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Greg O'Connor (politician)

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Greg O'Connor
MP
O'Connor in 2023
Second Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
6 December 2023
Preceded byJacqui Dean
11th Deputy Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
In office
25 August 2022 – 6 December 2023
SpeakerAdrian Rurawhe
Preceded byAdrian Rurawhe
Succeeded byBarbara Kuriger
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Ōhāriu
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 September 2017
Preceded byPeter Dunne
Majority1,260
Personal details
Born (1958-05-12) 12 May 1958 (age 66)
Buller, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseDesley
RelationsDamien O'Connor (cousin)
Children3

Gregory Eamon O'Connor (born 12 May 1958) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and former police officer. He is the Second Assistant Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and has served as the Member of Parliament for Ōhāriu since the 2017 general election.

Early life

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O'Connor was born in the Buller District on the West Coast before moving to Wellington.[1] His parents were Eamon O'Connor and Kathleen Moriarty. His father was a trained priest and dairy farmer in Waimangaroa and at the 1978 and 1981 general elections was the Social Credit Party candidate for the West Coast electorate.[2] His family are Irish Catholic with New Zealand roots in Westport, and O'Connor stated that "growing up there's a fairly healthy disrespect for the law" where he grew up.[3]

Police career

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O'Connor served in the New Zealand Police for almost four decades ending his career with the rank of Senior Sergeant.[1] In his maiden speech as an MP, he reflected on undercover operations he'd taken part in "armed with a new identity—a black leather jacket, a beard, long hair, and earrings."[4]

He was later elected president of the New Zealand Police Association in 1995.[1] The Police Association is the union that represents constabulary officers and Police employees.[5] O'Connor's time as president was highly politicised; O'Connor would contribute to political debates on policing issues, particularly in regards to arming officers with firearms. O'Connor called for arming the police in New Zealand and also proposed routine arming of frontline response police officers.[6] He retired as president in October 2016, serving a record 21 years as the Police Association's head and regarded raising the Police Association's credibility as his main achievement during his tenure.[1]

He also spent time serving as the chair of the International Council of Police Representatives Association (ICPRA).[1]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd Ōhāriu 41 Labour
2020–2023 53rd Ōhāriu none Labour
2023–present 54th Ōhāriu none Labour

2017 general election

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Upon his retirement from the Police Association in 2016, O'Connor was asked whether he was considering a career in politics, but he said he had no plans to do so at that time.[3] However, on 1 February 2017 O'Connor confirmed he was seeking the Labour Party nomination for the seat of Ōhāriu in the 2017 election to challenge long-serving incumbent Peter Dunne of United Future.[7]

O'Connor was confirmed as Labour's Ōhāriu candidate on 12 February.[8][9] His candidacy and selection surprised some (it was reported he had been granted a waiver of the requirement to be a Labour member for 12 months before seeking a nomination) and was criticised on the left-wing blog The Standard.[10] O'Connor replied that Labour was the "natural choice" for him.[11] Dunne withdrew from the election shortly before the election and O'Connor defeated National list MP Brett Hudson to win the seat by a margin of 1,051 votes.[12][13]

In government, 2017–2023

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In his first term of Parliament, O'Connor was a member of the Justice (2017–2020), Social Services and Community (2017–2018) and Finance and Expenditure (2019–2020) select committees.[14] In July 2020 O'Connor was criticised for complaining about the reduction in MPs' salaries that was made in solidarity with other pay cuts and job losses in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, O'Connor retained Ohāriu by a final margin of 11,961 votes.[16] After the election he was appointed chairperson of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee (2020–2022) and as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee (2020–2022).[14] With National MP Melissa Lee he is co-chair of the New Zealand/South and South East Asia Parliamentary Friendship Group.[14] O'Connor's member's bill, the Child Protection (Child Sex Offender Government Agency Registration) (Overseas Travel Reporting) Amendment Bill which extends sex-offender travel reporting rules to overseas trips, passed its first reading on 3 August 2022.[17]

In early August 2022, he briefly held office as a temporary Assistant Speaker of the House of Representatives to cover absences.[18] On 25 August 2022, he was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, succeeding Adrian Rurawhe who was elected Speaker the day prior.[19]

In opposition, 2023–present

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During the 2023 New Zealand general election, O'Connor retained Ohāriu by a margin of 1,260 votes, beating National list MP Nicola Willis.[20] O'Connor became Assistant Speaker, and spokesperson for courts and veterans in the Shadow Cabinet of Chris Hipkins.[21]

Political views

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As Police Association president, O'Connor advocated for arming frontline police officers,[22] although as he left the role he acknowledged that most police would be happy not needing to be armed.[6][23] Like most MPs, he voted in favour of stricter gun control laws after the Christchurch mosque shootings.[24] He supported the End of Life Choice Bill and first reading of the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2019, but changed his vote to oppose the Abortion Legislation Bill at the second and third readings in 2020.[25][26]

Personal life

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O'Connor lives in Wellington with his wife Desley. They have three children Isaac, Michael, and Evie. His cousin is Labour list MP Damien O'Connor, who was formerly MP for West Coast-Tasman.[1]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greg O'Connor (politician).
  1. ^ a b c d e f Scanlon, Lee (12 October 2016). "Greg O'Connor: A life on the front line". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  2. ^ Scanlon, Lee (31 August 2000). "Faith, family, friendship defined farmer's life". The Press. p. 5.
  3. ^ a b Shadwell, Talia (16 January 2016). "Gun shy: Outgoing Police Association president Greg O'Connor has 'no plan' for politics". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  4. ^ O'Connor, Greg (9 November 2017). "Address in Reply". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ "About Us". New Zealand Police Association. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b Weekes, John (22 October 2015). "NZPA president Greg O'Connor to stand down". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Former police association boss Greg O'Connor seeks Labour Party nomination". The New Zealand Herald. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. ^ "Labour Party selects Greg O'Connor in Ohariu". The New Zealand Herald. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Greg O'Connor selected for Ōhāriu". The Standard. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Greg O'Connor responds". The Standard. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  12. ^ Moir, Jo (22 August 2017). "Peter Dunne resigns from politics only weeks out from the election". Stuff. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Ōhāriu - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  14. ^ a b c "O'Connor, Greg - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  15. ^ "'Totally out of touch': Labour MP slammed for 'tone deaf' post about pay cut". NZ Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Ōhāriu - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  17. ^ "A week knee-deep in bills". RNZ. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  18. ^ "From passenger to pilot: subbing in as Parliament chair". RNZ. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Daily progress for Thursday, 25 August 2022". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Ōhāriu - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Ōhāriu - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  22. ^ SHADWELL, TALIA (22 October 2014). "Renewed call to arm all police after shooting". Stuff. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  23. ^ Daly, Michael (13 February 2017). "Greg O'Connor says he didn't favour Police Association call in 2010 for general arming". Stuff. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  24. ^ "New Zealand gun laws pass 119-1 after Christchurch mosque shootings". ABC News. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Euthanasia bill final reading: How your MP voted". NZ Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  26. ^ "How MPs voted on abortion law reform". NZ Herald. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Ōhāriu
2017–present 		Incumbent
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