One element of the infamous ‘Labour Man Ban’ that hasn’t been commented on much yet is whether it will flow through to local government. You have to assume it will, Party selection criteria at all levels is surely based on the same principle.
Of the four Labour candidates currently standing, only one is a woman, Leonie Gill from the Eastern Ward, however there has been talk that she may not stand after all. Aside from Gill, it is all man – Peck in Lambton, Eagle in Southern and Aitken in Onslow-Western. Even the quasi-Labour, Justin Lester in Northern is a guy and Daran Ponter on the regional council are lads.
So the question is, how will Labour handle selections for local government? The Party appears to have struggled to attract women candidates this year, so could it be forced to endorse Green women as well in multi-member wards? Or should the Party re-visit its selections?
The selection of an almost all-male line up doesn’t seem to fit well with the modern Labour Party, and given how vocal Mark Peck has been on distancing himself from Labour policy on GST, which Labour party is it?
The other issue is whether the new selection policy will hamper the Parliamentary ambitions of the likes of Paul Eagle as well. With the Party making it clear women will have first dibs on key winnable seats, any chances Eagle had of inheriting Rongotai off Annette King are surely gone and he will now likely be forced to look away from his home base for a swing seat.
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We were asked on Twitter about my comment that Leonie Gill may not stand after all, and what that was based on. Basically we’ve been told by several people close to her from both sides of the spectrum that she is reflecting on whether she should stand this year and that it is now unlikely that she will. Ultimately, it’s a question for Leonie.
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