{{Short description|New Zealand politician (1936–2019)}} {{About|the New Zealand politician|the fictional character|Rob Storey (Home and Away)|other uses|Robert Storey (disambiguation){{!}}Robert Storey}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2014}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Rob Storey | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|QSO|size=100%}} | image = | alt = | caption = | order1 = 16th Minister of Transport | prime_minister1 = | term_start1 = 2 November 1990 | term_end1 = 29 November 1993 | predecessor1 = Bill Jeffries | successor1 = Maurice Williamson | constituency_MP5 = Waikato | parliament5 = New Zealand | majority5 = | term_start5 = 1984 | term_end5 = 1996 | predecessor5 = Simon Upton | successor5 = ''Constituency abolished'' | office6 = President of Federated Farmers | term_start6 = 1981 | term_end6 = 1984 | predecessor6 = Allan Wright | successor6 = Peter Elworthy | birth_name = William Robson Storey | birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|07|16|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|08|02|1936|07|16|df=y}} | death_place = Te Awamutu, New Zealand | party = National | spouse = Lorraine Storey ({{abbr|m.|married}} {{circa|1960}}) | relations = | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = Farmer }} '''William Robson Storey''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|QSO}} (16 July 1936 – 2 August 2019), generally known as '''Rob Storey''', was a New Zealand farmer and politician. He served as president of Federated Farmers between 1981 and 1984, and was a National Member of Parliament for 12 years from 1984.
== Early life and career == Before entering politics, Storey was a farmer at Waiterimu in the Waikato, and was the president of Federated Farmers from 1981 to 1984. He was educated at Wesley College, Auckland.<ref name="Stuff obituary">{{cite news |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/115019971/obituary-william-robson-storey-rob-qso-july-16-1936--august-2-2019 |title=Obituary: William Robson Storey (Rob) QSO July 16, 1936 – August 2, 2019 |first=Charles |last=Riddle |date=17 August 2019 |work=Stuff |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref>
== Member of Parliament == {{NZ parlbox header|nolist=true|align=left}} {{NZ parlbox|term=41st|start={{NZ election link year|1984}}|end=1987|party=New Zealand National Party|electorate=Waikato}} {{NZ parlbox|term=42nd|start={{NZ election link year|1987}}|end=1990|party=New Zealand National Party|electorate=Waikato}} {{NZ parlbox|term=43rd|start={{NZ election link year|1990}}|end=1993|party=New Zealand National Party|electorate=Waikato}} {{NZ parlbox|term=44th|start={{NZ election link year|1993}}|end=1996|party=New Zealand National Party|electorate=Waikato}} {{End}} Storey was elected MP for Waikato in the 1984 election, representing the National Party. He retained that seat until his retirement at the 1996 election.<ref name="Stuff obituary"/>
Storey was appointed a minister in the first term of the Fourth National Government. Between 1990 and 1993, he held office principally as Minister of Transport and also served as Minister of Statistics (until October 1991), Minister for the Environment (from October 1991), Minister of Lands, Minister of Survey and Land Information and Minister in Charge of the Valuation Department.<ref>{{cite book |last= Wood |first= G. A. |title = Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament |edition = 2nd |orig-year = 1987 |year= 1996 |publisher=University of Otago Press |location= Dunedin |isbn= 1-877133-00-0 |pages=1–84 }}</ref> He was not reappointed a minister after the 1993 election and retired three years later. One of his achievements as Minister of Transport was overseeing the merger of the Ministry of Transport's traffic enforcement fleet into the New Zealand Police in 1993.<ref name="NZ_Herald_2042491">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/getting-auckland-moving/news/article.cfm?c_id=584&objectid=2042491 |title=Councils keen to police roads |date=22 May 2002 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=25 October 2011}}</ref> Under Storey, compulsory bicycle helmet wearing legislation was introduced on 1 January 1994.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rebecca Oaten, aka The Helmet Lady, and her crusade for compulsory bike helmets |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102213259/rebecca-oaten-aka-the-helmet-lady-and-her-crusade-for-compulsory-bike-helmets |access-date=25 January 2024 |work=Stuff |date=13 March 2018}}</ref>
== Honours == In 1990, Storey received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alister |last2=Coddington |first2=Deborah |author-link1=Alister Taylor |author-link2=Deborah Coddington |title=Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand |year=1994 |publisher=New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa |location=Auckland |isbn=0-908578-34-2 |page=352}}</ref> In the 2007 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-2007 | title=New Year honours list 2007 |date=30 December 2006 | publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet | accessdate=5 August 2019}}</ref> His wife, Lorraine, had received the same honour, for community service, in the 1997 New Year Honours.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-1997 |title=New Year honours list 1997 |date=31 December 1996 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>
== Death == Storey died in Te Awamutu on 2 August 2019, after 59 years of marriage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.legacy.com/nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/name/the-storey-obituary?id=42405157 |title=Rob Storey obituary |date=5 August 2019 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref> His wife, Lorraine, died in Hamilton on 6 January 2024.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.legacy.com/nz/obituaries/waikato-times-nz/name/lorraine-storey-obituary?id=54042482 |title=Lorraine Storey obituary |date=9 January 2024 |work=The New Zealand Herald |access-date=9 January 2024}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} ''The First 50 Years: A History of the New Zealand National Party'' by Barry Gustafson (1986, Reed Methuen, Auckland) {{ISBN|0-474-00177-6}}
{{S-start}} {{s-par|nz}} {{s-bef|before=Simon Upton}} {{s-ttl|title=Member of Parliament for Waikato|years=1984–1996}} {{s-vac|reason=Constituency abolished, recreated in 2008|next=Lindsay Tisch}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Peter Tapsell}} {{s-ttl|title=Minister for Land Information|years=1990–1993}} {{s-aft|after=Denis Marshall}} {{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storey, Rob}} Category:1936 births Category:2019 deaths Category:Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Category:20th-century New Zealand farmers Category:New Zealand National Party MPs Category:People educated at Wesley College, Auckland Category:New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Category:Companions of the Queen's Service Order Category:Environment ministers of New Zealand