Barry Coates
Barry Coates | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forGreenparty list | |
| In office 7 October 2016 – 23 September 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Kevin Hague |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 October 1956 Auckland,New Zealand |
| Political party | Greens |
| Residence | Auckland |
Robert Barry Hobson Coates(born 18 October 1956) is a New Zealand politician who was a member of theNew Zealand House of Representativesas a representative of theGreen Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.Since 2019[1]he has been chief executive of theethical investmentcharity Mindful Money.[2]
Environmental career[edit]
Coates worked for thegovernment of Samoafrom 1978 to 1980, promoting the development of small business.[3]He has a bachelor of Commerce from theUniversity of Aucklandand a Masters in Public and Private Management from theYale School of Management.[4]
Coates worked at World Wide Fund for NatureWWF-UKfrom 1991, until 1996. He was an NGO observer on the British government delegation to theEarth Summit(the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) atRio de Janeiroin 1992, and was closely involved in sustainable development policy in the UK and internationally.[5]
He was Executive Director of the World Development Movement (subsequently renamedGlobal Justice Now) from 1996 until 2003. During this time he played a leading role in international research and campaigns on trade and investment agreements, sustainable development, corporate accountability, Third World debt and international aid and development policy.[6]
Political career[edit]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | 51st | List | 16 | Green | |
Coates was the Executive Director ofOxfamNew Zealand from September 2003,[7]and he stepped down on 7 March 2014 to contest thegeneral electionfor theGreen Partyin theMount Roskill electorate.[4]He subsequently developed a programme on sustainability for theUniversity of Auckland Business School,and was Coordinator of "It's Our Future", the campaign against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).[8]
On 5 September 2016, it was announced thatKevin Hagueintended to resign from the House of Representatives, and that Coates would replace him as a list MP.[9][10][11]
On 7 October 2016, he was officially sworn in as Member of the House of Representatives and member of the Green Party parliamentary caucus.
Coates suggested in a July 2017 post on the left-wing "The Daily Blog" that the Green Party might force a second election if theLabour Partyformed a coalition withNew Zealand Firstwithout the Greens.[12]His comments were challenged by co-leaderJames Shawwho stated that forcing a hung parliament or second election was "absolutely not" the party's position.[13]As number 10 on the party's list, he was not re-elected when the Greens elected only 8 MPs.[14]
Post-politics[edit]
Following the 2017 general election, Coates founded the consumer awareness organisation "Mindful Money", which focuses on ethical investment practices.[15]In October 2019, Coates praised the Sustainable Finance Forum's draft report advocating ethical investment particularly the transition towards a low-emissions economy and inclusiveness.[16]In 2019, Mindful Money convinced several fund managers atKiwiSaverto reconsider their investments in nuclear weapons manufacturing. As a result, investment in nuclear weapons dropped from $100 million in 2019 to below $10 million in 2024. Following the2023 Israel-Hamas war,Coates andFrancesca Albanese(theUnited Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories) met with 10 KiwiSaver managers to petition them to divest from companies identified by Mindful Money or theUnited Nations Human Rights Councilas supportIsraeli settlementsin the West Bank. Mindful Money was criticised by Dr David Cumin of the pro-Israel lobby group "Israel Institute of New Zealand" for an alleged "undue fixation" on Israel. Coates disagreed with Cumin's assertion, saying that Mindful Matters was focusing on companies violating ethical standards and international humanitarian and human rights laws.[15]
References[edit]
- ^"About us".mindfulmoney.nz.Retrieved22 March2024.
- ^"Our People - Barry Coates".mindfulmoney.nz.Retrieved22 March2024.
- ^"Barry Coates".Oxfam.7 March 2014.Retrieved5 September2016.
- ^abBarclay, Sophie (3 December 2013)."Oxfam Executive Director turns to politics".The New Zealand Herald.Retrieved5 September2016.
- ^Anderson, Megan (19 October 2009)."Barry Coates – Pacific watchdog on the world".Pacific Scoop.Retrieved5 September2016.
- ^"Barry Coates".Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.Archived fromthe originalon 27 August 2016.Retrieved5 September2016.
- ^"Barry Coates".Oxfam NZ.7 March 2014.Retrieved5 April2017.
- ^"Barry Coates MP".Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand.Retrieved5 April2017.
- ^"Green MP quits".Stuff.co.nz.5 September 2016.
- ^"Kevin Hague quits Greens for Forest and Bird".The New Zealand Herald.5 September 2016.Retrieved5 September2016– via New Zealand Herald.
- ^"Barry Coates named Sustainability Champion winner at 2016 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards".18 November 2016 – via Scoop Independent News.
- ^Coates, Barry."Great Together".The Daily Blog.Retrieved11 October2017.
- ^Davison, Isaac (13 July 2017)."Green MP's comments on NZ First the 'height of stupidity' - Winston Peters".The New Zealand Herald.
- ^"2017 General Election Party Lists".Elections.org.nz.Retrieved30 September2018.
- ^abMacDonald, Theo (March 2024)."How much a dollar cost?".North & South:42–45. Archived fromthe originalon 18 April 2024.
- ^Coates, Barry (31 October 2019)."Barry Coates: Why green is good for business".The New Zealand Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 18 April 2024.Retrieved18 April2024.