Paul Foster-Bell

Paul Foster-Bell
Foster-Bell in 2011
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for National party list
In office
21 May 2013 (2013-05-21) – 23 September 2017 (2017-09-23)
Preceded byJackie Blue[n 1]
Personal details
BornMarch 1977 (age 49)
Whangārei, New Zealand
PartyNational Party
Alma materUniversity of Otago
OccupationDiplomat
WebsiteProfile on Parliament website

Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell (born March 1977) is a former New Zealand diplomat and politician. He was a National Party Member of Parliament from 2013 to 2017.

Early life and education

Foster-Bell was born in Whangārei in 1977 and grew up on a beef farm in the Portland area. His parents are Bob and Alyse Foster-Bell.[1] He is of English, Scots, Irish, Portuguese and Māori descent, with whakapapa ties to the tribes of Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa and Te Aupōuri.[2][3]

He attended Otaika Primary School, Raumanga Intermediate and Whangarei Boys' High School, moving to Dunedin to study at the University of Otago. He was a member of the Young Nationals and unsuccessfully stood for Parliament as an undergraduate before completing his Bachelor of Arts in archaeology in 2003.[4] Later he earned a graduate diploma in business (2008) and a Master of International Studies with Distinction (2023).

Diplomatic career

Foster-Bell worked for ten years as a diplomat with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. His overseas postings included appointments as New Zealand's deputy high commissioner to Pakistan, first secretary and consul to Iran, and deputy head of mission to Saudia Arabia. In Wellington, his posts included management roles in the ministry's Middle East and Africa division.[5] While serving as a diplomat he took leave to unsuccessfully contest the 2011 general election.[3]

Foster-Bell was vice-chair of Monarchy New Zealand in 2012–13.[6]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2013–2014 50th List 56 National
2014–2017 51st List 46 National

Under the name Paul Foster, Foster-Bell contested Dunedin South at the 2002 general election, losing to Labour Party incumbent David Benson-Pope.[7][8] He was ranked 56 on the National Party list, too low to be elected as a list MP.[9]

In the 2011 general election he stood in the Wellington Central electorate and lost to Labour incumbent Grant Robertson.[2][10] Foster-Bell was not initially elected as a list MP, but was called to Parliament in May 2013 to replace Jackie Blue who retired.[5][11][12] He was sworn in on 28 May 2013 and gave his maiden statement, quoting Margaret Thatcher, Jenny Shipley and Winston Churchill, on 12 June.[13][14] In his first term, he was a member of the health committee and the justice and electoral committee; at the end of the term he became the latter's deputy chair.[15]

Foster-Bell speaking at the 2014 Aro Valley candidates meeting before the election

Foster-Bell sought the National Party nomination in the Whangarei electorate for the 2014 general election, but was beaten by new candidate Shane Reti.[7][16] Instead, he stood again in Wellington Central, losing again to Robertson and being returned as a list MP.[17] In his second term, he was deputy chair of the education and science committee, later of the government administration committee, and also sat on the local government and environment committee.[15]

In 2015 Foster-Bell joined a cross-party group initiated by Green MP Jan Logie to look at and advocate for LGBTI rights.[18] In 2016 Foster-Bell announced that he was gay in response to remarks made by Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki regarding homosexuals.[19]

A member's bill in Foster-Bell's name passed unanimously in April 2016, exempting Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association (RSA) veterans' clubs from limitations in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 so they could lawfully serve traditional tots of liquor at gunfire breakfasts on Anzac Day.[20] A second bill, the Arbitration Amendment Bill, was selected for introduction in March 2017 and completed its first reading that May. This bill aimed to change New Zealand's arbitration regime to "conform more closely to international standards" drawn in the member's bill ballot.[21] It eventually passed its third reading under the stewardship of Andrew Bayly in May 2019.[22]

Foster-Bell courted controversy in 2016 which eventually led to his retirement from politics. In June, news broke that he had 12 staff leave his office in the 2013–2016 period, amidst claims by former staffers that he had bullied them. Foster-Bell strongly denied these allegations, saying that he was not a bully.[23] Later that month his travel expenses, totalling more than $61,000 for a one-year period. He was defended by prime minister John Key who said that Foster-Bell's expenses had incurred from travels around the country presenting on foreign affairs and occasionally filling in for ministers.[24][25] A former Key staffer and Fonterra executive, Nicola Willis, challenged Foster-Bell for the National Party's nomination in Wellington Central. Foster-Bell withdrew from candidate selection in February 2017, enabling Willis to win the nomination unopposed and announcing his retirement from politics at the 2017 general election.[26][27] He made his final speech in the House on 16 August 2017.[28]

Later career

After leaving Parliament, Foster-Bell was political advisor to the Ambassador of the United States to New Zealand, Scott P. Brown.[29]

As of 2025, Foster-Bell is a business development manager for culture, society and economy at the University of Otago.[30][31] He is chair of the trust board for educational charity Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ, in which capacity he heavily criticised the government arts funder Creative New Zealand in September 2022 for de-funding Shakespeare programmes for school-aged students.[32]

Notes

  1. ^ Normally, list MPs do not have individual predecessors or successors, but Blue resigned during a sitting parliament and therefore was succeeded by Foster-Bell.

References

  1. ^ Foster-Bell, Paul (12 June 2013). "Paul Foster-Bell – maiden speech". New Zealand National Party. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Paul Foster-Bell to stand for National in Wellington Central". The New Zealand Herald. 21 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Paul Foster-Bell – Biography". New Zealand National Party. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ Davison, Isaac (28 April 2013). "Parliament replaces barbed wire and machine guns' for diplomat". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b Shuttleworth, Kate (22 April 2013). "Former MP rules out return to Parliament". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Executive". Monarchy New Zealand. 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b Bennett, Adam (1 November 2013). "New list MP seeks nomination for Whangarei electorate". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Dunedin South – Candidate Vote Details". NEW ZEALAND ELECTION RESULTS. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  9. ^ "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". NEW ZEALAND ELECTION RESULTS. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  10. ^ Commission, New Zealand Electoral. "Official Count Results – Wellington Central". NEW ZEALAND ELECTION RESULTS. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  11. ^ Peden, Robert Andrew (21 May 2013). "Declaration by Electoral Commission That Paul Ayers Robert Foster-Bell is Elected a Member of Parliament". New Zealand Gazette. p. 1741. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Diplomat to become new National MP". 3 News. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  13. ^ Bradford-Crozier, Katie (28 May 2013). "Paul Foster-Bell sworn in as MP". Newstalk ZB. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  14. ^ "Maiden Statements". New Zealand Parliament. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  15. ^ a b "Paul Foster-Bell". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  16. ^ Watkins, Tracy (10 March 2014). "Labour announces Chch Central candidate". The Press. p. A2. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Status quo for Wellington region". Stuff.co.nz. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  18. ^ Jones, Nicholas (23 May 2015). "MPs' group to focus on LGBTI people's rights". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  19. ^ "National MP Paul Foster-Bell says Brian Tamaki earthquake 'outburst' inspired him to speak about being gay". Stuff. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  20. ^ "'Gunfire' breakfast bill passed by Parliament". Radio NZ. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Arbitration Amendment Bill 2017 (Member's Bill – Paul Foster-Bell)". NZ Parliament. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Arbitration Amendment Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  23. ^ "'I'm not a bully' – Nat MP". Stuff. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  24. ^ "MP Paul Foster-Bell's travel bill OK, says John Key". New Zealand Herald. 28 June 2016. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  25. ^ "Key defends backbencher's bill". Stuff. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  26. ^ "National MP Paul Foster-Bell who challenged Brian Tamaki's 'gay' earthquake slur to quit". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Former Fonterra exec selected for Wellington Central". NBR. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  28. ^ Foster-Bell, Paul (16 August 2017). "General debate". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  29. ^ "United States Embassy Visit". Marlborough Research Centre. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Surnames A to Z". University of Otago. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  31. ^ "Research and Enterprise people". University of Otago. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  32. ^ "To fund or not to fund: Shakespeare centre's funding axed by Creative NZ". Stuff. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
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