[1][2] Before his election to Parliament, Peachey was employed as the principal of Rangitoto College, the largest secondary school in New Zealand.
That MP, Clem Simich, was persuaded to withdraw, and was rewarded with a high list placing and the National Party candidacy in the electorate of Mangere.
[citation needed] Controversy arose when Peachey e-mailed Selwyn College co-principal Carol White declining an invitation to the school's prizegiving stating at the bottom: "Yes, I do have a knife in your back, so be careful.
[4] Although Peachey initially planned to seek re-election in the 2011 election, having been renominated for Tāmaki electorate and been ranked 48th on the party list, he subsequently announced his withdrawal "to focus on his treatment and recovery from his recent ill health".
[5] Allan Peachey died on 6 November 2011, 20 days before the 2011 election and what would have been the end of his parliamentary term, after a battle with cancer.