Barry Coates

Robert Barry Hobson Coates (born 18 October 1956) is a New Zealand politician who was a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives as a representative of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Barry Coates
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Green party list
In office
7 October 2016 – 23 September 2017
Preceded byKevin Hague
Personal details
Born (1956-10-18) 18 October 1956
Auckland, New Zealand
Political partyGreens
ResidenceAuckland

Environmental career

Coates worked for the government of Samoa from 1978 to 1980, promoting the development of small business.[1] He has a bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland and a Masters in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management.[2]

Coates worked at World Wide Fund for Nature WWF-UK from 1991, until 1996. He was an NGO observer on the British government delegation to the Earth Summit (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and was closely involved in sustainable development policy in the UK and internationally.[3]

He was Executive Director of the World Development Movement (subsequently renamed Global Justice Now) from 1996 until 2003. During this time he played a leading role in international research and campaigns on trade and investment agreements, sustainable development, corporate accountability, Third World debt and international aid and development policy.[4]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2016–2017 51st List 16 Green

Coates was the Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand from September 2003,[5] and he stepped down on 7 March 2014 to contest the general election for the Green Party in the Mount Roskill electorate.[2] He subsequently developed a programme on sustainability for the University of Auckland Business School, and was Coordinator of "It's Our Future", the campaign against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).[6]

On 5 September 2016, it was announced that Kevin Hague intended to resign from the House of Representatives, and that Coates would replace him as a list MP.[7][8][9]

On 7 October 2016, he was officially sworn in as Member of the House of Representatives and member of the Green Party parliamentary caucus.

Coates suggested in a July 2017 post on the left-wing "The Daily Blog" that the Green Party might force a second election if the Labour Party formed a coalition with New Zealand First without the Greens.[10] His comments were challenged by co-leader James Shaw who stated that forcing a hung parliament or second election was "absolutely not" the party's position.[11] As number 10 on the party's list, he was not re-elected when the Greens elected only 8 MPs.[12]

References
  1. "Barry Coates". Oxfam. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. Barclay, Sophie (3 December 2013). "Oxfam Executive Director turns to politics". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  3. Anderson, Megan (19 October 2009). "Barry Coates – Pacific watchdog on the world". Pacific Scoop. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  4. "Barry Coates". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  5. "Barry Coates". Oxfam NZ. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  6. "Barry Coates MP". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  7. "Green MP quits". Stuff.co.nz. 5 September 2016.
  8. "Kevin Hague quits Greens for Forest and Bird". Nzherald.co.nz. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016 – via New Zealand Herald.
  9. "Barry Coates named Sustainability Champion winner at 2016 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards". 18 November 2016 – via Scoop Independent News.
  10. Coates, Barry. "Great Together". The Daily Blog. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  11. Davison, Isaac (13 July 2017). "Green MP's comments on NZ First the 'height of stupidity' - Winston Peters". The New Zealand Herald.
  12. "2017 General Election Party Lists". Elections.org.nz. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
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