47 Facts About Colin Moyle

Colin Moyle was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth Labour Governments.

Colin Moyle was a close confidant of Bill Rowling during Rowling's short premiership.

Colin Moyle's parents were both teachers so he had an itinerant childhood travelling around the Thames, Rotorua and Bay of Islands districts.

Colin Moyle then attended university at Auckland Teachers College, leaving just short of earning a full degree.

Aged 23 and newly married, Colin Moyle returned to the far north and took over a rough farm in Hokianga next to his parents-in-law's property.

Colin Moyle broke in the land and created a dairy farm large enough to accommodate 50 cows.

Colin Moyle had no tractor and after milking the cows he had to carry the cans of milk in cans tied to a yoke on his back.

Colin Moyle augmented his income by winching out "sinkers" that had disappeared underneath semi-reclaimed mangrove swamps.

Colin Moyle eventually gave up his farm, selling it to his neighbouring father-in-law, as part of an amalgamation deal in order to move to Whangarei for a teaching job.

Colin Moyle joined the Labour Party as a teenager and while still in sixth form was a campaign volunteer for Hugh Watt in the Onehunga electorate.

Colin Moyle attended University of Auckland and was a member of the university's socialist club alongside other future Labour MPs Martyn Finlay and Bob Tizard.

Colin Moyle was then president of the Hobson Labour Representation Committee for two years.

Colin Moyle then became secretary of the Labour Party's Regional Advisory Committee and from 1959 a national organiser for the party.

Colin Moyle helped organise the publishing of the party newspaper The Statesman which had a circulation of 100,000 at its peak.

Colin Moyle was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1963 general election, as a Labour MP for the South Auckland electorate of Manukau.

In 1969 the Mangere electorate was created in the same general area, and Colin Moyle moved his candidacy there, allowing Roger Douglas to take over Manukau.

Colin Moyle was elected for Mangere in the 1969 election, and would hold the electorate for another eight years.

Colin Moyle was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Lands.

Colin Moyle was one of the main campaign organisers for Labour at the 1969 election where he suggested a strategy of focusing attention on new seats as well as marginal ones.

Colin Moyle was appointed to the Ministerial positions of Agriculture and Fisheries, Forests, and Science.

Colin Moyle was generally well-regarded, especially as Minister of Agriculture.

Colin Moyle was "enduringly popular with the farming community", and was instrumental in opening up New Zealand's meat trade with the Middle East.

Colin Moyle travelled overseas frequently to many countries, particularly Iran, Russia and China, to open more export markets for New Zealand's primary produce to replace the diminishing quotas for those products in Britain following their membership of the European Economic Community.

Colin Moyle failed to convince Kirk to float the New Zealand dollar so that farmers could get a true return on the value of their produce.

Kirk dismissed the idea, concerned that it would increase inflation, which Colin Moyle acknowledged but thought that inflationary impacts would be less than the returns on stimulated economic growth.

Colin Moyle stated he was told by a farmer that it helped that he belonged to a party where he was the only farmer-politician whereas the National Party was "full of them and each one had a different opinion as to where the country should go with its agriculture".

Colin Moyle stood for the position of deputy to Bill Rowling in 1974 after Hugh Watt decided to not to stand again.

Colin Moyle was eliminated on the second ballot with Bob Tizard winning on the fourth ballot.

Colin Moyle supported Rowling for the leadership and worked around the caucus to secure votes for his election.

Colin Moyle subsequently rose in the cabinet ranking and was awarded with a seat on the frontbench by Rowling.

Colin Moyle thought his main failure was failing to convince Rowling to hold a snap election in October 1974 which he was convinced Labour would have won with the loss of only one or two seats.

Colin Moyle had more luck persuading Rowling of the merits of currency valuation with regards to exporters than he had done previously with Kirk.

The Prime Minister then alleged that Colin Moyle had been questioned by the police on suspicion of homosexual activities in Wellington.

When this matter came to Rowling's attention, Colin Moyle was questioned by Rowling and changed his story several times.

Colin Moyle later said that he had not been obliged to resign, but had done so because "the whole thing just made me sick".

The so-called 'Colin Moyle Affair' dominated the newspaper headlines, and became a rallying point for the nascent gay liberation movement in New Zealand, which bemoaned that the mere accusation of homosexuality could end a career.

Colin Moyle then turned his attention to nominating for the nearby seat of Papatoetoe, which was newly created and incorporated parts of Mangere.

Colin Moyle garnered much local support but the selection resulted in a deadlock between himself and former Eden MP Mike Moore.

Colin Moyle then put his name forward for another new seat in south Auckland electorate, Hunua, but lost to Malcolm Douglas.

Colin Moyle gained admiration for his courage in re-entering politics especially as Muldoon was still Prime Minister upon his return.

Colin Moyle, who had previously been seen as leadership potential in the 1970s, decided to attempt to campaign for the leadership.

Colin Moyle attempted to rally Rowling's supporters at a meeting in Auckland in early 1983, though attendance was low.

Colin Moyle took this as a sign and then informed the deputy leader, David Lange, he would not stand on assurances Lange was healthy enough for the job but Lange said he was fighting fit.

Colin Moyle was a supporter of the reforms, but was not associated with them to the same extent as many of his colleagues despite their effect on his portfolio.

Colin Moyle supported the New Zealand Wool Board in its expansion into conducting commercial activities, albeit whilst continuing with their regulatory functions as well.

Colin Moyle had wanted to keep his Ministerial position until that year's election in order to complete the restructuring of the meat industry.

Colin Moyle retired to a 300-hectare sheep and cattle farm at Waimate North in the Bay of Islands with his wife Millicent and son Greg, who was his co-farmer.