Simon Upton
Simon David Upton PC (born 7 February 1958) is a former New Zealand politician and member of Parliament from 1981 to 2001, representing the National Party, and the current Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.One of Upton's most controversial actions whilst holding the health portfolio was introducing public hospital outpatient charges of $50 per night, this was later abandoned as the 1993 election approached.[3] After National was defeated at the 1999 election Upton was appointed Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Superannuation and Culture and Heritage by leader Jenny Shipley.He took up a full-time post at the OECD as the chair of the Round Table on Sustainable Development which he held until 2005.He replaced the previous commissioner, Dr Jan Wright, when her second five-year term ended in October 2017.