- Geoff Braybrooke
Geoffrey Bernard Braybrooke (born 4 April 1935) is a former
New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1981 to 2002, representing the Labour Party. He was one of the party's more conservative MPs.Braybrooke was born in
Kent ,England , and joined theRoyal Army Medical Corps in 1952. In 1952, he became a police officer inLondon , but in 1957, he chose to move toNew Zealand and re-enter the army, serving in theRoyal New Zealand Army Medical Corps until 1970. During his military career, he served inKorea , Malaya andVietnam . After leaving the army, he became a sales manager for a pharmaceutical research company.Braybrooke had joined the British Labour Party when only fourteen years old, and when he moved to
New Zealand , he became a supporter of theNew Zealand Labour Party . In the 1969 elections, he managedMick Connelly 's campaign in the Wigram seat. He then unsuccessfully contested the seats of Franklin, Pakuranga, and Papakura in the 1972 elections, 1975 elections, and the 1978 elections, respectively. In the 1981 elections, he was finally elected MP for Napier. He held that seat until his retirement at the 2002 elections. During his career in Parliament, Braybrooke never held any ministerial roles, but did serve as Deputy Speaker.Braybrooke was one of the more socially conservative members of the Labour Party. In 1985, when his fellow Labour MP
Fran Wilde attempted to overturn legal prohibitions againsthomosexuality , Braybrooke was active in campaigning against the change, and later opposed measures promoted by National'sKatherine O'Regan to combat discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. He opposedHelen Clark 's rise to the Labour Party's leadership, remaining strongly loyal to her predecessor,Mike Moore . This led him to be involved in the failed discussions during 1995 & 1996 about forming a new breakaway party led by Moore.
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