Simon Court
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for ACT party list
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Personal details
Political partyACT

Simon Thomas Court[1] is a New Zealand politician. He has been a Member of Parliament for ACT New Zealand since the 2020 general election.[2]

Early life and career

Court went to Auckland Grammar School and then attended Unitec to study civil engineering.[3] At age 17, he was shot in the foot; Court said that this was after a cannabis deal his friend made went badly.[4]

Court has public and private sector experience and worked in Auckland, Wellington and Fiji. For Auckland City Council, he worked as a civil and environmental engineer, and before entering parliament, he was running his own engineering firm.[3]

In 2016 and 2017, Court worked for engineering consultancy MWH Global in Fiji. The consultancy lost its contract with the Fiji Roads Authority on alleged pay disputes, and Court and one other employee were deported from Fiji. According to Court, the deportation was in response to him speaking out about Chinese Communist Party contractors' workmanship. Fiji Roads Authority reportedly "accused MWH of extortion, breaking contract, and damaging the country", but Court disputed this, saying he did not see any evidence of that.[5]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–2023 53rd List 5 ACT
2023–present 54th List 8 ACT

Court stated in 2020 that he had supported the ACT Party for just over two decades, but also that he had voted Green twice. He joined ACT after going to a party event in December 2019.[3]

In the 2020 general election, Court was placed 5th on the ACT party list and ran for the electorate of Te Atatū. He did not win the electorate, coming fourth with 1610 votes, but ACT won 7.6% of the party vote, which entitled it to 10 MPs, including Court.[6][7][8] In his first term, he was ACT's spokesperson for the environment, climate change, infrastructure, transport, local government, and energy and resources.[9] He was also a member of the Environment Committee.[9]

On 20 June 2023, Court was referred to Parliament's Privileges Committee after he disclosed the Environment Committee's vote relating to the Natural and Built Environment Act 2023.[10] On 26 July, the Privileges Committee found that Court had committed a "clear breach" of select committee confidentiality. Court apologised for his action and the committee recommended that no further action be taken against him.[11]

Court contested Te Atatū for a second time at the 2023 general election. He was unsuccessful, but retained his position as an ACT party list MP.[12][13]

Following the formation of the National-led coalition government in late November 2023, Court assumed the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Minister for Infrastructure and RMA reform.[14]

Personal life

Court has three teenage sons, the youngest of whom has Down syndrome. He cites his youngest son as one of the main reasons for entering Parliament.[3][15]

References

  1. ^ "Event – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz.
  2. ^ "Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". Newstalk ZB. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020 – via The New Zealand Herald.
  3. ^ a b c d Wade, Amelia (5 August 2020). "Election 2020: Party of 6? Meet the Act team who could soon become MPs". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  4. ^ Soper, Barry (9 August 2023). "Act MP admits being shot as teen after friend's drug deal". NZ Herald. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  5. ^ "New Act MP Simon Court was deported from Fiji in 2017". The New Zealand Herald. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Te Atatū – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  8. ^ "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result – Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Court, Simon - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  10. ^ "ACT Mp to be investigated for sharing Committee information". 1 News. TVNZ. 20 June 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  11. ^ "ACT MP Simon Court committed 'clear breach' of confidentiality – Privileges Committee". Radio New Zealand. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Te Atatū - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  13. ^ "2023 General Election - Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?". Radio New Zealand. 24 November 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  15. ^ Doyle, Katie (1 August 2020). "Top five contenders who could join ACT leader David Seymour in Parliament". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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