Shanan Halbert

Halbert has affiliation to Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Whitikaupeka through his father,[3] while his mother is pākehā. He grew up in Napier, and moved to Auckland after graduating from high school. He has a BA in education and Māori from the University of Auckland and a certificate in Contemporary Performing Arts from AUT. He started, but did not complete, an MBA.[4] Halbert has worked at Glenfield College, where he set up the Health Sciences Academy, and at Catholic college Hato Petera.[5] He was the Head of Relationships at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.[6]

Halbert stood as a list-only candidate for Labour in the 2014 general election. His party list ranking of 48 was too low to win a seat.[7] In the 2017 general election, he sought the Labour Party selection for the Auckland Central seat, losing to Helen White. He instead contested the Northcote electorate; he neither won the electorate nor won a list seat on his party list ranking of 51. In 2018, after the resignation of Jonathan Coleman, Halbert again contested the Northcote by-election as Labour's candidate, having been chosen for the candidacy over Paul McGreal and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills.[6][8] He was defeated by National's Dan Bidois.

In the 2020 general election, Halbert was again ranked 51st on the Labour party list and contested the Northcote electorate. This time, Halbert won the seat from incumbent Dan Bidois by 2534 votes.[9][5]

Halbert has for years campaigned on improving public transport, as congestion in the Northcote electorate—located at the northern landing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge—is a defining issue for many voters.[10] For the 2020 campaign, he also campaigned in support of local businesses and advocated for improved access to mental health services.[5] His father died of lung cancer on election day.[11]

Halbert faced criticism in both the 2020 and 2023 election campaigns for misleading advertising. In 2020, he published a flyer in which Labour claimed, “We’ve built over 600 houses for our growing Northcote family.” A complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority noted that only 74 homes had been built. Labour apologised for the flyer and pulled it from stalls. In 2023, another flyer from Halbert celebrates “1700 new warm, dry homes as part of the Northcote Development”, but these homes were not scheduled for completion until 2026. This flyer also faced a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, but the Authority dismissed it. An article by Tova O'Brien criticised the flyer for being unclear which points were prior actions by Labour and which were promises if re-elected. Halbert also stated on Facebook that the National Party plans to decrease sick leave to five days per year, which is not its policy.[12][13]

In 21 September 2023, Halbert was the subject of bullying allegations by several former staff, who claimed he was manipulative, scheming, narcissitic, and intimidated them. Labour whips were first alerted to the allegations by a bullying and harassment coach in August 2022 but no action was taken since staff wished to remain anonymous. In response to the bullying allegations, Halbert said that he had a good relationship with parliamentary and other staff, while acknowledging he had encountered employment issues but that had done his best to resolve them professionaly. Halbert urged disaffected staff members to engage with Parliament's complaint process.[14] During an election debate in Northcote, Halbert denied the bullying allegations and claimed he had not received any complaints when confronted by Newshub journalists.[15]

Halbert is one of 13 MPs in the 2020 Parliament who identify as LGBTQI+.[16]