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Elections / 2026 / Taieri / Mathew Phillips
M
2026 general election
Standing for Taieri

Mathew Phillips

Kind
Electorate only
Source
elections-wikipedia
As of
9 Jun 2026

Background

Research run #179 · 7 May 2026
Every claim below traces to a verbatim quote in the cited source. Click any footnote [1] in the prose, or expand the citation index below, to see where the fact came from.

Mathew Phillips is a New Zealand politician who has been affiliated with multiple parties across his political career, most recently standing as a Green Party candidate for the Taieri electorate [22][13].

Phillips has held affiliations with the Opportunity Party [24], and according to single secondary sources, has also been associated with the National Party [23] and the Green Party [22]. He stood as a candidate for Taieri under the Opportunity Party banner [10] and as a Green Party candidate for Taieri in 2020 [12], as well as for a confirmed Green Party candidacy for Taieri from 2 February 2026 [13].

His career background spans several fields. According to a single reputable secondary source, he has worked as an electrical engineer [3], an insurance professional [5], a hospitality worker [4], and as a branch manager of a will and trust provider [2]. He also holds, according to the same category of source, an MA in Social Anthropology [8].

In civic life, Phillips is reported to have served as captain of the Zingari-Richmond Rugby Football Club [6] and as a member of several community trusts [7]. He is also noted, according to a single secondary source, as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner holding a purple belt [1].

According to a single reputable secondary source, Phillips became a Member of Parliament on a Green Party list seat from 2023 [21]. He has held a range of Green Party portfolio responsibilities, including Dunedin Issues [14], Energy [15], Hunting and Fishing [16], Regional Development [17], Rural Communities [18], Science Innovation and Technology [19], and Sports and Recreation [20]. He has also been noted as an Associate Justice (Firearms) spokesperson [9].

Generated 16 Jun 2026 · model claude-sonnet-4-6
AI-generated biography. Assembled by an LLM from public sources (Wikipedia, parliament register, Beehive, news archives). Every claim is backed by a verbatim quote in one of the cited sources below and tagged confirmed, unverified, or disputed by corroboration. Use as a starting reference, not a final source — cross-check anything load-bearing.
1 confirmed 23 unverified 0 disputed
Verify the bio — expand the citation index 24 sourced claims

Education

  • [8]
    Attended institution awarding MA in Social Anthropology. unverified

Career

Political offices

  • [9]
    Held the office of Associate Justice (Firearms) spokesperson. unverified
  • [10]
    Held the office of Candidate for Opportunity (Taieri). unverified
  • [11]
    Held the office of Candidate for Taieri. unverified
  • [12]
    Held the office of Green Party candidate for Taieri (from 2020). unverified
  • [13]
    Held the office of Green Party candidate for Taieri electorate (from 2 February 2026). unverified
  • [14]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Dunedin Issues. unverified
  • [15]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Energy. unverified
  • [16]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Hunting and Fishing. unverified
  • [17]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Regional Development. unverified
  • [18]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Rural Communities. unverified
  • [19]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Science Innovation and Technology. unverified
  • [20]
    Held the office of Green Party portfolio holder for Sports and Recreation. unverified
  • [21]
    Held the office of Member of Parliament (Green Party list) (from 2023). unverified

Party affiliation

Civic roles & honours

  • [6]
    Civic role: captain of the Zingari-Richmond Rugby Football Club. unverified
  • [7]
    Civic role: member of several community trusts. unverified

Looked for, not found

  • Unable to independently verify Mathew Phillips' specific educational qualifications (Massey University degree type/field) beyond LinkedIn snippet indicating Massey University - Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.
  • No public record of Mathew Phillips' pre-politics career details (specific employer, role title, years at Marsh insurance) beyond search snippets — LinkedIn and Facebook were blocked to fetching.
  • No pecuniary interests, directorships, Hansard speeches, or ministerial meetings recorded in Alitheia local evidence — consistent with Mathew Phillips being a candidate (not yet an MP) for the 2026 election.

The agent checked these topics across the allowed public sources but could not find verbatim-quotable evidence. Absence doesn't rule the fact out — it just means no journalist-accessible source covered it at run time.