George Hawkins (politician)

George Warren Hawkins QSO (born 1946) is a New Zealand politician. He has served in local government, including as mayor of Papakura from 1983 to 1992, and in New Zealand parliament as a member for the Labour Party between 1990 and 2011.

For other people with the same name, see George Hawkins.

The Honourable
George Hawkins
QSO
29th Minister of Internal Affairs
In office
13 November 2000 – 19 October 2005
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Preceded byMark Burton
Succeeded byRick Barker
33rd Minister of Police
In office
10 December 1999 – 19 October 2005
Prime MinisterHelen Clark
Preceded byClem Simich
Succeeded byAnnette King
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Manurewa
In office
27 October 1990 – 26 November 2011
Preceded byRoger Douglas
Succeeded byLouisa Wall
Personal details
Born
George Warren Hawkins

1946 (age 76–77)
Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
ProfessionSchoolteacher

Early life

Hawkins was born on 15 May 1946 in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden.[1] He attended Dominion Road Primary School,[2] Mount Albert Grammar School (1960–1963) and then Auckland Teachers' College.[3] Before entering politics, he was a teacher and had also been a photographer for the Auckland Star newspaper.[4] He later became a company director.[5]

Political career

In the 1970s Hawkins became an anti-nuclear activist and he joined the Labour Party.[5] He became chair of Labour's Papakura branch. In early 1977 he stood as a candidate for the Labour Party nomination in the Mangere by-election, but he lost out to future prime minister David Lange.[6] Later that year Hawkins stood for the nomination for the nearby seat of Papatoetoe, but was again unsuccessful.[7]

Papakura

Hawkins was a Papakura City councillor from 1980 to 1983. He was elected Mayor of Papakura in 1983, and held that position until 1992.[3] He was succeeded by his brother David Hawkins.[8] In 1989, Papakura City became Papakura District as part of the local government reforms. As mayor he advocated for a toll free telephone exchange between South Auckland and Auckland City.[5]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1990–1993 43rd Manurewa Labour
1993–1996 44th Manurewa Labour
1996–1999 45th Manurewa none Labour
1999–2002 46th Manurewa none Labour
2002–2005 47th Manurewa 15 Labour
2005–2008 48th Manurewa none Labour
2008–2011 49th Manurewa none Labour

In 1990 Hawkins was selected to succeed Roger Douglas as the Labour candidate for the seat of Manurewa, beating Alan Johnson, a town planner and opponent of Douglas.[5] He served as MP for Manurewa from when he was first elected to Parliament in the 1990 general election. In November 1990 he was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for local government and urban affairs by Labour leader Mike Moore.[9]

In July 1992 Hawkins was hospitalized suffering from an infection and exhaustion. While in hospital he suffered a pulmonary embolism, leading him to an extended convalescence.[10] He later decided to retire from the Papakura mayoralty to ease his workload. During the period he suffered a stroke, which would leave him with a speech impediment. At the time Hawkins (and others) thought bad health would end his career. He continued on, however, stating "But it [his condition] made me think that some things are really worth fighting for."[4]

When Helen Clark replaced Moore as leader in 1993 she appointed Hawkins Shadow Minister of Police and the Serious Fraud Office.[11]

In the Fifth Labour government, he served as Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Police, Minister of Civil Defence, and Minister of Veterans' Affairs in the 2002–2005 parliamentary term.[4]

Disappointed at being ranked 25th on the 2005 Labour Party list, he withdrew his name from the list, and won the Manurewa seat with a comfortable margin of over 12,000 votes (a similar majority to his 2002 election win). Although Hawkins was criticised over his handling of police issues, in particular 111 calls, he remained a Minister until he made the decision not to seek a new position in Cabinet after the 2005 election. He subsequently became a backbencher and became regarded by colleagues as a quiet maverick, asking written questions of ministers in the same manner that Opposition MPs would do.[4]

He resisted calls to retire, which intensified in 2007 when Hawkins took two months off to have an operation for bowel cancer. He believed many in the Labour Party coveted his safe electorate seat and stated of many of the visitors he received in hospital "They didn't want to hold your hand, they wanted to take your pulse."[4] In the 2008 general election he again chose not to be placed on the party list, and again won his Manurewa seat. However his majority was cut by more than half.[12] Following the defeat of the Labour government Hawkins was appointed Shadow Minister of Housing by Clark's successor as leader, Phil Goff.[13] He retired from Parliament in 2011.

Local board member

In 2013 Hawkins returned to local government when he was elected a member of the Manurewa Local Board.[14]

Honours and awards
Hawkins (right), after his investiture as a Companion of the Queen's Service Order by the governor-general, Sir Jerry Mateparae, at Government House, Auckland, on 8 May 2013

In the 2013 New Year Honours, Hawkins was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for services as a member of Parliament.[15]

References
  1. Temple, Philip (1994). Temple's Guide to the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: McIndoe Publishers. p. 68. ISBN 0-86868-159-8.
  2. "Who am I?". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  3. "Hon George Hawkins". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  4. Young, Audrey (21 June 2008). "Quiet battler confronts electorate's booze woes: Manurewa MP has defied naysayers for years and he's not about to stop now". The New Zealand Herald. p. 13. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  5. "16 now chase Labour nod for Mangere". Auckland Star. 15 February 1977. p. 48.
  6. "Walkout risk may upset seat choice". Auckland Star. 6 August 1977. p. 1.
  7. Reid, Michael (12 October 1992). "Hawkins family keeps mayoral robes". The New Zealand Herald. p. 3.
  8. "All Labour's 29 MPs get areas of responsibility". Otago Daily Times. 28 November 1990. p. 4.
  9. Johns, Geraldine (21 July 1992). "Long road back for Hawkins". The New Zealand Herald. p. 1.
  10. "The Labour Shadow Cabinet". The Dominion. 14 December 1993. p. 2.
  11. 2008 election results
  12. "Labour's shadow Cabinet announced". 20 November 2008.
  13. "Elections" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  14. "New Year honours list 2013". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
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