George Warren Hawkins (born 1946) is a New Zealand politician. He is a member of the Labour Party. Early life Hawkins was born on 15 May 1946 in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden. He attended Dominion Road Primary School, Mount Albert Grammar School (1960–1963) and then Auckland Teachers' College. Before entering politics, he was a teacher and had also been a photographer for the Auckland Star newspaper. He later became a company director. In the 1970s he became an anti-nuclear activist and he joined the Labour Party. He became chair of Labour's Papakura branch. In early 1977 he stood as a candidate for the Labour Party nomination in the Mangere by-election, but he lost out to future Prime Minister David Lange. Later that year Hawkins stood for the nomination for the nearby seat of , but was again unsuccessful. Political career Papakura Hawkins was a Papakura City councillor from 1980 to 1983. He was elected Mayor of Papakura in 1983, and held that position until 1992. He was succeeded by his brother David Hawkins. In 1989, Papakura City became Papakura District as part of the local government reforms. As mayor he advocated for a toll free telephone exchange between South Auckland and Auckland City. Member of Parliament In 1990 Hawkins was selected to succeed Roger Douglas as the Labour candidate for the seat of Manurewa, beating Alan Johnson, a town planner and opponent of Douglas. He served as MP for Manurewa from when he was first elected to Parliament in the 1990 general election. In November 1990 he was appointed as Labour's spokesperson for Local Government and Urban Affairs by Labour leader Mike Moore. In July 1992 Hawkins was hospitalized suffering from an infection and exhaustion. While in hospital he suffered a pulmonary embolism, leading him to an extended convalescence. He later decided to retire from the Papakura mayoralty to ease his workload. During the period he suffered a stroke, which would leave him with a speech impediment. At the time Hawkins (and others) thought bad health would end his career. He continued on, however, stating "But it [his condition] made me think that some things are really worth fighting for." When Helen Clark replaced Moore as leader in 1993 she appointed Hawkins Shadow Minister of Police and the Serious Fraud Office. In the Fifth Labour government, he served as Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister of Police, Minister of