Alan Timothy Gibbs (born 1939) is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and former public servant.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Gibbs was involved in manufacturing and investment banking, before overseeing the corporatisation of New Zealand's forestry sector as chair of the New Zealand Forestry Corporation during the Fourth Labour Government.[1][2]
Gibbs is a founding member and major funder of the ACT Party and has been a prominent advocate of free-market reform since the 1980s.[3][4]
Alan Gibbs was born in Christchurch, the son of Theodore Nisbet Gibbs and Elsie Gibbs.[5] His father was a businessman and active member of the National Party who chaired a Royal Commission on taxation for the First National Government.[6]
From 1966 to 1970, with his brother Ian, Gibbs sought to produce New Zealand's first domestically produced car, the Anziel Nova.[4][7][6] In the 1970s, Gibbs worked in investment banking, establishing his own firm Gibbs Securities to advise on corporate transactions.[4] As a business person, Gibbs was involved in several high-profile investments and restructurings, including the acquisition of car dealership Tappenden Motors, the management buyout of Freightways, the privatisation of Telecom, and the founding of Sky TV.[4]
Alan Gibbs as part of Tramco took part in a land grab in 1996, purchasing public land for $75m on Auckland's Viaduct, then overseeing its development maintaining land leasehold agreements.[8] The leasehold agreements are a source of ongoing controversy, as rents continue to increase 90%-134% every few years, and some leasehold agreements are in perpetuity.[9] Purchasing public land to privatise for ongoing rent extraction at unsustainable levels represents a challenge for its residents, while its land owners including Gibbs defend their "property rights".[10]
Public sector reform
In 1985, Gibbs was appointed to the Forestry Corporation Establishment Board, which established the New Zealand Forestry Corporation (NZFC), a state-owned enterprise, as part of the Rogernomics reforms.[1] Gibbs oversaw the NZFC during the corporatisation of New Zealand's forestry assets, which resulted in over 3,000 public sector forestry employees being made redundant in 1987.[2][11] In 1989, the Forestry Corporation's plantation forests were privatised.
Gibbs also advised the Fourth Labour Government on restructuring the public health and welfare systems.[12]
Political advocacy
As a university student, Gibbs was a self-described proponent of "market socialism", and started the New Left Club at Canterbury University.[13] However, he later adopted a neo-liberal ideology after becoming more involved in business.[6]
During the Fourth Labour Government, Gibbs was an active member of the Business Roundtable and a strong supporter of Roger Douglas.[4] He established a New Zealand branch of libertarian think-tank the Centre for Independent Studies and was involved in the establishment of the ACT Party.[14]
In 2014, the New Zealand Herald reported that Gibbs gave $100,000 to the ACT Party each election year.[3] During a speech to the ACT Party conference that year, Gibbs advocated privatising all of New Zealand's schools, hospitals and roads.[3]
His daughter, Debbi Gibbs, is chairperson of the Atlas Network, a libertarian think tank.[15]
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Farm Directory, brochure with information about art works
