KEY POINTS:
Former Hamilton mayor and National MP Mike Minogue, known for going head-to-head with his leader Robert Muldoon, died early yesterday after a brief battle with cancer.
He was 85 years old.
Mr Minogue was Mayor of Hamilton between 1968 and 1976, when he resigned to become a Member of Parliament.
He represented the Hamilton West electorate until the 1984 election, when he lost his seat to Labour Party challenger Trevor Mallard.
According to Wikipedia, Mr Minogue's disagreements with Sir Robert stemmed from his classical liberal beliefs.
The Waikato Times interviewed Mr Minogue last month before the election about his time in politics which saw him branded a maverick.
He was sometimes linked with fellow National MP Marilyn Waring as a recalcitrant who threatened Muldoon's fragile majority in Parliament and forced him to call the 1984 election.
Mr Minogue told the newspaper the labels were wrong and Sir Robert did not like him from the start because of a critical remark he made about him when he was finance minister. Sir Robert had been described as "the brightest blade" but Mr Minogue thought he was a "barbaric backwoodsman wielding a primitive axe".
Today the Waikato Times reported that Mr Minogue had only recently returned to Hamilton after living in Whitianga.
Mr Minogue had been battling cancer for some months and died in Braemar Hospital.
A funeral next week would be a private family ceremony in accordance with his wishes.
Mr Minogue's wife Barbara died 19 years ago. He leaves behind three children, Jenny, Dal and Andrew, and five grandchildren.
- NZPA
