John Boscawen | |
|---|---|
 Boscawen in 2009 | |
| Minister of Consumer Affairs | |
| In office 18 August 2010 – 3 May 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | John Key |
| Preceded by | Heather Roy |
| Succeeded by | Simon Power |
| Deputy Leader ofACT Party | |
| In office 2010–2011 | |
| Leader | Rodney Hide |
| Preceded by | Heather Roy |
| Succeeded by | Don Nicolson |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forACT Party List | |
| In office 2008–2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Political party | ACT New Zealand |
| Occupation | Businessman |
John Spencer Boscawen (born December 1956) is a former New Zealand politician. He is a member of theACT New Zealand Party and served as a member of theNew Zealand House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011.
Boscawen briefly served as deputy leader of the ACT Party andMinister of Consumer Affairs from August 2010 until May 2011, and as ACT's parliamentary leader from May 2011 until the2011 general election.
Boscawen was an accountant in the 1980s, but becameinsolvent after borrowing heavily to invest in the sharemarket before the stockmarketcrash of 1987. With help from his parents, he was able to return to investing, developing the K-Mart Plaza inHastings.[1]
He became an associate member of theNew Zealand Business Roundtable.[2]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–2011 | 49th | List | 4 | ACT | |
ACT New Zealand was formed in 1994 and Boscawen became a member the following year. In 1996, he stood unsuccessfully for the party in theEpsom electorate.[3] He has served on the party's board and has been its treasurer. In the 2004 ACT Party leadership election, he backedStephen Franks to succeedRichard Prebble, over the eventual winnerRodney Hide.[4]
However, Boscawen would later serve as Hide's Epsom campaign manager for the2005 election and overall campaign manager in 2008.[2] He also donated NZ$100,000 to the party.[5] Before entering parliament he was best known for his campaign against theElectoral Finance Act, for which he organised protests and legal action and spent more than NZ$140,000.[6]
In 2008, Boscawen was ranked fourth on the ACT party's list and also stood, unsuccessfully, in theNorth Shore electorate. With ACT winning 3.65% of the vote at the2008 general election, Boscawen entered parliament as ACT's fourthlist MP. ACT supported theFifth National Government on confidence and supply; its leader and deputy leader,Rodney Hide andHeather Roy, were appointed as ministers outside of Cabinet. Boscawen sat on the Finance and Expenditure, Commerce, and Parliamentary Serviceselect committees, and was ACT's spokesperson for a range of issues including Housing, Transport, Energy and Economic Development.[2]
In 2009 Boscawen stood as ACT's candidate for theMount Albert electorate, in theMount Albert by-election. Boscawen placed fourth (968 votes), winning 4.72% of the votes cast. Boscawen provided the media with one of the memorable images of the by-election, when an environmentalist squashed alamington on Boscawen's head during a live televised candidates debate.[7]
On 17 August 2010, Boscawen challenged Roy for the deputy leader role and was successful with a 3–2 caucus vote.[4][8] This decision followed Roy's attempt the previous year, which had been supported by ACT MP and co-founder SirRoger Douglas, to replace Hide as party leader.[9] As the new deputy leader, Boscawen was appointed to the government roles of Minister of Consumer Affairs and Associate Minister of Commerce, which had been respectively held by Roy and Hide as part of ACT's confidence and supply agreement with the governing National Party.[10] As associate commerce minister, he was responsible for oversight of theCommerce Commission.[11] While consumer affairs minister, Boscawen initiated consumer law reform[12] that was eventually passed into law in 2013.[13]
Hide resigned as ACT leader in May 2011 and was replaced by formerReserve Bank governor andNational Party leaderDon Brash, who was not at that time a member of parliament. Boscawen was retained as deputy leader but resigned his ministerial portfolios to become the parliamentary leader of the ACT Party. He was succeeded in both portfolios by National'sSimon Power. On 9 May 2011 Boscawen was granted the right[14] to retain the title of theHonourable for his lifetime.
While Boscawen was initially listed second on the ACT party list for the November 2011 general election, he announced in September that he would be retiring from politics.[3] Boscawen declined to stand on the party list but contested the electorate vote inTāmaki, which he, accurately, did not expect to win.[15]
In January 2013 Boscawen became the president of the ACT Party.[16] On 2 February 2014, after unsuccessfully running to be ACT Leader and Epsom candidate, he relinquished the role of president to allowclassical liberal philosopherJamie Whyte to become ACT Leader andDavid Seymour to become the party's new Epsom candidate.
Boscawen is a trustee of theAuckland Philharmonia Foundation and theOtahuhu College Foundation.[2]
