Harry James Duynhoven QSO (born 1955) is a New Zealand politician and member of the New Zealand Labour Party. He was the mayor of the city of New Plymouth and surrounding districts from 2010–2013. He was a Member of Parliament for the New Plymouth electorate from 1987–1990, from 1993–2003, and again from 2003–2008.
Harry Duynhoven | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of New Plymouth | |
| In office 2010–2013 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Tennent |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Judd |
| Councillor of the New Plymouth District | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | John McLeod and Len Howners |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for New Plymouth | |
| In office 1987–1990 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Friedlander |
| Succeeded by | John Armstrong |
| Majority | 5,439 (16.5%) [1] |
| In office 1993–2008 | |
| Preceded by | John Armstrong |
| Succeeded by | Jonathan Young |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 June 1955 New Plymouth, New Zealand |
| Nationality |  Netherlands New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Profession | Electrician |
Duynhoven was elected as Mayor of New Plymouth in October 2010 but was defeated after serving a single term. He was elected as a councillor for the city ward of the New Plymouth District Council in a by-election, and was re-elected to that role and elected as a board member on Taranaki's district health board in 2016 and 2019.
Early life
editDuynhoven was born in New Plymouth on 22 June 1955.[2] He left Spotswood College at age sixteen to become an electrician, and eventually became a technical teacher at the collegiate and polytechnic level.
Member of Parliament
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1990 | 42nd | New Plymouth | Labour | ||
| 1993–1996 | 44th | New Plymouth | Labour | ||
| 1996–1999 | 45th | New Plymouth | none | Labour | |
| 1999–2002 | 46th | New Plymouth | 29 | Labour | |
| 2002–2005 | 47th | New Plymouth | none | Labour | |
| 2005–2008 | 48th | New Plymouth | none | Labour | |
Duynhoven entered Parliament in the 1987 election, winning the New Plymouth seat from incumbent National Party MP, Tony Friedlander. In the 1990 election, he lost the seat to National's John Armstrong, but won it back in the 1993 election. In the 2008 election he lost to New Zealand National Party candidate, Jonathan Young by 105 votes,[3] the smallest margin in the election.[4]
In 2003, Duynhoven raised with the Speaker of Parliament his status, and whether he might have breached electoral law, thus disqualifying him from retaining his seat. The Speaker was responsible for determining whether a vacancy existed. This matter arose after Duynhoven applied to resume his citizenship of the Netherlands. His father was from the Netherlands, and Duynhoven had possessed citizenship from birth, but had temporarily lost it due to a change of Dutch law. According to electoral law, applying for foreign citizenship would disqualify Duynhoven from retaining his seat. The Speaker ruled on 23 July 2003 that Parliament's Privileges Committee, who were until 2002 responsible for determining whether a vacancy exists, would consider the matter, and that he would be guided by their report. The Solicitor General advised the Privileges Committee that the law was clear, and that Duynhoven's seat became vacant on 11 June 2003. The majority decision of the Privileges Committee was that Duynhoven was disqualified from holding his seat, and that it had accordingly been vacated. However the government introduced an act retroactively amending the law, to allow Duynhoven to resume his seat.[citation needed]
Duynhoven served as a Minister outside Cabinet of Helen Clark's Labour Government with the portfolio of Associate Minister of Transport, and later, Minister for Transport Safety and Associate Minister of Energy until his government's defeat. He did not stand as a party list candidate in the 2008 general election.
In 1990, Duynhoven was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[5] He was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order in the 2012 New Year Honours, for services as a Member of Parliament.[6]
Local government politics
editIn October 2010, Duynhoven was elected Mayor of New Plymouth.[7] Three years later, on 12 October 2013, Mr Duynhoven became the first New Plymouth mayor since Edward Hill in 1956 to be ousted after one term."[8] He attributed his defeat at that election to being overshadowed by maverick councillor John McLeod.[9]
McLeod, along with fellow councillor Len Houwers, resigned in late 2014.[10] On 11 January 2015, Duynhoven confirmed months of speculation that he would stand in the by-election to fill the vacancies. Duynhoven said his decision to stand in the by-election came after receiving "a huge number of phone calls and visits from people asking me to stand."[11] Duynhoven was one of the two successful candidates. He was re-elected in the 2016 local elections and the 2019 local elections. In both of those elections, he was also elected to the Taranaki District Health Board.
References
edit- ^ at 2005 general election
- ^ Temple, Philip (1994). Temple's Guide to the 44th New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: McIndoe Publishers. p. 61. ISBN 0-86868-159-8.
- ^ Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: New Plymouth.
- ^ Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: Electorate Status.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 129. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ "New Year honours list 2012". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Keith, Leighton (9 October 2010). "New Plymouth's new mayor". Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
- ^ Rilkoff, Matt (12 October 2013). "Andrew Judd mayor of New Plymouth". Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "Horse's political legacy". Stuff. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "'Ineffective' councillor quits". Stuff. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
- ^ "Harry Duynhoven returns in by-election". Taranaki Daily News. 11 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2015.