Keith Locke

Keith Locke
Keith Locke campaigning during the New Zealand general election, 2008
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green Party List
In office 1999–2011
Personal details
Born	1944 (age 72–73) Christchurch, New Zealand
Political party	Green Party
Relations	Maire Leadbeater (sister) Elsie Locke (mother)
Occupation	Politician
Website	www.keithlocke.org.nz

Keith James Locke (born 1944) is a former New Zealand MP who represented the Green Party, being first elected to parliament in 1999 and retiring from parliament at the 2011 election.

He was the Green Party spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Defence, Ethnic Affairs, Pacific Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, Police and Auckland Transport. He served on the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Select Committee.

During his 12 years in Parliament he won a number of awards. He was twice named 'Backbencher of the Year', first in 2002 by Vernon Small, then deputy political editor of The New Zealand Herald, and again in 2010 by The Dominion Post political staff. He also received the New Zealand Republic's Colonel Allen Bell Award in 2011; the New Zealand Amnesty International's Human Rights Defender Award in 2012; and the Federation of Islamic Associations for New Zealand's Harmony Award in 2013.

Since retiring from Parliament, Locke has joined the boards of the Auckland Refugee Council and the New Zealand Peace and Conflict Studies Centre Trust. He writes on political issues for New Zealand newspapers and the Daily Blog.

Locke was born and grew up in Christchurch, to Jack and Elsie Locke, prominent lifelong political activists for a wide variety of causes. Their four children were brought up in this environment and followed their parents into a life of activism, (as well as Keith, his sister Maire Leadbeater is a well-known activist and former city councillor for Auckland City Council). His father Jack was under surveillance during the 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute.

Former Prime Minister Robert Muldoon is said to have described the Lockes as the most "notorious Communist family in New Zealand". The Lockes lived in the Avon Loop area of the Christchurch Central City and were very active in the community notably organising Avon River clean-ups and native tree planting and arguing against development of the area, and in favour of retaining the character of the area.