Larry Walter Sutherland (15 April 1951 – 21 June 2005) was a New Zealand politician, and an MP from 1987 to 1999, representing the Labour Party.
He attended Lincoln High School and after completing his education he worked many different jobs as a labourer, farm worker and forester.
[2] His work in the union movement around Nelson brought him into close contact with the Labour MP for Tasman (and later Prime Minister) Bill Rowling.
[1] Sutherland supported Helen Clark's leadership coup bid after the 1993 election and, in perhaps his most outspoken moment, called on disgruntled MPs to "pull their heads in" and listen to rank-and-file members who wanted an end to Labour's internal bickering.
When announcing his retirement he said he wanted to look for new career directions and spend more time with his family and also reaffirmed his opposition to Rogernomics stating "I hope we are now at a turning point in New Zealand history where the absolute waste and stupidity of free market ideology is coming under scrutiny".
[4] Sutherland's most notable incident as an MP was a late night escapade where he swam a length of the parliamentary swimming pool whilst wearing National Prime Minister Jenny Shipley's togs.
[3] He was noted among his colleagues as a hard worker behind the scenes as junior whip, contributing much to party unity through a time of frequent rifts.