Denis John O'Rourke (born 26 July 1946) is a former New Zealand politician. He served fifteen years as a councillor on Christchurch City Council, and served six years as a Member of Parliament representing New Zealand First. Early years Born in Christchurch, O'Rourke was educated at Christchurch West High School. He studied at the University of Canterbury, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws, and went on to practise law, specialising in legal drafting, statutory interpretation and commercial law, until 1992. Political career Early political activities O’Rourke's political interest arose from his opposition to the policies of Robert Muldoon, who was Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984. O'Rourke perceived Muldoon's policies as divisive, with "incredibly oppressive regulations, absolutely awful economic policies which just drove New Zealand economy into the ground." O’Rourke became a member of the Labour Party in around 1983, and sought to be the party's candidate for the Sydenham electorate, but the party selected Labour Party President Jim Anderton instead. On one occasion, he was the campaign manager for Ann Hercus who successfully contested . When Hercus retired prior to the 1987 election, O'Rourke stood to be Labour's new candidate in that electorate, but lost the nomination to Peter Simpson. O'Rourke sought the Lyttelton nomination again in 1992, this time losing it to Ruth Dyson. O'Rourke first stood for Parliament as an independent candidate for the Ilam electorate at the . He finished seventh in a field of eleven candidates. Local government O'Rourke was elected to Christchurch City Council in 1989, as a representative of the Labour Party. He served on the council for 15 years until 2004. For many years, he chaired the Sustainable Transport and Utilities Committee, and under his chairmanship, the Blenheim Road deviation and the four-laning of Fendalton Road were major council projects. He championed unpopular projects like the Kate Valley Landfill and set up the Recovered Materials Foundation, which represented the start of kerbside recycling in Christchurch. O’Rourke lost his seat on Christchurch City Council in the 2004 local election. In this year, the size of the council was halved from 24 to 12, and O’Rourke came fifth in the two-member Hagley-Ferrymead ward. He ran for a seat on Environment Canterbury (the Canterbury Regional Council) in 2007, but came third in the two-member electorate. He also sought re-election to Christchurch City Council as well as a seat on the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB)