Simon Court
Simon Court | |
|---|---|
 Court in 2022 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forACTparty list | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2020 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | ACT |
Simon Thomas Court[1]is a New Zealand politician. He has been aMember of ParliamentforACT New Zealandsince the2020 general election.[2]
Early life and career
[edit]Court went toAuckland Grammar Schooland then attendedUnitecto study civil engineering.[3]At age 17, he was shot in the foot; Court said that this was after acannabisdeal his friend made went badly.[4]
Court has public and private sector experience and worked in Auckland, Wellington and Fiji. ForAuckland 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 consultancyMWH Globalin Fiji. The consultancy lost its contract with theFiji Roads Authorityon 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 aboutChinese Communist Partycontractors' 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
[edit]| 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 ofTe 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 theNatural 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 contestedTe Atatūfor a second time at the2023 general election.He was unsuccessful, but retained his position as an ACT party list MP.[12][13]
Following the formation of theNational-led coalition governmentin late November 2023, Court assumed the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Minister for Infrastructure andRMAreform.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Court has three teenage sons, the youngest of whom hasDown syndrome.He cites his youngest son as one of the main reasons for entering Parliament.[3][15]
References
[edit]- ^"Event – New Zealand Parliament".parliament.nz.
- ^"Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament".Newstalk ZB.18 October 2020. Archived fromthe originalon 22 October 2020.Retrieved16 November2020– viaThe New Zealand Herald.
- ^abcdWade, Amelia (5 August 2020)."Election 2020: Party of 6? Meet the Act team who could soon become MPs".New Zealand Herald.Retrieved10 August2020.
- ^Soper, Barry (9 August 2023)."Act MP admits being shot as teen after friend's drug deal".NZ Herald.Retrieved8 August2023.
- ^"New Act MP Simon Court was deported from Fiji in 2017".The New Zealand Herald.21 October 2020.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"Te Atatū – Official Result".Electoral Commission.6 November 2020.Retrieved6 November2020.
- ^"2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result".Electoral Commission.Retrieved6 November2020.
- ^"2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result – Successful Candidates".Electoral Commission.Retrieved6 November2020.
- ^ab"Court, Simon - New Zealand Parliament".parliament.nz.Retrieved27 October2023.
- ^"ACT Mp to be investigated for sharing Committee information".1 News.TVNZ.20 June 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 20 June 2023.Retrieved20 June2023.
- ^"ACT MP Simon Court committed 'clear breach' of confidentiality – Privileges Committee".Radio New Zealand.26 July 2023.Retrieved28 July2023.
- ^"Te Atatū - Official Result".Electoral Commission.3 November 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 23 November 2023.Retrieved26 November2023.
- ^"2023 General Election - Successful Candidates".Electoral Commission.3 November 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2023.Retrieved25 November2023.
- ^"Cabinet lineup for new government unveiled - who gets what?".Radio New Zealand.24 November 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 4 December 2023.Retrieved15 December2023.
- ^Doyle, Katie (1 August 2020)."Top five contenders who could join ACT leader David Seymour in Parliament".Radio New Zealand.Retrieved31 July2020.
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| National | |
