Gareth Hughes (politician)
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Gareth Hughes MP |
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Hughes outside the Beehive
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green party list |
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Assumed office 11 February 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Jeanette Fitzsimons |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 October 1981 Gisborne, New Zealand |
| Political party | Green |
| Spouse(s) | Meghan Hughes |
| Children | Arlo (b. 2008) and Zoe (b. 2010) |
| Residence | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Signature |  |
Gareth Thomas Llewelyn Hughes (born 31 October 1981) is a New Zealand politician and member of the Green Party. He took a seat in Parliament as the next person on the Green party list following the retirement of Jeanette Fitzsimons in February 2010.
Hughes grew up in Gisborne, and, after attending Gisborne Boys' High School, studied religious studies, history and politics at Victoria University of Wellington. He became a vegetarian while a student. He worked for Greenpeace in Australia and New Zealand from 2000–2005, and then worked for the Green Party on climate change issues. He is married with two children, Arlo and Zoe.
In May 2004, Hughes was arrested after dressing as Ronald McDonald and chaining himself to the gates of McDonald's New Zealand distribution centre in Wiri, Auckland, protesting against the use of genetically modified chicken feed.
In the 2008 elections, Hughes stood in the Ōhariu electorate, placing fourth with 7.06% of the vote. However, Hughes was campaigning mostly for the party vote, of which the Green Party gained 9.13%.
In 2009 Hughes co-ordinated Greenpeace New Zealand's 'Sign On' campaign, which called for stronger action on climate change.
Following the retirement of list MP Jeanette Fitzsimons Hughes was declared elected as the next candidate on the Green party list, ranked at place 11. He was sworn in as an MP on 16 February 2010. He was the youngest MP in Parliament at the time of his election.
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