Victor Billot

Victor Billot in 2008

Victor Billot is a former co-leader and electoral candidate for New Zealand's Alliance party. He is also known as a writer, musician, unionist, past editor of Critic Te Ārohi magazine, and a performer in the bands Alpha Plan,[1] Age of Dog[2] and Das Phaedrus.[3]

NewLabour and the Alliance Party

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Billot was a founding member of the NewLabour Party, which was set up in 1989 by Jim Anderton.[4] In 1991, NewLabour was one of four parties to form the Alliance political party.

He was a candidate for the Alliance in 2005 (at number eight on their list), 2008 (three), and 2011 (six), contesting the Dunedin North electorate.[5][6][7] In 2008, he was berated by the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, for all the faults of the National Party when she mistook him for a supporter of that party.[8]

At the party's 2006 conference, held in Wellington, no co-leaders were elected. Instead the party decided to concentrate on internal reorganisation; Billot was elected president. At the 2007 national conference, held in Dunedin, two co-leaders were elected, Billot and Kay Murray, with Paul Piesse returning to his former role as Party President. Billot was co-leader for one year.[9]

Billot persuaded his Wellington friend and businessman Jack Yan to stand for the Alliance in 2008;[10] Yan was number 12 on the list, but did not contest an electorate.[6]

Clare Curran, the New Zealand Labour Party MP for Dunedin South from 2008 to 2020, has repeatedly encouraged Billot to join her party.[11]

He stepped down from his role as Spokesman and occasional co-leader of the Alliance Party in March 2014.[12]

Billot still engages in left wing activism in Dunedin, campaigning against cuts to postal services in 2015.[13]

Professional life

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Billot was the National Communications Officer for the Maritime Union of New Zealand between 2003 and 2016.[14] In January 2017 he began working as publicist for the Otago University Press.[15] He writes a weekly column for Newsroom.[16]

Publications

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Billot has published three poetry collections:

  • 2014: Mad Skillz For The Demon Operators[17]
  • 2015: Machine Language[18]
  • 2017: Ambient Terror[19]

His work has also appeared in Australian and New Zealand literary journals including Cordite,[20] Meniscus,[21] Minarets[22] and Takahē.[23]

Recordings

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Billot has recorded several albums since the early 1990s with music groups in addition to a solo album, including:

  • 1996: City of Bastards[24] by Alpha Plan
  • 2002: Plutocracy by Victor Billot
  • 2016: Machine Language by Alpha Plan

References

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  1. ^ "Alpha Plan's first Dunedin show in 20 years". Otago Daily Times Online News. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Age Of Dog – AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Andrew Spittle – AudioCulture". www.audioculture.co.nz. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  4. ^ Billot, Victor (10 February 2011). "New Zealand is ripe for an alternative: a new Left party". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Party Lists of Unsuccessful Registered Parties". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Party Lists of Unsuccessful Registered Parties". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Party lists for the 2011 General Election". Elections New Zealand. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
  8. ^ Mackenzie, Dene (14 October 2008). "Students give PM rock star welcome". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  9. ^ New Zealand Press Association (17 March 2008). "Cheap Chinese labour paid the going rate – PM". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  10. ^ Hewitson, Michele (31 August 2013). "Michele Hewitson Interview: Jack Yan". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  11. ^ Rudd, Allison (8 November 2011). "Candidates find common ground at election forum". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Victor Billot | LinkedIn". Nz.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Question mark over posties | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News". Odt.co.nz. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Alliance electorate candidates for 2011 announced" (Press release). New Zealand Alliance Party. Scoop. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  15. ^ "A man of a few words". Otago Daily Times. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  16. ^ "Victor Billot". Newsroom. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  17. ^ Department, Malcolm Deans, Senior Library Assistant, Heritage. "What's New McNab". Dunedin Public Libraries. Retrieved 17 August 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Poetry roundup". Otago Daily Times Online News. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  19. ^ "The Quantum Uncertainty of Now". Landfall Review Online. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  20. ^ "Life in the Permian". Cordite Poetry Review. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Meniscus". Meniscus. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Victor Billot – min – a – rets". minarets.info. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Victor Billot". takahē magazine. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  24. ^ "Robots & Electronic Brains – eclectic music zine". www.robotsandelectronicbrains.co.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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