Denis O'Rourke

Denis John O'Rourke (born 26 July 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. He served fifteen years as a councillor on Christchurch City Council, and served six years as a Member of Parliament representing New Zealand First.

For the Australian documentary filmmaker, see Dennis O'Rourke.

Denis O'Rourke
Denis O'Rourke in April 2012
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Zealand First party list
In office
30 November 2011 (2011-11-30) – 23 September 2017
Personal details
Born (1946-07-26) 26 July 1946
Christchurch, New Zealand
Political partyNew Zealand First
Other political
affiliations		Labour (1984–2003)
Alma materUniversity of Canterbury
ProfessionLawyer

Early years

Born in Christchurch, O'Rourke was educated at Christchurch West High School.[1] He studied at the University of Canterbury, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws, and went on to practise law, specialising in legal drafting, statutory interpretation and commercial law, until 1992.[1][2]

Political career

Early political activities

O’Rourke's political interest arose from his opposition to the policies of Robert Muldoon, who was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984. O'Rourke perceived Muldoon's policies as divisive, with "incredibly oppressive regulations, absolutely awful economic policies which just drove New Zealand economy into the ground."[3]

O’Rourke became a member of the Labour Party in around 1983, and sought to be the party's candidate for the Sydenham electorate, but the party selected Labour Party President Jim Anderton instead.[4]

On one occasion, he was the campaign manager for Ann Hercus who successfully contested Lyttelton.[3] When Hercus retired prior to the 1987 election, O'Rourke stood to be Labour's new candidate in that electorate, but lost the nomination to Peter Simpson.[5][6] O'Rourke sought the Lyttelton nomination again in 1992, this time losing it to Ruth Dyson.[7]

O'Rourke first stood for Parliament as an independent candidate for the Ilam electorate at the 1999 election.[1] He finished seventh in a field of eleven candidates.[8]

Local government
Plaque from 1999 commemorating a redevelopment of Cathedral Square, with O'Rourke listed as one of the councillors

O'Rourke was elected to Christchurch City Council in 1989, as a representative of the Labour Party.[3] He served on the council for 15 years until 2004.[9]

For many years, he chaired the Sustainable Transport and Utilities Committee,[9] and under his chairmanship, the Blenheim Road deviation and the four-laning of Fendalton Road were major council projects. He championed unpopular projects like the Kate Valley Landfill and set up the Recovered Materials Foundation, which represented the start of kerbside recycling in Christchurch.[3]

O’Rourke lost his seat on Christchurch City Council in the 2004 local election. In this year, the size of the council was halved from 24 to 12,[3] and O’Rourke came fifth in the two-member Hagley-Ferrymead ward.[10]

He ran for a seat on Environment Canterbury (the Canterbury Regional Council) in 2007, but came third in the two-member electorate.[11] He also sought re-election to Christchurch City Council as well as a seat on the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) in the 2010 local elections, but did not win a seat in either group; for the council he came second in the one-member Banks Peninsula ward[12] and for the health board he came seventeenth in a contest for seven positions.[13]

Switching parties

O'Rourke was a member of the Labour Party for 19 years. In 2003, he resigned over dissatisfaction with the direction of Helen Clark's government.[3] He joined New Zealand First in early 2010.[3]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2011–2014 50th List 7 NZ First
2014–2017 51st List 7 NZ First

In the 2011 election, O'Rourke stood for parliament for New Zealand First. He was placed seventh on NZ First's party lists. O’Rourke contested and lost the Port Hills electorate, coming fourth, but his party received 6.6% of the party vote, meaning that O’Rourke along with seven other NZ First candidates won seats in parliament.[9][14]

O’Rourke retained his list seat in the 2014 general election. He again contested Port Hills, coming fourth.[15] He was re-elected to Parliament on the New Zealand First Party list.[16]

In the 2017 general election, New Zealand first lowered O’Rourke's position on its party list from 7th to 13th. With this lower ranking, and again coming fourth in Port Hills, he did not win a seat in Parliament.[17][18] In the 2020 general election, he unsuccessfully contested the new Banks Peninsula electorate.[19] He was placed 10th on NZ First's party list, but the party only received 2.6% of the party vote, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament, and so all NZ First MPs lost their seats at that election.[20][21]

Political positions and style

In 2013, O'Rourke voted against the Marriage Amendment Bill, which introduced same sex marriage in New Zealand, with all of his fellow New Zealand First MPs.[22]

From his local government days, O'Rourke had a reputation of a "no half-measures" politician. He was known to undertake exhaustive research on his portfolios and claimed to have "read every word in every council report" ever put to him. O'Rourke described his political style as "forceful", whilst some others described it as "abrasive". One of his fellow councillors once publicly accused him of being a bully. O'Rourke describes debating as "recreational".[3]

Business interests

Since 2000, O'Rourke was one of the Christchurch City Council representatives on the Central Plains Water Enhancement Steering Committee under Doug Marsh as chairman.[23] The steering committee, which formed a trust, was set up by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council.[24] O'Rourke remained a trustee when he lost his seat on Christchurch City Council. In December 2009, O'Rourke replaced Marsh as chairman.[25]

Since 2008, O'Rourke has been chairman of a recycling plant in Opawa owned by Becon Canterbury that handles demolition waste and other commercial refuse.[26]

At times, O'Rourke has owned a wedding chauffeur business with this business partner Stephen James. In 2014 it had come to light that James had left a bogus review of the service on TradeMe which gained attention as O'Rourke had been elected to the Parliament.[27]

Personal life

In 2014 O'Rourke was investigated by the Speaker of the House David Carter for employing his partner or spouse in a tax-payer funded administrative role.[27] O'Rourke denied that this was occurring, and that the person who lived at the address with him was just a friend and business partner.[28]

In August 2021, O'Rourke was charged with causing death by careless driving. O'Rourke was driving a party to a wedding in May 2021 when his car collided with a motorcyclist, who died at the scene.[29] The charges were withdrawn in February 2022, with Crown Law stating that the motorcyclist was speeding and therefore at fault.[30]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Denis O'Rourke.
  1. Crean, Mike (15 November 1999). "Deconstructing Denis". The Press. p. 18.
  2. "Denis O'Rourke". New Zealand First. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  3. Gamble, Warren (3 December 2011). "Winston's men ready to rumble". The Press. p. C8.
  4. "Electorate picks Aucklander". The Press. 8 August 1983. p. 1.
  5. "Lyttelton nominees". The Press. 23 May 1987. p. 2.
  6. "Lyttelton candidate sees a hard campaign ahead". The Press. 29 May 1987. p. 2.
  7. Espiner, Colin (25 July 1992). "Labour chooses Dyson for seat". The Press. p. 1.
  8. "How the country voted on election day". Waikato Times. 29 November 1999. p. 4.
  9. Moore, Martin (26 November 2011). "Two NZ First MPs for Christchurch". The Press. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  10. Robertson, Max (October 2004). "Declaration of Results of Election" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  11. "2007 elections". Environment Canterbury. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  12. Sullivan, Clare (14 October 2010). "Declaration of Result of Election" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  13. "Canterbury District Health Board". Local Elections. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  14. "Party lists for the 2011 General Election". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
  15. "Official Count Results – Port Hills". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  16. "Official Count Results – Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  17. "Port Hills – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  18. "2017 General Election – Official Result Successful Candidates". Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  19. "Banks Peninsula – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  20. "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Nationwide Party Votes Results". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  21. Owen, Catrin (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: Who are the MPs ejected from Parliament?". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  22. "Marriage equality bill: How MPs voted". The New Zealand Herald. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  23. "Central Plains Water Enhancement: Steering Committee Progress Report" (PDF). Christchurch City Council. July 2000. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  24. "Better drinking water a CPW goal". The Press. 13 May 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  25. "O'Rourke to chair water trust". The Press. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  26. "Putting waste to work". The Press. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  27. "Bogus car testimonial adds to MP's woes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  28. "Eye on NZ First MP's hiring of staff". NZ Herald. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  29. "Former MP turned chauffeur Denis O'Rourke charged over fatal wedding day crash". Stuff. 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  30. "Prosecution of former MP Denis O'Rourke on fatal driving charge dropped". Stuff. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
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