Overview
Miles John Anderson (born ) is a New Zealand farmer and politician. He was elected as a Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Waitaki, representing the National Party, in the 2023 New Zealand general election. From a farming background, he was with Federated Farmers, chaired one of their national bodies, and was on their national board.
Early life
Anderson was born in , and grew up in Southburn, a locality in the Waimate district. His family had farmed in the area for generations. He was educated at Southburn School, followed by St Kevin's College in Oamaru as a boarder. He went on to study at Massey University, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Agriculture degree in 1992.
Career
After university, Anderson joined other farmers in 1992 to set up a livestock ultrasound scanning service. Initially servicing the central South Island, the company expanded into South Australia. Anderson was involved in that company for 20 years. He took over a farm from his father in 2004; he mainly runs sheep.
Anderson was the chair of Federated Farmers' South Canterbury Meat and Fibre in 2016. He was then the national chair of the group from 2017 to 2020, and had it renamed to Meat & Wool so that wool would get more prominence. He was spokesperson for Federated Farmers on rural security. In this role, he supported the Sixth Labour Government's gun reform following the Christchurch mosque shootings that resulted in the Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019, but was critical that no exemption was made for semi-automatic rifles for pest control.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).