Barrie Leay RIP
February 9th, 2012 at 2:20 pm by David FarrarStuff reports:
Energy specialist and renewable energy advocate Barrie Leay will be sorely missed says Windflow Technology chief executive Geoff Henderson. …
Henderson said Leay brought a wealth of New Zealand energy experience and international contacts to the company through his prior roles as executive director of the Electricity Supply Association of New Zealand and chairman of the APEC Energy Business Network in the Asia Pacific.
Barrie Leay was also the National Party’s General Secretary for much of the 1970s and 1980s. His nickname was Buddha, I recall.
Barrie’s tenure was in the golden years of Sir George Chapman, and also Sue Wood. He was a powerful figure. His successors have tended to be fairly apolitical, but Barrie was very political, and hence somewhat controversial.
I joined the party around the time he retired, However I had a wee bit to do with him through the National Political Centre, which was a internal policy thinktank. He was indeed an expert on energy policy and issues.
Barrie devoted a large part of his life to the National Party. May he rest in peace.
Related posts:
- Barrie Saunders on state sector neutrality
- Another golden handshake
- The fracking report
- So much for not against all mining
February 9th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
I may be wrong but I think he was virtually driven out by Rob Muldoon after he lost the 1984 snap election. Rob blamed the non-Parliamentary side of the party for that defeat whereas IMO many party members had had a gutsful of Rob and ‘voted’ with their feet. It took National 20 – 25 years to recover from this. Rob also used his remaining influence to derail Sue Wood’s candidacy attempts for 1987. He had the knife out for both of them.
Vote:February 9th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Yes, Barrie was political but it was that passion that made him so effective in the glory days of the National Party when membership hit its highest levels and the party was very much a forum for the exchange of ideas. If you were interested in politics the National Party was a good place to be. Barrie spent time talking to members up and down the country and getting them more involved – as possible candidates or officeholders. If he thought you had potential and the confidence to have a go, he could help you get started. True, his successors have generally all been apolitical – but is the National Party a more vibrant and vital organisation now?
Vote:February 10th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
I followed Barrie as General Secretary of the Party. He was a dynamo in his role, and a handful to follow. But he had a profound influence on the National Party as it’s executive head, and he was a major influence on policy development. May he rest in peace.
Vote:Max Bradford