Neill entered Parliament twice as a list MP to succeed retiring incumbents. In January 1999, Paul East resigned from Parliament to take up a diplomatic post, and Neill became a list MP until the election that November, where he was again unsuccessful in being re-elected. In January 2001, Simon Upton resigned; Neill was again the next candidate on the National Party list, allowing him to return to Parliament. He was junior whip under National leader Jenny Shipley until October 2001 and National's spokesperson for local government and conservation under Bill English until the 2002 election. In the 2002 election, Neill was ranked 22 on the National Party list and also contested Wigram, where he placed third behind the Progressive leader Jim Anderton and Labour candidate Mike Mora. National polled very poorly and Neill was not returned to Parliament. He did not stand in the 2005 election. Member of Canterbury Regional Council Neill served seven years on Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) as a councillor in the Christchurch West constituency, including seven months as chair. Neill and future National MP Nicky Wagner were elected to fill the Christchurch West constituency positions of the retired councillor Neil Cherry and the deceased councillor Peter Yeoman. Neill was re-elected in the 2004 and 2007 local elections. After the 2007 elections, Neill sought the chairmanship of the council but lost to Sir Kerry Burke by one vote. The 2007–2010 term saw the councillors being removed by the National Government. Before urgent legislation was passed on 30 March 2010 to enable the Government-appointed commissioners to provide the region's governance, concerns about poor regional relationships and water management had surfaced, including through a Government-commissioned review led by former deputy prime minister Wyatt Creech. Neill had been elected chair of the council in September 2009, when Burke lost a confidence motion, and remained on the council until it was discharged on 1 May 2010. Post-political career After leaving the council, Neill returned to legal practice and said he did not intend to again stand for public office. He has worked as a resource management commissioner and served on the board of the Rata Foundation (formerly the Canterbury Community Trust) from 2009 to 2013. He was a director of SBS Bank from 2012 to 2015. References 1950 births Living people Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand National Party MPs Politicians from Dunedin University of Otago alumni People educated