Kearins was born 14 July 1894 to Patrick Kearins. He became a farmer in Kopaki and in October 1923 he married Kathleen Mary Levett. In 1939 he was appointed a member of the Board of Governors of Massey Agricultural College.[2]
In 1947 Kearins was one of three Labour MPs who supported Frank Langstone's contentious proposal that the government make the state-owned Bank of New Zealand the sole legal issuer of bank credit over loans and overdrafts in an attempt to secure state control over the means of exchange. The proposal was rejected as too radical however.[5]
In 1953 Kearins crossed the floor of parliament and voted with the National government to support the Licensing Amendment Bill (No. 2). This Bill proposed that the licensing of the King Country, part of Kearins' electorate, be subject to a referendum.[6][7]
Later in 1953, following an electoral redistribution, Kearins' electorate of Waimarino was abolished and a new electorate of Rotorua established in its place. Rotorua contained the northern part of his former electorate, including the towns of Taupō (which was previously located in Waimarino), Rotorua, and Tokoroa.[8] However, at the candidate selection for Rotorua, Ray Boord won the nomination and was subsequently elected,[9] and "Labour lost its only farming voice... sacrificed by the party machine".[10][11][12][13][14]
Cottrell, S. P. (1974). Parliament and Conscience: 1950–1972 (MA). Christchurch: University of Canterbury.
Freer, Warren (2004). A Lifetime in Politics: the Memoirs of Warren Freer. Wellington: Victoria University Press.
Logan, Mary (2008). Nordy, Arnold Nordmeyer: A Political Biography. Wellington: Steele Roberts.
McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. ISBN0-477-01384-8.
Taylor, B. S. (1970). The Expulsion of John A. Lee and its Effects on the Development of the NZ Labour Party (MA). Christchurch: University of Canterbury. OCLC227226310.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC154283103.
Wilson, Ormond (1982). An Outsider Looks Back: Reflections on Experience. Wellington: Port Nicholson Press.