Shanan Halbert

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Shanan Kiritea Halbert (born 24 April 1982) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Northcote from 2020 to 2023, and he returned to Parliament in February 2024 as a list MP after Kelvin Davis resigned. In 2024, he was given the Auckland Issues and Rainbow Issues portfolios, and in 2025 he gained the tertiary education portfolio while keeping Rainbow Issues but losing the Auckland Issues portfolio.

Early life and background
Halbert was born in Napier and has Māori and Pākehā heritage (affiliations with Rongowhakaata and Ngāti Whitikaupeka through his father; his mother is Pākehā). He grew up in Napier, moved to Auckland after high school, and earned a BA in Education and Māori from the University of Auckland and a certificate in Contemporary Performing Arts from AUT. He began an MBA but did not complete it. He has worked at Glenfield College (where he set up the Health Sciences Academy), Hato Petera College, and as Head of Relationships at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

Political career
Halbert stood for Parliament several times before winning a seat. In 2014 he was a Labour list candidate (ranked 48). In 2017 he sought Labour’s Auckland Central nomination but did not win; he then ran for Northcote and did not win the seat. In 2018 he ran in the Northcote by-election and was defeated by Dan Bidois. In the 2020 general election, he won Northcote from Bidois and became an MP. His campaign focused on public transport, supporting local businesses, and improving mental health services; his father died of lung cancer on election day 2020. He faced advertising controversies in 2020 and 2023, with complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority that were resolved in different ways.

In the 2023 election, Halbert was defeated by National candidate Dan Bidois by 9,270 votes. He returned to Parliament in February 2024 as a Labour list MP after resignations that year. As a member of the Opposition, he held Auckland Issues and Rainbow Issues portfolios, later adding the tertiary education portfolio in March 2025. He has spoken about rights for LGBTQI+ people and supported protests while condemning discrimination. He has been involved in debates over education policy and hate speech laws, with disagreements between Labour and the National Party over these issues.

Personal life
Halbert is openly LGBTQI+ and is one of 13 LGBTQI+ MPs in the 53rd New Zealand Parliament.