Matt King (politician)

Ronald Matthew King[1] (born 1967)[2] is a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2017 to 2020.

Matt King
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Northland
In office
23 September 2017 – 17 October 2020
Preceded byWinston Peters
Succeeded byWillow-Jean Prime
Personal details
Born
Ronald Matthew King

1967 (age 53–54)
Political partyNational

Personal life

King is a beef farmer from Ōkaihau. He is a former police officer, retiring in 2007.[3]

Political career

King stood as a candidate for the National Party nomination at the 2015 Northland by-election, but lost to Mark Osborne.[4]

Member of parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd Northland 51 National

King was selected to contest the Northland electorate for the National Party.[5] He defeated incumbent Winston Peters in the 2017 general election held on 23 September 2017.[6]

In mid-June 2020, King submitted his Crimes (Coward Punch Causing Death) Amendment Bill, which would have created a new offense for the crime of throwing a "king hit" or "coward punch" with a 20-year prison term. However, the bill was defeated on its first reading held on 17 June due to opposition from the governing Labour-led coalition government.[7][8]

Preliminary results from the 2020 New Zealand general election indicated that King had retained Northland by a margin of 729 votes, defeating both Labour's candidate Willow-Jean Prime and New Zealand First candidate Shane Jones.[9][10] However, when the final results were released on 6 November, Prime had won with a margin of 163 votes.[11] King initially announced that he would request a recount,[12] but changed his mind the next day, having concluded that there was little chance of overturning the result, and therefore conceded defeat.[13]

Community involvement and views

As a former police officer, Matt King has campaigned against "king hit" (or "coward punch" assaults). Following the defeat of his Crimes (Coward Punch Causing Death) Amendment Bill, King announced that he would be launching a "One Punch Can Kill campaign" to promote "one punch" legislation based on New South Wales legislation. This campaign has gain the support of professional boxer Joseph Parker and his trainer Kevin Barry.[7]

Climate change

King rejected the scientific consensus on climate change in a controversial August 2019 Facebook post, arguing that the phenomenon is simply "natural". He subsequently described himself as a "climate inquirer". The post borrowed heavily from the far-right US source "Americans for Limited Government", and sparked widespread criticism and ridicule across New Zealand politics. This was particularly relevant as, at the time of the post, the Zero Carbon Bill – backed by both the Labour-led coalition in government and the National Party in opposition – was going through the Select Committee stage of the legislative process.[14]

Covid-19

After posting on social media a picture of himself and his parents at a restaurant in Paihia, King responded to those questioning whether he had displayed proper social distancing with staff by saying "I think the social distancing stuff at the stage we are at now is over the top. We haven't had any new cases in Northland for a month. I'm just using my brain as an adult and he was too. We're not Nazi Germany." In a separate post, King's support for changing funeral rules also drew a sharp response. He told one: "You are blind at the altar of St Jacinda."[15]

References
  1. "Daily progress for Tuesday, 7 November 2017". New Zealand Parliament. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. "Roll of members of the New Zealand House of Representatives, 1854 onwards" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "Matt King named as National's candidate". The New Zealand Herald. The Northland Age. 29 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017.
  4. "Hopefuls line up for Northland". Radio New Zealand. 9 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. Moir, Jo (28 August 2017). "Northland candidates go head-to-head as Winston Peters fights to retain the seat". Stuff. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. de Graaf, Peter (24 September 2017). "King beats kingmaker in nail-biting race for Northland seat". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  7. Ling, Jenny (20 June 2020). "Northland MP Matt King 'hugely disappointed' coward's punch bill voted down". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  8. Thomas, Jackson (2 July 2020). "Victim 'confused and angry' after government votes down coward punch bill". Stuff. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  9. "Northland - Preliminary Count". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. Manch, Thomas; Jancic, Boris (18 October 2020). "Election 2020: Shane Jones drowns his sorrows during harrowing night for NZ First". Stuff. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  11. "Northland - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  12. Piper, Denise (6 November 2020). "Election 2020: National's Matt King wants recount as Northland, Whangārei go red". Stuff. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  13. Clent, Danielle (7 November 2020). "Election 2020: National's Matt King won't ask for recount after losing Northland". Stuff. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2020.
  14. "National MP argues climate change 'is natural' in Facebook rant taken from US right-wing source". Newshub. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  15. "National MP: Social distancing rules from 'St Jacinda' are rubbish". The New Zealand Herald. 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Winston Peters		 Member of Parliament for Northland
2017–2020		 Succeeded by
Willow-Jean Prime
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