National’s president a Christchurch man?

Press, 21 April 1986, Page 19

National’s president a Christchurch man?

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

Two Christchurch men — Messrs Neville Young and Brian Shackel — have emerged as the front-runners for the presidency of the National Party. Mr Young has already announced his candidacy, as have two others who are not given much chance. They are Mr Hamish Kynoch, of, Hawke’s Bay, and Mr Stan Duncan, of Dunedin. Mr Shackel has not yet announced his candidacy but plans to next week. Mr Young starts with the advantage of being chairman of the Canterbury division of the party, one of the five regions into which the country is divided, and a member of the party’s Dominion executive.

He is a solicitor and businessman. He ran successfully the party’s annual conference in

Christchurch last year, and is well known in the senior levels of the party. That Mr Young is seen as being close to people in the Bolger faction, now in the ascendant’ in National’s caucus in Parliament, is also in his favour.

Mr Kynoch, too, has a long record in the upper levels of the National Party. He has been a Dominion councillor since 1977 and is director of the National Political Centre.

But Mr Kynoch suffers from his reputation for being close to the retiring president, Mrs Sue Wood, and the defeated leader, Mr McLay. Mr Young probably has the nomination of his home Canterbury division. Mr Duncan may have that of the Otago division, but that is so small these days, and there has been so much in-fighting between the Dunedin and Southland members, that Otago does not count for

much. Mr Kynoch hopes to •have the backing of the Wellington division, but may be disappointed because of his perceived connections with Mrs Wood.

That may leave the support of all three North Island divisions — Wellington, Waikato, and Auckland — yet to be won. It is in the North Island that Mr Shackel is making his strongest pitch.

If he can win North Island support his background from the South island may not count against him. He and his supporters have been busy lobbying in all three divisions in the North Island to promote him as a capable businessman. He plans to announce his candidacy next week. At that point he could be the most substantial opponent in the field against the front-runner, Mr Young.