Gardiner coy on chase for National Party presidency

Wira Gardiner is expected to make a tilt for the job as president of the National Party after confirming he would seek a position on the board this year.

Yesterday Mr Gardiner said he intended to try for one of the places on the board which will open up after the retirements of current President Judy Kirk and director Wyatt Creech.

A businessman who is married to National Party MP Hekia Parata, Mr Gardiner would not confirm if he intended to seek the President's role.

"All I can say at this stage is that I'm focusing on the first step of getting through the nomination process to become a director."

National's new president will be chosen the day after the election of board directors at the party's annual conference in early August.

Mrs Kirk is retiring from the job after seven years, and the post is likely to be hotly contested.

A former head of the Ministry of Maori Development, Mr Gardiner withdrew from active participation in the party during Don Brash's time as National's leader because of its stance on Maori issues.

However, he remained a member and became active again when Mr Key became leader.

Yesterday current board director and Auckland businessman Peter Goodfellow confirmed he was up for the job.

He said he believed he had a lot of support among other board directors and in the wider membership.

A long-term office holder at electorate, regional and national levels of the party, he said he had the governance skills required.

He said the party had been very successful under Mrs Kirk and it was important to continue with the approach she had taken.

Aucklander Scott Simpson is also understood to be interested - but he must face the two-yearly process of being re-elected to the board first.

This year five of the nine slots on the board are up for grabs. While three are likely to be retained by incumbents facing their two-yearly re-election, the two vacated by Wyatt Creech and Ms Kirk will be available for new faces.

Judy Kirk confirmed she would stand down from the board as well as from her role as President, although her position as a director was not due to come up for re-election until next year.

Under National's governing rules, board directors are elected by a secret ballot among about 400 delegates at the conference. The president is chosen the next day by a vote of the board and must be a board director.

The other three board members whose positions are up for re-election are expected to stand again. They are Scott Simpson, Craig Myles and Grant McCallum. Another Aucklander - Alastair Bell - is also seeking a post on the board.

Meanwhile, nominations for the Green Party female co-leader to replace Jeanette Fitzsimons opened on Monday.

Ms Fitzsimons will stand down as co-leader at the party's AGM in June after deciding not to stand for Parliament again in 2011.

At least one Green Party member who is not an MP is understood to be considering standing - Jeanette Elley, an Aucklander who was a Green Party candidate in the 2008 election.

Green MPs Metiria Turei and Sue Bradford will also contest the position.