Alec Neill
Encyclopedia
Alexander George Neill (born July 22, 1950) is the former Chairman of the Canterbury Regional Council
and a former New Zealand
National Party
politician. He was an Electorate Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1996, and a List Member for two terms in 1999, and from 2001 to 2002. He was born in Dunedin, and attended St. Kevin's College, Oamaru
, and the University of Otago
where he graduated with an LLB.
as MP for Waitaki
, and was re-elected in the 1993 elections
. He chaired parliament's Planning and Development Select Committee, which oversaw the passing of the Resource Management Act 1991. He also chaired parliament's Justice and Law Reform Select Committee. In the 1996 elections
, however,in 1996 with the introduction of MMP to New Zealand the seat of Waitaki was dissolved.Neill did not win selection for the seat of Otago then held by the Hon. Warren Cooper and so stood only as a list candidate on the National Party list. In the first MMP elections he narrowly missed out on entering Parliament as a list MP.
In 1999, Paul East
resigned from Parliament to take up a diplomatic post, and as Neill was the next candidate on National's list, he was brought into parliament as a replacement. Soon afterwards, however, Neill lost his seat in the 1999 elections
, where he once again fell just below the cut-off. In 2001, Simon Upton
resigned, and Neill was again the next candidate on the National Party list, allowing him to return to parliament.He was appointed as junior whip in the Hon. Jenny Shipley leadership period.In October 2002 the Hon. Bill English replaced Shipley as the leader of the National Party. Neill offered his resignation as whip and was appointed by English as National's spokesperson for Local Government. In 2002 he wrote National's manifeto's for Local Government, RMA Reforms and Conservation.
In the 2002 elections
, Neill was highly placed on the National Party's list. However, English as the new leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition failed to improve the party's performance or ratings. In the 2002 elections, National suffered its worst electoral defeat ever, gaining barely more than twenty percent of the vote. Both party insiders and the general public were split as to how much to blame English for this loss, but Neill was a victim of this disastrous election result and lost his seat again — this time, however, he was substantially below the cut-off, and therefore was not called on to replace another departing list MP during the 2002/05 term. He did not stand in the 2005 elections
.
as a councillor for the Christchurch West constituency. This was a by-election caused by the deaths of Cr. Neil Cherry
and Cr. Peter Yeoman. Neill was re-elected in October 2004 and October 2007.
On 25 October 2007, he lost a vote to become chairperson to Sir Kerry Burke
by one vote after the voting by councillors was initially tied at seven votes each. On 12 November 2007, he was appointed as the chair of the Regulations Hearing Committee jointly with Cr. Angus McKay. In Mid 2009 the Minister for the Environment, Hon. Nick Smith expressed concerns about the performance of Canterbury Regional Council after the release of an Ministry for Enironment survey. In September 2009 the 10 Mayors of Canterbury wrote to the Minister of Local Government(Hon Rodney Hide) and Minister for the Environment (Hon. Nick Smith) setting out concerns in relation to their relationships with Canterbury Regional Council
On 24 September 2009, Neill became Chairman of Canterbury Regional Council
after the previous chairman, Sir Kerry Burke, lost a motion of no confidence from the other councillors and it was voted that he be removed from office. On the same day the Local Government minister The Hon
.Rodney Hide
announced the intention of the Government to conduct a review of the performance of Canterbury Regional Council. Neill welcomed the review and agreed his Council would fully co-operate with the review team. The review took place in Nov/Dec 2009 and a report was provided to the Ministers in February 2010 (the "Creech Report")The report was damning of the Council in respect of its water management in Canterbury but was otherwise of a positive nature. The Government considered the report and chose to replace the elected councillors on the 1st of May 2010 with The Hon. Nick Smith appointing commissioners for the equivalent of one election cycle so a Water plan could be decided and implemented. Neill said fittingly in the last meeting of his council on 22 April 2010 that he and his wife would "ride off into the sunset", thus ending Neill's 20 years in politics.
Alec Neill is married to wife Diane and has a blended family of 5 children.
Canterbury Regional Council
Canterbury Regional Council is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's structure of local government...
and a former New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
National Party
New Zealand National Party
The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...
politician. He was an Electorate Member of Parliament from 1990 to 1996, and a List Member for two terms in 1999, and from 2001 to 2002. He was born in Dunedin, and attended St. Kevin's College, Oamaru
St. Kevin's College, Oamaru
St Kevin's College in Oamaru, New Zealand was founded in 1927. It is a Catholic school run by the Christian Brothers and Dominican Sisters for boaders and day students...
, and the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
where he graduated with an LLB.
Member of parliament
He was first elected to parliament in the 1990 electionsNew Zealand general election, 1990
The 1990 New Zealand general election was held on 27 October to determine the composition of the 43rd New Zealand parliament. The governing Labour Party was defeated, ending its controversial two terms in office...
as MP for Waitaki
Waitaki (New Zealand electorate)
Waitaki is an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives that crosses the boundary of North Otago and South Canterbury towns on the East Coast of the South Island. The electorate was first established for the that determined the 5th New Zealand Parliament...
, and was re-elected in the 1993 elections
New Zealand general election, 1993
The 1993 New Zealand general election was held on 6 November 1993 to determine the composition of the 44th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the governing National Party, led by Jim Bolger, win a second term in office, despite a major swing back towards the Labour Party. The new Alliance and New...
. He chaired parliament's Planning and Development Select Committee, which oversaw the passing of the Resource Management Act 1991. He also chaired parliament's Justice and Law Reform Select Committee. In the 1996 elections
New Zealand general election, 1996
The 1996 New Zealand general election was held on 12 October 1996 to determine the composition of the 45th New Zealand Parliament. It was notable for being the first election to be held under the new Mixed Member Proportional electoral system, and produced a parliament considerably more diverse...
, however,in 1996 with the introduction of MMP to New Zealand the seat of Waitaki was dissolved.Neill did not win selection for the seat of Otago then held by the Hon. Warren Cooper and so stood only as a list candidate on the National Party list. In the first MMP elections he narrowly missed out on entering Parliament as a list MP.
In 1999, Paul East
Paul East
Paul Clayton East, CNZM, QC, is a former New Zealand politician.-Early life:Paul East was educated at King's College and The University of Auckland He was a Member of Parliament from 1978 to 1999, representing the National Party....
resigned from Parliament to take up a diplomatic post, and as Neill was the next candidate on National's list, he was brought into parliament as a replacement. Soon afterwards, however, Neill lost his seat in the 1999 elections
New Zealand general election, 1999
The 1999 New Zealand general election was held on 27 November 1999 to determine the composition of the 46th New Zealand Parliament. The governing National Party, led by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, was defeated, being replaced by a coalition of Helen Clark's Labour Party and the smaller Alliance...
, where he once again fell just below the cut-off. In 2001, Simon Upton
Simon Upton
Simon David Upton, QSO is a former New Zealand politician and member of Parliament from 1981 to 2001, representing the National Party.-Early life:...
resigned, and Neill was again the next candidate on the National Party list, allowing him to return to parliament.He was appointed as junior whip in the Hon. Jenny Shipley leadership period.In October 2002 the Hon. Bill English replaced Shipley as the leader of the National Party. Neill offered his resignation as whip and was appointed by English as National's spokesperson for Local Government. In 2002 he wrote National's manifeto's for Local Government, RMA Reforms and Conservation.
In the 2002 elections
New Zealand general election, 2002
The 2002 New Zealand general election was held on 27 July 2002 to determine the composition of the 47th New Zealand Parliament. It saw the reelection of Helen Clark's Labour Party government, as well as the worst-ever performance by the opposition National Party.Arguably the most controversial...
, Neill was highly placed on the National Party's list. However, English as the new leader of the National Party and Leader of the Opposition failed to improve the party's performance or ratings. In the 2002 elections, National suffered its worst electoral defeat ever, gaining barely more than twenty percent of the vote. Both party insiders and the general public were split as to how much to blame English for this loss, but Neill was a victim of this disastrous election result and lost his seat again — this time, however, he was substantially below the cut-off, and therefore was not called on to replace another departing list MP during the 2002/05 term. He did not stand in the 2005 elections
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
.
Member of Canterbury Regional Council
In April 2003, Neill was elected to Canterbury Regional CouncilCanterbury Regional Council
Canterbury Regional Council is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's structure of local government...
as a councillor for the Christchurch West constituency. This was a by-election caused by the deaths of Cr. Neil Cherry
Neil Cherry
Neil Cherry ONZM was a New Zealand environmental scientist.Cherry specialised most recently in the effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health, following his earlier work in meteorology and wind energy...
and Cr. Peter Yeoman. Neill was re-elected in October 2004 and October 2007.
On 25 October 2007, he lost a vote to become chairperson to Sir Kerry Burke
Kerry Burke
Sir Thomas Kerry Burke served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1987 to 1990. He was a member of the Labour Party, and served throughout the second term of the Fourth Labour Government.-Early life:...
by one vote after the voting by councillors was initially tied at seven votes each. On 12 November 2007, he was appointed as the chair of the Regulations Hearing Committee jointly with Cr. Angus McKay. In Mid 2009 the Minister for the Environment, Hon. Nick Smith expressed concerns about the performance of Canterbury Regional Council after the release of an Ministry for Enironment survey. In September 2009 the 10 Mayors of Canterbury wrote to the Minister of Local Government(Hon Rodney Hide) and Minister for the Environment (Hon. Nick Smith) setting out concerns in relation to their relationships with Canterbury Regional Council
On 24 September 2009, Neill became Chairman of Canterbury Regional Council
Canterbury Regional Council
Canterbury Regional Council is the regional council for Canterbury, the largest region in the South Island of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's structure of local government...
after the previous chairman, Sir Kerry Burke, lost a motion of no confidence from the other councillors and it was voted that he be removed from office. On the same day the Local Government minister The Hon
The Honourable
The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
.Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide
Rodney Hide is a New Zealand politician who was leader of the political party ACT New Zealand from 2004 to 2011. From 2005 to 2011 he represented the electorate of Epsom as its Member of Parliament. Rodney Hide was Minister of Local Government, Associate Minister of Commerce and Minister of...
announced the intention of the Government to conduct a review of the performance of Canterbury Regional Council. Neill welcomed the review and agreed his Council would fully co-operate with the review team. The review took place in Nov/Dec 2009 and a report was provided to the Ministers in February 2010 (the "Creech Report")The report was damning of the Council in respect of its water management in Canterbury but was otherwise of a positive nature. The Government considered the report and chose to replace the elected councillors on the 1st of May 2010 with The Hon. Nick Smith appointing commissioners for the equivalent of one election cycle so a Water plan could be decided and implemented. Neill said fittingly in the last meeting of his council on 22 April 2010 that he and his wife would "ride off into the sunset", thus ending Neill's 20 years in politics.
Life outside politics
Alec Neill is a consultant solicitor with Lane Neave, lawyers Christchurch and is part of the private client team. He was a partner at Berry & Co, Oamaru for 15 years (1976–1990) before being elected to Parliament in 1990 as the MP for Waitaki. After relocating to Christchurch in 1997 he purchased the Shirley office of Wood Marshall, solicitors and practised as Neill & Co. Alec Neill has a wealth of experience across general legal issues but now concentrates on rural and commercial, company, trusts and estate planning law. He is a certified RMA commissioner and has sat on many hearings involving RMA consent applications in Canterbury.Alec Neill is married to wife Diane and has a blended family of 5 children.