Todd Michael Stephenson is a New Zealand lawyer and politician, representing ACT New Zealand as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 New Zealand general election. He has worked mainly in the pharmaceutical industry.
Todd Stephenson | |
|---|---|
 Stephenson in 2023 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for ACT party list | |
| Assumed office 14 October 2023 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Todd Michael Stephenson[1] Lumsden, New Zealand |
| Political party | ACT New Zealand |
| Spouse | Alex |
Early life
editStephenson was born in Lumsden and educated in Invercargill, attending James Hargest College and later gaining a law degree from the University of Otago.[2][3] He worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the 17 years, including for the company Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which makes cystic fibrosis drug Trikafta.[4][5]
Political career
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–present | 54th | List | 4 | ACT | |
Stephenson has been a member of ACT for nearly 30 years, since its formation, and formerly worked for ACT's former president Catherine Isaac.[6] He was attracted to the party by its focus on "private enterprise and individual freedom".[6] He campaigned for the party four times between 1996 and 2005, and was employed by the party from 1997 to 2000.[7] He has been elected to the ACT party board twice.[3]
Stephenson contested Southland in the 2023 election. He was fourth on the national list.[8] At the time of his selection he was living in Sydney, Australia.[9] He subsequently moved to a house he already owned and rented out in Queenstown.[3] During the campaign, Stephenson was interviewed by Jack Tame on Q+A on ACT's policy of an independent review of medicine-buying agency Pharmac. Stephenson said Pharmac needed to do a better job engaging with its stakeholders, and raised the possibility that treatment decisions should be made with a productivity focus in mind.[10] Stephenson identified the cost of living as a particular issue for his electorate, with rents for workers in Queenstown being unaffordable.[3]
On election night, Stephenson received 2,807 votes in Southland, coming fourth behind National's Joseph Mooney, Labour's Simon McCallum and the Green's Dave Kennedy.[11][12] He was however elected to Parliament on the ACT party list.[13]
In April 2024 Labour MP Rachel Boyack called for Stephenson's removal as ACT spokesperson for the arts, after an interview in which he revealed he doesn't believe taxpayers should fund the arts sector, and "took 20 minutes to think of a single New Zealand author and the only artistic experience he could think of was that he went to see the musical Hamilton in New York".[14]
In late May 2024, Stephenson sold off his shares in health companies Chimeric Therapeutics, CSL Limited and Johnson & Johnson following allegations by Labour Deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni that these shares created a conflict of interest in his role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Associate Health Minister David Seymour.[15]
Personal life
editStephenson lives in Queenstown with his partner Alex, who is Australian.[6] Stephenson identifies as gay and was founder of the J&J Open and Out Employee Resource Network in Australia, which aims to make sure company policies use language that "reflect[s] a diverse workforce".[16]
References
edit- ^ Le Quesne, Karl (16 November 2023). "2023 General Election – Election of List Candidates". Wellington: New Zealand Gazette. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ Houlahan, Mike (17 July 2023). "Southland candidate fourth on Act's list". Otago Daily Times.
- ^ a b c d Bowden, Kim (14 August 2023). "Twice the voice in Wellington as probable ACT MP moves to Queenstown". Crux. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ Kelly, Rachael (19 October 2023). "New ACT MP Todd Stephenson happy to be in Wellington". Stuff. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ Campbell, Gordon (28 July 2023). "On ACT's Links To Big Pharma | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b c RNZ (12 August 2023). "ACT's top candidates: The faces and aspirations aiming for government". Crux.
- ^ Kelly, Rachael (14 October 2023). "Queenstown's Todd Stephenson likely to head to Parliament as fourth on the ACT Party list". Stuff. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ McGregor, Catherine (17 July 2023). "It's mottoes vs potholes as campaign heats up". The Spinoff.
- ^ Kelly, Rachael (25 July 2023). "ACT's newest-to-be MP Todd Stephenson looking forward to the challenge of politics". Stuff.
- ^ "ACT calls for "productivity focus" for Pharmac". 1 News. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Mooney wins Southland (Queenstown)". Lakes Weekly Bulletin. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ "Southland - Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "2023 General Election - Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
- ^ "Labour MP calls for ACT's Todd Stephenson to be removed from arts portfolio after 'utterly bizarre' interview". Newshub. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "ACT MP Todd Stephenson sells his shares". RNZ. 28 May 2024. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ Brodie, Megan (13 December 2022). "Todd Stephenson, the great connector". MedNews. Retrieved 8 November 2023.