Carmel Sepuloni

Carmel Sepuloni is dreaming:

“We will take a breather for the next few days and make a decision in due course whether or not we go through with an electoral petition.”

She said she would go to Parliament on Monday to collect her belongings and meet the party to make a decision on an electoral petition. But it was unlikely.

Highly unlikely. For a number of reasons.

Firstly Labour are broke. They only just paid for their election campaign and only after Jim Anderton rescued them by arranging some large donations. Electoral petitions cost around $200,000 and are time consuming and heavy on legal resources. Despite the claims of a third rate flea lawyer from West Auckland to the contrary, Labour didn’t have a lawyer present at the judicial recount. Instead they tapped former president Mike Williams to witness the damage. If they couldn’t afford counsel for a judicial recount then they sure as hell can’t afford an electoral petition.

Then there is the history of electoral petitions in New Zealand. They do not go happily for Labour, and always benefit National. In 1978 Winston Peters overturned the result in Hunua to turf Malcolm Douglas out in an electoral petition.

In 1987 Wyatt Creech took an electoral petition and unseated Reg Boorman. This resulted in Reg Boorman being convicted of a corrupt practice.

In 2005 Winston Peters took and electoral petition against Bob Clarkson in Tauranga. He lost that petition.

National would like nothing better than for Labour to decide upon an electoral petition. They will then be able to challenge a considerable amount of “special” votes and some of the election practices they have gathered evidence on. Labour have only a very remote chance of succeeding against Paula Bennett in an electoral petition, but a high chance of having their unwanted attention focused on their behaviour.

If Labour sought an electoral petition I will predict right here, right now that they would lose it, and Paula Bennett would have her majority increased and there would be the distinct possibility that Carmel Sepuloni would be convicted of a corrupt practice.

Is David Shearer willing to have Labour die in a ditch for a David Cunliffe supporter?

We all know what poor losers looks like, we also know what poor winners look like too.

Fortunately for us we can also know what graciousness is victory looks like:

Celebrating at home last night Ms Bennett said she was feeling delighted but she had some sympathy for her opponent.

“Actually I know what a loss feels like because that’s what I felt last Saturday so I actually feel some sympathy for her because it hurts.”

Paula Bennett has shown Carmel Sepuloni and the other nasties of the Labour party a small lesson that they would do well to learn from. That being gracious and humble in victory goes along, long way with the voting public, certainly far further than nastiness.

Carmel Sepuloni losing her seat in Parliament helps Labour shed their nasty party image. Carmel was graceless and gormless, but still rated as an up and comer in the nasty faction in caucus, which has been led for far too long by Trevor Mallard.

If David Shearer wants to reconnect with New Zealand he needs to rid his party of the malignant influence of the nasty caucus, sending Mallard, Sue Moroney and Darien Fenton the same way as Sepuloni has gone. A true leader would discretely tell them to leave and they would, but they might be inclined to fight a bit so there might need to be some ritual sacrificing at which point the other two would discretely leave.

Word is that H2 is back over Christmas and as the most formidable ritual sacrificer, in modern New Zealand political history, the nasty caucus are in trouble especially as there is apparently a fair bit of UN solidarity at the moment.

Paula Bennett has won Waitakere after the judicial recount.

Carmel Sepuloni when she was declared the winner after the special votes were counted said:

‘‘I don’t think Paula Bennett has been good for Waitakere,” she said.

”At the end of the day, the voters have spoken. And despite the fact it is close, it just goes to show that there are 11 more people that think she wasn’t [good].

After a proper count before a Judge has been completed it looks like the people of Waitakere think Paula Bennett is just fine by them and in fact there are 9 more people who disagree with Carmel Sepuloni’s supposition.

When Sepuloni was first selected she said she was:

“more down to Earth, more authentic, more genuine”.

Turns out the voters think otherwise. With a judicial recount though it helps Labour start towards cleansing their reputation as the nasty party.

I doubt Labour can afford an electoral petition they didn’t even have a lawyer present for the judicial re-count. Even if they did have a petition history shows that only several things result, the Labour person gets convicted of a corrupt practice and National’s majority increases.

One good thing for Labour though is that with Paula Bennett winning, National won’t need their own electoral petition to highlight the dodgy and arguably illegal voting and registration practices of Carmel Sepuloni and Labour.

Carmel Sepuloni isn’t known as Septic Tank for no reason:

Speaking soon after being told of her tight triumph, Sepuloni said the result was a clear message of discontent at Bennett and the hard-line welfare policies she is pushing.

”I don’t think Paula Bennett has been good for Waitakere,” she said.

”At the end of the day, the voters have spoken. And despite the fact it is close, it just goes to show that there are 11 more people that think she wasn’t [good].

David Farrar points out the stark differences in behaviour between Labour and National when it comes to victory.

Paula Bennett may well ahve the last laugh though after a judicial re-count and a possible electoral petition.

The boundaries are due for a reshuffle too after the census and Waitakere could well see the blue parts of Helensville put back in and then 2014 will be real interesting.

With the election of Carmel Sepuloni, in Waitakere, Camp Cunliffe will get a little boost.

As time marches on towards Tuesday and with more public meetings showing up Shearers woeful public presence there could be an upset on the cards for ABC.

Luckily for David Cunliffe that any result of a judicial re-count won’t be until after the selection process has completed.

The Electoral Commission has released their final results.

As expected the Greens have picked up a seat and National dropped one, such are the vagaries of MMP and special votes.

The biggest upset is National taking Christchurch Central off Lord Burns of Marlborough, who because of his low list ranking will now have to reitre to his country estate. He could still ask for judicial recount.

Paula Bennett has lost Waitakere by 11 votes. This will likely result in a judicial recount also, but if I was the spiteful type, and I am a bit I would look at a electoral petition in Waitakere. I would do so for a number of reasons. Firstly, there will be numerous strange votes and overturning just 11 votes should be a piece of cake. Secondly if there was any dodgy stuff going on in Waitakere with the unions and dodgy voting and dodgy spending then you could get Carmel Sepuloni on a corrupt practice charge ensuring she would never return again.

Farrar has some boring statistics about the results.