1. Stuart Alexander Nash was born on August 1967 and is a New Zealand politician and lawyer.
33 Facts About Stuart Nash
1. 2.
Stuart Nash was a member of the House of Representatives for Labour Party from 2008 to 2011, and was re-elected in 2014 election as a representative of Napier electorate.
3.
In October 2017 when Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister of New Zealand, Nash entered Labour Cabinet, with a portfolios of Police, Revenue, Small Business and Fisheries.
4.
On 28 March 2023, following several breaches of conduct, including using his position to attempt to influence police procedures, it was revealed Stuart Nash communicated confidential details surrounding a Cabinet meeting to two of his donors, and Stuart Nash was removed from all Cabinet positions by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.
5.
In early April 2023, Stuart Nash confirmed that he would not be contesting 2023 election.
6.
Stuart Nash is the great-grandson of Sir Walter Stuart Nash, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960.
7.
Stuart Alexander Nash was born in August 1967 in Napier, to his parents, Jenny and Hal Nash.
8.
Stuart Nash grew up in Napier, and he educated at Napier Boys' High School.
9.
Stuart Nash holds master's degrees in Law, Forestry Science, and Management from the University of Canterbury.
10.
Stuart Nash is married to Sarah Nash, and they had four children.
11.
In 2005, Stuart Nash was a Labour candidate for the safe National seat of Epsom, placing third behind Rodney Hide and Richard Worth; having been directed by then-Prime Minister Helen Clark to ask Labour supporters to vote for the National candidate, Richard Worth, in a strategy designed to defeat ACT MP, Rodney Hide.
12.
In 2007, Stuart Nash contested the Labour Party selection for Napier seat in 2008 election, but lost to Russell Fairbrother, a list MP and a former Napier electorate MP.
13.
However, Stuart Nash was ranked at number 36 on the party list and was elected to parliament.
14.
On 15 June 2010, Opposition Leader Phil Goff appointed Stuart Nash to be portfolio spokesperson for Forestry, a position formerly held by Mita Ririnui.
15.
In February 2011 Phil Goff announced his new caucus line up and Stuart Nash was ranked 27th, retaining all his portfolio responsibilities.
16.
Stuart Nash reduced Tremain's 2008 majority of 9,018 votes by 5,300 votes but still came second.
17.
However, Stuart Nash resigned after just four months into the job and returned to his home town of Napier, citing the birth of his new child and focusing on winning back the electorate there.
18.
In February 2014, Stuart Nash was selected as Labour's candidate for Napier to contest the 2014 general election.
19.
National's Tremain had retired and was succeeded by Wayne Walford, and Stuart Nash had a majority of 3,850 votes over Walford.
20.
Stuart Nash retained the Napier electorate in 2017, increasing his majority and becoming only the second Labour MP after Damien O'Connor to win and hold a seat off the National party this century.
21.
Stuart Nash was elected as a Cabinet Minister by the Labour Party caucus following Labour's formation of a coalition government with New Zealand First and the Greens.
22.
On 2 November 2020, Jacinda Ardern announced that Stuart Nash would be dropping the Police, Revenue and Fisheries portfolios, and would pick up the Economic and Regional Development, Forestry, and Tourism portfolios, while retaining Small Business.
23.
In mid November 2021, Stuart Nash claimed that farming advocacy group Groundswell NZ's website promoted racism and vaccine hesitancy in response to a question by ACT Member of Parliament Mark Cameron.
24.
When Cameron reiterated his question, Stuart Nash told Cameron to avoid posing with someone holding an anti-vaccination sign at a Groundswell protest.
25.
On 16 March, Stuart Nash faced further calls from the opposition National and ACT parties to resign from his remaining portfolios after revelations that the Attorney-General David Parker had reprimanded Stuart Nash for making remarks during a 2020 Newstalk ZB interview calling for murder suspect Eli Epiha to be imprisoned for his actions during the murder of Matthew Hunt.
26.
Stuart Nash subsequently admitted to a third incident of misconduct where he contacted the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to advocate for a migrant health professional in Napier in September 2022.
27.
On 28 March it was revealed that in 2020 Stuart Nash emailed two of his donors, who were commercial property owners, about a commercial rent relief policy Cabinet was discussing.
28.
On 3 April, Stuart Nash announced that he would not be contesting the 2023 New Zealand general election.
29.
On 19 June, the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier found that Stuart Nash had breached Official Information Act by improperly withholding emails in which he discussed confidential Cabinet briefings with two donors, Troy Bowker and Greg Loveridge, during the COVID-19 pandemic in June 2020.
30.
In late February 2024, Stuart Nash criticised his former Labour Party colleagues's legislation targeting gang assets, claiming that it did not go far enough.
31.
Stuart Nash argued that there should be no limit on the amount of gang assets seized.
32.
Stuart Nash claimed that former Justice Minister Kiri Allan had blocked efforts to introduce tougher anti-gang legislation on the grounds that it targeted Maori people.
33.
Stuart Nash pressed for the National-led coalition government to do away with the $30,000 limit on the seizure of gang assets.