Political Career
| Parliament of New Zealand | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party |
| 1990–1993 | 43rd | Te Atatu | National | |
| 1993–1996 | 44th | Waitakere | National | |
| 1996–1999 | 45th | Waipareira | 35 | National |
| 1999–2002 | 46th | Waitakere | 34 | National |
Neeson represented a number of West Auckland electorates in his career, with frequent boundary changes meaning that he never ran in any electorate as an incumbent. He was first elected to Parliament in the 1990 election as MP for the Te Atatu seat, and in the 1993 elections, he successfully contested the Waitakere seat. In the 1996 elections, he successfully contested the Waipareira seat, and in the 1999 elections, he contested the Waitakere seat once again.
In the 2002 elections, he sought the National Party nomination for the new seat of Helensville, which had absorbed most of the Waitakere electorate. However, he was controversially defeated for selection by John Key, a new candidate. Neeson considered his non-selection to be a betrayal, believing that National Party president Michelle Boag had deliberately engineered his defeat in order to further her "rejuvenation" of the party. Neeson quit the National Party and stood as an independent, but placed third.
Read more about this topic: Brian Neeson
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