Matt Robson

For the footballer, see Matty Robson.

The Honourable Matt Robson MP
Deputy Leader of the Progressive Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 2002
Leader	Jim Anderton
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Alliance list
In office 1996 – 2002
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Progressive Party list
In office 2002 – 2005
Personal details
Born	January 5, 1950 (1950-01-05) (age 61) Brisbane
Nationality	Australia  New Zealand
Political party	Labour (before 1989) Alliance (1991–2002) Progressives(2002–)
Occupation	Teacher
Profession	Lawyer

Matthew Peter (Matt) Robson (Born 5 January 1950) is a New Zealand politician. He is deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive.

Early years

Robson was born in Brisbane, Australia. He attained an MA (Hons) in Political Studies and later studied law, and worked both as a lawyer and a teacher. He also spent three years in the Netherlands as a technical editor.

Robson was originally a member of the Labour Party, holding several positions within the party organisation. He was deeply opposed to the policies of Roger Douglas, the Labour Party's Minister of Finance, and when Jim Anderton, a Labour MP, quit the party, Robson followed him. Robson was heavily involved in the establishment of Anderton's NewLabour Party, which later became the core of the Alliance.

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1996–1999	45th	List	7	Alliance
1999–2002	46th	List	3	Alliance
2002–2005	47th	List	2	Progressive

Robson was elected to Parliament as an Alliance list MP in the 1996 elections, and again in the 1999 elections. In the Labour-Alliance coalition government, lasting from 1999 to 2002, Robson was Minister of Corrections, Minister for Courts, Minister for Land Information, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (with responsibility for foreign aid). Towards the end of 1999, however, the Alliance began to collapse, with a rift opening between the party organization and its parliamentary leadership. In this dispute, Robson sided with the parliamentary leader, Anderton. When Anderton finally left the Alliance and established the Progressive Coalition (now the Progressive Party), Robson followed him and became the new party's deputy leader. In the 2002 elections, the Progressives only won 1.7% of the vote. However, Anderton easily held onto his seat, allowing Robson, as the 2nd-ranked person on the Progressive list, to return to Parliament. However, the Progressives' strength was considerably weaker compared to that of the Alliance in 1999, so Robson lost his cabinet posts.

Robson has a relatively high public profile, compared to the size of his party, and is known for his views on foreign affairs and justice. Along with the Green Party's Keith Locke, Robson campaigned on behalf of detained asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui. In 2002, Robson introduced a Private Member's bill providing for four weeks of paid annual leave for all workers, a proposal that the Labour Party initially opposed. Robson's legislation, however, ultimately forced Labour to either vote in favour of the bill or risk alienating its trade union supporters, who vociferously advocated it. The legislation was passed into law with Labour's support and took effect in 2007. Robson also introduced legislation to raise the minimum alcohol purchasing age to 20, and in Parliament espoused policies to combat drug and alcohol abuse.

In the 2005 elections, the Progressive vote collapsed further, and this time was not enough for Robson to remain in Parliament. He returned to practising law. In the 2008 general election he was a candidate in Maungakiekie, but did poorly, finishing fifth, with 2.22% of the vote.^[1] The Progressives received just under one percent of the party vote, not enough for Robson to be returned to Parliament.^[2]

Despite having achieved high political office in New Zealand, Robson did not become a naturalised citizen until 2000. Under the terms of New Zealand's Electoral Act 1993, anyone permanently resident before August 1975 has the right to vote and stand for election.^[3]

References

1. ^ Maungakiekie results 2008.
2. ^ Party results, 2008.
3. ^ Bingham, Eugene (5 April 2000). "No longer a 'foreign' minister". The New Zealand Herald. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=128859. Retrieved 22 October 2011. 

Party political offices
New political party	Deputy Leader of the Progressive Party 2002–	Incumbent

Persondata
Name	Robson, Matt
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	5 January 1950
Place of birth	Brisbane
Date of death
Place of death