleagues came to see him as "divisive, ambitious, self-absorbed and self-confident to a messianic level".[36] He was described as a "polarising" politician,[37] however his election as leader resulting in an initial increase in support for Labour; it rose to 37% in opinion polls.[38]
In a speech to a Women's Refuge symposium in July 2014, Cunliffe stated, "I am sorry for being a man".[38] He was commenting ondomestic violence against women by men. His apology was regarded as insensitive, with Prime MinisterJohn Key criticising the remark as "a bit insulting to imply that all men are abusive".[39]
With little time to make the structural changes needed to build a proper campaign and a party marked by continued infighting, Labour performed poorly in thepublic opinion polls during the run-up to the 2014 general election. It was, as Cunliffe was to say later, "the craziest and in some ways the most unfortunate campaign in recorded memory".[40]
Labour formally launched its campaign for2014 general election in Auckland on 21 July. Cunliffe announced several flagship election policies, including a promise of freeGP visits and prescriptions to pregnant women and those aged under 13 and over 65.[41] In a speech he stated, "We are basing our policies on a very old idea. That your healthcare is based on your health need, not on the size of your wallet."[41]
He was criticised for taking a three-day skiing holiday inQueenstown at the start of the campaign.[42]
His performance in the leadership debates was viewed as mixed. Key claimed a win in the 2 SeptemberThe Press leaders' debate after Cunliffe could not answer whether family homes held in a trust would be exempt under Labour'scapital gains tax policy,[43] but then went on to recover in the second and third debates.[44]
Cunliffe's Labour Party received 25.1% of the party vote and 32 seats, its lowest share of the vote since 1922, while the National Party gained a plurality with 47.0% of the party vote, its best result since 1951.[45] Cunliffe initially vowed to remain as the party leader, in spite of the poor election result. On 27 September Cunliffe formally resigned as leader but announced he was re-contesting in the2014 party leadership election.[38] Later on 13 October, he announced he was pulling out of the leadership race.[38]
Cunliffe is generally liberal when it comes to conscience issues. He voted in favour of thedecriminalisation of prostitution, theestablishment of civil unions, and thecriminalisation of parental corporal punishment. He voted againstdefining marriage as between one man and one woman, and in 2013, he voted in favour oflegalising same-sex marriage.[46] In 2006, he voted in favour of raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 20, but voted against it in 2012.[47]
Cunliffe has expressed a view that New Zealand willbecome a republic in the future. During a debate after thespeech from the throne on 4 September 2002, Cunliffe spoke of "Building a New Zealand ... where we journey together towards maturity as a nation, and to theCommonwealth republic I personally believe we will become beforethe Treaty turns 200".[48]
Following his retirement from Parliament on 21 April 2017, Cunliffe joined the New Zealand-based management consultancy firm Stakeholder Strategies as a partner, working for a range of public and private sector clients. He left the company in 2020.[49] Since 2020 he has been a director of the Polis Consulting Group.[49][50]
In the2018 New Year Honours, Cunliffe was appointed aCompanion of the Queen's Service Order, for services as a member of Parliament.[51]
In February 2020, Cunliffe was also appointed as chair of the Selwyn Foundation,[52] one of New Zealand's largest independent charitable providers of services to older people and their families.
Cunliffe's domestic partner is Anna Kominik.[53] Kominik is the independent chair of the Electricity Retailers’ Association and the New Zealand Director of Zephyr Airworks.[54] He has two sons from his previous marriage to Auckland lawyer Karen Price.[1] Cunliffe's father Bill was born inNgahere in 1915 and worked at the railways. His great-grandfather, William Cunliffe, married Phoebe Seddon, the elder sister ofRichard Seddon, who would later become known as 'King Dick'. Seddon, New Zealand'slongest serving prime minister, was thus Cunliffe's great-(great-)uncle.[55]
Cunliffe is the son of anAnglican minister, and was raised in the Church of England. He has described himself as a "liberal Anglican," and an "infrequent attender of church, but it's a big part of my life."[56]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Titirangi 1999–2002 | Constituency abolished |
| Member of Parliament for New Lynn 2002–2017 | Succeeded by | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Health 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister of Finance 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Labour Party 2013–2014 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
