I have had the privilege of being the MP for New Lynn and Titirangi since 1999 and currently serve as Labour’s Finance Spokesperson.

I served as Minister of Health, Immigration and Communications and IT, and as Associate Minister of Finance, Revenue and SOEs, in the fifth Labour government. I chaired the Commerce Select Committee and served on the Finance and Expenditure Committee. Before entering Parliament I spent four years management consulting with The Boston Consulting Group, a leading global business strategy firm, helping firms around New Zealand and Australia to grow and improve.

I was a Fulbright Scholar and Kennedy Memorial Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (MPA); and served as a New Zealand diplomat in Washington DC, Canberra and the Pacific. I studied at Harvard (MPA), Massey (Dip Soc Sci Econ) and Otago (BA Hons); and previously at Pleasant Point High School and the United World College of the Atlantic (IB).

I am married to Karen, an environmental lawyer, and have two young sons. I love the bush and the sea, music and reading, and the company of family and friends.

The New Lynn Electorate

Serving my local community is always a top priority for me as a local MP. I love helping my community and am committed to working for the services and opportunities West Auckland needs and deserves. During the last two terms I obtained funding to redevelop New Lynn’s transport system and town centre; and I co-led the successful fight to protect the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area. I’ve supported local schools, helped upgrade Waitakere Hospital and kept police numbers up on the local beat.

In the next three years I want to see more good jobs flow from the renewal of New Lynn, and to see the renewal extended to Avondale. Better public transport and better housing are top priorities for the next term. I stand for:

Better Auckland public transport - including ‘park and ride’ and improved feeder bus services for our upgraded local stations;

More affordable and public housing in the West to ease the crippling accommodation shortage;

Ensuring Waitakere Hospital stays open 24/7 and that access to public health care is always free for kids;

More good jobs out West based on strong local economic development;

Ensuring every young person in my electorate has an excellent local school; and improving lifelong learning – from early childhood to trade training to adult and community education;

Maintaining a strong police presence in New Lynn and ensuring a full muster of community constables throughout the electorate;

Encouraging a harmonious multicultural community with a strong sense of our unique Kiwi identity, and

Vigilance to ensure the protections for the Waitakere Ranges are not undermined.

I believe all New Zealanders should have equal opportunities to make the very best of their lives, no matter what culture or background we come from. In my work as Labour’s Finance Spokesperson I help guide the economic policies that underpin those opportunities: good jobs, a growing economy and sound public finances.

I am passionate about building a better New Zealand for all our kids, and believe Labour’s policies will help us all get there together.

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