Member of Parliament
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 1993–1996 | 44th | Hastings | Labour | |
| 1996–1999 | 45th | Tukituki | 28 | Labour |
| 1999–2002 | 46th | Tukituki | 31 | Labour |
| 2002–2005 | 47th | Tukituki | 24 | Labour |
| 2005–2008 | 48th | List | 21 | Labour |
| 2008–2011 | 49th | List | 34 | Labour |
Barker became a member of the Labour Party in 1973, and served for a time as the Industrial Representative on the party's National Council. In the 1993 elections, he successfully stood as the Labour Party candidate for the Hastings electorate, winning a seat that was previously held by the National Party. He was re-elected in 1996, 1999, and 2002 for the reconfigured seat of Tukituki. In 2005 he lost the seat in what was a large swing against the sitting Labour government in the provincial areas and returned to Parliament as a list MP. In 2008 Barker tried unsuccessfully to regain the seat of Tukituki and for the second time was returned to parliament as a Labour list MP.
Read more about this topic: Rick Barker
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