Grant Gillon

Grant Gillon is a New Zealand politician. He is currently a North Shore City Councillor (representing the Harbour Ward and Chair of the Strategy and Finance Committee) and Birkenhead/Northcote Community Board member, elected with the highest number of votes for both the City Council and Community Board.

Gillon is also the Executive Officer for the ISTANZ union for teachers and a member of the Board of Directors of the multi-national SOE AsureQuality.

Gillon has recently submitted a PhD in Public Policy, having previously been awarded DipArts (Politics), MPP (1st class hons.). While completing his PhD, Gillon lectured and tutored students at Massey and AUT universities, spoke at academic conferences and contributed to various academic publications.

Gillon's political career began with a long association with the Social Credit Party, which later became the Democratic Party and joined the Alliance. In 2001, Gillon became leader of the Democratic Party, replacing John Wright.

Gillon was an MP from 1996 to 2002, as a member of the Democratic Party representing the Alliance. Gillon was elected to Parliament as an Alliance list MP in the 1996 elections, having been ranked in eleventh place on the party list. He was re-elected to Parliament in the 1999 elections. While an MP, Gillon was a Government Whip, Deputy Chair of the Government Administration Select Committee, a member of the Privileges, Officers of Parliament, Standing Orders, Members' Services, Business, Parliamentary Services, Legislative, Cabinet and other parliamentary committees.

When the Alliance collapsed in 2002, Gillon and the Democratic Party joined Jim Anderton's breakaway party, the Progressive Coalition. In the 2002 elections, Gillon was ranked third on the Progressive Coalition list, behind Jim Anderton and Matt Robson, but the party won only enough votes for two seats, leaving Gillon just outside Parliament. Shortly afterwards, the Democratic Party voted to leave the Progressive Coalition; Gillon opposed this move, and eventually decided (along with former leader John Wright) to leave the Democratic Party and stay with the Progressive Coalition. Gillon was then President of the Progressive Coalition until he stood down in 2007.

He and his family have been long term residents of the North Shore and Grant Gillon is well known for his community work. He is a member of the Birkenhead Licensing Trust, Northart, Birkenhead-Northcote Community Trust and numerous other community organisations.

Gillon's published works include: Where There's Smoke, an expose of insurance evasion in relation to The Fire Service; New Zealand Government and Politics (a chapter with Ray Miller on the role of an MP); and The Baubles of Office: The New Zealand General Election of 2005 (a chapter on The Progressives).

Gillon also had a wide variety of successful careers prior to becoming involved with politics: as a dairy farmer, senior fire officer, and running his own light manufacturing, printing, educational resource and publishing businesses.