Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| 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 49 on the party's list. Quinn finished second in Hutt South to Trevor Mallard but was elected from the party list.
In 2010 Quinn's Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill was drawn from the member's ballot. The bill was declared to be inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. The bill was passed into law in December 2010.
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.
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).
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, but he declined the opportunity to return as he had "moved on". Instead diplomat Paul Foster-Bell took the role.
Read more about this topic: Paul Quinn (New Zealand Politician)
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