By EUGENE BINGHAM political reporter
Prime Minister Helen Clark has dismissed pleas from her deputy that Alliance MP Sandra Lee should be the next Minister of Maori Affairs.
But fellow Alliance MP Willie Jackson believes splits within the Labour Maori caucus will prevent anyone other than Ms Lee taking the vacancy.
Deputy Prime
Minister and Alliance leader Jim Anderton told a party conference at the weekend that he had put Ms Lee's case to Helen Clark.
"When you think about it, Sandra Lee is an obvious candidate and the only thing standing in the way, literally, in my view, is that she is not a member of the Labour Party," Mr Anderton said last night.
Helen Clark said she respected Ms Lee and recognised she had a good case, but Labour had won all the Maori seats and should hold the Maori Affairs post.
"It's not acceptable to me that we not have a Maori in the cabinet and that is the bottom line."
Under Labour rules, the caucus votes for the cabinet replacement of Dover Samuels, though the Prime Minister assigns the portfolio.
In the fallout over Mr Samuels' sacking last week, splits appeared in the Maori caucus, with Hauraki MP John Tamihere accusing colleagues of salivating at the prospect of taking over the position.
Mr Jackson said yesterday that this was one reason Ms Lee should be chosen.
"Whoever is selected ... would cause problems for a group of Maori in that Labour caucus," said Mr Jackson. "Let's start walking the talk and support someone who would be the best choice given the factions within the Maori caucus in Labour, where there is a clear split."
Ms Lee, the seventh-ranked member of cabinet and Minister of Conservation and Local Government as well as an Associate Minister of Maori Affairs, was in Australia and unavailable for comment.
* A poll out yesterday shows most Maori want Ms Lee to be the new Minister of Maori Affairs. The Marae Digipoll of 1000 voters showed 22.7 per cent support for Ms Lee, and 22.4 per cent support for Mr Samuels.
The man tipped to take the post, associate minister Parekura Horomia, received 11.2 per cent and the other associate, Tariana Turia, 3.9 per cent. Mr Tamihere received 18.9 per cent support.
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