Gordon Copeland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gordon Copeland
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for United Future party list
In office 2002–2008
Personal details
Born	(1943-08-19)19 August 1943 Mahana, Tasman District, New Zealand
Died	24 November 2018(2018-11-24) (aged 75) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Conservative Party
Other political affiliations	The Kiwi Party United Future
Spouse	Anne
Children	5

Gordon Frank Copeland (born August 19, 1943 – died November 24, 2018) was a New Zealand politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 2002 to 2008. An MP is someone elected to represent people in the country's main law-making body, the House of Representatives.

Gordon Copeland first entered Parliament as a party list MP for the United Future party in 2002. A "list MP" means he was chosen from a list of candidates, rather than winning a specific local election area. He later left United Future in 2007. In 2009, he became the President of The Kiwi Party, which he helped start. He also ran for the Conservative Party in the 2011 election. Before becoming an MP, he worked in business and as a financial manager for the Catholic Church in Wellington.

Early Life and Education

Gordon Copeland was born in Mahana, near Māpua, New Zealand, on August 19, 1943. His family had roots in England and Ireland. He was married to Anne, and they had five children.

He studied at Victoria University of Wellington and earned a degree in Commerce. He also became a Chartered Accountant, which means he was a trained and certified expert in managing money and financial records.

Before Becoming an MP

Before joining Parliament, Gordon Copeland worked for 14 years in the oil industry. He became the chief financial officer for BP in New Zealand, which is a big job managing all the company's money.

Later, he worked as a business consultant, giving advice to companies and government groups. From 1984 to 2002, he was the Financial Administrator for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington. This meant he managed the money for the Catholic Church in that area.

Gordon Copeland also led a group called the Inter-Church Working Party on Taxation. This group looked at how churches and charities were taxed. He also helped set up the New Zealand Charities Commission, which is a group that oversees charities in New Zealand.

He was involved in many activities that brought different Christian churches together. In 2000, he helped organize "Celebrate Jesus 2000." This event brought 28,000 Christians together at Wellington's Westpac Stadium to celebrate their faith.

Time as a Member of Parliament

In the 2002 New Zealand general election, Gordon Copeland was ranked second on the party list for the United Future party. He and seven other United Future candidates were elected to Parliament. In the 2005 New Zealand general election, he was third on the party list and was one of three United Future MPs.

Views on Social Issues

After being re-elected in 2005, Gordon Copeland became known for his traditional views on social matters.

In December 2005, he introduced a bill called the Marriage Amendment (Gender Clarification) Bill. This bill aimed to clearly define marriage in New Zealand. However, it did not get enough support to become law.

Gordon Copeland also disagreed with a bill introduced by Sue Bradford that changed the rules about how parents could discipline their children. He believed parents should have the right to use "reasonable force." He even got a legal opinion to support his view. However, Sue Bradford pointed out that the lawyer who gave the opinion had worked for Christian groups that shared similar views.

Leaving United Future

On May 16, 2007, Gordon Copeland left the United Future party. This happened because the party's leader, Peter Dunne, kept voting for the Child Discipline Bill, which Gordon Copeland strongly opposed. Gordon Copeland felt that after the 2005 election, the party's direction had changed.

After leaving the party, Gordon Copeland became an independent MP. This meant he no longer belonged to a political party in Parliament. He later missed the final vote on the Child Discipline Bill, but his vote against it was officially recorded afterward. As an independent, he allowed the National Party to vote for him on most issues when he was not in Parliament.

Starting New Political Parties

Gordon Copeland announced that he would form a new party called Future New Zealand with Larry Baldock, another former United Future MP. They said their new party already had many members. In June 2007, Gordon Copeland announced that Future New Zealand had enough members (500) to officially register as a political party.

In September 2007, there was talk of Gordon Copeland co-leading a new party with Richard Lewis. However, this idea caused confusion and concern among Future New Zealand members. Gordon Copeland quickly announced that he could not work with Lewis and would continue to co-lead Future New Zealand with Larry Baldock.

In October 2007, Gordon Copeland said he would not join The Family Party, which was led by Richard Lewis. He planned to run in the 2008 election under the Future New Zealand name.

On January 28, 2008, Future New Zealand changed its name to The Kiwi Party. Gordon Copeland stepped down as co-leader, letting Larry Baldock lead the party. Gordon Copeland then focused on his work in Parliament. In the 2008 New Zealand general election, he ran for The Kiwi Party in the Rongotai electorate. He did not win many votes, and The Kiwi Party did not get enough support to enter Parliament.

After Parliament

In March 2009, Gordon Copeland was elected as the president of The Kiwi Party. In the 2011 New Zealand general election, members of The Kiwi Party ran as candidates for the Conservative Party of New Zealand. Gordon Copeland ran in the Hutt South area but was not elected.

The New Zealand Electoral Commission officially removed The Kiwi Party from its list of registered parties in February 2012.

In August 2014, the Conservative Party announced that Gordon Copeland would be their candidate for the Hutt South area in the 2014 New Zealand general election.

Gordon Copeland passed away in a hospice in Wellington on November 24, 2018.

Political Ideas

Social Policy

As an MP, Gordon Copeland believed that the family was very important for a strong nation. He strongly supported programs that helped people prepare for marriage, strengthen their marriages, and learn good parenting skills from before birth through the teenage years.

He also wanted to create policies that would help charities and non-profit groups. He aimed for a tax system that was fair and made sure New Zealanders had enough money for retirement, through both private savings and government help.

Gordon Copeland introduced bills to add private-property rights to the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and to remove a tax called GST from rates (local taxes). Both of these bills were not passed into law. He also supported lower taxes for both individuals and businesses.

Past Political Roles

When he was part of United Future New Zealand, Gordon Copeland had several important roles:

• Former Party Whip for United Future (a whip makes sure party members vote as a group).
• Former Spokesperson for United Future New Zealand on:
  • Economics and Business: This included topics like finance, taxes, trade, business development, and employment.
  • Primary Industry: This covered farming, forests, fishing, and growing plants.
  • Infrastructure: This included energy, transport, and communication.
  • Outdoors: This involved tourism, protecting nature, and sports.
• Member and deputy chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee (a group that looks closely at government spending).
• Member and deputy chair of the Commerce Select Committee (a group that looks at business and trade).