Jason Smith

Jason McLaren Smith (born ) is a New Zealand politician and environmentalist who served as the mayor of Kaipara from February 2018 to 2022. Prior to entering politics he was a farmer and businessman. Early life and career Smith was born in Dargaville in New Zealand's Northland Region, but raised 30 km south in Ruawai. He is a fifth-generation resident of the Kaipara District, but went to school at King's College in Auckland. From 1991 to 1994 he studied in Cirencester at the Royal Agricultural University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in agriculture and land management. He later went on to serve as a research intern for the European Parliament, living in Luxembourg. By 1997 he had returned to his home district of Kaipara and started his own eco-tourism company called Kauri Country. In 2002 he was appointed chief executive officer of the Kaipara Development Agency, a role he carried out while undertaking part-time study at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), earning a Diploma in Economic Development. He continued further at AUT, graduating in 2010 with a PhD in economic development, with his thesis examining New Zealand's creative industries. One of his PhD supervisors was former National MP Marilyn Waring. He later worked as a senior policy advisor to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Auckland before returning to Ruawai to become a beef and sheep farmer on his family farm.