Criminal Law Expert Hopes to Brief Parliament Soon

By Alan Tristram
April 12, 2011

One of the first candidates to step forward to replace Darren Hughes in the Otaki electorate is a local with an impressive list of qualifications.

He’s Peter Foster (46), a criminal defence barrister, who lives at Waikanae Beach and has a law practice at Raumati.

Mr Foster, who is of New Zealand/Samoan descent, has wide experience dealing with young people.

Court appointed youth advocate

He is a Court-appointed youth advocate – and is a family man with two boys aged 17 and 11, and a daughter aged 13.

A junior rugby coach for many years, he is also chair of the Waikanae School Board and sits on the Paraparaumu College Board of Trustees.

And local cyclists will be impressed that he holds a cycling club certificate for riding up and down the Maungakotukutuku Hill ten times in one day.

Strong union connections

Mr Foster also has strong union affiliations (important in the Labour Party).

He is a life member and former vice-president of Finsec, the finance sector union, and was a Komiti Pasifika representative on the Council of Trade Unions Council.

In an interview for KIN, Peter Foster said he came from humble beginnings in a large working-class family in South Auckland.

He says his family nurtured and encouraged his love of learning: After education at two Catholic schools, he went on to get two university degrees – one in top-level maths and the other in law.

At first he worked in the finance industry for an international consultancy firm.

Changed course to become a criminal defence lawyer

But later he changed course and began a new life as a criminal lawyer.

“I like it,” he says.” I like appearing in Court for people who are among the most disadvantaged in the country.”

And he plans to make this count in Parliament: “If I get the candidature and get elected, I’ll bring with me a real understanding of criminal justice.”

On his political views, he describes himself as a left-of-centre social democrat: “I take the view that wealth has to be distributed fairly, but there have to be incentives for people to create wealth.”

Meanwhile, the importance of a good partner isn’t always stressed by political commentators looking at potential candidates, but it can count for a lot among voters.

And Mr Foster’s wife Bridie, who now works with him in his law firm, was formerly the midwife in charge of the maternity unit at Paraparaumu for several years.

All those mothers have votes of course — and even if their children don’t, they’re quite likely to run into the Labour candidate at a cycling meeting, rugby game or school function.

It could be a case of ‘Watch out for the new guy, Mr Guy!’

ENDS

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