Former MP John Falloon dies

Former Pahiatua MP and Cabinet Minister John Falloon died overnight. He was 63.
Mr Falloon had been ill for several weeks after undergoing surgery in Wellington Hospital for a brain tumour.
He returned to the family home, Bowlands, at Bideford late last month having succeeded in playing a voting role in the National Party's revival in the general election.
He is best remembered in his role as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, but in fact also served as Minister of Satistics, Minister in charge of the Inland Revenue Department, Minister in charge of Friendly Societies, Minister of Racing and Associate Minister of Finance.
Mr Falloon never led the National Party but was a driving force nevertheless.
Despite the lofty Cabinet positions he never forgot that his first allegiance was to the people of his Pahiatua electorate, and like Sir Keith Holyoake before him, he gained a reputation of being able to greet many of his voters by name.
At Bideford, where he lived, he was known as a neighbour who would stop at nothing to help anyone in the district and one of his last acts before falling ill was to help plant a kowhai tree in memory of Linda Warrington ? a rural postie and neighbour ? who drowned in last year's horrendous floods.
After 19 years in Parliament Mr Falloon again displayed a sense of history by retiring, and giving his valedictory speech on the last day of New Zealand's 132 year first-past-the-post election system.
In it he paid tribute to many of his parliamentary colleagues, sorting out his "good friend" Koro Wetere, for special mention.
He praised his father Doug, wife Philippa and sons Jamie, Benjamin and Edward saying that during his years in Parliament they had all been "absolutely wonderful".
John Howard Falloon was born in Masterton in February, 1942 and was educated at Bideford School, Lindisfarne College and Massey University from where he graduated with a diploma in sheep farm management.
He worked as a shepherd at Porangahau and later went into partnership with his father, farming at Bideford and developing Bowlands turning it from a property beset by manuka scrub and native grasses into a highly productive farm.
An accomplished speaker and debater Mr Falloon joined the Young Farmers Club and the Young Nationals.
He was chairman of both the Wairarapa Young Nationals and the Wellington division in 1966 and 1967. He was the party's Wairarapa publicity officer and served on Haddon Donald's campaign committee in both 1966 and 1969.
Outside of party politics he was a former member of the national executive of the meat and wool section of Federated Farmers, was chairman of Wairarapa Federated Farmers, chairman of the Bideford Church Centenary Committee and held executive positions with Masterton Round Table.
Although the great sporting love of his love was polo ? he was on the management committee of the New Zealand Polo Association ? he also played senior cricket, golf, badminton and tennis.
His overseas experiences included driving from India to London in 1965, working in Scotland and England and trips to very many other countries.
He was elected to Parliament in a by-election in 1977 ? as was David Lange ? and quickly made his mark as an up-and-comer destined for Cabinet ranking.
Mr Falloon often championed the lot of women saying that the country's economy should be geared in such a way that young mothers should not be forced to go out to work.
He once courted controversy by saying in Parliament that rural women were usually more intelligent and thought more about the wider community than their husbands.
His description of country women was of them being the "unsung heroes of the back blocks".
When his wife fell seriously ill Mr Falloon sought time away from Parliament to be at her hospital bedside and to help nurse her back to health.
As Minister of Agriculture in the Bolger-led government, Mr Falloon was a fierce exponent of open markets and was an outspoken critic of United States and European farm subsidies and tariff protection measures.
Once at an international conference in Apia and speaking to delegates from 27 countries, Mr Falloon threw away his speech notes and launched into a blistering attack on farm subsidies urging fellow politicians to listen to food producers.
"Give the farmers a chance, let them be internationally competitive," he said.
Mr Falloon retired from politics in 1996 saying that re-drawn electoral boundaries which had written out his Pahiatua electorate was a major reason.
He didn't seek a spot on the party list and returned home to Bowlands and to concentrate on golf and on several projects, one of which was raising money for the Wellington Cathedral.
In 1999 he broke his neck while playing polo.
His mount shied at a fence behind the goal while at full as Mr Falloon was attempting to play a backhand stroke.
The fall was expected to end his polo playing days, but by the next summer he was back, having put his neck through its paces over winter by skiing "and falling over a few times".
Earlier this month Mr Falloon suddenly took ill.
He complained of a headache and was later diagnosed as having a brain tumour for which he underwent surgery at Wellington Hospital.