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Simon O'Connor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the New Zealand playwright and actor, see Simon O'Connor (actor).
Simon O'Connor
O'Connor in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Tāmaki
In office
30 November 2011 – 14 October 2023
Preceded byAllan Peachey
Succeeded byBrooke Van Velden
Majority15,402 (2020)
Personal details
Born (1976-02-25) 25 February 1976 (age 48)
NationalityNew Zealander
Political partyNational
Spouse
Rachel Trimble
​
(m. 2016)​
RelationsSimon Bridges (brother-in-law)
CommitteesForeign Affairs, Defence, and Trade

Simon David O'Connor (born 25 February 1976) is a New Zealand politician and a former member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party. He represented the Tāmaki electorate from 2011 to 2023.

Early life

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O'Connor was raised in Whangārei, the eldest of three children, where he attended St Mary's Primary School and Pompallier College. He was a keen fencer and was president of the Auckland University Fencing Club.

O'Connor completed training to be a Catholic priest, which involved working on the island of Taveuni in Fiji for two years at a vocational training centre, prison chaplaincy at Mount Eden Prison, military chaplaincy at Waiouru Army Base, and spending time with people in hospitals and hospices. He did not seek ordination, deciding instead to study and pursue a career in politics.[1]

O'Connor graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Political Studies (his Political Studies Honours dissertation looked at the works of René Girard), a Bachelor of Theology, and a Master of Arts with First Class Honours (Political Studies). He has also worked as a contracts manager for Southern Cross Insurance.[2]

O'Connor was the chairperson of Monarchy New Zealand between 2010 and 2012 and remains[when?] a board member.

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2011–2014 50th Tāmaki 62 National
2014–2017 51st Tāmaki 43 National
2017–2020 52nd Tāmaki 38 National
2020–2023 53rd Tāmaki 35 National

O'Connor has been involved in the National Party since 2005. He was deputy chair of the party's Northern Region before seeking the National nomination for the Maungakiekie electorate in 2008. He lost the selection contest to Sam Lotu-Iiga, who went on to win the seat, but O'Connor was appointed as a list candidate for the 2008 general election, ranked 72nd.[3]

He was selected as the party's candidate in the Tāmaki electorate following the withdrawal of sitting MP Allan Peachey shortly before the 2011 election and was elected to Parliament.[4][5] In his first term, he was a member of the Education and Science committee and the Transport and Industrial Relations committee, and the deputy chair of the Finance and Expenditure committee.[6] O'Connor held his electorate at the 2014 general election. In his second term, he chaired the Health committee.[6] During his tenure as chair, the committee ran an inquiry into euthanasia which did not propose any changes to the law.[7]

O'Connor was re-elected at both the 2017 general election and the 2020 general election.[8][9] National was in opposition after these two elections. O'Connor held various National Party spokesperson roles during this period, including corrections (2017 to 2023), customs (2018 to 2023), arts, culture and heritage (2020 to 2023) and internal affairs (two separate periods in 2021 and 2023).[6] He briefly resigned his portfolios in late 2021 when his brother-in-law, Simon Bridges, was demoted by National leader Judith Collins.[10] He chaired the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee from 2017 to 2020 and was a member of the Justice committee from 2021 to 2023.[6][11]

Defeat at the 2023 general election

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On 30 September 2022, it was reported that three unknown people had launched campaigns to replace O'Connor as the National party's Tāmaki candidate at the 2023 New Zealand general election.[12] On 21 October, O'Connor's challengers were identified as lawyer Andrew Grant and restaurant proprietor Sang Cho. Grant had publicly opposed "tough on crime" rhetoric.[13] Ultimately, the challenge was unsuccessful and O'Connor was confirmed as the National Party candidate for Tāmaki at a party meeting in November 2022.[14]

In late April 2023, ACT New Zealand confirmed that its deputy leader Brooke van Velden would be contesting O'Connor's Tāmaki electorate in a "two ticks" campaign during the 2023 general election. ACT leader David Seymour cited O'Connor's socially conservative views on abortion and euthanasia as factors in ACT's decision to seriously contest O'Connor's' seat.[15] In August 2023, the National Party announced its party list for the election. O'Connor's position was 54th, down from 35th in 2020.[16] An opinion poll released on 2 October showed van Velden tied with O'Connor.[17] In the final result, van Velden was ahead by 4,158 votes.[18] Due to O'Connor's low list ranking, he was not eligible to return to Parliament.[19]

Post-politics

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Claims of PRC hacking

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In April 2024, the New Zealand signals intelligence agency the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) conceded that they had been aware that O'Connor had been targeted by China in an attempted computer hacking campaign - along with fellow former MP Loiusa Wall, and academic Professor Anne-Marie Brady - but had failed to brief any of the targets. O'Connor said he was disappointed that the GCSB had not told him and the other potential victims, as: "...I would have thought letting me know would have been a rather basic step in preventing any further incursions." O'Connor also expressed concern "...that much of this information eventually became public via the U.S. Department of Justice... yet New Zealand agencies still did not make contact with us [which] begs even further questions.”[20]

The Minister Responsible for the GCSB, Hon Judith Collins KC, had earlier in March issued a statement attributing the compromise of Parliamentary Service and Parliamentary Counsel Office systems to the Chinese government-affiliated group APT40, describing the use of cyber espionage to "interfere with democratic and institutions..." as "unacceptable". Collins did not, however, name O'Connor, Wall, or Brady as intended targets at that time.[21]

Conservative commentator and podcaster

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In an interview on internet broadcaster Reality Check Radio with former MP and minister Rodney Hide, O'Connor announced that he was affiliating with the conservative Christian lobby group Family First.[22] Family First released on 14 May 2024 news that O'Connor would host a weekly, live podcast across multiple streaming platforms, entitled Solid Ground.[23] In a promotional trailer for the programme, O'Connor said it was to enable a discussion based on: "good values, good ethics, good principles."[24]

The New Zealand Herald subsequently reported that O'Connor was scheduled to speak at the upcoming "UNSILENCED: Middle New Zealand on ideology" at Wellington's Tākina Convention Centre on 18 May alongside Family First Founder and National Director Bob McCoskrie and Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki. The Convention Centre is owned and operated by Te Papa Museum and the Wellington City Council. Protest groups Queer Endurance In Defiance and the Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition denounced the conference for allegedly promoting transphobia and said it was contacting the Council in order to cancel the event on safety grounds. While Wellington City Council Māori Ward Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera called for the event's cancellation, New Zealand Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling defended the conference on free speech grounds.[25]

Following a safety review, Te Papa allowed the event to proceed, but said it would monitor the situation and expressed support for the LGBT community. O'Connor spoke at the Unsilenced conference alongside Tamaki and British activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (who participated via video-link). 360 people attended the Unsilenced conference while a protest organised by Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition and Queer Endurance in Defiance attracted 500 people.[26]

Political positions

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Chinese Communist Party influence

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In 2020, O'Connor became a co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an international group of legislators working towards reform on how democratic countries approach China, and specifically, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).[27] In December 2020, he and fellow IPAC member Louisa Wall urged New Zealand to speak out against China's alleged "coercive diplomacy" and support Australia in the face of diplomatic and economic pressure from China.[28] In August 2022, O'Connor, fellow IPAC member Labour MP Ingrid Leary, and other members from Australia, India and Japan launched a new local Indo-Pacific chapter to focus on increased Chinese militarisation in that region.[29]

O’Connor, while Chair of New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade Committee joined with his counterpart committee chair counterparts from the United Kingdom (Tom Tugendhat), Canada (Michael Levitt), and Australia (David Fawcett) in writing a joint letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres asking that he appoint a special human rights envoy to monitor Hong Kong in light of the imposition of China’s new National Security Law.[30]

During 2022, as IPAC co-chairs, O'Connor and Leary obtained information about the Solomon Islands-China Security Pact and raised concerns about Chinese military expansion in the Pacific.[31]

In 2023, O’Connor asked Parliamentary Written Questions seeking information on the deployment of Chinese made cameras in New Zealand government offices.[32] Subsequent reporting of the results indicated 120 cameras made by companies with links to the CCP, which had already been banned from British government buildings, were installed in New Zealand government premises – including in the home of an unnamed MP.[33]

O’Connor wrote to representatives of Bytedance, owners of social media platform TikTok, asking about the privacy of New Zealanders' data. He subsequently welcomed the decision of the New Zealand Parliamentary Service to ban Tiktok on any devices connected to the parliamentary network over the risk of compromise the platform posed to sensitive data.[34]

Media reported that O’Connor was involved with assisting a defector from the Chinese Consulate-General in Auckland, reportedly the first such defector to New Zealand since the end of the Cold War.[35]

While co-chairing IPAC, O'Connor called for the government to rule out the extradition of New Zealand nationals to China; to set up a special visa scheme for Hong Kongers; and to initiate investigations into the treatment of Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province of China.[36]

Taiwan

[edit]

O’Connor has been a vocal supporter of Taiwan. In March 2023, he set up the first All Party Parliamentary Group on Taiwan within the New Zealand Parliament, being inaugural co-chair along with Labour's Ingrid Leary and involving around 15 other MPs.[37] In November 2023, O'Connor was invited by the Taiwanese government to visit Taipei and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, and other senior political representatives as part of the Indo-Pacific Formosa Club initiative.[38]

International human rights

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O’Connor repeatedly called for New Zealand to introduce a Magnitsky-style sanctions regime in New Zealand. He worked closely with Bill Browder – Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice campaign – and was acknowledged for his efforts by Browder in his book Freezing Order. [39]

O’Connor also joined with Labour MP Louisa Wall in calling for New Zealand to introduce modern slavery legislation. During the 53rd Parliament O'Connor tabled, as a member bill, his Modern Slavery Reporting Bill.[40] This measure was not drawn from the ballot.

In 2022, O'Connor joined other elected representatives from around the world in Washington DC as part of the Interparliamentary Task Force to Combat Online Antisemitism. At hearings, he and other representatives questioned Meta, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok about removing antisemitic content from their digital platforms.[41]

In June 2023, O’Connor welcomed the Tibetan Sikyong (democratically elected leader-in-exile), Penpa Tsering, to the New Zealand Parliament and hosted a lunch for him with several other Members of Parliament. Tsering expressed disappointment that Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta had refused to meet him.[42]

Later in 2023, O’Connor challenged the Iranian Ambassador to New Zealand Reza Nazarahari over the violent repression of protests when the Ambassador attended a select committee hearing at Parliament. O'Connor criticised Iran's detention of two New Zealanders, Topher Richwhite and Bridget Thackwray, who were held for nearly four months without charge before being released.[43] O'Connor also joined several protests against the regime's brutal crackdowns organised by Iranians in New Zealand.[44]

Conscience votes

[edit]

O'Connor voted conservatively on most conscience issues, although he opposed raising the drinking age back to 20 in 2012 and he supported the introduction of Easter Sunday trading.

His votes on significant conscience matters were:


On 10 September 2017, two weeks before the general election and on World Suicide Prevention Day, O'Connor criticised then-Labour leader Jacinda Ardern for being "concerned about youth suicide" but being "happy to encourage the suicide of the elderly, disabled, and sick" by way of her support of the End of Life Choice Bill.[48]

In March 2020, he attracted attention for a statement he made as part of his speech in opposition to the third reading of the Abortion Legislation Bill, where he repeated a quotation from the Bible in Latin: "Mihi vindicta: ego retribuam, dicit Dominus," which is translated as "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” [49]

In late June 2022, O'Connor published a Facebook post welcoming the United States Supreme Court's overtuning of Roe v. Wade. He subsequently removed the post after National Party leader Christopher Luxon stated that the post was "causing distress" and did not represent the party's position on abortion.[50] In response to the controversy around O'Connor's post, several Tāmaki residents called for O'Connor to resign as their Member of Parliament.[51] By contrast, former National MP Alfred Ngaro defended O'Connor's freedom of expression and accused Luxon of silencing National MPs.[52] On 28 June, O'Connor apologised to his National Party colleagues for the hurt and distress that his Facebook post had caused. He denied that he had been "gagged" by Luxon and explained that he had offered to taken down the post because it had attracted " toxic and unhealthy" comments.[53]

Personal life

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On 10 December 2016, O'Connor married Rachel Trimble, the sister of fellow National MP Simon Bridges,[54][55] and has five stepchildren.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nats choose stalwart for Tamaki stronghold New Zealand Herald, 27 October 2011
  2. ^ [1] The Aucklander, 1 December 2011
  3. ^ "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission. 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. ^ "National Selects Simon O'Connor as Tamaki Candidate". scoop. 27 October 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Official Count Results – Tāmaki". Electoral Commission. 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "O'Connor, Simon – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Euthanasia inquiry does not recommend law change". NZ Herald. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Tāmaki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Tāmaki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Live: Simon Bridges demoted by National Party leader Judith Collins over allegation of misconduct – all the latest updates". Radio NZ. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. ^ Young, Audrey (12 February 2018). "Defence Minister switches view and expresses support for NZ deployment in Iraq". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  12. ^ Harman, Richard (30 September 2022). ""Taliban" National MP to face selection challenge". Politik. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  13. ^ Neilson, Michael (21 October 2022). "National Party unveils Tāmaki seat challengers to Simon O'Connor". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  14. ^ "National MP Simon O'Connor has beaten a challenge for the party's candidacy in the Tamaki electorate". NZCity. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
  15. ^ Trevett, Claire (29 April 2023). "Act targets National's Simon O'Connor in bid for Tāmaki seat". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  16. ^ McConnell, Glenn (19 August 2023). "National Party announces election list, minus Michael Woodhouse". Stuff. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Will Act win a second electorate? Poll shows Brooke van Velden closing gap in Tāmaki". NZ Herald. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Tāmaki – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Out of the blue: Act wins Tamaki electorate". Radio New Zealand. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  20. ^ Pearse, Adam (30 April 2024). "GCSB spy agency knew China-backed cyber attack targeted former MPs and didn't tell them". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  21. ^ "Parliamentary network breached by the PRC". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 26 March 2024. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  22. ^ Rodney Hide and Simon O'Connor (7 May 2024). Simon O'Connor: On the Return of RCR, Media and Politics, and the news of joining the Family First team (Podcast). Reality Check Radio. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024.
  23. ^ "Solid Ground with Simon O'Connor". Family First New Zealand. 14 May 2024. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  24. ^ Simon O'Connor (14 May 2024). Solid Ground - our new show with Simon O'Connor (YouTube video). Family First New Zealand. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024.
  25. ^ Howwell, Azaria; Manera, Ethan (14 May 2024). "Review under way into 'anti-trans' event being held at Wellington's Tākina Convention Centre". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  26. ^ "Hundreds protest outside controversial conference in Wellington". RNZ. 18 May 2024. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  27. ^ @ipacglobal (25 June 2020). "New Zealand joins #IPAC with Co-Chairs Simon O'Connor MP and Louisa Wall MP" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Manch, Thomas; Malpass, Luke (3 December 2020). "Two MPs criticise China's 'coercive diplomacy' amid widening Australia stoush". Stuff. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  29. ^ Coughlan, Thomas (22 August 2022). "Fearing China's militarisation of Pacific, NZ MPs set up anti-China group, open door to Taiwan". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  30. ^ Parliamentarians in Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand urge creation of UN special envoy for Hong Kong 3 June 2020 The Globe and Mail
  31. ^ Pacific Islands need to 'respond urgently' to Chinese expansion 6 June 2022 Newsroom
  32. ^ PQ2350 (2023) – Simon O'Connor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs 17 February 2023 New Zealand Parliament
  33. ^ Exclusive: CCTV cameras made by CCP-linked companies found in Govt departments, home of Kiwi MP, as allies remove Chinese tech New Zealand Herald''
  34. ^ New Zealand joins US push to curb TikTok use on official phones with parliament ban 17 March 2023 CNN Business
  35. ^ ‘If you send me back I will die’: Dramatic escape for first defector to NZ since Cold War 11 March 2023 New Zealand Herald
  36. ^ Parliament's odd couple on China: 'We have our deeply-held positions' 8 August 2021 Newsroom
  37. ^ Parliamentarians start Taiwan friendship group, despite New Zealand's 'one China' policy Stuff 30 March 2023
  38. ^ Formosa club delegation visited Taiwan for sustainable development talks Taiwan News 24 November 2023
  39. ^ NZ encouraged to move on 'Magnitsky law' sanctions 5 July 2021 Newsroom
  40. ^ Modern Slavery Reporting Bill New Zealand Parliament Bill 9121
  41. ^ Interparliamentary Task Force To Combat Online Antisemitism Members Press Tech Leaders to Step Up Efforts to Remove Hate, Better Moderate Platforms 16 September 2022 Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Dem.), 25th Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives
  42. ^ Tibet's leader-in-exile dismayed by lack of state meeting on first visit to NZ 18 June 2023 Radio NZ
  43. ^ MPs confront Iran's Ambassador to New Zealand over protest crackdowns 3 August 2023 Radio NZ
  44. ^ Forough Amin: Iran protests reveal NZ politics has flipped 18 October 2022 The New Zealand Herald
  45. ^ "Gay marriage: How MPs voted". The New Zealand Herald. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  46. ^ "National MP rejects flag change". Stuff.co.nz. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  47. ^ a b First, Family. "Value Your Vote – 2017 General Election" (PDF). Valueyourvote.org.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  48. ^ "Jacinda Ardern wants old, disabled to commit suicide, National MP claims". Newshub. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  49. ^ Harman, Richard (19 March 2020). "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord". Politik. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  50. ^ "National MP removes post following Roe v Wade decision". Radio New Zealand. 26 June 2022. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  51. ^ Armah, Mildred (28 June 2022). "Roe v Wade: Constituents call for Simon O'Connor to resign after social media post". Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  52. ^ Neilson, Michael (27 June 2022). "Roe v Wade abortion decision: Former National MP Alfred Ngaro criticises Christopher Luxon's gagging order". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  53. ^ Palmer, Russell (28 June 2022). "Simon O'Connor apologises to fellow National MPs over abortion post". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  54. ^ Moir, Jo (10 December 2016). "Paula Bennett has won the battle for deputy Prime Minister and will team up with Bill English". Stuff. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
  55. ^ Jones, Nicholas (12 February 2016). "National MP Simon O'Connor to marry Minister Simon Bridges' sister". Bay of Plenty Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
[edit]
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Tāmaki
2011–2023 		Succeeded by
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