Roger Douglas

Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He became arguably best known for his prominent role in New Zealand's radical economic restructuring in the 1980s, when the Fourth Labour Government's economic policy became known as "Rogernomics". Douglas served as a Labour Member of Parliament from 1969 to 1990. During his time as Minister of Finance (1984 to 1988), the government floated the New Zealand dollar, introduced corporate practices to state services, sold off state assets, and removed a swathe of regulations and subsidies. Some Labour Party supporters regarded Douglas's economic policies as a betrayal of Labour's left-wing policy-platform, and the moves became deeply unpopular with the public and with ordinary party members. His supporters defended the reforms as necessary to revive the economy, which had been tightly regulated under National's Muldoon (Minister of Finance from 1975 to 1984). As a result of his flat tax proposal, Douglas came into conflict with Prime Minister David Lange, and he eventually resigned as Finance Minister; when Douglas was re-elected to Cabinet in 1989 Lange himself resigned as Prime Minister, signalling the demise of the Labour government. In 1993 Douglas and Derek Quigley founded the Association of Consumers and Taxpayers (the forerunner of the ACT New Zealand party) as a means to further his policy ideas. Douglas returned to Parliament as an ACT backbencher in 2008 before retiring in 2011. Early life and background Douglas was born on 5 December 1937. His family had strong ties with the trade-union movement, and actively engaged in politics. His grandfather, William Theophilus "Bill" Anderton, (1891–1966), was a left-wing Methodist local preacher and small business owner in Birmingham, England, who migrated to New Zealand with his wife in 1921. Anderton served as MP for Eden from 1935–1946, then as MP for from 1946–1960. He was Minister of Internal Affairs in the 1957–1960 Second Labour Government, establishing the Arts Council.