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Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953), generally known as Phil Goff, is the current Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party. During the Fifth Labour Government, he served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Defence of New Zealand, Minister of Corrections, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control and Associate Minister of Finance.
Cabinet minister (1999 - 2008)
In the 1999 elections, which Labour won, Goff accepted seventh place on the party list, but also retained his electorate seat. In Clark's new government, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister of Justice. He retained this position after the 2002 elections. Following the 2005 elections Rt Hon. Winston ...
Phil Goff isn't sure whether he believes in God, so he doesn't pray. Has he felt like praying sometimes, though? The politician gets the point and laughs. "I think people are put on earth, or are on earth, to determine their own fate," he says.
Forging his fate as opposition leader, of course, hasn't turned out so well. "Being leader of the Labour Party is a huge privilege," he says, leaning back in the sunshine. "But being leader of the opposition is a pain in the arse."
The trouble is that one goes with the other. Goff still has a sense of humour after three years of grief. Perhaps you ...
Labour leader Phil Goff says an apparent "kiss and make up" between ACT leader Rodney Hide and MP Heather Roy is too late for the party to redeem its image. After a week of messy disputes, Mr Hide and Mrs Roy have declared a truce. She returned to Parliament on Wednesday. Mr Hide had said she was "fragile" and might struggle to return to the party after being deposed as deputy leader by John Boscawen. The ACT caucus met again yesterday and pledged support for the leadership team. In front of the news media Mr Hide apologised for any distress his behaviour had caused Mrs Roy, and she ...
Labour leader Phil Goff is accusing the government of writing off high unemployment, as the price New Zealand has to pay to recover from the recession. But Finance Minister Bill English says saving, not spending, is the key to long-term economic health."If people were rushing back to the shops and the housing market then I would be a bit concerned that New Zealanders hadn't got the message," English told TVNZ's Q + A programme.
"Well to some extent it is because a lot of those jobs were dependent on this credit-fuelled economy that we had, particularly from 2005 onwards, and we are going ...
