Keith Locke

Keith Locke was a social justice activist and Green Party New Zealand Member of Parliament.

Keith Locke (1944 – 21 June 2024) wrote prolifically on social and human rights issues, particular after his entrance to parliament where he was a Green Party MP from 1999 to 2011. His blog posts and articles, opinion pieces, submissions and presentations have appeared in multiple blogs, newspapers and other other outlets. The majority are republished here and can be found via the feed, links and search function available on this page.

Featured Article

“The Enemy Within: the Human Cost of State Surveillance in Aotearoa New Zealand” by Maire Leadbeater

Keith's sister Maire Leadbeater is launching her book The Enemy Within: the Human Cost of State Surveillance in Aotearoa New Zealand in November 2024, following Keith's death in June. Published by Potton and Burton, the book outlines the history of state surveillance in Aotearoa over the last 100 years, with a particular focus on how it has been used to penalise activists working for social change. It makes the case that the major intelligence agencies (NZSIS and GCSB) do not work in our interest. Of the part Keith played in the writing process, Maire says "my 2024 book owes much to the contributions of my brother Keith Locke. He not only assisted me with research, he read every word before I submitted to the publisher, and helped me to recraft and perfect my central argument." One of the most important chapters in the book tells Keith’s personal surveillance story. This chapter...

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ABOUT KEITH

Keith Locke was a former Green Party Member of Parliament, serving from 1999 to 2011. He is best known for his human rights and antiwar work not only through the Foreign Affairs portfolio he held through his time as an MP, but also under his other portfolios which included Human Rights, Immigration, Police, Ethnic Affairs and Defence. Keith was an international peace and social justice campaigner. He started this work during the first anti-nuclear, anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid protests of the 1960s.