Bill Laney


William Ross Laney was a New Zealand Member of Parliament representing the Labour Party, and Mayor of Oamaru.

Biography

Early life and career

Laney was born in 1913 in Weston. He graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in 1937. He was also a New Zealand Universities rugby and cricket blue and later Otago rugby captain. Laney then became a teacher of agriculture at Waitaki Boys' High School.

Political career

Laney's political career began in 1951 when he was elected as a member of the Oamaru Borough Council in a by-election. He was then Mayor of Oamaru for 19 years from 1956 to 1975. From 1945 until 1956 he was an executive member of the Oamaru branch of the National Party but he resigned to join the Labour Party in order to contest the mayoralty. His resignation did not endear him to the local National Party faithful. This was compounded by the fact that the incumbent mayor he defeated, Michael Francis Edward Cooney, was a prominent member of the local National Party.
Laney contested the electorate in the, and defeated the incumbent, National's Allan Dick by a 390 votes majority. At the next election in, he was in turn defeated by National's Jonathan Elworthy. Three years later at the election, he stood for Labour in where he again finished runner-up to Elworthy.
Laney was described as a man of integrity not prepared to compromise his principles and opposed the influence liquor industry lobbyists had over politicians during his time as an MP.

Later life and death

In 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.
Laney died on 7 August 1998 in Christchurch.