Todd has been a successful property developer and has worked in a political capacity internationally, in the European Parliament as Chief of Staff to the Leader of the British Conservatives and for the Irish Fianna Fail Party.

In 2000 he was appointed the Cook Islands and Niue Ambassador to the European Union, and remains the youngest appointee to the rank of Ambassador to the EU.

In recognition of his work for the government and people of the Cook Islands, Todd was awarded the highest honour under Cook Islands law in 2005 when he was made an Honorary Cook Islands National.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Politics and is completing a Master of Law Degree in International Public Law (LLM).
Todd and his family live and work in Rotorua.

He was elected with a majority of 5,065 votes.

Todd is a member of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee and was made the deputy Chair of the Social Services Select Committee in 2011.

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.
   

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