35 Facts About Peter Dunne

Peter Francis Dunne was born on 17 March 1954 and is a retired New Zealand politician.

Peter Dunne was the Leader of Future New Zealand from 1994 to 1995, United New Zealand from 1996 to 2000, and United Future from 2000 to 2017.

Peter Dunne was four times appointed a minister in governments led by both the National and Labour governments in 1990,1996,2005 to 2013 and 2014 to 2017 and held the offices of Minister of Regional Development, Minister of Revenue and Minister of Internal Affairs.

Except for two terms, Peter Dunne was the sole member of his party from the 1996 general election until his retirement at the 2017 general election.

Peter Dunne attended St Bede's College and gained an MA in political science from Canterbury University before studying business administration at Massey University.

Peter Dunne worked for the Department of Trade and Industry from 1977 to 1978 and then for the Alcoholic Liquor Advisory Council until 1984.

Peter Dunne served as deputy chief executive of the council from 1980 to 1984.

Peter Dunne retained his seat in the 1987 election, after which he became a Parliamentary Undersecretary.

Peter Dunne won his seat again in the 1990 election, but the Labour Party suffered defeat, and Dunne thus lost his ministerial posts.

Peter Dunne found himself increasingly at odds with the majority of the Labour Party.

Peter Dunne tended to support Labour's right-leaning faction rather than the party's more unionist wing.

In October 1994 Peter Dunne resigned from the Labour Party, becoming an independent MP.

Peter Dunne, who had already quit his party in a similar way, decided to join the larger group.

Together, the defectors and Peter Dunne established the United New Zealand party, with a total of seven MPs, led by Clive Matthewson.

Towards the end of the parliamentary term, Peter Dunne became part of a varied assortment of minor parties and independents who kept the National Party government in office after its coalition with New Zealand First collapsed in August 1998.

In 2000, Peter Dunne's United merged with the Future New Zealand party.

Peter Dunne remained leader of the new group, called United Future New Zealand.

Peter Dunne retained his seat in the 2005 general election but his party's proportion of the nationwide vote diminished considerably, with a corresponding loss of seats in Parliament.

On 17 October 2005 Dunne gave his support to a Labour-led Government, along with Winston Peters' New Zealand First Party and Jim Anderton's Progressive Party.

Brash expressed astonishment at Peter Dunne accepting the ministerial portfolio of Revenue while remaining outside Cabinet.

Copeland left the party in May 2007 to re-form the Future New Zealand Party, after opposing Peter Dunne over Sue Bradford's private members bill against parental corporal punishment of children.

Peter Dunne retained his positions of Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health.

Between December 2008 and August 2009, Peter Dunne served as the chairman of the Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee.

Peter Dunne described the committee's report, which consisted of four minority reports, as a "middle road" through "complex and contentious" material.

In 2010, as Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne introduced the Taxation Bill to Parliament in September 2010, to give effect to United Future's policy of allowing couples raising dependent children up to the age of 18 years to share their incomes for tax purposes.

Peter Dunne has long argued for reform of the superannuation system, proposing a flexible system where people could retire earlier and receive less, or later and receive more.

Peter Dunne was responsible for the Psychoactive Substances Act 2013, which established a regulated market for psychoactive substances, and New Zealand's National Drug Policy released in 2015.

In mid-2013 Peter Dunne refused to hand over all 86 emails between himself and Fairfax journalist Andrea Vance relating to the inquiry into the leaking of Rebecca Kitteridge's GCSB report following its illegal spying on Kim Dotcom.

However, in December 2013 Parliament's powerful Privileges Committee found that Peter Dunne was entirely within his rights to decline the Henry Inquiry access to his emails.

On 28 January 2014, Peter Dunne was reinstated to the Executive as Minister of Internal Affairs, Associate Minister of Health, and Associate Minister of Conservation.

Peter Dunne retained his portfolios on 29 September 2014, after the 2014 general election, in the third term of the National Party-led government.

In 1990, Peter Dunne was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Peter Dunne supported Homosexual Law Reform when it became an issue in the mid-1980s.

From 2007, Peter Dunne rebranded United Future as a centrist party, based on promoting strong families and vibrant communities.

Peter Dunne has summarised his political views in two books, Home is Where My Heart Is and In the Centre of Things.