Wairarapa seat decision today?

Press, 12 July 1988, Page 2

Wairarapa seat decision today?

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

. in Wellington

The High Court’s decision on who should represent the Wairarapa electorate in Parliament is expected to be announced today.

The decision has been reached but must await the first available opportunity to be announced in Parliament by the Speaker, Mr Burke. That should happen when Mr Burke calls the House to order at 2 p.m. today.

It will end 11 months of campaigning by the two men who got within one vote of each other in last year’s General Election. After polling day the first count gave the result to Mr Wyatt Creech (National) by 65 votes ahead of Mr Reg Boorman (Labour). After the special votes had been counted the result was reversed, with Mr Boorman ahead by nine votes.

Mr Creech sought an electoral recount — which is just that; recounting the votes — and that cut Mr Boorman’s majority to one vote.

Mr Creech refused to accept that decision as final and even though the National Party declined to back him he filed an electoral petition to the High Court. In this he was advised to by two other National members of Parliament who had fought and won electoral petitions — Mr Winston Peters, who won Hunua in 1979 after

Labour had won it on polling day in 1978, and Mr Roger McClay, who held on to Taupo in 1982 when Labour challenged his 1981 polling day win.

Mr Boorman had won Wairarapa from the then Minister of Police and Maori Affairs, Mr Ben Couch, in 1984. At that time Mr Creech had been on his advisory committee.

Mr Creech became disenchanted with Labour, transferred his allegiance to National, sought the nomination for National in 1987, and was chosen as a candidate.

This outraged some National Party stalwarts in the electorate who campaigned against him in the run-up to polling day last year. It has taken 11 months for 'three High Court judges to assemble in Masterton and go through all the disputed votes

identified by both Mr Creech and Mr Boorman, and their teams of helpers. If Mr Boorman has the more votes he is confirmed as member of Parliament until the next election; if Mr Creech has the more votes then Mr Boorman must immediately leave the Chamber in Parliament.

If the High Court finds Mr Boorman guilty of a “corrupt practice” in that he over-spent in the election campaign, it could award the seat to Mr Creech or rule a by-elec-tion to be held immediately.

Wairarapa was not a seat Labour expected to retain last year. It was the divisions within National’s ranks that let Mr Boorman slip back in, by a majority so small that he jokes: “I take my majority with me wherever I go.”