Background
Robson was born in Brisbane, Australia.
Robson was born in Brisbane, Australia.
He also spent three years in the Netherlands as a technical editors He was deeply opposed to the policies of Roger Douglas, the Labour Party"s Minister of Finance, and when Jim Anderton, a Labour Member of Parliament, quit the party, Robson followed him. Robson was heavily involved in the establishment of Anderton"s NewLabour Party, which later became the core of the Alliance.
Robson was elected to Parliament as an Alliance list Member of Parliament in the 1996 election, and again in the 1999 election, having stood in Maungakiekie, and coming in third place at both elections.
Towards the end of 1999, however, the Alliance began to collapse, with a rift opening between the party organisation and its parliamentary leadership. In this dispute, Robson sided with the parliamentary leader, Anderton.
When Anderton finally left the Alliance and established the Progressive Coalition (later renamed as the Progressive Party), Robson followed him and became the new party"s deputy leader. However, Anderton easily held onto his seat, allowing Robson (standing in Manukau East, where he came fifth), as the 2nd-ranked person on the Progressive list, to return to Parliament.
However, the Progressives" strength was considerably weaker compared to that of the Alliance in 1999, so Robson lost his cabinet posts.
Robson has a relatively high public profile, compared to the size of his party, and is known for his views on foreign affairs and justice. Along with the Green Party"s Keith Locke, Robson campaigned on behalf of detained asylum-seeker Ahmed Zaoui. In 2002, Robson introduced a Private Member"s bill providing for four weeks of paid annual leave for all workers, a proposal that the Labour Party initially opposed.
Robson"s legislation, however, ultimately forced Labour to either vote in favour of the bill or risk alienating its trade union supporters, who vociferously advocated lieutenant
The legislation was passed into law with Labour"s support and took effect in 2007. Robson also introduced legislation to raise the minimum alcohol purchasing age to 20, and in Parliament espoused policies to combat drug and alcohol abuse.
In the 2005 election, the Progressive vote collapsed further, and this time was not enough for Robson to remain in Parliament. He returned to practising law.
In the 2008 election he was again a candidate in Maungakiekie, but did poorly, finishing fifth, with 2.22% of the vote.
The Progressives received just under one percent of the party vote, not enough for Robson to be returned to Parliament. Under the terms of New Zealand"s Electoral Acting 1993, anyone permanently resident before August 1975 has the right to vote and stand for election.
He attained an Master of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies and later studied law, and worked both as a lawyer and a teacher. Robson was originally a member of the Labour Party, holding several positions within the party organisation.
He was deputy leader of the Progressive Party, and served in the Parliament from 1996 to 2005, first as a member of the Alliance, then as a Progressive.