Garry B. Mallett is a New Zealand politician. He was the fourth President of ACT New Zealand. As of 2010 he resides in Hamilton, New Zealand,[1] and is a former [2] owner-operator of a branch of Les Mills International there.[3]

Garry Mallett
4th President of ACT New Zealand
In office
2006–2009
Vice PresidentTrevor Loudon (2006–08)
Michael Crozier (2008–09)
LeaderRodney Hide
Preceded byCatherine Judd
Succeeded byMichael Crozier
Personal details
Born1960 or 1961 (age 63–64)
Political partyACT
ChildrenFour
Residence(s)Hamilton, New Zealand
OccupationBusiness owner-operator

Hamilton local politics

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He served as a Hamilton City Councillor from 1998 to 2001[4] on the 'City Vision' ticket,[5] representing the West Ward.[6] He chaired the Economic and Audit committee.[6] He chaired the WEL Energy Trust.[7] At the 2002 Trust elections he led the 'Power Rebates We Won't Be Beaten On Discounts' team (PRT).[8] In the 2008 WEL Energy Trust elections the 'Power Discounts Team' (PDT) captured a majority from Mallett's PRT.[9]

In 2009 a complaint was filed to the Advertising Standards Authority against one of Mallett's advertisements in the Hamilton This Week campaigning against Māori electorates being established on the Auckland 'Supercity' Council, which called such reserved political positions and their promoters "racist". Mallett said that the complainant was "attempting to silence [his] opinion." The complaint was not upheld.[10]

In the 2013 Hamilton local elections Mallett was re-elected to the Hamilton City Council for the East Ward. He stood as part of the New Council – New Direction ticket.[11]

In August 2017, Mallett attracted a formal complaint after using the terms "fags" and "homos" during official Council meetings. The slurs were regarding the pink papers on which meeting documents were printed. When contacted by journalists, Mallet denied having a recollection, but explained that "if I did [use those terms], I'm comfortable about it."[12] He also defended any comments as being a "light hearted jest," and claimed that these words were used frequently by the gay community.[citation needed]

In recent elections he won 5,876 votes in 2010 (not elected),[13] 6,725 in 2013[14] and 5,274 in 2016.[15]

Involvement with ACT

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Mallett joined the ACT party in 1995.[16] In the 1996 election, he unsuccessfully contested the Hamilton West electorate. He was ranked 27 on the party list, and came sixth out of nine candidates in the electorate.[17][18]

In the campaign of the 2005 election, Mallett made a vomiting gesture during a discussion about homosexuality, which drew controversy.[16] He stood in Hamilton East, winning 1.44% of the electorate vote, and came sixth place.[19]

In the 2008 election Mallett again stood in Hamilton East and 44th on the ACT party list.[20][21] He came fifth in that electorate, with 1.27% of the vote, a loss of 0.18 percentage points from the previous election.[22]

Mallett served as the secretary for ACT through the 2014 general election. On 29 May 2015 the Electoral Commission referred him to the police for failing to file returns for two donations by Jenny and Alan Gibbs of greater than $30,000.[23]

President

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In January 2006 the president of ACT, Catherine Isaac, announced her intention to resign from the position. In March that year the party elected Mallett to succeed her, beating farmer John Ormond. At the same time, Trevor Loudon was elected as vice-president of the party.[16][24]

Party political offices
Preceded by President of ACT New Zealand
2006–2009
Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ "Act Party elects new leaders". Radio New Zealand. Television New Zealand. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  2. ^ "Gym phobia reaches Waikato". Waikato Times. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Hamilton East profiles". Waikato Times. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  4. ^ Mallett, Garry (5 November 2008). "Letters, November 4: Mallett monitored". Waikato Times. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  5. ^ Akoorie, Natalie (7 November 2009). "Rates Control eyes district council too". Waikato Times. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  6. ^ a b "CONTENTS". Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  7. ^ "The big debate on trust rebates". Waikato Times. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  8. ^ .Symes, Edith (2 July 2008). "Dave curries voters' favour". Raglan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Rob Hamill to Stand for the Green Party". Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand (Press release). 14 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Complaint 09/371". Advertising Standards Authority. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original (Microsoft Word document) on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
  11. ^ "Hamilton City Council – Final Result" (PDF). Hamilton City Council. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Gay slurs a 'light-hearted jest', says Hamilton councillor Garry Mallett". The Spinoff. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Final results of Hamilton City Council election declared". www.hamilton.govt.nz. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Final Result Hamilton City Council" (PDF). Internet Archive. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2015.
  15. ^ "Hamilton election - confirmed results announced". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  16. ^ a b c Thomson, Ainsley (25 March 2006). "Act picks president to reflect core values". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Electorate Candidate and Party Votes Recorded at Each Polling Place - Hamilton West, 1996" (PDF). Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Part III - Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties" (PDF). Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  19. ^ "Official Count Results – Hamilton East". Elections New Zealand. 1 October 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  20. ^ "Party List: Act Party". The New Zealand Herald. 6 October 2008. p. 2. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  21. ^ "ACT Announces Candidates For Election '08" (Press release). ACT New Zealand. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  22. ^ "Official Count Results – Hamilton East". Elections New Zealand. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  23. ^ Kerr, Florence (17 June 2015). "Former Act secretary referred to police over failure to file donation returns". The Dominion Post. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  24. ^ "ACT Board Election Results" (Press release). ACT New Zealand. 27 March 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2010.