His Worship The Honourable
Ron Mark
40th Minister of Defence
In office
26 October 2017 – 6 November 2020
Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern
Preceded byMark Mitchell
Succeeded byPeeni Henare
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Zealand First list
In office
20 September 2014 – 17 October 2020
In office
12 October 1996 – 8 November 2008
Mayor of Carterton District
Assumed office
8 October 2022
Preceded byGreg Lang
In office
9 October 2010 – September 2014
Preceded byGary McPhee
Succeeded byJohn Booth
4th Deputy Leader of New Zealand First
In office
3 July 2015 – 27 February 2018
LeaderWinston Peters
Preceded byTracey Martin
Succeeded byFletcher Tabuteau
Personal details
Born (1954-01-29) 29 January 1954 (age 70)
Masterton, New Zealand
Political partyLabour (1990–1993)
New Zealand First (1996–present)
Spouses
  • Gail Mark (separated)
  • Christine Tracey (current)[1]
Children5
OccupationBusiness owner/operator
Military service
Allegiance New Zealand
 Oman
Branch/serviceNew Zealand Army
Sultan's Special Forces
Years of service1971–1986; 1985–1990
RankCaptain
UnitMultinational Force and Observers
AwardsNew Zealand Operational Service Medal
New Zealand General Service Medal (Sinai)
New Zealand Defence Service Medal
Multinational Service Medal and Bar
Order of the Special Royal Emblem for expatriate officers
The Oman Peace Medal
The Glorious Fifteenth National Day Medal

Ron Stanley Mark (born 29 January 1954) is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand First party, and former soldier, who served as Minister of Defence between October 2017 and November 2020. He served as mayor of Carterton from 2010 to 2014, and again from 2022 defeating incumbent Greg Lang.[2]

Early life and family

Mark was born in Masterton on 29 January 1954, the son of Apiti Stanley Maaka and Te Aroha Maaka (née Grace).[3] He was fostered with six Pākehā foster families in Pahiatua, saying "I wouldn’t have survived without them".[4] He was educated at Tararua College from 1968 to 1970. Mark's first wife was Gail (née Berry) Mark, and the couple had four children.[3] On 12 February 2012, Mark told the NZ Herald that his partner of seven years, Christine Tracey had made a leap year proposal.[1] One of Mark's cousins is Marama Fox, formerly a Māori Party MP.[5]

Mark pursued a military career between 1971 and 1990.[3] Mark initially served in the New Zealand Army. His first unit was the Royal New Zealand Electrical and Mechanical Engineers before moving to 2/1 Battalion, 3 and 10 Tpt Regiments and Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles before passing New Zealand Special Air Service selection.[6] Mark served a 13-month tour of duty in the Sinai with the Multinational Force and Observers in 1982–83. After being refused entry into the NZSAS, he was contracted to the Sultanate of Oman as a technical staff officer from 1985 to 1986, and then joined the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces becoming an electrical and mechanical engineering officer in the Sultan's Special Force Electrical and Mechanical Engineers between 1986 and 1990.[3][6]

Between 1990 and 1996, Mark was a commercial consultant, ran an import and export business, and was an amusement park operator.[3]

Political career

Member of Parliament, 1996–2008

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1996–1999 45th List 11 NZ First
1999–2002 46th List 4 NZ First
2002–2005 47th List 4 NZ First
2005–2008 48th List 4 NZ First
2014–2017 51st List 9 NZ First
2017–2020 52nd List 2 NZ First

In the 1993 election he was the Labour candidate for the Selwyn electorate. He was later involved in the discussions about the formation of the New Zealand Democratic Coalition.[7] When these failed, he joined New Zealand First. He was a list MP from the 1996 election until his party's failure to retain any seats in the 2008 election. During the (1996–98) coalition between New Zealand First and the National Party, he was the government's Senior Whip.[8]

The New Zealand television channel TV3 was banned for three days from filming in Parliament in August 2006 for showing Mark repeatedly giving the finger to another MP.[9]

In 2009, Mark told media that while he still had a subscription with New Zealand First, he was "not active", and that he would not rule out standing for Parliament with another party.[10]

Mayor of Carterton

In 2010, Mark was elected Mayor of Carterton in the Wairarapa. He succeeded outspoken mayor Gary McPhee who retired after two terms.[11] In the 2013 local elections, Mark was returned as mayor unopposed.[12]

Return to politics, 2014–2020

Mark stood as a New Zealand First candidate at the 2014 general election, finishing third in the Wairarapa electorate.[13] However, his ninth placing on the New Zealand First list saw him returned to Parliament, and he resigned as Mayor of Carterton, and was replaced by John Booth.[13]

When the new Parliament was sworn in on 20 October 2014, Mark was one of two MPs nominated for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. He received 13 votes, coming second to incumbent Speaker David Carter.[14]

On 3 July 2015, he replaced Tracey Martin as deputy leader of New Zealand First.[15]

In 2015, Mark told National MP Melissa Lee to Go Back to Korea in parliament.[16][17][18]

During the 2017 election, Mark contested Wairarapa, finishing third place.[19] However, he was re-elected into Parliament on New Zealand First's party list.[20]

Following the 2017 general election, Mark was appointed Minister of Defence and Veterans following the formation of a coalition government consisting of the Labour Party, New Zealand First, and the Green Party.[21] Mark was succeeded as New Zealand First deputy leader by Fletcher Tabuteau on 27 February 2018.[22]

During the 2020 general election held on 17 October, Mark contested the Wairarapa electorate, coming third place behind Labour's candidate Kieran McAnulty and National's candidate Mike Butterick.[23] He and his fellow NZ First MPs lost their seats after the party's vote dropped to 2.6%, below the five percent threshold needed to enter Parliament.[24][25]

On 9 November 2020, Mark was granted retention of the title "The Honourable" for life, in recognition of his term as a member of the Executive Council.[26]

After politics, 2020–present

Mark and other former New Zealand First MPs were approached by the media ahead of the party's AGM in June 2021. He said that he would not be attending the meeting or renewing his party membership, as he was finished with politics and not interested in returning to Parliament.[27][28] Mark travelled to Ukraine to assist with humanitarian efforts during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[29]

Mark was re-elected as Mayor of Carterton in the 2022 New Zealand local elections.[30][2] He ran on a campaign for more scrutiny of council operations to avoid previous "cost blowouts", also drawing attention to what he described as "some political parties...pushing for central control over everything, whether by asset stripping first or imposing more and more legislative requirements".[31] He later clarified his concerns that this was [an]..."ideological drive to centralise and put everything under the control of the government", citing the Three Waters reform programme as an example of this "collectivism".[32] Mark also expressed some concerns about the voting process due to high numbers of people not receiving their voting papers, or votes going missing in the mail, stating that "constitutionally...[this]...is open to questioning by every court of law."[33]

Review of local governments in NZ

The New Zealand Minister of Local Government announced a review on 23 April 2021 into the future of local government in the country.[34] The independent draft report was released on 28 October 2022. Nanaia Mahuta noted that the government was "focussed on ways to keep a lid on rate rises...[and would]...continue to support the sector in its efforts to engage with local communities in order to get the buy-in needed for any change."[35] The draft document acknowledged that the "pace of change" risked growing distrust of, and engagement with, democratic institutions and signalled five shift that needed to be made to address this: "strengthened local democracy; authentic relationships with hapu/iwi and Māori; a focus on wellbeing; genuine partnership between central and local government; and more equitable funding."[36] The final report was released in July 2023.[37] The New Zealand media noted on 4 August 2023, that Council representatives from Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa had met in response to a recommendation in the report that "67 city and district councils and 11 regional councils be reorganised into 15 regional groupings", and determined that they would "plan a new governance deal together...[considering]...everything from shared services through to amalgamating into one big council." It was noted in the piece that Ron Mark, who had advocated for this amalgamation between 2010 and 2014, said that "every council in the country is vulnerable", and while acknowledging Wairarapa was "not going to survive in its current form and structure", claimed the area could lose some of its asset base and autonomy if things move "to a more centralised socialist viewpoint, disempowering our people."[38][39]

References

  1. ^ a b Shuttleworth, Kate (12 February 2012). "Leap year proposal for mayor". NZ Herald. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Three new mayors in Wairarapa". 9 October 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 577–578. ISSN 1172-9813.
  4. ^ *"Ron Mark one of parliament's colourful characters bows out after six terms". Stuff/Fairfax. 20 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Papawai and Kaikokirikiri Trusts Amendment Bill — First Reading – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 10 September 2021. Although looking at some of my cousins, cousin Marama, we seem to share the same affliction—height disadvantage and not being able to see.
  6. ^ a b "Hon Ron Mark". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  7. ^ Clifton, Jane (3 March 1996). "Moore closer to break with Labour". The Sunday Star-Times. p. A2.
  8. ^ "Hon Ron Mark Former Member". New Zealand Parliament Pāremata Aotearoa. 2020. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ^ "TV3 punished for showing finger gesture". The New Zealand Herald. 28 August 2006. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Ron Mark turns back on NZ First". The New Zealand Herald. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  11. ^ Katterns, Tanya (11 October 2010). "Carterton mayor off with a bang". Stuff. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  12. ^ "2013 Local Government Elections Nominations". Carterton District Council. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  13. ^ a b Harris, Caleb (21 September 2014). "Bittersweet return for Mark". The Dominion POst. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Election and confirmation of Speaker – New Zealand Parliament". Archived from the original on 18 February 2022.
  15. ^ Jones, Nicholas (3 July 2015). "Ron Mark new NZ First deputy leader". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  16. ^ "NZ First MP Ron Mark denies racism over 'go back to Korea' jibe". 5 November 2015.
  17. ^ "Mark tells Lee: 'Go back to Korea'". Radio New Zealand. 5 November 2015.
  18. ^ "Politicans slam Ron Mark for go back to Korea comments". Radio New Zealand. 6 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Wairarapa – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  20. ^ "2017 General Election – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Ministerial List". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  22. ^ Moir, Jo (27 February 2018). "NZ First appoints Fletcher Tabuteau as its new deputy leader – rolling Ron Mark". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Wairarapa – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  24. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  25. ^ Owen, Catrin (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: Who are the MPs ejected from Parliament?". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Retention of the title "The Honourable"". New Zealand Gazette. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  27. ^ Cooke, Henry (20 June 2021). "Winston Peters is returning to the spotlight, but can he return to Parliament?". Stuff. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  28. ^ Cheng, Derek (20 June 2021). "New Zealand First, Winston Peters and election 2023: Should he stay or should he go?". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Former New Zealand Defence Minister Ron Mark in Ukraine providing humanitarian aid". Newshub. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Your Mayor & Councillors". Te Kaunihera-ā-Rohe o Taratahi Carterton District Council. 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Ron Mark throws hat in ring to be Carterton mayor again". RNZ. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  32. ^ "NZ 'pushing back' against Govt policies, Carterton's mayor says". 1 News. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  33. ^ Ireland, Emily (10 October 2022). "Ron hits the right mark". Wairarapa Times-Age. Archived from the original on 7 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  34. ^ "Te Arotake i te Anamata mō Ngā Kaunihera Review into the Future for Local Government". Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  35. ^ Mahuta, Nanaia (28 October 2022). "Local government review panel releases independent draft report". Beehive.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  36. ^ "He mata whariki, he matawhanui: Executive Summary" (PDF). Beehive.govt.nz. October 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  37. ^ Palmer, Jim; et al. (July 2023). "He piki tūranga, he piki kōtuku: The future for local government" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  38. ^ Milne, Jonathan (4 August 2023). "Wairarapa communities light the way for new era of local council mergers". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  39. ^ Mills, Nick (9 August 2023). "Ron Mark: I don't know how Carterton will survive unless we amalgamate" (audio). NewstalkZB. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
Political offices Preceded byMark Mitchell Minister of Defence 2017–2020 Succeeded byPeeni Henare Party political offices Preceded byTracey Martin Deputy leader of New Zealand First 2015–2018 Succeeded byFletcher Tabuteau
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