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Richard Walls

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Richard Walls
QSO JP
Walls c. 1980
52nd Mayor of Dunedin
In office
14 October 1989 – 14 October 1995
Preceded byCliff Skeggs
Succeeded bySukhi Turner
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Dunedin North
In office
29 November 1975 – 25 November 1978
Preceded byEthel McMillan
Succeeded byStan Rodger
Personal details
Born
Richard Francis Walls

(1937-10-09)9 October 1937
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died30 October 2011(2011-10-30) (aged 74)
Dunedin, New Zealand
Political partyNational
SpouseJune Walls
Children3

Richard Francis Walls QSO JP (9 October 1937 – 30 October 2011) was a New Zealand politician and businessman.

Member of Parliament

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1975–78 38th Dunedin North National

Walls was a Member of Parliament for Dunedin North from 1975 to 1978.[1] A member of the National Party, he won the normally safe Labour seat as part of Robert Muldoon's landslide victory of 1975. He was the first National MP to represent a significant portion of Dunedin, a long-standing Labour stronghold, in 21 years. Walls was defeated after only one term by Labour's Stan Rodger; to date, he is the last National MP to represent Dunedin.

Following his defeat, Walls attempted to re-enter parliament by seeking the National nomination for the Auckland seat of East Coast Bays in a 1980 by-election. He made the initial five person shortlist, but after being hospitalised suddenly, he was too ill to travel to Auckland for the selection meeting.[2][3]

Local-body politics

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Walls was first elected onto Dunedin City Council in 1980.[4] Prior to that he served on the St. Kilda Borough Council (1962–1965) and on the Otago Harbour Board (1965–1974; Chairman 1971–1973). He was Mayor of Dunedin for two terms from 1989 to 1995, when he was defeated by Sukhi Turner.[4] He was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council as a councillor in 1998. He remained a city councillor until 2010 and was chair of the Finance and Strategy Committee from 2007 to 2010.[5][6] In the 2010 Dunedin local elections, he stood in the Central ward, but was unsuccessful.[7]

Outside politics

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In 2010 Walls was chairman of Dunedin International Airport Limited; a fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand (FInstD) and a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management (FNZIM). He was a justice of the peace and was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours.[5][8]

He died suddenly in his Dunedin home on 30 October 2011 at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife June and three children.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
  2. ^ "Five Chosen for Bays Byelection". The New Zealand Herald. 6 August 1980. p. 2.
  3. ^ "Byelection Field Cut to Four". The New Zealand Herald. 12 August 1980. p. 1.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Tim (19 May 2013). "Greens to announce mayoral candidate". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Councillor Richard Walls – Hills Ward". Dunedin City Council. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  6. ^ Power, Simon (30 March 2010). "Minister announces SOE board appointments". infonews.co.nz. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  7. ^ "Dunedin City Council – Central Ward". Elections2010. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  8. ^ "Queen's Birthday honours list 1996". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 3 June 1996. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  9. ^ Fox, Rebecca (31 October 2011). "Shock at death of Richard Walls". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  • The Cyclopedia of Otago-Southland 1998
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dunedin North
1975–1978 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Dunedin
1989–1995 		Succeeded by
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