Malcolm Douglas (politician)

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Malcolm Douglas (born 1941) is a former New Zealand politician from the Labour Party. He represented the Hunua electorate in Parliament from 25 November 1978 to 24 May 1979. Hunua was a new electorate, and his win was later overturned by the Electoral Court, which declared Winston Peters the winner because of the voting method used (ticks and crosses).

Douglas was born in Auckland and studied law at the University of Auckland. He worked as a law clerk at Haigh, Charters & Carthy before entering politics. He lived in Karaka, south of Auckland, and coached the Manurewa Marlins rugby league team. He came from a political family: his grandfather Bill Anderton, his father Norman Douglas, and his brother Roger Douglas.

Before entering Parliament, he tried to become a Labour candidate in Onehunga in 1975 but failed. In 1977 he considered standing in Mangere but withdrew. He then won the Labour nomination for Hunua, defeating former cabinet minister Colin Moyle.

After losing his seat in 1979, he sought the Labour nomination for the 1980 Onehunga by-election. He was a strong contender but Fred Gerbic won. He also sought nominations for Mount Albert in 1980 (lost to Helen Clark) and Roskill in 1981 (lost to Phil Goff). In 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Douglas is Roger Douglas’s brother and Norman Douglas’s son. In 2008 he managed Roger Douglas’s campaign for ACT in Hunua. Roger finished third in the electorate but was high on the ACT party list.