Greg O'Connor (police officer)

Greg O'Connor MP
O'Connor speaking in 2017
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Ohariu
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 September 2017
Preceded by	Peter Dunne
Personal details
Born	1958 Buller, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Desley
Relations	Damien O'Connor
Children	Three

Gregory Eamon "Greg" O'Connor (born 1958) is a former police officer who served as the President of the New Zealand Police Association. In the 2017 general election he ran for the Labour Party in the Ohariu electorate, and won it for the party with a majority of 697.

O'Connor was born in Buller on the West Coast before moving to Wellington. His family were Irish Catholic and O'Connor stated "growing up there's a fairly healthy disrespect for the law" where he grew up.

O'Connor served in the New Zealand Police for almost four decades ending his career with the rank of Senior Sergeant.

He was later elected President of the New Zealand Police Association in 1995. His time as President was highly politicized with O'Connor weighing into political debates that concerned the Police force, particularly in regards to arming officers with firearms. O'Connor called for the arming police in New Zealand and also proposed routine arming of frontline response police officers. He retired as President in 2016, serving a record 21 years as the Police Association's head and regarded raising the Police Association's credibility as his main achievement during his tenure.

He also spent time serving as the chair of the International Council of Police Representatives Association (ICPRA).

Upon his retirement from the Police Association, O'Connor was asked whether he was considering a career in politics, but he said he had no plans to do so at that time. However, on 1 February 2017 O'Connor confirmed he was seeking the Labour Party nomination for the seat of Ōhāriu in the 2017 election to challenge incumbent Peter Dunne of United Future. On 12 February it was revealed that O'Connor had won the Labour nomination for Ōhariu. O'Connor was also ranked 41 on Labour's party list for the election. He won the seat with a provisional majority of 697 votes.

O'Connor lives in Wellington with his wife Desley. They have three children Isaac, Michael, and Evie. His cousin is Damien O'Connor, MP for West Coast-Tasman.