Andrew Falloon

Andrew Falloon
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Rangitata
In office
23 September 2017 – 21 July 2020
Preceded byJo Goodhew
Succeeded byJo Luxton
Majority6,331
Personal details
Born (1983-08-29) 29 August 1983 (age 41)
Ashburton, New Zealand
Political partyNational
Other political
affiliations		ACT (formerly)

Andrew Hamilton Falloon (born 29 August 1983)[1] is a former New Zealand politician, serving as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for the National Party from 2017 until his resignation in July 2020.

Early life

Falloon was born in Ashburton in 1983. He received his education at Allenton Primary School before boarding at Christchurch Boys’ High School. He attended the University of Canterbury to study political science and economics.[2]

Political career

At the 2005 and 2008 elections Falloon stood as a list-only candidate for ACT New Zealand.[3][4] From 2007, he worked as a researcher at Parliament, before working in the ministerial offices of Rodney Hide, Phil Heatley and Steven Joyce.[2][5]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2017–2020 52nd Rangitata 61 National

At the 2017 general election, Falloon contested the electorate of Rangitata as a candidate for the National Party. Rangitata had been held by National since the electorate was created in 2008.[6] Falloon won the electorate, defeating Labour candidate Jo Luxton by 6,331 votes.[7] With the National Party in Opposition, Falloon was appointed as the party's spokesperson on South Island regional development during Simon Bridges' leadership, and spokesperson for biosecurity under the leadership of both Todd Muller and Judith Collins.[2]

In 2020, Falloon voted for the Abortion Legislation Bill, which decriminalised abortion.[8] He supported the End of Life Choice Bill, which aims to legalise voluntary euthanasia.[9]

Resignation

On 20 July 2020, Falloon announced that he would not seek re-election at the 2020 general election, citing personal reasons following the suicide of a friend.[10] It was later reported that he had sent a pornographic image to a 19-year-old female university student.[11] The parents of the young woman emailed this information to prime minister Jacinda Ardern; Ardern's chief of staff notified National Party leader Judith Collins. Police investigated the matter but decided that sending the image did not meet the threshold for prosecution.[12][13] According to The New Zealand Herald, Falloon claimed that he had left his phone unattended during the party and that one of his acquaintances had sent the image. Despite insisting that he had not sent the message, Falloon reportedly offered his resignation to Collins, which she accepted.[14]

On 21 July 2020, Falloon resigned as a Member of Parliament effective immediately. His resignation accompanied media reports that he had sent two inappropriate images to two other women. Collins also stated that she "no longer trusted his story" of the incident with the first woman and "had lost confidence in him."[15][16][17] After his resignation a total of “at least five" women have reported similar behaviour by Falloon.[18][19] In response to complaints that Falloon had sent unsolicited explicit messages to multiple women, the New Zealand Police launched an investigation into the former National MP,[20] but at the conclusion of the investigation, Police decided not to press charges against him.[21]

References

  1. ^ "OPINION: Youth are doing incredible things". The Timaru Courier. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Mohanlall, Samesh (20 July 2020). "National MP for Rangitata had a strong presence in community". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Party Lists of Successful Registered Parties". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Address in Reply--Andrew Falloon". Hansard. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  6. ^ Hayward, Michael. "Rangitata National party candidate to be Andrew Falloon". Stuff. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Rangitata - Official Result 2017 general elections". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Abortion Legislation Bill — Third Reading". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  9. ^ Littlewood, Matthew (4 May 2019). "Andrew Falloon, Jo Luxton will vote in favour of End of Life Choice Bill". The Timaru Herald. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  10. ^ "National MP Andrew Falloon quits amid 'significant mental health issues'". The New Zealand Herald. 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  11. ^ Johnston, Kirsty; Wade, Amelia (20 July 2020). "National MP Andrew Falloon quits after sending sexual image to female university student". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  12. ^ Manch, Thomas; Comer, Rachel (20 July 2020). "National MP Andrew Falloon quits politics, alleged to have sent indecent image to young woman". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  13. ^ "National MP Andrew Falloon quits politics amid indecent image allegations". RNZ. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  14. ^ "More details revealed in National MP Andrew Falloon scandal". The New Zealand Herald. 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  15. ^ Cooke, Henry (21 July 2020). "Andrew Falloon sent sexually explicit photos to another young woman". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  16. ^ "New sex-text claims: National MP Andrew Falloon quits politics immediately; Judith Collins says she 'no longer trusts his story'". The New Zealand Herald. 21 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  17. ^ O'Brien, Tova (20 July 2020). "'Pattern of behaviour' emerging: Further allegations of lewd images sent by disgraced ex-National MP Andrew Falloon". Newshub. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  18. ^ Small, Zane (23 July 2020). "Another woman complains about former National MP Andrew Falloon". Newshub. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  19. ^ Walls, Jason (23 July 2020). "Andrew Falloon sex-text scandal: A fifth woman comes forward with complaint against disgraced MP". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  20. ^ Manch, Thomas (23 July 2020). "Police launch investigation into former National MP Andrew Falloon after allegations he sent explicit messages to young women". Stuff. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  21. ^ "No charges against former National MP Andrew Falloon over unsolicited images". Radio New Zealand. 18 December 2020.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Rangitata
2017–2020 		Succeeded by