Scaled heights of politics from humble start

• Published date: 16 October 2021
• Publication title: Otago Daily Times (New Zealand)

Sir Michael, a respected University of Otago academic before he scaled the political heights from MP for St Kilda to become deputy prime minister, died on August 19 aged 76 of a heart attack caused by renal and liver failure, after a very public battle with cancer.

He was one of the most ardent and articulate defenders of the Labour Party during his time in Parliament, and sincere tributes from all sides of the House recognised him as one of the most skilled politicians of his generation.

Born in Tottenham, North London, on February 5, 1945, Sir Michael’s father John was a spectacle frame maker and his mother Ivy — the first person in the family to attend secondary school — a secretary.

The family migrated to New Zealand in 1955, settling in Christchurch, where Sir Michael’s eventually famed intellect was quickly spotted, earning him a scholarship to attend Christ’s College.

He went on to study history at the University of Canterbury, earning a BA and then a master of arts, before using a Commonwealth Scholarship to attain a PhD in social and economic history from the University of Edinburgh.

In the midst of his studies, he married Rowena Knight, and the couple had two children, Louise and Imogen.

Their 1967 marriage ended in divorce in 1989.

Some time in 1974 Sir Michael was bailed up in the George Street Tavern by modern languages professor Eric Herd and urged to join the Castle St branch of the Labour Party.

Before long he was chairman, and friend and future Cabinet colleague Pete Hodgson was secretary, and in 1978 he was publicity officer for Labour Dunedin North candidate Stan Rodger.

In 1981, after five years on Labour’s executive and council, Sir Michael stood for the party in the St Kilda electorate (now Taieri) and won handily.

Sir Michael came to Parliament with a high local profile from battling against the Springbok tour and the proposed Aramoana aluminium smelter, but was a touch unsure about his new role.

‘‘It was an odd career choice for somebody who used to have a strong fear of flying and was ill at ease with strangers,’’ he recalled in his valedictory speech.

In 1983 he was named Labour’s environment spokesman, but when the party swept to power the following year he was named senior whip, having been unsuccessful in the caucus ballot for who should make Cabinet.

His three years as a whip convinced Sir Michael that reform of the parliamentary process was well overdue, and when he eventually became Leader of the House he got the chance to...