Burke was first elected to Parliament as the Labour MP for Rangiora in the 1972 election. In the 1975 election, however, he lost his seat, and remained outside Parliament for three years. In the 1978 election, Burke was elected as the Labour MP for the West Coast electorate. When Labour won the 1984 election, Burke became Minister of Immigration and Minister of Employment. He held these roles until the 1987 election, when he was chosen to replace the outgoing Gerry Wall as Speaker. At 45 he was the second youngest Speaker in the history of the Parliament of New Zealand. He served in this role for three years, losing the Speakership and his seat when Labour lost the 1990 election. In the 1990 New Year Honours, Burke was appointed a Knight Bachelor, and the same year he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal. He was first elected councillor of the Canterbury Regional Council in 1998 and was chairman from 2004. On 24 October 2007, following the local body elections where he stood in the Christchurch South constituency, he was elected Chairman for a further term. On 24 September 2009, Burke lost a motion of no confidence and was replaced as Chairman. In 2010 the New Zealand Government fired Burke, and the remaining Regional Councillors of Environment Canterbury, two years after the previous local body elections. They were replaced by Government-appointed Commissioners and elections for Environment Canterbury were to be held in 2013, but a return to full democracy was delayed until the 2019 local elections. The reason cited for the sacking was due to poor direction, "woeful" performance and governance and an overall collapse of confidence in the organisation. In the 2010 local elections, Burke stood for Christchurch City Council in the Spreydon-Heathcote ward but was beaten by the two incumbents.
Outside politics
Burke was patron of Cholmondeley Children's Home in Governors Bay but relinquished this role according to the 2015 Annual Report prior to his drink driving conviction in January 2016. In March 2012 Sir Kerry joined the board of the Draco Foundation Charitable Trust, an organisation whose purpose is the protection and promotion of democracy and natural justice in New Zealand. The trust was denied charitable status by the Charities Commission and on appeal by the High Court of New Zealand. The Draco organisation was judged to have no public benefit and was set up for political purposes. In January 2016 aged 73 Burke was convicted of drink driving having 517mcg of alcohol to a litre of breath. He was fined $400 and disqualified from driving for six months.
