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Phil Twyford
Philip Stoner Twyford (born 4 May 1963) is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū.
Twyford was born in 1963 in Auckland. His middle name, Stoner, is the maiden name of his mother. He was educated at Westlake Boys High School, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland in 1999. Before politics he worked as the founding director of Oxfam New Zealand, as a journalist and a trade union organiser.
Twyford stood for election in the North Shore electorate at the 2005 and 2008 elections. He placed second both times but in 2008 he was elected as a list MP. Prior to entering Parliament, Twyford was a representative on Labour's policy council. After the resignation of Chris Carter, Twyford contested and won the Te Atatū electorate in the 2011 general election and has retained the electorate since.
Twyford's first nine years as a Member of Parliament were spent in Opposition. He held a range of urban development and foreign affairs portfolios under successive Labour leaders including development assistance, disarmament and arms control (2008–2011), transport or associate transport (2011–2013, 2014–2017), housing (2013–2017) and building and construction (2009–2011, 2015–2017). In his second term, he was ranked 11th in the shadow Cabinet by leader David Shearer and he continued as a senior member of the Opposition under David Cunliffe and, in Twyford's third term, Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern.
As an Auckland-based member of Parliament Twyford was appointed to the Auckland Governance Committee which examined the National Government's proposals to consolidate Auckland's eight existing local authorities into one "supercity" governed by the Auckland Council. The Labour Party opposed the reforms. In 2009, Twyford promoted the Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill to address concerns that the council amalgamation was partially to allow the sell-off of public assets. The Bill was defeated at first reading.
A second member's Bill in Twyford's name, the Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill, was selected for debate in September 2010. It proposed a ban on depleted uranium weapons and armour from New Zealand. It was debated in June 2012, and failed to advance on a tied vote.
As housing spokesperson in July 2015, Twyford was criticised for alleged racism when he produced statistics claiming that Chinese foreign buyers were disproportionately buying up real estate in Auckland.
Twyford was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Greens, and appointed as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development and the Minister of Transport. In November 2017, Twyford defended his government's proposed Overseas Investment Amendment Act to ban foreign buyers from buying residential property in order to ease the country's housing shortage.
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Phil Twyford
Philip Stoner Twyford (born 4 May 1963) is a politician from New Zealand and a member of the Labour Party. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2008. He is the Labour Party MP for Te Atatū.
Twyford was born in 1963 in Auckland. His middle name, Stoner, is the maiden name of his mother. He was educated at Westlake Boys High School, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland in 1999. Before politics he worked as the founding director of Oxfam New Zealand, as a journalist and a trade union organiser.
Twyford stood for election in the North Shore electorate at the 2005 and 2008 elections. He placed second both times but in 2008 he was elected as a list MP. Prior to entering Parliament, Twyford was a representative on Labour's policy council. After the resignation of Chris Carter, Twyford contested and won the Te Atatū electorate in the 2011 general election and has retained the electorate since.
Twyford's first nine years as a Member of Parliament were spent in Opposition. He held a range of urban development and foreign affairs portfolios under successive Labour leaders including development assistance, disarmament and arms control (2008–2011), transport or associate transport (2011–2013, 2014–2017), housing (2013–2017) and building and construction (2009–2011, 2015–2017). In his second term, he was ranked 11th in the shadow Cabinet by leader David Shearer and he continued as a senior member of the Opposition under David Cunliffe and, in Twyford's third term, Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern.
As an Auckland-based member of Parliament Twyford was appointed to the Auckland Governance Committee which examined the National Government's proposals to consolidate Auckland's eight existing local authorities into one "supercity" governed by the Auckland Council. The Labour Party opposed the reforms. In 2009, Twyford promoted the Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill to address concerns that the council amalgamation was partially to allow the sell-off of public assets. The Bill was defeated at first reading.
A second member's Bill in Twyford's name, the Depleted Uranium (Prohibition) Bill, was selected for debate in September 2010. It proposed a ban on depleted uranium weapons and armour from New Zealand. It was debated in June 2012, and failed to advance on a tied vote.
As housing spokesperson in July 2015, Twyford was criticised for alleged racism when he produced statistics claiming that Chinese foreign buyers were disproportionately buying up real estate in Auckland.
Twyford was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Greens, and appointed as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development and the Minister of Transport. In November 2017, Twyford defended his government's proposed Overseas Investment Amendment Act to ban foreign buyers from buying residential property in order to ease the country's housing shortage.
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