James O'Brien (New Zealand politician)

New Zealand politician

The HonourableJames O'Brien


5th Minister of Transport
In office 9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947
Prime Minister	Peter Fraser
Preceded by	Bob Semple
Succeeded by	Fred Hackett
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Westland
In office 7 December 1922 – 4 November 1925
Preceded by	Tom Seddon
Succeeded by	Tom Seddon
In office 14 November 1928 – 28 September 1947
Preceded by	Tom Seddon
Succeeded by	Jim Kent

Personal details
Born	Peter James O'Brien (1874-06-08)8 June 1874 Forest Creek, Victoria, Australia
Died	28 September 1947(1947-09-28) (aged 73) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Kate Teresa Flaherty (m. 1909)

Peter James O'Brien (8 June 1874 – 28 September 1947) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life

O'Brien was born in 1874 at Forest Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. His parents of Irish descent were Terence O’Brien, a miner, and Bridget O’Leary. He was christened Peter James, but his first name was never used; many knew him as Jim or Briney. After having worked as a miner in various Australian states, O'Brien emigrated to New Zealand in 1904 and found employment as a coalminer in Reefton. O'Brien became active in the socialist circles that developed on the West Coast. He became president of the Westland Certificated Engine-drivers' and Firemen's Union, and was the president of the Runanga Co-operative Society.

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate
1922–1925	21st	Westland	Labour

1928–1931	23rd	Westland	Labour
1931–1935	24th	Westland	Labour
1935–1938	25th	Westland	Labour
1938–1943	26th	Westland	Labour
1943–1946	27th	Westland	Labour
1946–1947	28th	Westland	Labour

Standing on a socialist ticket, he was voted onto the inaugural Runanga Borough Council in 1912. In 1913, he supported Paddy Webb's successful by-election campaign in the Grey electorate for the Social Democratic Party, and later became the president of the Runanga branch of the party. He was a member of the Greymouth Borough Council for eight years and he was deputy mayor for three of them. He was also a member of the Grey Power Board. O'Brien was twice president of the Grey branch of the Labour Party and helped to establish the Grey River Argus as a Labour daily newspaper.

He represented the Westland electorate in Parliament from the 1922 election, when he defeated Tom Seddon. He lost the electorate in the 1925 election to Tom Seddon, but won it back in 1928, and held it to 1947, when he died. He was the senior Government whip from 1939 until his promotion to the cabinet in 1942.

He was a Minister in the First Labour Government. He was Minister of Transport (9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947), Minister of Marine (9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947), Minister of Labour (27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946) and Minister of Mines (27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946). He remained an MP until his death, which caused a by-election held in December 1947 that was won by Labour's Jim Kent.

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Family and death

O'Brien married Kate Teresa Flaherty on 29 June 1909 in Greymouth. He died in Wellington on 28 September 1947. His wife survived him; they had no children.

Notes

^ Richardson, Len. "O'Brien, James". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
"Political Career". Otago Daily Times. No. 26578. 29 September 1947. p. 4.
^ Scholefield 1950, p. 129.
Wilson 1985, pp. 280–281.
Scholefield 1950, p. 51.
Wilson 1985, p. 210.
"Official jubilee medals". The Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 17 November 2013.

References

Scholefield, Guy (1950) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

Political offices
Preceded byBob Semple	Minister of Transport 1942–1947	Succeeded byFred Hackett
Preceded byPaddy Webb	Minister of Labour 1946	Succeeded byAngus McLagan
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded byTom Seddon	Member of Parliament for Westland 1922–1925 1928–1947	Succeeded byTom Seddon
Preceded byTom Seddon	Member of Parliament for Westland 1922–1925 1928–1947	Succeeded byJim Kent
Party political offices
Preceded byRobert McKeen	Senior Whip of the Labour Party 1939–1942	Succeeded byArthur Shapton Richards

New Zealand Labour Party

Leadership

Leaders Names in bold served as prime minister	Alfred Hindmarsh (1916–18) Harry Holland (1919–33) Michael Joseph Savage (1933–40) Peter Fraser (1940–50) Walter Nash (1950–63) Arnold Nordmeyer (1963–65) Norman Kirk (1965–74) Bill Rowling (1974–83) David Lange (1983–89) Geoffrey Palmer (1989–90) Mike Moore (1990–93) Helen Clark (1993–2008) Phil Goff (2008–11) David Shearer (2011–13) David Cunliffe (2013–14) Andrew Little (2014–17) Jacinda Ardern (2017–23) Chris Hipkins (2023–present)
Deputy leaders	James McCombs (1919–23) Michael Joseph Savage (1923–33) Peter Fraser (1933–40) Walter Nash (1940–51) Jerry Skinner (1951–62) Fred Hackett (1962–63) Hugh Watt (1963–74) Bob Tizard (1974–79) David Lange (1979–83) Geoffrey Palmer (1983–89) Helen Clark (1989–93) David Caygill (1993–96) Michael Cullen (1996–2008) Annette King (2008–11) Grant Robertson (2011–13) David Parker (2013–14) Annette King (2014–17) Jacinda Ardern (2017) Kelvin Davis (2017–23) Carmel Sepuloni (2023–present)
Leadership elections	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1933 1940 1951 1954 1963 1965 1974 1980 1983 1988 1989 1990 1993 1996 2008 2011 2013 2014 2017 2023

Internal offices

Party presidents	James McCombs (1916–17) Andrew Walker (1917–18) Tom Paul (1918–20) Peter Fraser (1920–21) Frederick Cooke (1921–22) Tom Brindle (1922–26) Bob Semple (1926–28) John Archer (1928–29) Jim Thorn (1929–31) Rex Mason (1931–32) Bill Jordan (1932–33) Frank Langstone (1933–34) Tim Armstrong (1934–35) Walter Nash (1935–36) Clyde Carr (1936–37) James Roberts (1937–50) Arnold Nordmeyer (1950–55) Mick Moohan (1955–60) Martyn Finlay (1960–64) Norman Kirk (1964–66) Norman Douglas (1966–70) Bill Rowling (1970–73) Charles Bennett (1973–76) Arthur Faulkner (1976–79) Jim Anderton (1979–84) Margaret Wilson (1984–87) Rex Jones (1987–88) Ruth Dyson (1988–93) Maryan Street (1993–95) Michael Hirschfeld (1995–99) Bob Harvey (1999–2000) Mike Williams (2000–09) Andrew Little (2009–11) Moira Coatsworth (2011–15) Nigel Haworth (2015–19) Claire Szabó (2019–22) Jill Day (2022–present)
General secretaries	John Glover (1916–19) Michael Joseph Savage (1919–20) Moses Ayrton (1920–22) Walter Nash (1922–32) Jim Thorn (1932–36) David Wilson (1936–40) Mick Moohan (1940–48) Allan McDonald (1948–71) John Wybrow (1971–85) Tony Timms (1985–95) Rob Allen (1995–2000) Mike Smith (2001–08) Chris Flatt (2008–12) Tim Barnett (2012–16) Andrew Kirton (2016–18) Andre Anderson (2018–20) Rob Salmond (2020–present)
Senior Whips	Andrew Walker (1916–19) James McCombs (1919–22) Dan Sullivan (1922–35) Bill Jordan (1935–36) Robert McKeen (1937–39) James O'Brien (1939–42) Arthur Shapton Richards (1942–47) Robert Macfarlane (1947–51) Phil Connolly (1951–52) Joe Cotterill (1952–58) Henry May (1958–72) Ron Barclay (1972–76) Roger Drayton (1976–78) Russell Marshall (1978–80) Jonathan Hunt (1980–84) Michael Cullen (1984–87) Margaret Austin (1987–90) Trevor Mallard (1990) Jonathan Hunt (1990–96) Mark Burton (1996–99) Rick Barker (1999–2002) David Benson-Pope (2002–04) Jill Pettis (2004–05) Tim Barnett (2005–08) Darren Hughes (2008–11) Rick Barker (2011) Chris Hipkins (2011–13) Sue Moroney (2013–14) Chris Hipkins (2014–16) Kris Faafoi (2016–17) Ruth Dyson (2017–19) Michael Wood (2019–20) Kieran McAnulty (2020–22) Duncan Webb (2022–23) Tangi Utikere (2023–present)

Organisation

Current members
of parliament
Names without
electorates are list MPs
(List of former MPs)

Leader: Chris Hipkins (Remutaka)
Deputy Leader: Carmel Sepuloni (Kelston)

Related organisations

History

History and related topics	Liberal–Labour Labour Unity Conferences Lee affair Black Budget Mason Affair It's Time Citizens for Rowling Moyle Affair Fish and Chip Brigade Rogernomics Māori loan affair Backbone club Closing the Gaps Helengrad Corngate Foreshore and seabed controversy KiwiSaver
Labour governments	First (1935–49) Second (1957–60) Third (1972–75) Fourth (1984–90) Fifth (1999–2008) Sixth (2017–23)
Shadow cabinets	Kirk Rowling Lange Moore Clark Goff Shearer Cunliffe Little Ardern Hipkins
Predecessor parties	New Zealand Liberal Party New Zealand Socialist Party Independent Political Labour League New Zealand Labour Party (1910) United Labour Party Social Democratic Party

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