Tim was born in Perth, Scotland and came to New Zealand with his parents in 1958. After completing his education at Victoria University, where he obtained First Class Honours, he served as a policy adviser in a number of key Departments including Treasury, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Prime Minister's Advisory Group.

He has served New Zealand with distinction in a number of capacities, including being New Zealand's Chief Negotiator in the GATT Uruguay Round: the Round that brought agriculture into the system of world trade rules for the first time and conferred substantial benefits on the NZ economy.

Tim is regarded as one of the world's leading experts on international trade, and until recently was New Zealand's Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Chair of Agricultural Negotiations for the WTO. As the Listener editorial of 14 August 2004 put it: 'Much [progress] appears due to the Olympian effort of New Zealand's Ambassador to the WTO, Tim Groser. Described recently as 'the most powerful man in world agriculture' Groser was responsible for brokering the final groundbreaking deal in a marathon 13-hour session'.

Tim was first elected to the New Zealand Parliament as a List MP in the 2005 General Election.

Top 5 Issues

1. Building a stronger economy
   • Balance the books sooner.
   • Borrow less so we can have lower interest rates for longer.
   • Keep personal taxes lower to encourage hard work.
   • Make New Zealand more competitive so our exporters can sell more overseas and create more real jobs.
   • Encourage savings and investments.
   • Use the mixed-Ownership model to fund infrastructure to help us grow faster.
   • Invest in skills training and tertiary education that gets results.
   
2. Building world-class infrastructure
   • Ultra-fast broadband for greater innovation.
   • More, and better, roads to ease congestion.
   • Investing in more rail and public transport.
   
3. Building a safer New Zealand
   • Staying strong on crime – tougher sentencing, stronger bail laws, and a focus on victims.
   • Keep working to lower the crime rate further so our families are safer.
   • Making our roads safer, so we can keep the road toll lower.
   
4. Rebuilding Christchurch
   • $5.5 billion recovery fund
   • Re-establishing essential infrastructure
   • More construction-related training
   
5. Building better public services
   • Better Schools – identifying and helping children falling behind, school reports in plain English.
   • World-class healthcare –more doctors and nurses, more operations, shorter waiting times.
   • Effective welfare- more people back into work, more incentives to work, payment cards for teens on benefits.
   

Personal Profile