Auckland bid to block Labour M.P.’s ambitions

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 5

Auckland bid to block Labour M.P.’s ambitions

PA Auckland Some Auckland Labour Party members are campaigning against an attempt by three Government members of Parliament to win election to senior party administrative posts. They are also angry about the wording of remits on the goods and services tax which will be debated at the party conference this month, saying changes made do not reflect the will of the earlier regional conferences. Two members are seeking election to Labour’s policy council — the member for Sydenham and former party president, Mr Jim Anderton, and the member for Eden, Mr Richard Northely. A third, the member for Mt Albert, Mrs Helen Clark, seeks re-election to the party’s executive council.

Elections for the five policy council posts and five executive posts will be held at the conference, in Christchurch from August 30 to September 2.

Several Auckland Labour Party members are oppos-

ing the election bids by the members of Parliament, especially that of Mr Anderton, on the ground that members of Parliament should not stand for party administrative posts. One, Mr Gene Leckey, acting secretary of the party’s Auckland regional council, predicted the conference would vote solidly against Mr Anderton. Mr Leckey is standing for the party executive, the policy council and the industrial representative’s post. ’’The silent majority are finally waking up that it has taken us a long time to get into Government, and we are not going to throw it away. They will vote solidly for people who will support the Government.”

Mr Leckey also said complaints would be sent to the party headquarters in Wellington about a conference remit on the GST issue.

Five of the six regional conferences in May passed remits giving support to GST provided low-income households became better off. One conference, in Wellington, passed a remit re-

jecting GST. The remit book for the Christchurch conference sets out the Wellington remit opposing GST and then gives an amalgamation of the five other remits under a general heading urging the Government to reconsider the scheme.

Mr Leckey said the agenda should have a remit supporting GST as approved by five of the six conferences, not the sole remit to oppose the new tax. He said attempts would be made to change the remit paper: “It’s abusing the constitution. Remits are passed in good faith and you expect to see them on the conference floor,” he said. Mr Anderton said last evening that as Mr Lecky was a candidate for the policy council, “I personally do not intend to engage in any public debate with someone else who is a candidate.

“I have never taken anything he has said in the past seriously and I don’t intend to start now.” Mr Anderton said he had no further comment.