Wikipedia:WikiProject New Zealand/politics/New MPs/Tony Milne

Tony Milne JP (born 19 April 1981) is a New Zealand politician who was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2014 general election as a representative of the Labour Party in the Christchurch Central electorate.

Background
Milne was born and grew up in Invercargill. From a poor family, his father worked in an abattoir and his mother was a cleaner. He attended Cargill High School, and after its closure, his final year was spent at a different school. Milne moved to Christchurch to attend the University of Canterbury and graduated with a first class honours degree in English and political science.

Prior to his election to the House of Representatives, Milne was the manager of public health at the Problem Gambling Foundation. Milne is a justice of the peace.

Private life
Aged 15, Milne came out to a few friends as gay:

"Within a few months the whole school knew. It was a lonely, difficult, emotional, but also exhilarating time – and also a huge relief."

Milne had a civil union with his partner Nicholas at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in 2008.

Political career
Milne joined the Labour Party in 1998 when the Fourth National Government undertook a school reform in Invercargill and closed his high school. He is regarded as a loyal Labour Party member. He twice stood in the for Labour unwinnable electorate against National's Brian Connell (in  and ). In the 2007 local elections, he stood for election as city councillor in Christchurch's Riccarton-Wigram ward and was narrowly beaten. Milne did not contest the 2008 or 2011 general elections. He was discussed as a possibly candidate for the Labour nomination for the 2013 Christchurch East by-election, but was in the end not one of the five candidates.

Prior to 2008, Milne worked for Christchurch Central MP Tim Barnett for a while, helping with work on the Civil Union Act 2004 amongst other things. He volunteered for Barack Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 and ran Jim Anderton's campaign in the 2010 Christchurch mayoral election. Milne won the Labour nomination for Christchurch Central for the against James Dann (who was subsequently chosen as Labour's candidate for ) and Gavin Smith. In the, National's Nicky Wagner narrowly defeated Labour's Brendon Burns in Christchurch Central, but in , Milne took the electorate off Wagner, helped by boundary changes to the electorate prior to 2014 which brought traditional Labour voters into the constituency. In May, prediction market website iPredict had a likelihood of 82% for Milne to win the election.

Milne was disappointed by the Labour Party when the Fifth Labour Government carried on with school closures. During the programme of school closures carried out by the Fifth National Government after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Milne has been a strong supporter of Phillipstown School.