Caucus to discuss Anderton exclusion

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 6

Caucus to discuss Anderton exclusion

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Parliament The vexed question of whether Mr Jim Anderton should have been barred from the Labour caucus in Parliament will be discussed when the caucus meets today. The Sydenham Minister of Parliament was barred by his colleagues after he had abstained from voting on legislation permitting the sale of Postßank and the Bank of New Zealand when his colleagues had denied him permission to abstain. He was barred from the last two caucus meetings of 1988, which included the leadership vote between Mr David Lange and Mr Roger Douglas. He was invited back to the first caucus meeting in 1989.

Even though readmitted, Mr Anderton took a legal case to the Labour Party’s Dominion Council protesting that as a person who was still a Labour M.P. and not barred from the Labour Party he had continued legal access to the Labour caucus.

But the Prime Minister, ‘

Mr Lange, said the caucus had the right to discipline its members and that Mr Anderton had been disciplined by being barred. The Labour Party council considered Mr Anderton’s case at its meeting 10 days ago. The party president, Ms Ruth Dyson, said a decision had been made but this would be kept in confidence until she had had the chance to discuss it with the caucus.

Today’s meeting is her first chance as last week’s three-day caucus meeting in Wanganui was to discuss policy. The kernel of the Labour Party’s decision is that the caucus was wrong to ban Mr Anderton and had acted unconstitutionally. It will recommend the opinion of its own constitutional committee that the rules of the Labour Party and the caucus be changed to reflect that decision.

Mr Lange has already said that the Labour caucus will not be bound by the Labour Party, or any other group outside the caucus, since it is elected by the voters and not by the Labour Party.

If the caucus does not accept the Labour Party ruling then this issue will be added to the recent disagreements between the party and the caucus, including whether State assets such as Postßank and the Bank of New Zealand should be sold, whether the Anzac frigate deal should go ahead, and whether the method of benefit calculation should be changed.