Shanan Halbert

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Shanan Halbert
MP
Shanan Halbert.jpg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Northcote
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 October 2020
Preceded byDan Bidois
Personal details
Born1983 (age 38–39)
Napier, New Zealand
Political partyLabour

Shanan Kiritea Halbert (born 1983) is a New Zealand politician. As of 2020 he is a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party.[1]

Early life and career[]

Halbert has affiliation to Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Whitikaupeka.[2] He grew up in Napier, and moved to Auckland after graduating from high school. He has a BA in education and Māori from the University of Auckland and a certificate in Contemporary Performing Arts from AUT. He started, but did not complete, an MBA.[3] Halbert has worked at Glenfield College, where he set up the Health Sciences Academy, and at Catholic college Hato Petera.[4] He was the Head of Relationships at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.[5]

Political career[]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
2020–present 53rd Northcote 51 Labour

Halbert stood as a list-only candidate for Labour in the 2014 general election. His party list ranking of 48 was too low to win a seat.[6] In the 2017 general election, he sought the Labour Party selection for the Auckland Central seat, losing to Helen White. He instead contested the Northcote electorate; he neither won the electorate nor won a list seat on his party list ranking of 51. In 2018, after the resignation of Jonathan Coleman, Halbert again contested the Northcote by-election as Labour's candidate, having been chosen for the candidacy over Paul McGreal and Auckland Councillor Richard Hills.[5][7] He was defeated by National's Dan Bidois.

In the 2020 general election, Halbert was again ranked 51st on the Labour party list and contested the Northcote electorate. This time, Halbert won the seat from incumbent Dan Bidois by 2534 votes.[8][4]

Halbert has for years campaigned on improving public transport, as congestion in the Northcote electorate—located at the northern landing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge—is a defining issue for many voters.[9] For the 2020 campaign, he also campaigned in support of local businesses and advocated for improved access to mental health services.[4] His father died of lung cancer on election day.[10]

Personal life[]

Halbert is one of 13 MPs in the 2020 Parliament who identify as LGBTQI+.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ "Election 2020: PM Jacinda Ardern launches campaign to keep Māori seats". 2 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Simon Wilson's Northcote Notebook: Labour candidate 'lives and breathes' suburb". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Election 2020: Labour's Shanan Halbert takes Northcote seat from National". Stuff. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Shanan Halbert Labour's pick for Northcote byelection". The New Zealand Herald. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Labour List for the 2014 Election Announced" (Press release). New Zealand Labour Party. Scoop. 23 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Labour announces potential Northcote byelection candidates". The New Zealand Herald. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Northcote - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. ^ Harman, Richard (7 May 2018). "Over the bridge – and stuck in the traffic". Politik. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. ^ Hutt, Kendall (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: New Northcote MP Shanan Halbert loses dad on election day". Stuff. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020.
  11. ^ "New Zealand's rainbow Parliament still has 'a long way' to go in terms of full representation". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Dan Bidois
 Member of Parliament for Northcote
2020–present 		Incumbent
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