Parl.	Electorate	List Pos.	Party
38th	Auckland Central		Labour
39th	Auckland Central		Labour
40th	Auckland Central		Labour
41st	Auckland Central		Labour
42nd	Auckland Central		Labour
43rd	Auckland Central		Labour
45th	Wellington Central	1	ACT
46th	List	1	ACT
47th	List	1	ACT

The Honourable Richard William Prebble CBE, born 7 February 1948, was for many years a member of the New Zealand Parliament. He was a member of Cabinet, and later served as leader of the ACT New Zealand party. Image File history File links Photo of Richard Prebble, a New Zealand politician. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 39th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand which began with the election of 1978 and finished with the election of 1981. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 40th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 41st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 42nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 43rd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 45th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... ACT New Zealand is a free market liberal party in the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 46th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand. ... ACT New Zealand is a free market liberal party in the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 47th New Zealand Parliament was the most recent term of the Parliament of New Zealand. ... ACT New Zealand is a free market liberal party in the New Zealand Parliament. ... The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable ( or formerly The Honble) is a title of quality attached to the names of certain classes of persons. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The New Zealand Parliament is the legislative body of the New Zealand government. ... The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of the New Zealand governments executive branch. ... ACT New Zealand is a free market liberal party in the New Zealand Parliament. ...

Early life

Prebble was raised in Auckland, and attended Auckland University. He gained a BA degree in 1970 and an LLB (Hons) degree in 1972. He was admitted to the Bar in 1971, and practised law in both New Zealand and Fiji. Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... The University of Auckland is New Zealands largest research-based university. ... A Bachelor of Arts (B.A. or A.B., from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or program in the arts and/or sciences. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... The degree of Bachelor of Laws is the principal academic degree in law in most common law countries. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ...

Labour in opposition (1975-1984)

Prebble was originally a member of the Labour Party, and stood as its candidate for the Auckland Central electorate in the 1975 election. His candidacy was successful. Once inside Parliament, Prebble became aligned with Roger Douglas, leader of the right-wing faction within the Labour Party. Douglas supported the privatization of state assets, the deregulation of the economy, and the removal of trade barriers such as tariffs and subsidies. The party's traditional left-wing faction strongly opposed all these policies. The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... The 1975 New Zealand general election was the first election in New Zealand where all permanent residents of New Zealand were eligible to vote, although only citizens were able to be elected. ... Sir Roger Douglas is a former New Zealand politician and senior Cabinet minister, best known for his leading role in the radical economic restructuring undertaken by the New Zealand Labour Party government in the 1980s. ... Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ... Deregulation is the process by which governments remove restrictions on business in order to (in theory) encourage the efficient operation of markets. ... A tariff is a tax on imported goods. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ...

Fourth Labour Government, first term (1984-1987)

When Labour won the 1984 election, Douglas became Minister of Finance, and began implementing his economic policy. Prebble, along with David Caygill, proved one of his greatest supporters, Douglas, Prebble, and Caygill becoming sometimes known as "the Troika". The 1984 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The Minister of Finance is a senior figure within the government of New Zealand. ... David Caygill is a former New Zealand politician. ...

Prebble's ministerial roles granted him significant opportunities to pursue his policies - from 1984 to 1987, he served as Minister of Transport and Minister of Railways. In these roles he promoted the privatization of state-owned transport infrastructure. He also served as Associate Minister of Finance during this period, allowing him to support Douglas more closely. In 1987, he became Minister for State-owned Enterprises, Postmaster General, Minister of Works, and Minister of Broadcasting, portfolios in which he continued to advance Douglas's policies. During his ministerial career, Prebble was effectively placed in charge of the ongoing privatisation of government assets. 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fourth Labour Government, second term (1987-1990)

Prebble's position became troubled, however, because of growing tensions between Douglas and the Prime Minister, David Lange. While Lange had supported Douglas's reforms in the beginning, believing that they were necessary to end the economic problems that the government inherited, he became increasingly hostile to the scale and pace that Douglas demanded - Lange tended to see the reforms as a means to an end, while Douglas considered deregulation and privatisation as important goals in and of themselves. In November 1988, after a long period of bitter dispute, Prebble was fired from Cabinet, and Douglas was forced to resign. The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealands head of government and is the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand. ... The Right Honourable David Russell Lange (pronounced Long-ee), CH, ONZ (4 August 1942 Thames, New Zealand – 13 August 2005 Auckland, New Zealand), served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Zealand Cabinet functions as the policy and decision-making body of the New Zealand governments executive branch. ...

Labour in opposition (1990-1993)

Prebble retained his Auckland Central seat in the 1990 election, which Labour lost, arguably because of public dissatisfaction with the reforms. In the 1993 election, however, Prebble lost his seat to Sandra Lee-Vercoe, deputy leader of the left-wing Alliance. For the next three years, he worked as a consultant. The 1990 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 43rd term. ... The 1993 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ... Sandra Rose Te Hakamatua Lee-Vercoe (née Lee) (8 August 1952 - ) is currently New Zealand High Commissioner to Niue, and was formerly deputy leader of the Alliance party. ... Current Alliance logo The Alliance, when referring to New Zealand politics, refers to a left-wing political party. ... A consultant (from the latin consultus meaning legal expert) is a professional who provides expert advice in a particular domain or area of expertise such as accountancy, technology, the law, human resources, marketing, medicine, finance, public affairs, communication, or more esoteric areas of knowledge, for example engineering of different kinds...

ACT New Zealand

New Zealand's switch to the MMP electoral system, which made it easier for smaller parties to enter Parliament, provided the means for Prebble to return to national politics. When Douglas established the ACT New Zealand party, dedicated to the same laissez-faire economic policies he had promoted while in power, Prebble quickly became involved. In March 1996, Douglas stepped down as the new party's leader, and Prebble took over. MMP may stand for: Mixed Member Proportional electoral system. ... ACT New Zealand is a free market liberal party in the New Zealand Parliament. ... Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

ACT, first campaign (1996)

In the 1996 election, the first to be held under MMP, ACT won eight seats in Parliament. Prebble won the Wellington Central electorate after a hotly contested campaign. The 1996 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament. ...

Views vary over whether he won Wellington Central on his own merits or because of an implied endorsement from National Prime Minister Jim Bolger. ACT appeared to be a natural coalition partner for National, and if Prebble won Wellington Central, it would be able to enter Parliament regardless of its party vote. The Right Honourable James Brendan Jim Bolger, ONZ, (born 31 May 1935) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997. ...

Two days before the election Bolger admitted in an interview with Paul Holmes that the polls pointed to a Prebble victory in Wellington Central although he thought it a pity because he liked the National candidate, Mark Thomas. Some argue that Prebble won because of this implied endorsement. Others argue that Prebble had already won, independent media polls already having put him in the lead a week out from the election. In the end, it proved to be moot, as ACT won 6.1% of the vote of the nationwide party vote, above the 5% threshold necessary to have seats in parliament. Paul Holmes (born 1951) is a radio and television broadcaster in New Zealand. ...

ACT, second campaign (1999)

Prebble lost his Wellington Central seat to Labour's Marian Hobbs in the 1999 election, but remained in Parliament as a list MP and leader of ACT. After the 2002 election, speculation grew that Prebble would be replaced as leader, but a challenge failed to eventuate. Marian Leslie Hobbs (18 December 1947 - ) is a New Zealand politician and Labour MP for the Wellington Central electorate. ... The 1999 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 46th session of the New Zealand Parliament. ... The 2002 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. ...

Retirement from leadership

In February 2004, after a particularly poor poll result, speculation about Prebble's position appeared once again, with second-ranked Rodney Hide cited as a potential challenger. No challenge eventuated. On 27 April 2004, however, Prebble announced his voluntary retirement from the leadership, saying that "there comes a point in politics when there's a time for a change, when there's time for a fresh face". After a so-called "primary" contest, Hide took over as ACT leader on 13 June 2004. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rodney Hide Rodney Hide (born 16 December 1956), a New Zealand politician, became leader of the political party ACT New Zealand in 2004 and Member of Parliament for Epsom in 2005. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Prebble initially made no announcement about whether he would remain in parliament beyond the following election but indicated that he was "leaning towards" leaving. In mid-July 2004, however, he announced that he would seek the office of Speaker upon the retirement of Jonathan Hunt. However, he did not stand for election when the new speaker was elected in March 2005 as he had decided to retire at the next election. In New Zealand The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the countrys legislative body, The House of Representatives (commonly known as Parliament). The Speaker fulfills a number of important functions in relation to the operation Parliament, much of which is based upon the British... This article is about the former Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. ...

He delivered his valedictory speech to a full gallery on 28 July 2005, a copy of which can be read at http://act.org.nz/news-article.aspx?id=27253

Since the 2005 election Prebble has increasingly been involved in print media and on television as a political commentator. The 2005 New Zealand general election will be a nation-wide election for the New Zealand Parliament, and is to be held on 17 September 2005. ...

References

Prebble, Richard. I've Been Thinking, Seaview Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-86958-170-9