Wikipedia

Dan Bidois

Daniel Michael Bidois[1] (born 1983) is a New Zealand politician.

Dan Bidois
MP
Dan Bidois in 2023
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Northcote
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2023
Preceded byShanan Halbert
In office
9 June 2018 – 17 October 2020
Preceded byJonathan Coleman
Succeeded byShanan Halbert
Personal details
Born (1983-02-24) 24 February 1983 (age 43)
Auckland, New Zealand
PartyNational
Harvard University
University of Auckland
ProfessionEconomist
WebsiteNational Party profile

A member of the National Party, Bidois has been a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Northcote since 2023. He previously represented that electorate from 2018 until 2020.

Early life and education

edit

Bidois is both of European and Māori descent. He affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Manaiopoto.[2] At the age of 9 months, he was adopted by Mike and Leah Bidois. Raised in Howick, he is the youngest of the four Bidois children.[3] Bidois made contact with his birth mother for the first time on New Year's Eve, 2021.[4]

Bidois attended Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Howick Intermediate and Howick College, where he was a "child delinquent" twice suspended for stealing and for mooning his principal.[3] He dropped out of school aged 15 to pursue a butchery apprenticeship. Two weeks into his apprenticeship, he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. After recovering from chemotherapy and surgery, he completed his training with Woolworths.[3][5]

After completing a bridging course at Manukau Institute of Technology,[6] Bidois trained as an economist at the University of Auckland, completing undergraduate degrees in arts and commerce in 2006 and a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) in economics in 2007.[7] He was president of the Auckland University Students' Association in 2006, having previously lost election to that position for the 2005 term.[3]

In 2010, Bidois won a Fulbright Scholarship to attend Harvard University in the United States,[6] completing a Master of Public Policy degree in 2012.

Professional career

edit

Bidois began his professional career as a management consultant with Deloitte New Zealand. In 2010, he joined thinktank The New Zealand Institute where he co-authored a report on the reallocation of resources for improved productivity.[8] After completing postgraduate study at Harvard, Bidois worked for three years as an economist with the OECD in Paris, France, working on economic reforms in emerging markets. In 2015 he worked as an independent strategy consultant to the Malaysian government in Kuala Lumpur. He returned to New Zealand in 2016 and worked as a strategy manager for Foodstuffs.[9]

Member of Parliament

edit
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
2018–2020 52nd Northcote National
2023–present 54th Northcote 60 National

Bidois contested the National Party selection for Pakuranga upon the retirement of Maurice Williamson, but failed to win the candidacy. He stood as a list-only candidate in the 2017 general election, ranked 72.[10][11]

On 22 March 2018, Northcote MP Jonathan Coleman announced his resignation from Parliament, triggering a by-election.[12] Bidios was selected as National's candidate on 15 April. [9][13] He defeated Labour Party candidate Shanan Halbert, winning 10,566 votes (50.67%).[14] Bidois was sworn into the 52nd Parliament on 27 June 2018 and gave his maiden speech on 3 July. In that speech, he talked of strengthening an upwardly mobile society through "the power of free and competitive enterprise."[15]

As an opposition MP, Bidois sat on the social services and community committee (2018–2019), the Māori affairs committee (2019–2020) and the education and workforce committee (2020). He was his party's associate spokesperson on workplace relations and safety (2018–2020). In this role he stated his view that there should not be trade unions in New Zealand.[16][17] As Northcote MP, he advocated for dynamic traffic lanes to decrease congestion in his electorate.[18]

At the 2020 general election, Bidois lost Northcote to Labour's Halbert by a final margin of 2,534 votes. At 43, he was ranked too low on National's list to return to Parliament as a list MP.[19][20][21] After his election loss Bidois established his own consultancy before taking an engagement manager role with an Accenture subsidiary.[22]

Bidois was re-selected as National's Northcote candidate for the 2023 New Zealand general election, where he defeated Halbert with a 9,270 vote majority.[22][23] In the 54th New Zealand Parliament he was previously chair of the Māori affairs committee and is currently deputy chair of the transport and infrastructure committee and a member of the finance and expenditure committee.[24] A member's bill in his name (previously in the name of Melissa Lee) passed its third reading on 11 September 2024, setting a minimum use period of three years for most gift cards.[25][26]

Political views

edit

Bidois voted against the End of Life Choice Act 2019, writing on Facebook he was concerned about safeguards, opposed to sending a conflicting message on suicide, and supportive of palliative care.[27] He voted in favour of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 which legalised abortion in New Zealand.[28]

Personal life

edit

Bidois married Courtney Simpson in 2023. They have a son.[29]

References

edit
  1. ↑ "By-election — Northcote". New Zealand Parliament. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Conservative Māori play unprecedented role in National's victory". Te Ao Māori News. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Failure is a big part of the success of new Northcote MP Dan Bidois". New Zealand Herald. 10 June 2018.
  4. ↑ Bidois, Dan (31 January 2022). "Dan Bidois: Reflections on finding my birth mother". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "Dropout wins scholarship to Harvard". New Zealand Herald. 23 June 2010.
  6. 1 2 White, Rebekah (23 June 2010). "Dropout wins scholarship to Harvard". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Graduate Search". Graduate Search. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Boven, Dr Rick; Bidois, Dan; Hardland, Catherine. "A goal is not a strategy: Focusing efforts to improve New Zealand's prosperity". The New Zealand Initiative. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  9. 1 2 "National selects Northcote by-election candidate". Radio New Zealand. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "National releases 2017 Party List". Scoop. 30 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "National releases 2017 Party List | Scoop News".
  12. ↑ "Thursday, 29 March 2018 – Volume 728 – New Zealand Parliament". Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Labours Northcote candidate Shanan Halbert and Nationals Dan Bidois both kiwi battlers". Stuff (Fairfax). 1 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Northcote by-election official results". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Dan Bidois MP: Maiden Speech". Scoop News. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "National Wants There To Be No Unions". The Standard. 30 November 2018.
  17. ↑ Dan Bidois (27 November 2018). "Employment Relations Amendment Bill" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 735. New Zealand Parliament: House of Representatives. p. 8291.
  18. ↑ Flahive, Brad (18 July 2019). "North Shore locals petition Auckland Transport for solution to Onewa Rd congestion". Stuff.
  19. ↑ Scotcher, Katie (8 August 2020). "National unveils party list for 2020 election". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "Northcote – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Whyte, Anna (18 October 2020). "Analysis: The winners, losers, new faces and goodbyes of election 2020". 1News. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  22. 1 2 New Zealand National Party (7 November 2023). "Dan Bidois Selected As National's Candidate In Northcote". Scoop. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  23. ↑ "Northcote – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "Bidois, Dan". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  25. ↑ "Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill". bills.parliament.nz. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Act 2024". legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "I will be voting No on the End of Life Choice Bill". Facebook. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  28. ↑ Cheng, Derek (19 March 2020). "How MPs voted on abortion law reform". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  29. ↑ "MP for Northcote". National Party. 9 April 2026. Archived from the original on 24 March 2026. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Bidois&oldid=1353060702"