Darroch Leicester Ball was born on 1982 and is a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand First party.
20 Facts About Darroch Ball
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Darroch Ball was the party's interim president from December 2020 to July 2021 and is currently chief of staff to the New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters.
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Darroch Ball attended Liston College in Henderson and became a father aged 19.
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Darroch Ball raised his two children as a single parent.
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Darroch Ball graduated with a bachelor's degree majoring in biological science from the University of Auckland in 2005.
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Darroch Ball was an logistics officer in the New Zealand Army for seven years and trained as a teacher in 2013.
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Darroch Ball taught science at Waiopehu College in 2014 before his election to Parliament.
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Darroch Ball was previously on the board of trustees of Linton Camp School.
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Darroch Ball was the NZ First electorate committee vice-chairman in Palmerston North while studying at Massey University and launched a campus branch of New Zealand First in September 2013.
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Darroch Ball stood in the Palmerston North electorate in the 2014 election and was elected from the New Zealand First list, where he was ranked 10th.
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Darroch Ball was the party spokesperson for civil defence and emergency issues, consumer affairs, research, science and technology, social services and youth affairs, and sat on the social services committee.
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Darroch Ball formed a close friendship with fellow New Zealand First MPs, Fletcher Tabuteau and Clayton Mitchell.
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Darroch Ball came third and was re-elected into Parliament on the New Zealand First party list.
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Darroch Ball continued as New Zealand First spokesperson for social services and youth affairs and gained responsibility as the spokesperson for social housing, justice, courts and police.
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New Zealand First and Labour formed a coalition government; as justice spokesperson, Darroch Ball held conservative positions and was instrumental in denying the Labour Party did not have support for several of its more progressive policies, including potential drug reform and a proposed "three strikes" legislation repeal bill.
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Darroch Ball introduced the Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill in May 2018.
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Two months after the election, NZ First president Kristin Campbell-Smith resigned, and Darroch Ball became the party's interim president, saying he expected to hold the role until the party's 2021 annual general meeting.
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Darroch Ball put himself forward as a candidate in a by-election for a seat on the Palmerston North City Council in February 2021, but was unsuccessful, coming third.
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In early January 2021, Darroch Ball became the co-leader of the victims advocacy group Sensible Sentencing Trust.
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Darroch Ball became the sole leader of the trust in 2022 and it shut down under his leadership.