Fraser Colman

Fraser MacDonald Colman (23 February 1925 – 11 April 2008) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Colman was born in Wellington on 23 February 1925, one of five children of Kenneth and Emily Colman.

He attended primary school in Wellington before his family moved to Paraparaumu, where he went to Horowhenua College.

Upon leaving school he found employment as a boilermaker at the firm of William Cables; he worked in that profession for 13 years.

He soon became active in the union movement, becoming a shop steward.

He joined the Labour party, organising and distributing pamphlets and writing for the Labour Party newspaper, The Southern Cross.

In 1955 he became assistant general secretary of the Labour Party.

In 1958, Colman married Noeline Jean Allen, after first meeting her in 1954, and the couple went on to have four children.

They moved to Wainuiomata in 1959, where they built a home and lived the remainder of their life.

He served as campaign manager for Henry May in the electorate in.

He represented the electorates of Petone from 1967 to 1978, and then when Petone was renamed, Pencarrow from 1978 to 1987, when he retired.

He held the position until he was persuaded to stand for Labour in the by-election for the electorate in 1967 following the death in office of Mick Moohan, its existing MP.

He was elected in the 15 April.

In the cabinet of Norman Kirk, he held the positions of Minister of Mines (1972–1974), Minister of Immigration (1972–1974), Associate Minister of Labour, and Associate Minister of Works.

He was the cabinet minister chosen to represent New Zealand in 1973 on its warships during their protest against the nuclear weapons testing carried out by France.

In 1973, the government decided to dispatch a Royal New Zealand Navy frigate to protest against French nuclear testing on Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific.

It was decided that a cabinet minister should accompany the frigate to demonstrate the seriousness of the New Zealand government's position.

Norman Kirk put all the Cabinet ministers' names into a hat and drew out the name of Colman.

He departed from Auckland on 28 June aboard the Otago, which reached Mururoa a month later where he witnessed the first atmospheric test.

Colman transferred to the Canterbury when it arrived to relieve the Otago, from which he witnessed the second French atmospheric test.

Following the defeat of the Third Labour Government he held the position of Opposition Spokesman on Immigration.

In the cabinet of Bill Rowling, he was Minister of Mines, Minister of Immigration and Postmaster-General (all 1974–1975).

In 1977 he became Shadow Minister of Energy and in 1978 Shadow Minister for the Environment as well.

A year later he was allocated the Housing portfolio by Rowling instead.

He held Petone until it was abolished in 1978.

He represented the electorate, which replaced Petone, from 1978 to 1987.

He was a Cabinet Minister in the third Labour Government.

Ahead of the 1981 election he was shifted to be Shadow Minister of Transport.

After the election he became Shadow Minister of Works and Shadow Minister of Mines.

When David Lange replaced Rowling as leader Colman retained the Works portfolio.

He criticised the Muldoon Government for outsourcing the construction of many Think Big projects, including hiring foreign contractors at the Clyde Dam, rather than using the Ministry of Works and Development employees, stating the government "sacrificed the ministry to private enterprise."

In the fourth Labour Government, he again served as a cabinet minister holding the posts of Minister of Works and Development, Minister in Charge of the Earthquake and War Damages Commission, and Associate Minister of Energy.

He ended the policy of the Muldoon Government of outsourcing works projects to contractors which he had previously been critical of.

He also expanded the scope of the Ministry of Works and Development to include constructing irrigation infrastructure.

Colman retired from Parliament at the 1987 election.

He was replaced in Pencarrow by Sonja Davies.

He was subsequently appointed as chairman of the New Zealand Fire Service Council for a three-year term.

Colman had a stroke in 1991.

Another stroke in 1999 removed his ability to speak.

He died on 11 April 2008, and was survived by his wife and three of their four daughters.