Avon rerun likely

Press, 22 October 1983, Page 1

Avon rerun likely

Nominations for the Labour Party candidate for Avon closed yesterday, but it appears that no new candidates have come forward. That means the selection panel will face the same choice as last time, when it meets oh November 6. At the first meeting, held on September 14, the panel could not agree on who should be chosen. The three candidates are the member of Parliament for Avon, Mrs Mary Batchelor, a trade union official, Mr Paul Piesse, and Mr David Penney, a Ministry

of Transport vehicle inspector. The Avon electorate chairman, Mr Lou Burns, said last evening that he had not heard of anyone else who planned to seek the nomination. _ At the first selection meeting on September 14, the panel reached an impasse. After 5% hours deliberation it could not decide between Mrs Batchelor, who had the support of the party’s Dominion representatives, and her chief rival, Mr Piesse, who won the local support. Rather than appoint a

candidate, the Labour Party’s council decided to reopen nominations. The three candidates all said they would put their names forward again. Most of those tipped as possible candidates said they were not prepared to stand against Mrs Batchelor.

The official list of nominations will not be released until Tuesday. Mr Burns said that this was in case there were any other nominations in the mail.

Thirty-six extra flights were put on yesterday by Air New Zealand to cope with Labour Day week-end traffic. —Page 2

The United States nuclearpowered submarine to make a five-day visit to Auckland will arrive on November 7. —Page 3 The Kremlin has blamed bureaucrats for the Arctic ice trap that Soviet merchant ships now find themselves in. —Page 10

Asked about the likely outcome of the selection meeting, Mr Burns said, “Your guess is as good as mine.” Both Mrs Batchelor and Mr Piesse had been “on their bikes doing their work,” and lobbying hard for support.

The outcome of this selec- % tion meeting may hinge on how many Labour Party members and affiliates attend. At the first meeting, attended by about 180 eligible voters, Mr Piesse won the preferential straw vote by a narrow margin. However, there are more than 300 party members in the Avon branch who would be eligible to vote. The selection meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 6, in the' Aranui High School Hall.