Matthew Peter Robson is a New Zealand politician. He was deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive.
Early years
Robson was born in Brisbane, Australia. He attained an MA in Political Studies and later studied law, and worked both as a lawyer and a teacher. He also spent three years in the Netherlands as a technical editor. Robson was originally a member of the Labour Party, holding several positions within the party organisation. In 1981 he became chairman of Labour's electorate committee and was campaign manager to Colin Moyle in the seat at the before resigning as chairman and from the party itself in 1989, taking almost 300 members with him. He was deeply opposed to the neo-liberal economic policies of Roger Douglas, the Labour Party's Minister of Finance, and when Jim Anderton, a Labour MP, quit the party, Robson followed him. Robson was heavily involved in the establishment of Anderton's NewLabour Party, which later became the core of the Alliance. He contested the electorate for NewLabour in the and was the Alliance candidate for in the.
Member of Parliament
Robson was elected to Parliament as an Alliance list MP in the, and again in the, having stood in, and coming in third place at both elections. In the Labour-Alliance coalition government, Robson was Minister of Corrections, Minister for Courts, Minister for Land Information, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs. Towards the end of 1999, however, the Alliance began to collapse, with a rift opening between the party organisation and its parliamentary leadership. In this dispute, Robson sided with the parliamentary leader, Anderton. When Anderton finally left the Alliance and established the Progressive Coalition, Robson followed him and became the new party's deputy leader. In the, the Progressives only won 1.7% of the vote. However, Anderton easily held onto his seat, allowing Robson, as the 2nd-ranked person on the Progressive list, to return to Parliament. However, the Progressives' strength was considerably weaker compared to that of the Alliance in 1999, so Robson lost his cabinet posts. Robson has a relatively high public profile, compared to the size of his party, and is known for his views on foreign affairs and justice. Along with the Green Party's Keith Locke, Robson campaigned on behalf of detained asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui. In 2002, Robson introduced a Private Member's bill providing for four weeks of paid annual leave for all workers, a proposal that the Labour Party initially opposed. Robson's legislation, however, ultimately forced Labour to either vote in favour of the bill or risk alienating its trade union supporters, who vociferously advocated it. The legislation was passed into law with Labour's support and took effect in 2007. Robson also introduced legislation to raise the minimum alcohol purchasing age to 20, and in Parliament espoused policies to combat drug and alcohol abuse. In the, the Progressive vote collapsed further, and this time was not enough for Robson to remain in Parliament. He returned to practising law. In the he was again a candidate in, but did poorly, finishing fifth, with 2.22% of the vote. The Progressives received just under one percent of the party vote, not enough for Robson to be returned to Parliament. Despite having achieved high political office in New Zealand, Robson did not become a naturalised citizen until 2000. Under the terms of New Zealand'sElectoral Act 1993, anyone permanently resident before August 1975 has the right to vote and stand for election.
