Carl Bates
Carl Michael Bates is a New Zealand politician, representing the New Zealand National Party as a Member of Parliament since the 2023 [New Zealand general election].
Early life
Bates was born and raised in Whanganui, where he attended Mosston School, Rutherford Junior High School, and Whanganui High School. He later gained a bachelor of business studies degree in accountancy from Massey University. He has been a director of an aged care facility, the Arena Manawatu stadium company, and the Universal College of Learning in Palmerston North. Bates set up a company to train boards of directors, named Sirdar Global Group, and operated it in New Zealand and Africa, and self-published two books on business success. He sold the company on his return to New Zealand in 2020.Political career
Bates joined the National Party at the age of 13, when he campaigned for Peter Gresham. In 2000 he was a Youth MP for Annabel Young. Bates was selected by the National Party to contest the electorate at the. He was 47th on the party list. At the time of his selection he was living in Sanson, but later moved to the Whanganui electorate. On election night, Bates received 16,446 votes, beating the incumbent, first-term Labour Party MP Steph Lewis, by 5,512 votes. Bates said the result reflected that people in Whanganui don't want their assets controlled from the capital. He said people in the region were keen to see both the Three Waters and Resource Management Act reforms reversed.It was reported by The New Zealand Herald in September 2025 that Bates had created a trust shortly after his election as MP to transfer shares in family-run real estate investment companies he had owned. These companies owned 25 properties, a number of which were in Whanganui. These property ownerships were not disclosed on the parliamentary register of pecuniary interests. Bates has stated that the registrar of pecuniary interests, Maarten Wevers, advised him that "property held in a company whose shares are held by a trust, was not required to be declared".
On 25 September 2025 the registrar of pecuniary interests announced an investigation into Bates' declaration.