Richard Walls
{{short description|New Zealand politician}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Richard Walls
|image = Richard Walls, 1980.jpg
|imagesize =
|caption = Walls c. 1980
|order1 = 52nd
|office1 = Mayor of Dunedin
|term_start1 = 14 October 1989
|term_end1 = 14 October 1995
|predecessor1 = Cliff Skeggs
|successor1 = Sukhi Turner
|constituency_MP2 = Dunedin North
|parliament2 = New Zealand
|term_start2 = 29 November 1975
|term_end2 = 25 November 1978
|predecessor2 = Ethel McMillan
|successor2 = Stan Rodger
|birth_name = Richard Francis Walls
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1937|10|9|df=yes}}
|birth_place = Dunedin, New Zealand
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|10|30|1937|10|9|df=yes}}
|death_place = Dunedin, New Zealand
|restingplace =
|restingplacecoordinates =
|party = National
|otherparty =
|spouse = June Walls
|children = 3
|residence =
|profession =
}}
Richard Francis Walls {{post-nominals|country=NZL|QSO|JP}} (9 October 1937 – 30 October 2011) was a New Zealand politician and businessman.
Member of Parliament
{{NZ parlbox header|nolist=true|align=left}}
{{NZ parlbox
|term=38th
|start=1975
|end=78
|party=New Zealand National Party
|electorate=Dunedin North
}}
{{NZ parlbox footer}}
Walls was a Member of Parliament for Dunedin North from 1975 to 1978.{{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year=First published in 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher= V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103 }} A member of the National Party, he won the normally safe Labour seat as part of Robert Muldoon's landslide victory of 1975. He was the first National MP to represent a significant portion of Dunedin, a long-standing Labour stronghold, in 21 years. Walls was defeated after only one term by Labour's Stan Rodger; to date, he is the last National MP to represent Dunedin.
Following his defeat, Walls attempted to re-enter parliament by seeking the National nomination for the Auckland seat of {{NZ electorate link|East Coast Bays}} in a 1980 by-election. He made the initial five person shortlist, but after being hospitalised suddenly, he was too ill to travel to Auckland for the selection meeting.{{cite news |title=Five Chosen for Bays Byelection |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=6 August 1980 |page=2 }}{{cite news |title=Byelection Field Cut to Four |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=12 August 1980 |page=1 }}
Local-body politics
Walls was first elected onto Dunedin City Council in 1980.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Tim |title=Greens to announce mayoral candidate |url= http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/257388/greens-announce-mayoral-candidate |access-date=24 May 2013 |newspaper=Otago Daily Times |date=19 May 2013}} Prior to that he served on the St. Kilda Borough Council (1962–1965) and on the Otago Harbour Board (1965–1974; Chairman 1971–1973). He was Mayor of Dunedin for two terms from 1989 to 1995, when he was defeated by Sukhi Turner. He was re-elected to the Dunedin City Council as a councillor in 1998. He remained a city councillor until 2010 and was chair of the Finance and Strategy Committee from 2007 to 2010.{{cite news|url=http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/your-council/councillors/cr-richard-walls|title=Councillor Richard Walls – Hills Ward|publisher=Dunedin City Council|access-date=10 April 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?id=50169|title=Minister announces SOE board appointments|last=Power|first=Simon|date=30 March 2010|publisher=infonews.co.nz|access-date=10 April 2010}} In the 2010 Dunedin local elections, he stood in the Central ward, but was unsuccessful.{{cite web|title=Dunedin City Council – Central Ward|url=http://www.elections2010.co.nz/2010/elections/dunedin-city-council-central-ward|publisher=Elections2010|access-date=9 October 2010}}
Outside politics
In 2010 Walls was chairman of Dunedin International Airport Limited; a fellow of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand (FInstD) and a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management (FNZIM). He was a justice of the peace and was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services in the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours.{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-1996 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 1996 |date=3 June 1996 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=20 July 2020}}
He died suddenly in his Dunedin home on 30 October 2011 at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife June and three children.{{cite news |url= http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/184498/shock-death-richard-walls |title=Shock at death of Richard Walls |work=Otago Daily Times |first=Rebecca |last=Fox |date=31 October 2011 |access-date=31 October 2011}}
References
{{Reflist}}
- The Cyclopedia of Otago-Southland 1998
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|nz}}
{{s-bef | before = Ethel McMillan}}
{{s-ttl | title=Member of Parliament for Dunedin North | years=1975–1978}}
{{s-aft | after = Stan Rodger}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Cliff Skeggs}}
{{s-ttl|title=Mayor of Dunedin|years=1989–1995}}
{{s-aft|after=Sukhi Turner}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, Richard}}
Category:New Zealand National Party MPs
Category:New Zealand businesspeople
Category:Companions of the Queen's Service Order
Category:New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates
Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election