Long candidate list for General Election

Press, 22 June 1984, Page 1

Long candidate list for General Election

PA Wellington The run-up to the snap election may be short but the list of candidates vying for a place in Parliament is lon J- . .

When nominations closed at noon yesterday 463 people had put their names forward for the 95 electorates, an average of five a seat. That compares with 339 people for 92 electorates in 1981.

The biggest fields, of seven, are in Tamaki — the Prime Minister’s seat — and the Labour-held seats of Auckland Central, Dunedin North, Manurewa, and Southern Maori.

Candidates are standing under at least 21 different banners — from the McGillicuddy Serious Party to the main parties. Missing, however, is the Socialist Unity Party which stood five candidates in 1981. The list includes the young and the old. At least two persons aged 18 have decided to stand as well as vote for the first time. Ms Cathryn Symons is the Values candidate for Remuera, and Ms Sandra

Wright will contest Fendalton for Social Credit. At the other end of the scale is Mr Tupuna Te Hira who will be 79 tomorrow and is fighting his fifth election campaign, this time as Social Credit’s Western Maori candidate. At least 60 women are standing this year. The New Zealand Party candidate for St Albans was granted New Zealand citizenship as a special case yesterday so that he could stand at next month’s General Election. Mr Maurice Kattell was campaigning at Edgeware Village yesterday morning when he heard the news. “I feel brilliant,” he said. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Highet, agreed to approve Mr Kattell’s citizenship application as a special case after approaches by New Zealand Party officials on Wednesday. Mr Kattell was advised in time to put in his nomination as the New Zealand Party’s candidate for St Albans.

The party held an emergency meeting on Wednes-

day evening to choose an alternative candidate in case Mr Kattell, who was born in Britain and has lived in New Zealand for three years, could not stand. Mr Kattell had already applied for New Zealand citizenship, but his application was caught out by the snap election. He was so pleased at the news yesterday that he sent a telegram thanking Mr Highet, who will retire after the election, and suggesting that he join the New Zealand Party.

Another New Zealand Party candidate, Mrs Inga Jimenez, who has put in a nomination for Nelson, is not a New Zealand citizen.

Mrs Jiminez, who is Danish, said at the week-end that she might not be able to stand because she was still not naturalised, although she had lived in New Zealand for 25 years. However, she said yesterday that she was able to put in a nomination under the Electoral Act because she was on the electoral roll on August 22, 1975.

When nominations closed the Dunedin North electorate was left with a tangle to sort out before polling day on July 14. Candidates claiming to represent two separate New Zealand Parties were nominated. Mr L. van der Vis was

nominated as the official candidate for the New Zealand Party — the one founded by Mr Bob Jones.

Mr M. -A. Menzies was also nominated by the New Zealand Party — the one he helped to form in Dunedin. The returning officer for the electorate, Mrs G. T. Gilfedder, accepted Mr Menzies’ nomination and designation because, she said later, he produced sufficient legal documentation supporting his claim.

Mr Menzies claims the New Zealand Party he is standing for was formed in April, 1983, by Mr T. DuvalSmith, and formally constituted at a meeting at Mr Menzies’ Dunedin home on April 28. The Menzies’ party shared the same box number in Dunedin with another organisation Mr Menzies has been associated with, the pro-marijuana group, Norml.

Mrs Gilfedder referred the conflict to electoral headquarters in Wellington yesterday afternoon, and after taking official advice on the matter, it was referred to Mr Jones’ New Zealand Party for it to come up with an acceptable solution.

Mr C. Begg, director-gen-eral of the New Zealand Party, said from Wellington that the party’s lawyers were looking into the matter, studying the Electoral Act and Mrs Gilfedder’s ruling.

He said one suggestion by electoral headquarters that Mr van der Vis be designated “New Zealand Party (Wellington),” and Mr Menzies “New Zealand Party (Dunedin),” was quite unacceptable. A Citizens’ Democratic Party member, Mr Kevin Graham, who had announced his intention to stand for Sydenham, apparently did not reach the noon deadline for nominations yesterday. His name did not appear among the list of nominations released by the electorate returning officer. The party leader, Mr Geoff Bucknall, who is contesting the Yaldhurst electorate, would not comment on the nomination last evening. The party initially planned to have three candidates, but now has only one. Mr Bucknall attracted BL. votfe when he stood in]' Yaiunurst in 1981.