Ken Shirley - Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1984–1987	41st	Tasman		Labour
1987–1990	42nd	Tasman		Labour

1996–1999	45th	List	3	ACT
1999–2002	46th	List	2	ACT
2002–2005	47th	List	7	ACT

Shirley first entered Parliament in the 1984 elections, when he stood as the Labour Party candidate in the Tasman electorate. At the time, there was considerable tension in the Labour Party over the policies of the Minister of Finance, Roger Douglas — the policies were based around economic deregulation and free trade, and traditionalists saw them as a betrayal of the party's left-wing roots. Shirley aligned himself with the faction that supported Douglas. Shirley was not a member of the faction's so-called "Troika" (consisting of Douglas, Richard Prebble, and David Caygill), but was nevertheless a notable supporter of the reforms Douglas promoted.

Famous quotes containing the words member of, member and/or parliament:

“If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it.”
—Art Buchwald (b. 1925)

“When Hitler attacked the Jews ... I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church—and there was nobody left to be concerned.”
—Martin Niemller (1892–1984)

“Undershaft: Alcohol is a very necessary article. It heals the sick—Barbara: It does nothing of the sort. Undershaft: Well, it assists the doctor: that is perhaps a less questionable way of putting it. It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)