Kieran McAnulty

Kieran Michael McAnulty is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. First elected to parliament in 2017, he is a Cabinet minister and the Member of Parliament for the Wairarapa electorate. Formerly the Chief Government Whip, McAnulty is now the Minister of Local Government and Minister for Emergency Management, among other portfolios.[1]

The Honourable
Kieran McAnulty
MP
McAnulty in 2020
20th Minister of Local Government
Assumed office
1 February 2023
Prime MinisterChris Hipkins
Preceded byNanaia Mahuta
2nd Minister for Rural Communities
Assumed office
1 February 2023
Prime MinisterChris Hipkins
Preceded byDamien O'Connor
28th Minister for Emergency Management
Assumed office
14 June 2022
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Chris Hipkins
Preceded byKiri Allan
14th Minister for Racing
Assumed office
14 June 2022
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Chris Hipkins
Preceded byGrant Robertson
Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives
In office
2 November 2020 – 14 June 2022
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byMichael Wood
Succeeded byDuncan Webb
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wairarapa
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byAlastair Scott
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Labour party list
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
Personal details
BornEketāhuna, New Zealand
Political partyLabour

Personal life

McAnulty was born in Eketāhuna in 1985.[2] McAnulty's family have lived in the Wairarapa area for more than 170 years, with his great grandmother's great grandfather, Henry Burling arriving as an early settler in what is now the town of Featherston.[3] McAnulty completed a Bachelor of Arts, Postgraduate Diploma in Arts and Master of Arts at the University of Otago.[4] His 2011 master's thesis was titled The role of political positioning in party performance in the 2008 New Zealand General Election.[5] He has previously worked for the T.A.B. as a bookmaker covering the racing industry and an economic development advisor for the Masterton District Council.[6] He is a volunteer firefighter, board member of both Wings over Wairarapa and Golden Shears, a trustee of the Masterton Community Trust and Chair of Relay For Life.[3] In September 2016 McAnulty wrestled to the ground a car thief who was trying to steal his ute in Masterton.[7]

Political career

McAnulty stood in the North Island electorate of Wairarapa at the 2014 election, but was defeated by National's Alastair Scott.[8] He had previously been offered the Wairarapa candidacy in 2011, but declined.[6]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd List 38 Labour
2020–2023 53rd Wairarapa 26 Labour
2023–present 54th List 16 Labour

McAnulty stood for Labour in Wairarapa again in the 2017 election and reduced Scott's majority but failed to win the electorate. He instead entered Parliament via the party list, where he was ranked 38.[9][10]

In November 2017 he was appointed Labour's junior whip.[11]

McAnulty reads the oath of allegiance at his appointment to the Executive Council, at Government House, Wellington, on 14 June 2022. Watching on are the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and Michael Webster, clerk of the Executive Council.

On 25 September 2019, McAnulty was ejected from Parliament by the Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard for making disparaging remarks about National Party leader Simon Bridges during a Parliamentary debate about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's meeting with US President Donald Trump. Mallard also ejected New Zealand First MP Shane Jones for similar disruptive behaviour.[12]

In the 2020 New Zealand general election, McAnulty contested the Wairarapa electorate for Labour, taking it by a margin of 6,545 votes.[13] On 2 November 2020, following the election, the Labour caucus elected McAnulty as its chief whip.[14]

In a June 2022 reshuffle, McAnulty was appointed as Minister for Racing, Minister for Emergency Management and associate Minister of Local Government and of Transport by Ardern.[15] McAnulty's role as Minister for Racing gives him responsibility for the running of the Totalisator Agency Board, which he worked for before entering politics.

In August 2022, McAnulty was implicated in bullying accusations by fellow Labour MP Gaurav Sharma. Sharma accused McAnulty of "gaslighting me, shouting at me, degrading me in front of caucus members and other attendees at events and telling me that I was a terrible MP".[16] The Labour Party, including Ardern,[16] rejected the claims.[17]

Following a cabinet reshuffle that occurred on 31 January 2023, McAnulty succeeded Nanaia Mahuta as Minister of Local Government.[18] Prime Minister Chris Hipkins also confirmed that the Three Waters reform programme (which falls under the Local Government portfolio) would continue.[19]

On 14 February 2023, McAnulty, in his capacity as Minister of Emergency Management, declared a national state of emergency over the Northland, Auckland, Tairawhiti, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Hawke's Bay regions in response to Cyclone Gabrielle. This marked the third time a state of emergency had been declared over the country.[20][21]

As Minister of Local Government, McAnulty announced a major overhaul of the Government's Three Waters reform programme, which was renamed the Water Services Reform Programme. The proposed four water services entities were expanded into ten entities but will retain the same split co-governance structure consisting of representatives of local councils and mana whenua representatives.[22] He defended the retention of the Government's water infrastructure programme, stating that simply ditching it would be "dumping our duty." McAnulty also defended the programme's co-governance element, stating that Māori people have a special interest in water that has been established by the Treaty of Waitangi and the court system.[23][24]

Political views

McAnulty identifies as a socialist[25][26] and supports a New Zealand republic, with a local head of state.[11] McAnulty was previously treasurer of the New Zealand Republic campaign before entering parliament.[27]

McAnulty, despite the profession of his Catholic faith, is in favour of more open abortion laws. He stated in Parliament "I was raised that my religious views are mine only. So I will not use my vote today to impose any particular view that I may have to prevent the choice of a woman to make on her own body."[28]

McAnulty is in favour of decriminalising cannabis, and has admitted to smoking cannabis twice.[29][30]

References
  1. "Hon Kieran McAnulty". beehive.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. Cooke, Henry (18 September 2020). "Jacinda Ardern makes big push for Labour win in Wairarapa". Stuff. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  3. "Kieran McAnulty". New Zealand Labour Party. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  4. "Graduate Search". University of Otago. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  5. McAnulty, Kieran (2011). The role of political positioning in party performance in the 2008 New Zealand General Election (Masters thesis). OUR Archive, University of Otago. hdl:10523/618.
  6. Fuller, Piers (10 October 2017). "A young Wairarapa MP shows a natural flair for politics". Stuff. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  7. "Labour young gun tackles thief to the ground in the middle of the Masterton". Stuff. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  8. "Official Count Results – Wairarapa". Electoral Commission. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  9. "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. "Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 23 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  11. Bennett, Lucy (8 January 2019). "Meet the Backbenchers: Kieran McAnulty". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  12. Small, Zane (25 September 2019). "Labour MP Kieran McAnulty booted from House for mocking Simon Bridges". Newshub. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  13. "Wairarapa – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  14. "Wairarapa MP elected chief government whip". The New Zealand Herald. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  15. Manch, Thomas (13 June 2022). "Labour's new Cabinet – who's in, who's out, as Trevor Mallard and Kris Faafoi resign". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  16. Sowman-Lund, Stewart (12 August 2022). "PM rejects bullying claims made by MP Sharma". The Spinoff. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  17. Coughlan, Thomas (12 August 2022). "Labour MP unleashes fresh allegations of misuse of taxpayer funds and incompetent staff". NZ Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  18. Neilson, Michael (31 January 2023). "Cabinet reshuffle: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins unveils new line-up; Government response to Auckland flooding". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  19. Desmarais, Felix (31 January 2023). "Cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out?". 1 News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  20. McAnulty, Kieran (14 February 2023). "State of National Emergency Declared". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  21. "Cyclone Gabrielle: New Zealand declares state of emergency". BBC News. 14 February 2023. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  22. "Major shakeup will see affordable water reforms led and delivered locally". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 13 April 2023. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  23. Quinlivan, Mark (14 April 2023). "Kieran McAnulty defends not ditching Three Waters earlier, says 'that'd be dumping our duty'". Newshub. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  24. "Three Waters reset: McAnulty explains why co-governance stays". 1 News. TVNZ. 16 April 2023. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  25. Vance, Andrea (23 May 2021). "As Labour looks to its historic foundations, National needs to start letting go of the past". Stuff. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  26. "The New Zealand "Socialists" Who Govern Like Neoliberals". jacobinmag.com. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  27. "Wairarapa Labour man calls for republic vote". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  28. "Abortion Legislation Bill — Third Reading". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  29. "Joint views not shared". Times Age. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
  30. "Meet the Backbenchers: Kieran McAnulty". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
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