Paul Piesse
{{Short description|New Zealand politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2014}}
Paul Egerton Piesse is a former co-leader of the Alliance, a New Zealand political party, and union activist.
Biography
Piesse has been heavily involved in the union movement, and has held a number of senior organisational roles. He was originally a supporter of the Labour Party, and in {{NZ election link year|1969}} stood for Labour in the Rangiora electorate, coming second.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
In the lead up to the {{NZ election link|1984}} Piesse controversially challenged Mary Batchelor for the Labour nomination in the Avon electorate. The contest went to a second vote before Batchelor eventually emerged victorious.{{cite news|work=The Press |page=3 |title=20 seek Labour seats |date=2 August 1983 }}
He joined NewLabour in protest at the economic policies Labour pursued ("Rogernomics") in the late 1980s. NewLabour eventually helped form the Alliance, and Piesse became involved in the new party. In the 1999 election, he stood as the Alliance candidate in the {{NZ electorate link|Christchurch East}} electorate, winning 6.7% of the vote. He was ranked 58th on the Alliance list.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
Following the splintering of the Alliance, Piesse sided with the Harré-McCarten faction. In the 2002 election, he stood again as an Alliance candidate, gaining 0.5% of the vote in {{NZ electorate link|Waimakariri}}. He was not on the party list. After Harré and McCarten also left the Alliance, Piesse was elected co-leader, alongside Jill Ovens. In the 2005 election he also stood for the Alliance.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
Piesse was elected President of the Alliance Party at the 2007 national conference held in Dunedin. In the 2008 election he contested the Christchurch East electorate and was number 4 on the Alliance Party list. He fared poorly, coming eighth with only 119 votes.[http://2008.electionresults.govt.nz/electorate-5.html Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: Christchurch East.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211164921/http://2008.electionresults.govt.nz/electorate-5.html |date=11 December 2008 }} The Alliance also did poorly, winning only 0.08% of the party vote nationwide.[http://2008.electionresults.govt.nz/partystatus.html Chief Electoral Office: Official Count Results: Overall status] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209051141/http://2008.electionresults.govt.nz/partystatus.html |date=9 February 2009 }} In the 2011 election he also stood for the Alliance.
The Alliance deregistered at its own request in May 2015,{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/amendments-register-political-parties-2|title=Amendments to the Register of Political Parties|date=26 May 2015|publisher=Electoral Commission|accessdate=27 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527063600/http://www.elections.org.nz/news-media/amendments-register-political-parties-2|archive-date=27 May 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/68904981/alliance-party-deregistered|title=Alliance Party deregistered|date=27 May 2015|website=Stuff |accessdate=12 November 2016}} though appears to still be active. Piesse's role in the party is unclear, and the most recent statements of his role as president are 2011.
As of 2015, Piesse has been a sitting member of the executive committee of Converge, a left-wing online community network{{Cite web|url=http://www.converge.org.nz/|title=Converge|website=converge.org.nz|access-date=29 March 2017}} as well as being an active participant in Hobgoblin, a similar enterprise.
References
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{{NZ Alliance Party}}
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Alliance (New Zealand political party) politicians
Category:Leaders of political parties in New Zealand
Category:NewLabour Party (New Zealand) politicians
Category:New Zealand Labour Party politicians
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1999 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2005 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election