Simeon Brown

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Simeon Brown
MP
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Pakuranga
Assumed office
23 September 2017
Preceded byMaurice Williamson
Majority10,050 (2020)
Personal details
Born (1991-04-08) 8 April 1991 (age 33)
Rotorua, New Zealand[1]
Political partyNational
SpouseRebecca
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
ProfessionPolitician
Commercial banker (formerly)
Websitesimeonbrown.co.nz

Simeon Peter Brown[2] (born 8 April 1991)[3] is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party.

Political career

In his youth, Brown joined his local residents' association, the Clendon Residents Group, and became its Secretary. He then chaired the inaugural Manurewa Youth Council.[4] In 2013 he was elected to the Auckland Council Manurewa Local Board, on which he also served as deputy chair.[5]

Brown entered a submission to parliament in which he opposed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, which allows same-sex couples to legally marry.[6]

Brown stated, in an interview on his youth, that he was motivated to go into politics to stand up for the values of and fight for "hard work, personal responsibility and enterprise".[7] Brown is often mocked on social media particularly with the phrase "a rare misstep for Simeon Brown."[8][9]

In 2014 he contested the parliamentary seat of Manurewa for the National Party, but lost to incumbent Labour MP Louisa Wall by a large margin, and his list placing of 64th on National's list meant he wasn't elected to Parliament.[10]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd Pakuranga 60 National
2020–present 53rd Pakuranga 37 National

Brown stood in the electorate of Pakuranga at the 2017 general election, at the age of 25. The Pakuranga electorate has been a safe seat for National since 1987 and since then it had been held by Maurice Williamson. Brown was selected as the National Party's candidate to replace Williamson after he decided not to seek re-election.[11] Brown was elected with a majority of 14,886 votes.[12]

In February 2018, a private member's bill introduced by Brown was drawn from the ballot. The Bill would ensure that anyone who supplies illegal synthetic drugs receives a penalty consistent with the penalty prescribed for supplying a Class C Drug.[13] The Bill was strongly supported by family members of synthetics victim Calum Jones[14] but voted down by Parliament.[15]

Brown voted against the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which effectively seeks to remove abortion from the Crimes Act 1961.[16] Stuff political reporter Henry Cooke described the MP as "one of the most socially conservative MPs in [the National Party]".[17] He voted against the Bill prohibiting homosexual conversion therapy.[18]

During the 2020 New Zealand general election, Brown was re-elected in Pakuranga by a large margin of 10,050 votes,[19] making Pakuranga the safest seat for National in terms of the candidate vote.

In the November 2020 caucus reshuffle, led by National's leader Judith Collins, Brown was admitted to the Shadow Cabinet, ranking 20 on the National Party's list, and is now holding four shadow portfolios in Police, Serious Fraud Office, Youth and Corrections.[20]

In early May 2021, Brown received several death threats following his criticism of Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson visiting a hui held by the Waikato Mongrel Mob. He had claimed that her visit was an insult to victims of gang-related crime.[21] In late May, Brown also received several threatening messages from Mongrel Mob members after he criticized a funeral procession in a tweet for allegedly taking over a road in Hawke's Bay. These comments were passed onto the Police.[22] Louise Hutchinson, the Public Liaison for the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom, accused Brown of cultural insensitivity and of using gangs as a "politicking tool." Hutchinson also said that the Waikato Mongrel Mob Kingdom had repeatedly invited Brown and the National Party to meet with them but that these invitations had been declined.[23]

In February 2022, Brown was one of only eight MPs to vote against the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022.[24]

In June 2022, Brown was caught in a controversy where he liked a Facebook post by fellow MP Simon O'Connor which expressed it was a "good day" following Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization's overturn of US Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which curtailed abortion rights in the US. Brown later apologised for liking O'Connor's post.[25][26]

Personal life

Before entering Parliament, Brown worked in commercial banking as a senior associate with the Bank of New Zealand. He studied at the University of Auckland, attaining a conjoint degree in law and commerce in 2015.[5] Brown fought for the right of official affiliation at the University of Auckland for his group ProLife Auckland while he was president.[27]

Brown is a Baptist Christian[1] who attends church regularly.[28] He lives in his electorate in Auckland with his wife Rebecca. Together they have two children.[29][30]

References

  1. ^ a b Murphy, Tim (14 June 2017). "The Sure Things: Simeon Brown". Newsroom.
  2. ^ "Daily progress for Tuesday, 7 November 2017". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. ^ @simeonbrownmp (8 April 2019). "I did. I turned 28 today. Happy birthday to me" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Simeon Brown MP: Maiden speech". Simeon Brown. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b Taylor, PJ (24 March 2017). "Youthful banker gets nod in Pakuranga". Stuff. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Submission by Simeon Brown on the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Bill to the Government Administration Select Committee". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020.
  7. ^ "First-term MPs: Simeon Brown on his youth, synthetic drug law, and door-knocking". Newshub. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Is this Parliament's most threatened, abused MP?". NZ Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  9. ^ Vance, Andrea (30 January 2022). "Harete Hipango undermines National's rebuild". Stuff.
  10. ^ "Official Count Results – Manurewa (2014)". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  11. ^ Jones, Nicholas (26 July 2016). "National and Pakuranga MP Maurice Williamson to leave Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  12. ^ Commission, New Zealand Electoral. "E9 Statistics – Electorate Status". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020.
  13. ^ "Bills (proposed laws)". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019.
  14. ^ Leask, Anna (6 February 2018). "Synthetics: Family of victim team up with MP on law-change push". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Psychoactive Substances (Increasing Penalty for Supply and Distribution) Amendment Bill — Third Reading - New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  16. ^ Walls, Jason (8 August 2019). "How Members of Parliament voted in the first reading of the Abortion Legislation Bill". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 20 September 2020 suggested (help)
  17. ^ "Christopher Luxon faces a real challenge in National Party selection". Stuff. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill — Second Reading". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Pakuranga – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  20. ^ "Our Team". New Zealand National Party. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Police arrest man after death threats to National MP Simeon Brown". The New Zealand Herald. 7 May 2021. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021.
  22. ^ Molyneux, Vita (26 May 2021). "National MP Simeon Brown receives more death threats from Mongrel Mob after criticising funeral procession". Newshub. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021.
  23. ^ Molyneux, Vita (26 May 2021). "Waikato Mongrel Mob accuses National MP Simeon Brown of using gangs as political tool". Newshub. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 15 June 2021 suggested (help)
  24. ^ "Politicians react as bill to ban conversion therapy passes". Radio New Zealand. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  25. ^ "national-mp-removes-post-following-roe-v-wade-decision". RNZ. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  26. ^ "simon-o-connor-apologises-to-fellow-national-mps-over-abortion-post". RNZ. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  27. ^ ProLife Auckland. "Pro-Life Club Affiliates at University of Auckland". Scoop. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  28. ^ Young, Audrey (2 June 2021). "Is Simeon Brown National's most hated MP?". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  29. ^ "MPs open up, fight back tears during Abortion Legislation Bill in Parliament". 8 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Browns welcome baby girl". Times Online. 9 February 2021.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Pakuranga
2017–present 		Incumbent
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