Keith Locke died on 21 June 2024 after a long illness.  He was the son of Elsie and Jack Locke who were both prominent political activists, so it was quite natural that Keith would follow a similar path.

Early on he was involved in the first anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid marches in the 1960s, and at the protests at the Waihopai spy base in the 1980s and at subsequent protests.

Keith represented the Green party in Parliament from 1999 till 2011.  He was also a long-time member of the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties, and was the guest speaker at our AGM in 2009. 

While in Parliament he was a notable critic of New Zealand’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan and of the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002.  He held Government and those in positions of authority to account, and while he worked tirelessly to defend civil liberties in New Zealand, he also highlighted human rights crises in other countries.  In particular, he challenged the government’s overreach into the privacy of its citizens, and worked hard to introduce reforms to the security intelligence services resulting in improvements in their transparency.

He was a man of integrity, courage and kindness and lived those values fully.  RIP Keith.