Paul Quinn (New Zealand politician)

Bernard Paul Quinn (born 5 May 1951) is a New Zealand businessman, former rugby union player and politician, and a member of the National Party. He was elected into the 49th New Zealand Parliament in 2008 by way of the party list and served for one term until 2011. In 2013, he had the option of returning to Parliament following the resignation of MP Jackie Blue as he was the highest ranked person on the party list, but he declined the opportunity, instead making way for Paul Foster-Bell.

Paul Quinn
Quinn in 2010
Birth nameBernard Paul Quinn
Date of birth (1951-05-05) 5 May 1951
SchoolSt Joseph's College
UniversityLincoln College
Occupation(s)Businessman
Rugby union career
Position(s) Loose forward
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Marist St Pats, Wellington ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1976–1983 Wellington ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1977–1982 New Zealand Māori
Teams coached
Years Team
1987 Texas Rugby Union
Member of Parliament
for National List
In office
2008 – 2011

Early life and education

Quinn was born on 5 May 1951, and was educated at St Joseph's College in Masterton.[1] He went on to study at Lincoln College, graduating with a Bachelor of Agricultural Commerce in 1973.[1]

Of Māori descent, Quinn affiliates to Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Tūhoe.[1]

Rugby union

Quinn played rugby union for the Wellington Rugby Football Union from 1976 to 1983 (captain 1981–1983) and for New Zealand Māori between 1977 and 1982, captaining the side from 1980 to 1980 1982. He was the head coach for the Texas Rugby Union in 1987.[2]

Quinn is a former director of the New Zealand Rugby Union since April 2002,[2] and also served as chairman of the New Zealand Maori Rugby Board.[3]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2008–2011 49th List 48 National

Quinn stood for the New Zealand National Party in the Hutt South electorate at the 2008 general election and was also ranked 48 on the party's list. Quinn finished second in Hutt South to Trevor Mallard but was elected from the party list.[4]

In 2010 Quinn's Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot.[5] The Bill removed voting rights for prisoners, and was declared to be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.[6] The bill was passed into law in December 2010.[7]

At the 2011 general election, Quinn again finished second in Hutt South and his party ranking of 55 was too low to be re-elected.[8]

During his time in Parliament, Quinn served on the Maori Affairs Committee (9 December 2008 – 20 October 2011), Justice and Electoral Committee (9 December 2008 – 20 October 2011) and Electoral Legislation Committee (31 March 2010 – 20 October 2011).[2]

Quinn had the opportunity to return to Parliament in mid–2013, following the resignation of MP Jackie Blue, given that he was the highest ranked person on National's party list,[9] but he declined the opportunity to return as he had "moved on".[10] Instead diplomat Paul Foster-Bell took the role.[11]

Business career

Quinn has connections to the Ngāti Awa and Ngāi Tūhoe iwi and worked as a manager in the Department of Maori Affairs (now Te Puni Kōkiri) between 1979 and 1984.[2]

Quinn is director and sole owner of "MOCOM LIMITED"[12] (formerly called "M COMMERCE LIMITED"), was a director of the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences from 1992–1998[13] and is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He is also a director of White Island Tours, which ran tours to Whakaari/White Island, up to and including its eruption in 2019.[14]

References
  1. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers. p. 729. ISSN 1172-9813.
  2. "Paul Quinn". Parliament of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  3. Brenton Vannisseroy Maori sides ‘not racist’ Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine Te Waha Nui, 1 September 2006
  4. "Official Count Results – Hutt South". New Zealand Ministry of Justice. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  5. "Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill". Parliament of New Zealand. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  6. "Report of the Attorney-General under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 on the Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill" (PDF). Parliament of New Zealand. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  7. "Bill passes banning prisoners from voting". 3 News. 9 December 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  8. "Official Count Results – Hutt South". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  9. "Blue quits Beehive for commissioner's job". 3 News NZ. 16 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  10. Former MP rules out return to Parliament New Zealand Herald, 22 April 2013
  11. "Diplomat to become new National MP". 3 News. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  12. "MoCom Limited". Coys. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  13. "'QUINN, Bernard Paul' as director of New Zealand companies". Coys. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  14. Gibson, Ann. "White island eruption: $4.5m possible annual gross revenue from rūnuga tourism business". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
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