Gerard Anthony Brownlee (born 4 February 1956) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 32nd speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives since 2023. He was first elected as a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Ilam in 1996, representing the National Party. He became a list MP in 2020.
Brownlee was a senior member of the Fifth National Government, serving as Leader of the House, Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was twice deputy leader of the National Party, first from November 2003 until November 2006 and again from July until November 2020. As the longest continuously serving member of Parliament, Brownlee became Father of the House in October 2022.
Early life and family Brownlee was born in Christchurch to Leo (a sawmiller, who died in 1989) and Mary Brownlee. He is the eldest of five children. His uncle, Mark Brownlee, represented New Zealand in rowing at the Summer Olympic Games in 1964 and 1968, and his cousin Scott Brownlee (Mark's son), represented New Zealand in rowing at the Olympics in 1992, 1996, and 2000.
A Roman Catholic, he attended St Bede's College where he twice failed to gain University Entrance. After leaving high school, he worked in his family's timber business and received training in carpentry. After qualifying as a builder, he retrained as a teacher and taught woodwork, technical drawing and Māori, over a period of twelve years, at Ellesmere College, and at his alma mater, St Bede's.
Early political career In the 1989 local elections, Brownlee stood in the Riccarton ward of Christchurch City Council for a seat on the Riccarton–Wigram community board as part of the Christchurch Action ticket formed by Margaret Murray. Of fourteen candidates, he came second and was thus declared elected as one of the three board members for Riccarton. He stood as a candidate for the Canterbury Regional Council in 1992 on the Citizens' Association ticket, but was unsuccessful.
Member of Parliament
Brownlee first stood for National in the 1993 election, unsuccessfully contesting Sydenham against Jim Anderton, the Alliance leader. In the 1996 election he contested the nearby seat of Ilam, a longstanding conservative bastion, and won by a comfortable margin. He remained the MP for Ilam until losing his seat in the 2020 election. Before that his closest brush with defeat occurred in the 2002 election wherein he had a majority of 3,872 votes – 11.52%. Brownlee stood as a list-only candidate in 2023, fuelling speculation he would be National's candidate for speaker should it win the election.
As a junior government MP from 1997 to 1999, Brownlee was a member of the education and science committee and the internal affairs and local government committee, and deputy chair of the social services committee. He chaired the Accident Insurance Bill committee in 1998. When National went into opposition in 1999, was appointed the party's new junior whip and spokesperson for ACC. From 1999 to 2001, he was on the transport and industrial relations committee; in 2001, promoted to education spokesperson, he was on the education and science committee.
Brownlee has held senior roles within the National Party since October 2001, when the new National leader Bill English appointed him shadow leader of the House, a position he continued to hold under subsequent leaders Don Brash and John Key. Brownlee was the Leader of the House and a senior minister in the Fifth National Government, including Minister of Foreign Affairs. He returned to the shadow House leadership from 2018 to 2020. He was also deputy leader to Brash from 2003 to 2006 and to Judith Collins in 2020.
Brownlee became Father of the House in October 2022, having the longest uninterrupted membership of the House of Representatives. On 24 November 2023, prime minister-designate Christopher Luxon announced that Brownlee would be nominated to be Speaker of the House.
Opposition, 1999–2008 Brownlee received criticism during the 1999 election campaign when he ejected Neil Abel, a 60-year-old Native Forest Action campaigner, from the National Party's 1999 election campaign launch. The ejection took place with what many, including watching journalists, considered excessive force. Neil Abel started civil assault proceedings against Brownlee, seeking damages of $60,000. In 2002, a District Court judge found in favour of Abel that Brownlee had "used excessive and unnecessary force on Abel when he tried to remove him from a staircase handrail". Brownlee was ordered to pay Abel $8,500 in damages. Brownlee later sought unsuccessfully to have $48,000 of his legal fees reimbursed by the Government.
Brownlee challenged the vacant deputy leadership of the National Party in 2001, but was defeated by Bill English. English eventually succeeded to the leadership later that year. In the English shadow cabinet, Brownlee was spokesperson for local government and energy, as well as shadow Leader of the House. By 2003, Brownlee was seen by Labour Party MP Phil Goff and Scoop columnist Paulo Politico as a potential challenger to English's leadership. English was eventually replaced as National Party leader by former Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash. Brownlee was thought to be a possible deputy leader to Brash but declined to pursue the position, which went to Nick Smith.
Shortly after his election, however, Smith opted to take two weeks of stress leave, saying that the protracted leadership disputes had exhausted him. When Smith returned to Parliament, Brownlee challenged him for the deputy leadership. Informed of the challenge, Smith resigned, and on 17 November 2003 Brownlee won the caucus vote unopposed. Initially, Smith alleged that while he was on stress leave, "a campaign to oust me was conducted in the media while I was under the leader's instructions to make no comment." Audrey Young wrote in the New Zealand Herald that Brownlee and Murray McCully were rumoured to have been behind the campaign to oust Smith as deputy leader.
After becoming a deputy leader, Brownlee continued his confrontational and colourful style of political debate. Following the controversy surrounding Brash's Orewa Speech of 27 January 2004, Brownlee became the National Party's spokesman for Maori Affairs in place of Georgina te Heuheu, who resigned from the position after refusing to endorse Brash's comments. Brownlee's approach to this portfolio involved criticising the government's policies regarding perceived special treatment for Māori, an issue at the core of National's 2005 election manifesto.
When Brash resigned as National Party Leader in November 2006, Brownlee was reported as "probably" considering a bid to remain in the deputy leadership; however, he stepped aside in place to allow former leader Bill English to take the deputy leadership and was appointed the third-ranked National Party MP by new party leader John Key.
Fifth National Government, 2008–2017
Following the election of the Fifth National Government in November 2008, Brownlee was appointed a member of the Executive Council of New Zealand and to Cabinet as Minister of Economic Development, Minister of Energy and Resources and as Associate Minister for the Rugby World Cup. He also became the Leader of the House. When the Canterbury earthquakes struck in 2010, Brownlee was appointed Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. In the government's second term (2011–2014), Brownlee was Minister of Transport. In its third term, he was Minister of Defence from November 2014 until May 2017, and thereafter Minister of Foreign Affairs until October 2017.
In April 2013, Brownlee was represented New Zealand in London at the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Minister of Energy and Resources In August 2009, Brownlee was criticised by Forest and Bird Spokesperson Kevin Hackwell for playing down government discussions to possibly allow more mining within conservation areas. Hackwell was reported as stating that "If the Government's to go down this line they could be buying a fight with the people of the Coromandel, with the people of New Zealand generally, who have put these areas aside and want them protected for their conservation values". The New Zealand mining industry was reported as welcoming the move.
In early December 2009, Forest and Bird released a leaked document that included the proposal to remove part of the conservation status of Mount Aspiring National Park to allow mining. The result of the controversy was that the government decided not to explore considerations amongst significant debate on the issue in the House, in submissions to the Select Committees and within the National Party's own parliamentary caucus.
On the withdrawal Brownlee stated "I suspect few New Zealanders knew the country had such considerable mineral potential before we undertook this process, and I get a sense that New Zealanders are now much more aware of that potential". He went on that it might contribute to economic growth and further stated that "New Zealanders have given the minerals sector a clear mandate to go and explore that land, and where appropriate, within the constraints of the resource consent process, utilise its mineral resources for everyone's benefit". An additional announcement from Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson pronounced that future National Park land would receive protections, stating that, "This is an added layer of protection for New Zealand's most highly valued conservation land..."
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery As the Government's most senior Christchurch-based MP, Brownlee led the Government's work in earthquake recovery after the 2010, 2011 and 2016 earthquakes. Following National's re-election in and , Brownlee additionally served as Minister of Transport, Minister of Defence, and Minister of Civil Defence. When Bill English became Prime Minister, Brownlee succeeded Murray McCully as Minister of Foreign Affairs. On 14 September 2010, Brownlee introduced the Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010 into the house with leave to pass the legislation in one sitting. This Bill was passed by the time the House adjourned at 10.02 pm.
Brownlee had little sympathy for attempts to preserve heritage buildings, saying not long after the 2011 quake: "My absolutely strong position is that the old dungers, no matter what their connection, are going under the hammer." In 2012, it was reported that the idea of using part of Christchurch's residential red zone for an international rowing regatta course known as East Lake had found the support of Brownlee as Earthquake Recovery Minister. In September 2012, Brownlee accused residents in Christchurch's newly created TC3 zone of "carping and moaning" for comments they made in a survey conducted by the main local newspaper. The comments were about perceived inaction by the authorities, including the government. He apologised soon after.
Minister of Transport In March 2012, Brownlee made controversial comments about Finland in a parliamentary session. Rejecting a New Zealand Labour Party plan to model the economy on Finland, he said Finland: "has worse unemployment than us, has less growth than us, can hardly feed the people who live there, has a terrible homicide rate, hardly educates its people, and has no respect for women." Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, said that Finland would not take any action as the comments were clearly a device for internal politics rather than an attack on Finland. He continued to say: "I doubt he even knows where Finland is."