Bill Jeffries

William Patrick Jeffries (born 19 September 1945 in Wellington)[1] is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was elected as the Member of Parliament for Heretaunga and served as Minister of Transport and Minister of Justice.

The Honourable Bill Jeffries
40th Minister of Justice
In office 13 August 1989 – 2 November 1990
Prime Minister	Geoffrey Palmer Mike Moore
Preceded by	Geoffrey Palmer
Succeeded by	Doug Graham
Personal details
Born	William Patrick Jeffries (1945-09-19) 19 September 1945 Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Relations	John Jeffries (brother)
Profession	Lawyer

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
1981–1984	40th	Heretaunga		Labour
1984–1987	41st	Heretaunga		Labour
1987–1990	42nd	Heretaunga		Labour

Jeffries was a member of the Wellington City Council from 1974 until 1980. Wellington Mayor Sir Michael Fowler later described Jeffries as an "extremely good" councillor.[2] His brother John was previously also a councillor and Deputy Mayor to Sir Frank Kitts.

In 1978 Jeffries unsuccessfully contested the seat of Miramar for the Labour Party.[3]

He represented the Heretaunga electorate from 1981 to 1990, when he was defeated by National candidate Peter McCardle in a swing against Labour. He was undersecretary to the Minister of Transport in 1986 and also to the Minister of Works, and chairman of a parliamentary committee on road safety, in 1987. In April 1988 he was appointed chairman of the National Roads Board. He was Minister of Justice from 1989 to 1990 in the Fourth Labour Government.

Lombard Finance convictions

On 24 February 2012 Jeffries was convicted, along with fellow former Justice Minister Sir Douglas Graham and two other men, of breaching the Securities Act by making untrue statements to investors in his capacity as a director of Lombard Finance.[4] Justice Robert Dobson wrote, "I am satisfied that the accused genuinely believed in the accuracy and adequacy of the ... documents", but that the offences were ones of strict liability so there was no need for "any form of mental intent to distribute documents that were false or misleading".[5] Jeffries was sentenced to 400 hours' community service. The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against conviction and increased his sentence to eight months' home detention and 250 hours' community work,[6] but the Supreme Court restored the original sentence.[7] Retired Court of Appeal judge Sir Edmund Thomas described his convictions as a "grievous miscarriage of justice", saying of the crucial piece of evidence that "you would never ever convict a dog on the basis of the schedule".[8]

Notes

1. Lambert, Max (1991) [1908]. Who’s Who in New Zealand (12th ed.). Wellington: Reed. ISBN 0790001306.
2. Romanos, Joseph (28 May 2009). "The Wellingtonian interview: Sir Michael Fowler". The Wellingtonian. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
3. Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. 278. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
4. "Former Cabinet ministers guilty of making false statements". Stuff. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
5. Gaynor, Brian (10 March 2012). "Rulings have raised the bar for directors". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
6. "Court increases Lombard sentences". Stuff.co.nz. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
7. Mayer, Kurt (7 May 2014). "Lombard directors' home detention too harsh - Supreme Court". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
8. "Lombard conviction 'miscarriage of justice'". Stuff.co.nz. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Political offices
Preceded by Geoffrey Palmer	Minister of Justice 1989–1990	Succeeded by Doug Graham
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Ron Bailey	Member of Parliament for Heretaunga 1981–1990	Succeeded by Peter McCardle