Kidd was first elected to Parliament in the 1978 election, becoming MP for Marlborough. In the government of Jim Bolger, Kidd held a number of minor ministerial portfolios, including Fisheries, Energy and Labour. He held his Marlborough electorate until the 1996 election, when the electorate was abolished and most of its area incorporated into the new and larger Kaikoura electorate. Kidd came first in Kaikoura in 1996.[2] In the following election he sought election as a list MP only. He was succeeded in Kaikoura by Lynda Scott and retired from Parliament at the 2002 election.[3]
Status of the Unborn Child Bill
In 1983 Kidd's anti-abortion Status of the Unborn Child Bill (a private members bill) was drawn from the lot. The bill was prompted by Wall v Livingston [1982], which clarified that embryos and foetuses had no legal status in New Zealand and that third parties could not appeal to the courts on their behalf. The bill was supported by groups such as Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (now Voice for Life and Right to Life New Zealand) but defeated by pro-choice groups led by Marilyn Waring.[4]
Speaker of the House
After the 1996 election, Kidd was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives; Derek Quigley also contested the position.[5] He replaced Peter Tapsell, a Labour Party MP who had held the speakership because National, which had won the election by a single seat, did not want to lose a vote by appointing a Speaker from its own ranks. Kidd lost the speakership when the National Party lost the 1999 election, being replaced by Jonathan Hunt of the Labour Party. After serving a term in Opposition, he chose to retire from politics at the 2002 election.[6]
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