Joseph Mooney is a National Party member of Parliament representing the Southland electorate [33][42].
Before entering politics, Mooney worked in a range of manual and trade roles. According to a single reputable secondary source, these included work on building sites, fishing boats, in forestry, on orchards, at ski fields, and in retail stores [5][7][8][12][13][15]. He also served as an Army reservist [1][2] and as a volunteer firefighter [19].
Mooney pursued legal study as an adult student, according to a single reputable secondary source obtaining an honours degree in law [26]. He went on to become a senior trial lawyer [14] and, according to a single reputable secondary source, founded and owned his own law practice in the Southern region, operating in Otago and Southland [10][24]. A single reputable secondary source also indicates he built small companies in New Zealand and overseas [17]. He was appointed to the Crown Prosecution Panel for the Invercargill Crown Solicitor by the Deputy Solicitor General from 2017, according to a single reputable secondary source [20]. According to the same category of source, he was appointed as a Youth Advocate by the Court [21] and served as a member of the Southland Branch Council of the New Zealand Law Society [22].
Mooney stood as the National Party candidate for Southland in 2020 [41] and, according to a single reputable secondary source, has held the seat of MP for Southland from that year [31]. In Parliament, according to single reputable secondary sources, he has served as Chair of the Social Services and Community Select Committee [30], and as a member of the Primary Production Select Committee [35] and the Regulations Select Committee [36]. He has also been a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission Artworks Committee [34].
According to a single reputable secondary source, Mooney has held National Party spokesperson roles for Forestry [37], Tourism [39], Space [38], and Treaty Negotiations [40], as well as an Associate Spokesperson role for Agriculture [29].