Shanan Halbert | |
|---|---|
 Halbert in 2023 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forLabour Party list | |
| Assumed office 7 February 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Kelvin Davis[n 1] |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forNorthcote | |
| In office 17 October 2020 – 14 October 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Bidois |
| Succeeded by | Dan Bidois |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1982-04-24)24 April 1982 (age 42) Napier, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
Shanan Kiritea Halbert (born 24 April 1982)[1] is a New Zealand politician of theLabour Party. From 2020 to 2023, he was theMember of Parliament forNorthcote.[2] He was re-elected in 2024 after the resignation ofKelvin Davis.[3]
Halbert has affiliation toRongowhakaata andNgāti Whitikaupeka through his father,[4] while his mother ispākehā. He grew up inNapier, and moved to Auckland after graduating from high school. He has a BA in education and Māori from theUniversity of Auckland and a certificate in Contemporary Performing Arts fromAUT. He started, but did not complete, an MBA.[5] Halbert has worked atGlenfield College, where he set up the Health Sciences Academy, and at Catholic collegeHato Petera.[6] He was the Head of Relationships atTe Wānanga o Aotearoa.[7]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | Northcote | 51 | Labour | |
| 2024–present | 54th | List | 28 | Labour | |
Halbert stood as a list-only candidate for Labour in the2014 general election. His party list ranking of 48 was too low to win a seat.[8] In the2017 general election, he sought the Labour Party selection for theAuckland Central seat, losing toHelen White. He instead contested theNorthcote electorate; he neither won the electorate nor won a list seat on his party list ranking of 51. In 2018, after the resignation ofNational MPJonathan Coleman, Halbert again contested theNorthcote by-election as Labour's candidate, having been chosen for the candidacy over Paul McGreal andAuckland CouncillorRichard Hills.[7][9] He was defeated by National'sDan Bidois.
In the2020 general election, Halbert was again ranked 51st on theLabour party list and contested the Northcote electorate. This time, Halbert won the seat from incumbent National MPDan Bidois by 2534 votes.[10][6]
Halbert has for years campaigned on improving public transport, as congestion in the Northcote electorate—located at the northern landing of theAuckland Harbour Bridge—is a defining issue for many voters.[11] For the 2020 campaign, he also campaigned in support of local businesses and advocated for improved access to mental health services.[6] His father died of lung cancer on election day.[12]
Halbert faced criticism in both the 2020 and 2023 election campaigns for misleading advertising. In 2020, he published a flyer in which Labour claimed, “We’ve built over 600 houses for our growing Northcote family.” A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority noted that only 74 homes had been built. Labour apologised for the flyer and pulled it from stalls. In 2023, another flyer from Halbert celebrates “1700 new warm, dry homes as part of the Northcote Development”, but these homes were not scheduled for completion until 2026. This flyer also faced a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, but the Authority dismissed it. An article byTova O'Brien criticised the flyer for being unclear which points were prior actions by Labour and which were promises if re-elected. Halbert also stated on Facebook that the National Party plans to decrease sick leave to five days per year, which is not its policy.[13][14]
In 21 September 2023, Halbert was the subject of bullying allegations by several former staff, who claimed he was manipulative, scheming, narcissistic, and intimidated them. Labour whips were first alerted to the allegations by a bullying and harassment coach in August 2022 but no action was taken since staff wished to remain anonymous. In response to the bullying allegations, Halbert said that he had a good relationship with parliamentary and other staff, while acknowledging he had encountered employment issues but had done his best to resolve them professionally. Halbert urged disaffected staff members to engage with Parliament's complaint process.[15] During an election debate in Northcote, Halbert denied the bullying allegations and claimed he had not received any complaints when confronted byNewshub journalists.[16]
During the2023 New Zealand general election, Halbert wasunseated by National candidate Bidois, who won by a margin of 9,270 votes.[17]
In early February 2024, the simultaneous resignations of both Labour MPsKelvin Davis andRino Tirikatene allowed Halbert andTracey McLellan to reenter Parliament on the Labour Party list.[18] During a shadow cabinet reshuffle triggered by the resignation ofGrant Robertson, Halbert assumed the Auckland Issues and newly-created Rainbow Issues portfolios.[18][19]
In response toDestiny Church's protest against aDrag Queen Story Hour event inGisborne in late March 2024, Halbert described the church's behaviour as "very disappointing." While Halbert supported the right to protest, he condemned what he regarded as "vicious discrimination against young people and their families." He also criticised theNational-led coalition government's plan to remove sexuality guidelines from schools. Halbert's claim that the National-led government wanted to remove hate speech laws was disputed byJustice MinisterPaul Goldsmith, who said that the Government had no plans to remove hate speech protections in law but opposed Labour's proposed hate speech legislation on the grounds that they would have undermined free speech.[20]
In early March 2025, Halbert gained the tertiary education portfolio during a shadowcabinet reshuffle. He retained the Rainbow Issues portfolio but lost the Auckland Issues portfolio.[21]
Halbert was one of 13 MPs in the53rd New Zealand Parliament who identified as LGBTQI+.[22]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Northcote 2020–2023 | Succeeded by Dan Bidois |
