Goff says Labour will not bow to Hawkins' threats

Labour MP George Hawkins. Photo / The Aucklander

Labour leader Phil Goff has made it clear to his recalcitrant MP George Hawkins that the party will not bow to any threats from Mr Hawkins' to select his choice to replace him in the safe Labour seat of Manurewa.

It is understood Mr Hawkins threatened to force a by-election if the party chose a candidate he did not like for the Manurewa seat he has held for the past 20 years. The selection will be held on Sunday.

Yesterday Mr Phil Goff said Mr Hawkins had not made that threat directly to him but would not rule out that a resignation was possible.

"He hasn't made that statement to me. I'd make it absolutely clear that having a byelection seven or eight months out from an election isn't a good idea, but that's a decision George will ultimately make."

Mr Goff also made it clear that it was not up to Mr Hawkins to decide who should get the selection. He said it was up to the local members and head office representatives to decide who was selected for the seat, as required by Labour Party rules.

"I'm not interfering in that process, I'm happy for the democratic process to take place."

Manurewa has about 600 local Labour members - one of the largest Labour memberships of any electorate - and many are likely to be loyal to Mr Hawkins. However, the unions are also a powerful voting bloc in the electorate and have been rallying eligible members to attend Sunday's selection meeting.

Mr Hawkins had earlier advised the party he could quit Parliament when he won his community board seat in the local body elections. However he has made no move to do so since then, and is understood to be waiting to see the result of the selection. He would not return phone calls yesterday.

Labour has already fought two byelections this term and the risk remains of a further byelection in Te Atatu if current MP Chris Carter quits over summer.

Labour MP Shane Jones was initially expected to stand in the safe seat but ruled it out in favour of the Maori electorate Tamaki Makaurau earlier this year. Yesterday he said he was now pleased.

"I was invited to put my name forward to be a candidate in Manurewa and given how treacherous the process looks now, I'm very glad I didn't do it."

Mr Hawkins is understood to have particular concern about EPMU representative Jerome Mika winning the selection. His favoured candidate is understood to be local lawyer Ian Dunwoodie, who is the vice chair of the electorate branch and has worked as an advisor for Mr Hawkins.

However Mr Hawkins is understood to have no other real concerns about other candidates, such as Louisa Wall, who was an MP for a short period before 2008.

Other candidates include list MP Ashraf Choudhary, lawyer Amelia Schaaf, human resources manager Shane Te Pou, and company director Raj Thandi.

Yesterday party President Andrew Little said he had not been in touch with either Mr Hawkins or Mr Mika yesterday. As national secretary of the EPMU he was remaining at a distance from the selection battle because of the perception of a conflict of interest.

Other unions, including the Service and Food Workers, Maritime and Amalgamated Workers Union, are supporting Ms Wall.