page_title: Andrew Little (New Zealand politician)
section_title: Leader of the Opposition (2014–2017)
hierarchical_section_title: Andrew Little (New Zealand politician) / Member of Parliament (2011–present) / Leader of the Opposition (2014–2017)
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson meets with the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, Andrew Little, in Wellington, New Zealand, on June 6, 2017. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: Andrew James Little is a New Zealand politician and former trade union official currently serving as Minister of Justice and Courts and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations since 2017. He is also the Minister for the Government Communications Security Bureau and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. Little was previously Leader of the Opposition from 2014 to 2017.
  Little was the national secretary of New Zealand's largest trade union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union, and he was President of the Labour Party from 2009 to 2011. He entered Parliament in 2011 as a list MP. Little served as the Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party from 18 November 2014 until 1 August 2017, when he resigned to make way for Jacinda Ardern.
  With the formation of a Labour-led coalition government in October 2017, Little was appointed as Minister of Justice, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and Minister in charge of the Government Communications Security Bureau and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. In July 2020, Little was appointed as the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.
context_section_description: Following Labour's defeat at the general election in September 2014, David Cunliffe resigned as leader of the Labour Party. Little announced his bid for the 2014 Labour Party leadership election on 9 October 2014 and was nominated by Poto Williams and Iain Lees-Galloway. He won the election, which was held on 18 November 2014, and defeated Grant Robertson, David Parker, and Nanaia Mahuta. The public media focused on his trade union background.
  As Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition, Little sought to challenge the Government with a strong alternative narrative. In a 2015 conference speech he introduced a new "Kiwi dream" theme (the New Zealand dream). In 2015 Labour introduced a new slogan, "Backing the Kiwi Dream". Little largely focused on issues and concerns such as rising house prices in urban areas, a 'brain drain', unemployment and job security and the growing wage gap between baby boomers and millennials—the "Kiwi dream" narrative was particularly designed to engage young voters.
  On 30 November 2015 Little reshuffled his shadow cabinet. He appointed 22 MPs and formally ranked the first 12, including several promotions. He also promoted a Maori MP, Nanaia Mahuta, as shadow spokesperson Treaty of Waitangi negotiations. Little said he saw the line-up as a "blueprint" for a Labour cabinet after 2017.
  Little was criticised by some for perceived poor performance in television interviews, his low profile and poor name recognition with the general public. A Dominion Post assessment said "he has little charisma and a lack of new ideas" and criticised Labour's "bare platform". He was praised by political commentators early in his leadership for uniting the party caucus and averting the infighting that characterised David Cunliffe's tenure as leader, though at the expense of dropping many of the party's former policy proposals.
  In October 2016 Labour floated the idea of a levy on employers who imported offshore skilled labour rather than upskilled their domestic workers. Little responded to criticisms that it amounted to a "tax on immigrants", saying "If we want to make sure we've got the skills for the future ... for those employers who don't take on apprentices, don't invest in training, you can contribute a levy and that'll help to defray the cost of those who are doing the training". Little also criticised the number of travel visas granted to semi-skilled workers, citing statistics. Kirk Hope, Chief executive of Business New Zealand, criticised the proposal policy and warned that it would affect smaller businesses who are unable to recruit enough local workers.
  Little was sued for defamation by Lani and Earl Hagaman after he made statements linking a contract awarded to their company with donations they had made to the National Party. In April 2017, a jury cleared him of some of the charges, and were unable to reach a verdict on others.
  On 1 August 2017, Little resigned as Leader of the Labour Party due to the party's history of low results in polls, and was succeeded by deputy leader Jacinda Ardern. Little was later lauded by party supporters for putting aside his personal ambition to allow Ardern to lead the party, which saw a swift reversal of fortune for Labour. His decision has been labelled a "selfless masterstroke" and was praised for his integrity and selflessness.
caption: Little (as Labour leader) meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in June 2017
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