Shane Jones is assured of a seat in Parliament next year after yesterday winning the top list placing for Labour in the Auckland-Northland region.
The Waitangi Fisheries Commission chairman was recently confirmed as Labour's Northland electorate candidate.
But Labour has not won that seat, now firmly held by National's JohnCarter, since 1987.
Once the nomination was agreed, it was widely expected Mr Jones would get a high list placing.
He was expected to be competing for the top list spot with former Labour president Maryan Street, who is not contesting an electorate.
But Chinese businessman Stephen Ching won the second highest list placing, and Ms Street was placed third.
Service and Food Workers Union National secretary Darien Fenton won the fourth spot.
Mr Jones described himself yesterday as an inclusive politician who looked forward to "working with our Maori MPs".
"I think the froth and the rhetoric coming from our relations in the Maori Party will soon pass," he said.
"We'll have a campaign based on progressive, inclusive ideas versus being stuck in historic grievance mentality."
Three other areas also decided regional lists yesterday.
The regional lists will be pooled and a national list drawn up early next year.
The Auckland region usually has a big say in the final shape of the list, and it is also losing two list MPs - Speaker Jonathan Hunt and Helen Duncan - next year.
Party president Mike Williams said that if Labour won the same percentage of votes as it did last election, the top three ranking Auckland-Northland candidates should get into Parliament.
On current polling Ms Fenton would probably get in too.
Mr Ching, ranked 56 on Labour's list before the last election, has been rewarded for building up a Chinese branch of the party.
Labour has only one Asian MP, Pakistan-born Ashraf Choudhary.
Mr Ching is contesting the nomination for Helensville, but may not win it.
In Wellington, lawyer Charles Chauvel, taking on United Future leader Peter Dunne in Ohariu-Belmont, won the top nomination among Labour's newcomers.
Former Post Primary Teachers Association president Jen McCutcheon won the top nomination for a newcomer in the Northern South Island region.
In Otago-Southland, South District Hospital Board deputy chairwoman Lesley Soper won top place on the list.
