Either Camilla Belich or Helen White will be selected to contest a seat that has a habit of producing Labour leaders.
A pair of sitting Labour MPs who share an office on Ponsonby Rd and are both former employment lawyers will go head to head for the party candidacy in the inner Auckland electorate of Mt Albert, a longstanding Labour safe seat. Both Camilla Belich and Helen White entered parliament in the red tide of 2020 as Labour romped to a historic MMP majority in what then leader Jacinda Ardern called “the red wave”.
Neither was successful in their electorate runs, with Helen White pipped by the Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick in Auckland Central and Camilla Belich finishing with about half the votes of Act leader David Seymour in Epsom, but ahead of the National candidate, Paul Goldsmith. Both White and Belich assumed list seats, however, after being ranked, respectively, 48th and 30th.
Even before Ardern, the seat had a special significance for Labour. Every MP for Mt Albert since 1981 – Helen Clark, David Shearer, Jacinda Ardern – has gone on to be Labour leader, with two becoming prime minister.
In her pitch to local Labour members, Belich pointed to achieving the “highest ever result for Labour in Epsom”.
“Many people in Mt Albert are finding things tough as the cost of living starts to bite,” she said. The terrible January flooding event and Cyclone Gabrielle caused additional trauma and disruption for so many. Mt Albert deserves an MP who understands that in times of economic hardship, families need real support, advocacy and leadership.”
She added: “My work as an employment lawyer in the union movement with experience both here and overseas gives me a clear insight into the challenges faced by workers and employers. Working people need support but most of all they need respect and for their voices to be heard. We need to act to ensure New Zealand emerges from the current downturn a fairer and more equal society where workers receive decent pay for decent work.”
Belich was appointed junior whip by Chris Hipkins alongside his first ministerial reshuffle last month. Her husband (and former co-chair of the NZ Students’ Association), Andrew Kirton, was recently announced as Hipkins’ chief of staff.
“This is my community,” said White, a Sandrigham resident, in a video message. “I’ve been living here for over 30 years.” She said the electorate campaign “needs to focus on local issues”, including support for those impacted by the floods and “advocating against the cutting of important amenities”.
“Right now this community needs a lot of love – I can give it that,” White said, noting recent tragedies in the earlier including the killing of a dairy worker in Sandringham. “I’m determined to make that an issue we keep the spotlight on,” she said.
White pointed to her member’s bill, which will ban use of restraints of trade in employment contracts for lower and middle income employees. She said: “We need to remember our values, remember we’re the Labour Party, and do these kind of things.”
White faced criticism during her unsuccessful Auckland Central run in 2020 after responding to a question about Swarbrick’s high profile by saying: “I’d ask them whether they’re looking for a celebrity or someone to do this job very seriously.” She ultimately finished just over 1,000 votes behind the Green MP, despite Labour winning almost 10,000 more party votes than the Greens.
Local party members will select the candidate for Mt Albert on March 11. Labour nominations for the Auckland Central candidacy do not close until the end of March, meaning the unsuccessful candidate could still chuck their name in that hat.
Another list MP, Melissa Lee, will again contest Mt Albert for the National Party. The Greens’ selection will take place in early April.
When Jacinda Ardern announced her resignation as prime minister in January, she indicated that she would time her departure from parliament to be within six months of the October 14 election, enabling MPs to choose to forgo a byelection. Ardern has since tendered her resignation from parliament, to come into effect on April 15.
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