Colin Moyle

Moyle was born on 18 July 1929 in Thames. His parents were both teachers so he had an itinerant childhood travelling around the Thames, Rotorua and Bay of Islands districts. He went to high school first in Kaikohe and later in Kawakawa followed by one year at Auckland Grammar School. He then attended university at Auckland Teachers College, leaving just short of earning a full degree. In 1950 he got his first teaching job and in 1952 he married Adelaide Millicent Chapman with whom he had two daughters and one son. Aged 23 and newly married, Moyle returned to the far north and took over a rough farm in Hokianga next to his parents-in-law's property. He broke in the land and created a dairy farm large enough to accommodate 50 cows. He had no tractor and after milking the cows he had to carry the cans of milk in cans tied to a yoke on his back. He also augmented his income by winching out "sinkers" (logs of kauri wood) that had disappeared underneath semi-reclaimed mangrove swamps. Moyle was a convert to Roman Catholicism. ==Member of Parliament==

{{NZ parlbox|term=37th|start=|end=1975|party=New Zealand Labour Party {{NZ parlbox|term=38th|start=|end=1976|party=New Zealand Labour Party {{NZ parlbox|term=41st|start=|end=1987|party=New Zealand Labour Party {{NZ parlbox|term=42nd|start=|end=1990|party=New Zealand Labour Party MP and Minister, 1963–75 Moyle stood unsuccessfully for the Hobson electorate in . He was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1963 general election, as a Labour MP for the South Auckland electorate of Manukau. In 1969 the Mangere electorate was created in the same general area, and Moyle moved his candidacy there, allowing Roger Douglas to take over Manukau. Moyle was elected for Mangere in the 1969 election, and would hold the electorate for another eight years. He was soon appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister of Agriculture and Lands. He was one of the main campaign organisers for Labour at the where he suggested a strategy of focusing attention on new seats as well as marginal ones. This saw an increase in both votes and seats, but Labour was narrowly defeated. In the 1972 general election, the Labour Party came to power for the first time in over a decade, forming the Third Labour Government led by Norman Kirk. Moyle was appointed to the Ministerial positions of Agriculture and Fisheries, Forests, and Science. In September 1975 he also became Minister responsible for the newly formed Rural Banking and Finance Corporation. The corporation was created in April 1974 by separating the rural division of the extant State Advances Corporation into its own entity and expanding its role in farming finance (which Labour had promised to do in its 1972 manifesto). He travelled overseas frequently (often alongside overseas trade minister Joe Walding) to many countries, particularly Iran, Russia and China, to open more export markets for New Zealand's primary produce to replace the diminishing quotas for those products in Britain following their membership of the European Economic Community. His main goals in the agriculture portfolio was to oversee Labour's campaign commitments to achieve better cost stability for farmers and to convert bulk-commodity-based farming practices to become more market-oriented. Moyle stated he was told by a farmer that it helped that he belonged to a party where he was the only farmer-politician whereas the National Party was "full of them and each one had a different opinion as to where the country should go with its agriculture". As Minister of Forests, Moyle also helped preserve the remaining stands of giant kauri. In August 1974, Kirk died suddenly, and Bill Rowling took over as Prime Minister and Labour Party leader. He stood for the position of deputy to Bill Rowling in 1974 after Hugh Watt decided not to stand again. He was eliminated on the second ballot with Bob Tizard winning on the fourth ballot. Moyle supported Rowling for the leadership and worked around the caucus to secure votes for his election. He subsequently rose in the cabinet ranking and was awarded with a seat on the frontbench by Rowling. Due to his decades long friendship with Rowling his influence in the cabinet grew. He had more luck persuading Rowling of the merits of currency valuation with regards to exporters than he had done previously with Kirk. While the dollar was not fully floated, the New Zealand dollar was devalued by 15% in August 1975 to assist local manufacturers and exporters. Many within Labour were dissatisfied with their party's performance under Rowling, and began a campaign to replace him. According to political commentator Bruce Jesson, Moyle was the preferred candidate due to his strong performance as Minister of Agriculture. However any potential leadership coup was derailed due to what became known as the 'Moyle Affair' of 1976. During an exchange on an un-related matter in a parliamentary debate, Muldoon brusquely commented on Moyle's "effeminate" giggle (although Muldoon may in fact have heard MP Frank Rogers imitating Muldoon's famous cackle). The Prime Minister then alleged that Moyle had been questioned by the police on suspicion of homosexual activities (which were then illegal) in Wellington. When this matter came to Rowling's attention, Moyle was questioned by Rowling and changed his story several times. Upon this basis, Moyle resigned from Parliament. He later said that he had not been obliged to resign, but had done so because "the whole thing just made me sick". Initially Moyle intended to stand for re-election to vindicate himself of the allegations, but withdrew his name from the nominations only three days before the selection meeting. Ironically, the subsequent was won by David Lange, and the attention that this got him helped propel him to the leadership of the Labour Party and his landslide victory over Muldoon in the 1984 election. In a 1990 interview, Moyle said that the scandal had made him a "sadder and wiser person". He then put his name forward for another new seat in south Auckland electorate, , but lost to Malcolm Douglas. In the , Moyle stood for and failed to win the electorate. In between his spells in Parliament he returned to farming. Two and a half months later, he announced he had withdrawn his name from the race stating that he was happy with the calibre of the other declared candidates. Re-election and new Ministerial career In the , Moyle stood for and won the electorate. This was abolished before the 1984 election, and Moyle stood for, and won, the new electorate of Otara, which he held until his retirement in 1990. He gained admiration for his courage in re-entering politics especially as Muldoon was still Prime Minister upon his return. Later that year Rowling informed Moyle that he intended to resign the leadership, before he announced publicly. Moyle, who had previously been seen as leadership potential in the 1970s, decided to attempt to campaign for the leadership. Moyle attempted to rally Rowling's supporters at a meeting in Auckland in early 1983, though attendance was low. He took this as a sign and then informed the deputy leader, David Lange, he would not stand on assurances Lange was healthy enough for the job (being mindful of Norman Kirk's health deterioration a decade earlier) but Lange said he was fighting fit. When Lange duly replaced Rowling as leader he appointed Moyle as Shadow Minister of Agriculture once again. In 1984 Labour was again returned to power, forming the Fourth Labour Government under David Lange. As one of the few Labour MPs with Ministerial experience, Moyle was reappointed to Cabinet, again holding the portfolios of Agriculture and Fisheries (now separate departments) and regaining charge of the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation. The government's policy was market liberal and reformist. Driven by Finance Minister Roger Douglas, it embarked on a programme, known as Rogernomics, aimed at deregulating the economy. Moyle's portfolio of Agriculture was strongly affected by this, as the farming sector had been one of New Zealand's most heavily subsidised. In the 1982–83 financial year, for example, it has been estimated that farm subsidies cost "well over" a billion New Zealand dollars. Under the Fourth Labour Government, virtually all state financial assistance was removed from agriculture. This included the Rural Banking and Finance Corporation which Moyle had established ten years earlier, which Douglas sold to private enterprise. Moyle was a supporter of the reforms, Although involved in several important reforms, Moyle had a low profile in the government, avoiding publicity. Along with other Ministers who had announced their retirement, Moyle was dropped from Cabinet by Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer in early 1990. He had wanted to keep his Ministerial position until that year's election in order to complete the restructuring of the meat industry. Also in 1990, he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. ==Life after politics==

Moyle retired to a sheep and cattle farm at Waimate North in the Bay of Islands with his wife Millicent and son Greg, who was his co-farmer. During the 2015 Northland by-election Moyle voted for Winston Peters, whom he defeated in Hūnua in 1981; it was the first time in his life he had not voted for Labour. For the by-election Labour did not oppose strategic voting, preferring Peters win than the National Party candidate. Moyle died on 11 May 2024, at the age of 94. ==Notes==