Jonathan Hunt | |
|---|---|
 Hunt in 2006 | |
| 28thHigh Commissioner to the United Kingdom | |
| In office April 2005 – March 2008 | |
| Prime Minister | Helen Clark |
| Preceded by | Russell Marshall |
| Succeeded by | Derek Leask |
| 26thSpeaker of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 20 December 1999 – 3 March 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Helen Clark |
| Preceded by | Doug Kidd |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Wilson |
| 16thMinister of Housing | |
| In office 14 August 1989 – 2 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore |
| Preceded by | Helen Clark |
| Succeeded by | John Luxton |
| 27thMinister of Tourism | |
| In office 10 January 1988 – 14 August 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | David Lange Geoffrey Palmer |
| Preceded by | Helen Clark |
| Succeeded by | Fran Wilde |
| 3rdLeader of the House | |
| In office 24 August 1987 – 2 November 1990 | |
| Prime Minister | David Lange Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore |
| Preceded by | Geoffrey Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Paul East |
| 50thPostmaster-General | |
| In office 26 July 1984 – 24 August 1987 | |
| Prime Minister | David Lange |
| Preceded by | Rob Talbot |
| Succeeded by | Richard Prebble |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forNew Lynn | |
| In office 26 November 1966 – 12 October 1996 | |
| Preceded by | Rex Mason |
| Succeeded by | Phil Goff |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forLabourparty list | |
| In office 12 October 1996 – 31 March 2005 | |
| Succeeded by | Lesley Soper[a] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jonathan Lucas Hunt (1938-12-02)2 December 1938 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Died | 8 March 2024(2024-03-08) (aged 85) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Profession | High school teacher |
Jonathan Lucas HuntONZ PC (2 December 1938 – 8 March 2024) was a New Zealand politician and diplomat. He started a 38-year parliamentary career as theBaby of the House and retired asFather of the House. During that tenure, he wasSpeaker of the House of Representatives. Afterwards, he served asNew Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2005 to March 2008. He was a member of theOrder of New Zealand, New Zealand's highest civilian honour, and given the nickname "Minister for Wine and Cheese" for enjoying those items.[1]
Hunt was born inLower Hutt, but grew up inPalmerston North. He had a twin brother, David, who died four days after they were born.[1] Hunt's father was a child welfare officer, reassigned to theManawatu in 1942. Hunt was educated atPalmerston North Boys' High School and laterAuckland Grammar School; later he enrolled at theUniversity of Auckland, where he gained a BA (Hons) degree in history.[2]
In 1958, Hunt was elected editor of theAuckland University Students' Association's (AUSA)Craccum magazine for the 1959 year. While at University Hunt is also credited with founding thePrinces Street Labour branch. He was a 'radio quiz kid' and in 1963 he toured South-East Asia with a Rotary group of Young New Zealanders.[3]
After graduating, Hunt became a History, English and Latin teacher from 1961 to 1966 atKelston Boys High School inWest Auckland where he also coached cricket.[1] He was then a university tutor. Hunt also had a long-standing relationship with the Department of Political Studies at the University, which for many years has collected and archived Hunt's personal and professional papers. Hunt lived inKarekare on Auckland's west coast and he was well known for his passionate interest in the sport ofcricket.[4] He was the secretary of the Auckland Secondary Schools' Cricket Association.[3]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966–1969 | 35th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1969–1972 | 36th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1972–1975 | 37th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1975–1978 | 38th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1978–1981 | 39th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1981–1984 | 40th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1984–1987 | 41st | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1987–1990 | 42nd | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1990–1993 | 43rd | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1993–1996 | 44th | New Lynn | Labour | ||
| 1996–1999 | 45th | List | 7 | Labour | |
| 1999–2002 | 46th | List | 6 | Labour | |
| 2002–2005 | 47th | List | 3 | Labour | |
In 1966 at age 27, Hunt was offered to replace the retiringRex Mason in Auckland'sNew Lynn electorate. This being a safe Labour electorate, Hunt was effectively given a seat in parliament, and he became theBaby of the House as the only MP still in their 20s.[b][1] Hunt was to later write a biography of Mason for theDictionary of New Zealand Biography.[6][7] He remained MP for New Lynn until 1996, when he became a list MP after losing inTamaki toNational'sClem Simich.[8][9] Hunt was returned twice more as a list MP; losingWaitakere to National'sBrian Neeson in the1999 election[10][11] and as a list-only candidate in the2002 election.[12]
In mid-January 1970, United StatesVice PresidentSpiro Agnew visitedWellington. Hunt along with several other Labour Members of Parliament includingBob Tizard,Arthur Faulkner andMartyn Finlay boycotted the state dinner to protest American policy in Vietnam. Other Labour MPs, including Opposition LeaderNorman Kirk attended the function which dealt with theNixon Doctrine.[13]
Hunt was appointed junior government whip upon Labour's victory in1972 election.[14] He was later promoted further in 1974 by Prime MinisterBill Rowling to the position ofChairman of Committees.[15] As Chairman of Committees he had the responsibility of deputising for theSpeaker of the House of Representatives, the 67 year oldStan Whitehead. Whitehead was in ill-health and Hunt acted on his behalf more than he had expected to. When Whitehead suffered a heart attack in the last parliamentary session of 1975 Hunt was nearly drafted to replace him as Speaker, though Whitehead was to make a recovery.[4] Hunt was a contributor to major parliamentary reforms which sawParliamentary Service and theOffice of the Clerk of the New Zealand House of Representatives were separated.[16]
After the shock defeat of the Rowling government in the1975 general election, Hunt was appointed to Rowling's shadow cabinet and designated as Shadow Minister of Health in 1976.[17] He left the shadow cabinet, at his own request, in 1979 with the intention of setting himself up to become Speaker of the House should Labour win the next election.[18] Labour did not win and in the next parliamentary term he wassenior whip and Shadow Minister of Broadcasting.[19][20]
During theFourth Labour Government he served asPostmaster-General,Minister of Broadcasting,Minister of Tourism andMinister of Housing.[1] He had chaired the caucus committee on restructuring the broadcasting industry in 1973 which was uncompleted. On becoming Minister of Broadcasting in 1984, he said the idea would not be resurrected but reaffirmed his intention to fulfil Labour's manifesto to establish a Maori and Pacific Island radio station, ban commercials on the concert and national radio programmes and aiding the establishment of privately owned television stations.[4] Hunt worked on the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985, which enabled adults who were adopted as children to find out who their birth parents were as well as allowing birth mothers to learn about their adopted adult children.[6] In the Tourism portfolio he was deeply involved with restructuring New Zealand's wine industry, which laid the foundation for New Zealand's global reputation for good quality wine.[16] As Postmaster-General theNew Zealand Post Office was heavily affected by the government's free-market reforms. The government closed 432 post offices with mass staff layoffs which caused community outrage. Hunt was loath to implement such reforms, seeing them as a contradiction to Labour Party ideology. His reluctance to make such decisions meant thatStan Rodger, theMinister of State Services, ended up deciding on them.[21]
After the1987 election, the cabinet was reshuffled in which he lost the broadcasting and Postmaster-General portfolios and instead designatedLeader of the House. This left him without a department to administer which saw his salary reduced by $19,200 per annum, leading to opposition leaderJim Bolger to label Hunt's position as "sinecure", much to Hunt's displeasure. He eventually was given extra portfolios of tourism, housing and broadcasting during the course of the term.[22] During his second period as Broadcasting minister he followed through with his pledge in aiding the establishment of privately owned television stations. He approved the licence forTV3, New Zealand's first commercial television channel, to begin operations in November 1989.[23] He was responsible for the passing of theBroadcasting Act 1989 which establishedNZ On Air, an organisation responsible for funding support for local broadcasting and creative works.[16]
During the divisions of the Fourth Labour Government's second term, Hunt generally supported Prime MinisterDavid Lange over the finance ministerRoger Douglas.[24] Hunt was famed for his kindness and willingness to accommodate conflicting points of view. He was described by Douglas allyRichard Prebble as the "20 stone straw in the wind" in reference to both his weight and agreeableness.[21] In 1989, Prime MinisterGeoffrey Palmer nominated Hunt a member of thePrivy Council in recognition of his long service to Parliament.[25]
Upon the retirement of SirRobert Muldoon, Hunt was the longest-serving member of Parliament between 1991 and 2005, earning him the unofficial title of 'Father of the House'. He assumed the title of 'father' to the delight of colleagues given his status as a lifelong bachelor.[26]
In opposition again from 1990, Hunt was senior opposition whip,Shadow Leader of the House and Shadow Minister of Housing under leaderMike Moore.[27] Hunt supportedHelen Clark in her successful leadership bid against Moore, after which he remained senior whip and Shadow Leader of the House.[28]
Hunt was elected Speaker unopposed when the fifth Labour government came to power in 1999.[29] Hunt had previously served as Chairman of Committees from 1974 to 1975 which had since been rebranded as the Deputy-Speaker. Hunt became the eighth Chairman of Committees to later serve as Speaker. He retained his position following the election in 2002 serving in total as Speaker for six years from 1999–2005.[1] Clark believed Hunt as a good speaker who had an impeccable knowledge of standing orders and parliamentary procedures. He also had good strong working relationship with the Clerk of the House,David McGee, and together ran a "pretty tight ship."[16]
In December 2004, it was announced that he would retire from politics and replaceRussell Marshall as New ZealandHigh Commissioner in London, a move that had long been anticipated. He was replaced as Speaker byMargaret Wilson on 3 March 2005 and left Parliament on 30 March, the day that he gave his valedictory in parliament.[5] In his valedictory speech he thanked many people and stated that he thought that his success in this Parliament was fighting for and finally getting the Adult Adoption Information Act passed in 1985.
While in London, he was also accredited as non-resident High Commissioner to Nigeria, and Ambassador to Ireland[30]
As alist MP, his vacant parliamentary seat was filled by the next available candidate on the Labour Party list,Lesley Soper.[31]
Some controversy arose in mid-2005, when not long after he arrived in London, Hunt was told publicly by the New Zealand Prime MinisterHelen Clark that he could not apply for the U.K. pension as it was not appropriate given his position of New Zealand High Commissioner and the fact that he was already collecting a New Zealand parliamentary pension.[32]
On 21 November 2007, the New Zealand Foreign Minister,Winston Peters, announced that the next High Commissioner to London would beDerek Leask from March 2008.[33]
_and_Jonathan_Hunt_(Postmaster_General)-_Victoria_University_Wellington_-_1986_(15877419543).jpg)
Hunt never married or had any children. In a 2005 interview he stated not doing so was his biggest regret, thinking that splitting his life between Auckland and Wellington would be an unfair burden to be foisted upon family members.[21] Hunt was the patron of the University of Auckland Debating Society.[34] He was a lifelong enthusiast of the sport of cricket and was an administrator of the sport for many years.[3] He was a fan of classical music.[16]
Hunt died on 8 March 2024, at the age of 85.[16][35]
In 1977, Hunt was awarded theQueen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal and in 1990, theNew Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[36] In the2005 New Year Honours, Hunt was appointed aMember of the Order of New Zealand.[37]
Hunt was also the subject of a documentary,Father of the House, directed by Simon Burgin and Xavier Forde, which was filmed in Wellington in 2005.[38]
Media related toJonathan Hunt at Wikimedia Commons| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for New Lynn 1966–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of Committees of the House of Representatives 1974–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Postmaster-General 1984–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Broadcasting 1984–1987 1988–1990 | |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Leader of the House 1987–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Tourism 1988–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Housing 1989–1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Leader of the House 1990–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives 1999–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Senior Whip of the Labour Party 1980–1984 1990–1996 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Succeeded by | |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | High Commissioner to the United Kingdom 2005–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Father of the House 1991–2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
