- Maurice Williamson
-
The Honourable
Maurice Williamson
MP
Maurice Williamson at the NZ Open Source Awards Minister of Customs Incumbent Assumed office
19 November 2008Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Nanaia Mahuta Minister for Building and Construction Incumbent Assumed office
19 November 2008Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Shane Jones Minister of Statistics Incumbent Assumed office
19 November 2008Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Darren Hughes Minister for Small Business Incumbent Assumed office
19 November 2008Prime Minister John Key Preceded by Clayton Cosgrove Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for PakurangaIncumbent Assumed office
1987Preceded by Neil Morrison Personal details Born 6 March 1951
Auckland,
New ZealandPolitical party National Profession Computer programmer Maurice Donald Williamson (born 6 March 1951) is a New Zealand politician, representing Pakuranga in the House of Representatives as a member of the National Party. He holds several ministerial portfolios outside the Cabinet: Building and Construction, Customs, Statistics and Small Business.[1]
Contents
Before politics
Williamson was born in Auckland but spent nearly all his school years in Matamata. After graduating with qualifications in computer science and applied mathematics from the University of Auckland, he worked for twelve years developing airline planning software for mainframe computers.
Williamson is married to Raewyn and has three children. He is an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Computer Society (HFNZCS).
Member of Parliament
Parliament of New Zealand Years Term Electorate List Party 1987–1990 42nd Pakuranga National 1990–1993 43rd Pakuranga National 1993–1996 44th Pakuranga National 1996–1999 45th Pakuranga 20 National 1999–2002 46th Pakuranga 14 National 2002–2005 47th Pakuranga none National 2005–2008 48th Pakuranga 17 National 2008–present 49th Pakuranga 8 National Williamson is a member of the centre-right conservative National Party, and has been MP for Pakuranga since the 1987 elections. He has held a number of ministerial posts, including Minister of Communications, Minister of Broadcasting, Minister of Transport, and Minister Research, Science and Technology, and associate Minister of Health (1990-6). He was a strong supporter of reform of prostitution law.
His 2005 election campaign saw one of the strongest results for National across New Zealand.
Suspension
He was suspended from caucus on 22 July 2003, after refusing to curtail his criticism of the National Party leader, Bill English, who he blamed for poor performance in the polls.[2] After English was replaced by Don Brash, Williamson was reinstated. Since his return after suspension, Williamson has played an active role in National, and was elevated up the ranks to eighth position in the National lineup in 2008.[3]
Minister
After the 2008 general election, the National Party formed a minority government. Despite his high list placing, Williamson was overlooked for cabinet due to a series of gaffes during the election campaign relating to the party's policy on road tolls.[4] He was given ministerial responsibilities outside of cabinet for Customs, Building and Construction, Statistics and Small Business. One of the major matters under his governance is the ongoing Leaky homes crisis in the country, which he noted as having the government "stumped" due to its enormousness.[5]
In June 2009, Dr Richard Worth left Parliament after Prime Minister John Key losing confidence in him as a Minister over sexual allegations[6][7] Williamson was made the acting Minister of Worth's portfolios of Internal Affairs, National Library and Archives New Zealand.
References
- ^ "Ministerial List for Announcement on 17 November 2008" (Press release). New Zealand Government. 17 November 2008. http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0811/2008_Ministerial_List_for_Announcement.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- ^ "National caucus suspends Williamson". New Zealand Herald. 22 July 2003. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=3513980. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Party List: National Party". New Zealand Herald. 6 October 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-election-2008/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501799&objectid=10536061. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
- ^ "Williamson's political career on the skids after snub". The New Zealand Herald. 17 November 2008. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10543513. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "Govt stumped as leaky home bill skyrockets". The New Zealand Herald. 27 February 2010. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10628835. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
- ^ http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0906/S00028.htm
- ^ http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0906/S00167.htm
External links
- Profile at National party
- Profile at New Zealand Parliament
- Releases and speeches at Beehive.govt.nz
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.co.nz
- Voting record at CommoNZ (conscience votes)
- Maurice Williamson at Times Online
- Executive Government 1993-6: Maurice Williamson
- Executive Government 1996-9: Maurice Williamson
Categories:- 1951 births
- Living people
- Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
- New Zealand National Party MPs
- University of Auckland alumni
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