Before Politics
Banks, born in Wellington, moved to Auckland while still at high school. His father, Archie spent much of his life in prison, a fact Banks does not try to hide, going as far as to mention his father's prison experiences in his criticism of the style of the proposed Mount Eden Prisons building.
In his career before entering politics, Banks worked as a market researcher in the pharmaceutical industry, as a commercial property developer, and as a restaurant owner. He served for a time as Chairman of the New Zealand Licensed Restaurant and Cabaret Association.
Banks began his political career in local-body politics with election to the Birkenhead Borough Council.
Read more about this topic: John Banks (New Zealand Politician)
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“From the beginning, the placement of [Clarence] Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth—and those who tell it—are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning.”
—Jane Mayer, U.S. journalist, and Jill Abramson b. 1954, U.S. journalist. Strange Justice, p. 8, Houghton Mifflin (1994)
“The will to change begins in the body not in the mind
My politics is in my body, accruing and expanding with every act of resistance and each of my failures.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)