David Kirk

David Farrar goes back to the days when Helen Clark controlled the Labour Party. She controlled it with an iron fist, partly because she was so much more competent than her caucus colleagues.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the parliamentary party and the party organization were divided, the Labour Party leader had very little influence over candidate selection. In fact, some interviewees reported that in 1993, the party president and her allies deliberately influenced candidate selection to move the ideological orientation of caucus to the left and to replace the incumbent leader (which is how Clark came to the leadership in 1993). However, under Helen Clark’s leadership, during which time the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary wings were far more united, many interviewees reported that she did influence many electorate selections

Clark was firmly in control. Now, no one is.

Then Farrar pointed out the truth about the National Party.

By the way this can not happen in National. The head office gets zero say at all on selection meetings. Their role is just the traditional veto early on of totally unsuitable candidates.

As a National candidate you can tell the party to stick it and there is nothing they can do. National candidates are selected by mainly local delegates and long term party members who will pick the person they want, not who the leader or the party want. The classic example is David Kirk not being able to beat Clem Simich in Tamaki.

If National cant rig a selection for a world cup winning All Black captain who received a Rhodes scholarship they can’t rig a selection.

Does the Party have any real influence over who the delegates select?

No. The party is just a loose collection of individuals, and delegates in electorates often do not know the party hierarchy. They will be swayed by who you are, not what people say about you or who you are allegedly aligned to.

In the past being the “HQ” candidate was usually the kiss of death, as delegates resent being told who they should vote for. Even in the event of a candidate being a world beater like David Kirk, the locals chose their man, not HQ’s man.

Where the party does have some influence is if they are appointing delegates in electorates with low membership. The Regional Chair appoints top up delegates to get to 60 in the event there are not enough members for the electorate chair to appoint all sixty delegates.

In 2002 Judith Collins and John Key were the beneficiaries of some sterling, if unethical, work by former president Michelle Boag, who helped appoint top up delegates who were going to vote for the challenger not the incumbent.

This could occur again, but aspiring candidates should note that there was a mood for change in 2002, Key and Collins were obvious stars and the sitting MPs were well past their used by dates.

Mark “Speedo” Weldon may be about to nominate for Tamaki. There have long been rumours of Weldon’s interest in being in a John Key led cabinet.

Mark Weldon is stepping down as chief executive of NZX Ltd, the operator of the New Zealand stock exchange.

NZX has just announced that Weldon told the board he will step down as chief executive in the first half of next year, after nearly ten years in the job.

God knows Tamaki needs a quality candidate and they haven’t had a cabinet minister since Muldoon and parochial interests scotched the last quality candidate in the form of David Kirk.

Interesting times.