National Party President Sylvia Wood offers condolences to the loved ones of former National MP for Whanganui Hon Chester Borrows.

Chester Borrows was the National MP for Whanganui from 2005 to 2017 and served as Courts Minister and Associate Minister of Justice and Social Development in Sir John Key’s National Government.

“On behalf of the National Party, my thoughts are with Chester’s loved ones and the communities he dedicated his life to serving as a police officer, local MP and community advocate,” says Ms Wood.

“Chester’s devotion to South Taranaki and Whanganui was matched by his commitment to the National Party. Members still speak of his thoughtful contributions to policy remits at party conferences, and he went out of his way to offer support and mentorship to newer MPs and candidates.

“While Chester did not make it to Parliament in his first two attempts in 1999 and 2002, he did not let it dull his resolve, and in reading his 2005 maiden speech, it’s clear this resolve was fueled by his aspiration to improve the lives of all New Zealanders:

‘I want to live in a country that claims all children as its own and accepts the glory and the responsibility of that—the responsibility to create opportunities for them to stand straight with chin up and chest out, and not to slouch on extended welfare for their whole working lives, never to stand proudly unaided. I want to live in a country where all talents and abilities are rewarded; not just the flavour-of-the-month occupations but the brain surgeon and the drain digger, the social worker and the rocket scientist, the chippy and the chairman of the board. That, Madam Assistant Speaker, is why I joined the National Party and why I stand here today.’

“To Ella, Katy, Abi, Zac and all of Chester’s friends and loved ones, thank you for sharing Chester with us all for so much of his life – New Zealand is better for it.”

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