spinofflive
Gaurav Sharma and Jacinda Ardern during the 2020 campaign.
Gaurav Sharma and Jacinda Ardern during the 2020 campaign.

OPINIONPoliticsOctober 18, 2022

Gaurav Sharma and the migraine for Labour in Hamilton West

Gaurav Sharma and Jacinda Ardern during the 2020 campaign.
Gaurav Sharma and Jacinda Ardern during the 2020 campaign.

The timing is bad for the governing party and the place is, too. National will be licking its lips. 

The revelation came – of course it did – in a Facebook update. This time Gaurav Sharma at least kept it shorter than the Tolstoyan posts of recent times, announcing in a crisp 1,500 words that he was (a) quitting parliament, so triggering a byelection, and (b) standing in that byelection, as leader of a new, to-be-announced party.

Any relief for Labour and Jacinda Ardern at the resignation of an MP who has levelled many, varied, and mostly nebulous charges of bullying and harassment will be outweighed by a groaning dread at the prospect of another byelection in 2022. Sharma, who was thrown out of caucus over breaches of trust, claimed that his party leader planned to invoke the waka jumping law to kick him out of parliament, but, he said, she was planning to do so next year, as soon as the election was less than six months away, obviating the requirement for a byelection. (What he didn’t mention was in such circumstances National would need to agree that no byelection was needed.)  

Rubbish, said Ardern. She had no intention of pushing the waka button. The exiled MP “may wish to reconsider his decision given he is unnecessarily costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars to trigger a byelection he then intends to stand in,” she said.

Sharma’s plan? Well, he’s keen to “send a message to the government that you can’t silence the voice of the common man”, and he’s not stopping there. “My intention is to launch a new centrist party with focus on outcomes and action rather than on ideologies,” he declared. He said, “I will publish more details about the new party in due course,” and I believe him.

If Tauranga was a headache for Labour, a byelection in Hamilton West is a  full-blown migraine – for reasons both of time and place. Time, because it’s about a year to the general election, the lowest (they hope) ebb in the cycle, a time of flux, cost of living crisis, and a pervading sense of disgruntlement. Practically, in the leadup to election 2023, this messes up the run sheet. Place, because, unlike Tauranga, Hamilton West is not unwinnable. As you should get used to hearing over and over again, this is the quintessence of middle New Zealand and a bellwether seat; 16 of the last 18 winning MPs have caucused with the governing party. 

Labour will seek to play that down, to point up the anomalous parts of the contest, maybe even to affect a frustrated shrug of near-indifference at an unnecessary, expensive exercise. They need to do so because, though it is not unwinnable, it would take something extraordinary for them not to lose.

Byelections tend to favour expressions of protest and therefore the opposition, but that’s not the only unpleasant augury for Labour. The party has trailed National, both head to head and in left-right bloc terms, in opinion polls for months. The local elections, if nothing else, were a full-throated Down With This Sort of Thing. Three Waters will get another furious dousing. Fresh from a headline-grabbing conference in Christchurch, Winston Peters and NZ First will spy a chance to ruffle some feathers to the left of the Waikato River.

For National, it’s a chance to put a stake in the ground, to road-test approaches, and to draw confidence from winning back a seat lost by Tim Macindoe after four terms in the red tide of 2020. Christopher Luxon, eager for match-fitness, will likely set up camp in Frankton. Macindoe, an adept MP and former party whip, will want another run, and he’ll probably get it. At very least, however, National needs to illustrate, after the Uffindell debacle, that its selection processes are sound.

Leaving even to one side the questions around Sam Uffindell’s past and the disclosure of his teenage bullying, the National shortlist for contesting the Tauranga byelection fell short on diversity. As Tania Tapsell, the newly elected mayor of Rotorua, observed in the Gone By Lunchtime live edition on Sunday, the four finalists looked “very, very similar – dress codes perfectly on point”.

Once Sharma formally resigns from parliament, the date will be set by the prime minister, and the temptation will be to get it out of the way as soon as is practicable. The known unknown is the incumbent. Labour will be up against not just the National Party, but Sharma, too. It’s difficult to see how he finishes better than third – even that seems a stretch – but a vengeance-fuelled campaign offers the to-be-determined Labour candidate’s best hope: a split in the anti-status-quo vote. But that is a longshot. For Ardern and Labour, the priority will be damage limitation. 

Keep going!
twpic-1.jpg

PoliticsOctober 18, 2022

Tory Whanau launches recruitment drive in Wayne’s world

twpic-1.jpg

Call it trolling, call it moment-seizing recruitment: the mayor-elect of Wellington has a message for Aucklanders, including the people Wayne Brown wants to boot off Auckland city boards. What, we ask Tory Whanau, is the real target?

Several dozen recently elected local body leaders are gathered today in Wellington for “mayor school”. Wayne Brown, incoming mayor of Auckland, is not among them. If he had time between meetings this morning to flick through his city’s newspaper, however, he might have alighted on a page-two ad, directly opposite reports on both his instruction to Watercare to halt any work on Three Waters reforms and his upcoming meeting with Jacinda Ardern.

It was another Wayne Brown news story to which the Herald advertisement alluded, however: the mayor-elect’s many demands for the resignation of chairs and boards at council-controlled organisations (CCOs), and his promise of a clear-out among council staff. The chair of Auckland Transport, Adrienne Young-Cooper, stood down within hours of the result 10 days ago, but Brown has vocally encouraged more to follow her lead out the door.

The NZ Herald

“Kia ora Tāmaki Makaurau,” began the half-page ad, atop a wash of yellow. “We understand a few of you may be considering your career options at present.”

It continued: “Just thought I would drop you a wee note from us in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara to let you know we’re on the lookout for more talented, creative, innovative people to help grow Aotearoa’s capital. Get in touch. Ngā mihi, Tory Whanau.”

Wayne Brown declined to be interviewed on Whanau’s message (or on anything, for that matter). A spokesperson did, however, offer the following statement: “The mayor doesn’t do Wellington but any migration from Auckland to Wellington will lift the average IQ of both cities.”

Here’s what Whanau has to say.

The Spinoff: Are you picking a fight with Auckland?

Tory Whanau: No! The main reason for the advert is that our council has a programme we’ll be running over the next term to attract talent to Wellington, whether it’s from Auckland or overseas, as well as retaining talent. We have some sectors, including hospitality, governance roles, IT, gaming, that are screaming out for new employees. So this advert is just part of a wider programme.

There is a timeliness to it. We’ve seen the mayor threatening to fire some people already. What I’m saying is, nau mai, haere mai, come to Wellington instead.

So you are inviting resigning members of CCO boards to come and work in Wellington?

Yes, I am. Yes, I am. Send me your details.

Would you also welcome to Wellington any of the following: Efeso Collins, Craig Lord, Viv Beck, Leo Molloy?

I would welcome all of them with open arms. In particular, I would welcome Efeso.

Have you heard from Wayne Brown yet?

No, not yet.

Because when he sees that ad he might get cross and demand that you resign.

He might do. I expect that he would.

What’s so great about Wellington? What’s so great about living there?

We get a lot of flak, a lot of people calling our city lame. But I’ve seen, over the last few months on the campaign trail, that it’s far from that. We’ve got some challenges to deal with, in regard to housing affordability and public transport, but we’re well on the way to setting ourselves up to be a real future-focused city. I’ve seen some of the projects currently on the books. I’m really excited. But now that we’re past that massive Covid wave, there are a lot of people back in this city now.

I live just one block up from Courtenay Place. Its bars and restaurants are constantly full. Especially with Wow in our city over the past couple of weeks, you couldn’t even get accommodation, you could not get a restaurant reservation, and I think that’s a real sign of things to come for our city. I’m going to make it better.

‘If you regularly enjoy The Spinoff, and want it to continue, become a member today.’
Toby Manhire
— Editor-at-large

Apart from the cost of housing, there is also the issue of rain that sometimes arrives at a 90-degree angle. Can you do anything about that?

A lot of people asked me to do something about the weather, about the wind, during my campaign. What I’ve been telling people is, look, lean in, it’s not going anywhere. We’ve got some fabulous weather-wear, whether it’s Kathmandu or whatever, this is part of our culture, it shouldn’t be something we’re ashamed of.

Are are there any specific Aucklanders you’d like to move and work in Wellington?

I would love Efeso to come down and work here.

Anyone else?

I’ve been trolling [Auckland councillor] Richard Hills a bit, too. He saw my advert and he was like, how dare you? I can see some people possibly considering their options now from Auckland Council, to come work for Wellington Council instead.

Could you poach some of the mayors from mayor school?

Hey, the world is Wellington’s oyster.

But wait there's more!