Shane Ardern
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Taranaki-King Country
In office
12 May 1998 – 14 August 2014
Preceded byJim Bolger
Succeeded byBarbara Kuriger
Majority15,089 (2011)
Personal details
Born
Philip Shane Ardern

(1960-01-26) 26 January 1960
Ōpunake, New Zealand
Political partyNational
RelationsJacinda Ardern (distant cousin)

Philip Shane Ardern (born 26 January 1960) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the National Party and represented the electorate of Taranaki-King Country from 1998 to 2014.

Early years

Ardern is the son of Noel and Olive Ardern.[1] He was born and raised in Ōpunake, and attended Opunake High School.[2] Before entering politics, he was a dairy farmer, and many of his political activities have been on behalf of the farming community. He is a cousin of former New Zealand Prime Minister and Labour MP Jacinda Ardern.[3]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
1998–1999 45th Taranaki-King Country National
1999–2002 46th Taranaki-King Country 35 National
2002–2005 47th Taranaki-King Country none National
2005–2008 48th Taranaki-King Country 21 National
2008–2011 49th Taranaki-King Country 24 National
2011–2014 50th Taranaki-King Country 27 National

Ardern first became a member of parliament due to the Taranaki-King Country by-election of 1998, which resulted from the retirement from politics of former Prime Minister Jim Bolger. He held that seat from 1998 to 2014.[4]

Ardern became one of the driving forces behind the legislation that enabled the setting up of the dairy company Fonterra in 2001.[5] He came to nationwide attention in late 2003 when he drove a tractor up the front steps of Parliament House as part of a protest against a proposed agricultural emissions research levy, nicknamed the "flatulence" or "fart tax"; the police investigated him for dangerous conduct and charged him with disorderly conduct.[4] From 2008 until his retirement from parliament in 2014 he served as chairman of the parliamentary Primary Production Select Committee. In late 2013 bloggers and media speculatively named Ardern as one of the National Party MPs likely to retire due to a perceived need for rejuvenation of the National Party parliamentary caucus.

Retirement

Ardern announced he was stepping down from his seat in December 2013 and that he would remain an MP until the end of the 50th New Zealand Parliament.[6] Since retiring from Parliament, Ardern has returned to his Central North Island farms, having been succeeded in the Taranki-King Country seat by Barbara Kuriger.[5] Ardern has also begun advocating again at the grassroots levels for the Taranaki farming communities that supply Fonterra having been noted at several post-election forums held by the dairy industry.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Ardern, Shane – valedictory statement". Hansard. New Zealand Parliament. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. ↑ James, Colin (2017). National at 80: The Story of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: David Bateman Ltd. ISBN 9781869539818.
  3. ↑ "Things we learned about Jacinda Ardern". Newshub. 3 News online. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 Fox, Michael (3 December 2013). "Shane Ardern to retire". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. 1 2 O'Dowd, Sue (2 January 2014). "MP: Tractor protest well worth it". Taranaki Daily News. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Shane Ardern to Step Down". Radio New Zealand. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Fonterra Urged to Grow Globally". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
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