Sanity & MoU prevails – Greens won’t stand candidate in Ohariu
Greens step aside in Ohariu to help Labour’s O’Connor – despite misgivings
The Greens have dropped any plans to run a candidate in the Ohariu seat in a move aimed at giving Labour’s Greg O’Connor a better chance of winning the marginal seat – despite Green misgivings about his past views.
Green co-leader James Shaw said the decision was taken in the interests of changing the Government, which was the party’s priority.
“We have been very clear with our supporters and the public about that since we signed the Memorandum of Understanding with Labour last year,” he said.
So sanity has prevailed and the Greens won’t stand against Labour’s Greg O’Connor in Ohariu.
This on paper should be making Dunne nervous, but it doesn’t mean Greg O’Connor will have a free run.
While Dunne only won with 13,569 votes against Labour’s Virginia Anderson’s 12 859, the 6120 votes that went to National’s Brett Hudson still swamps the 2764 of the Greens’ Tane Woodley.
So Dunne plus the National Party candidate totals still beats Labour + Greens. Standing down their candidate, while symbolic and beneficial to beating Dunne still doesn’t mean they’ve done enough if English pulls the same trick and stands down his National Party candidate as well.
O’Connor still has to win over National and United votes while bringing the Labour + Green base with him.
It’s going to take a herculean effort to beat Peter Dunne, but this way with this candidate is the only roll of the dice in town.
The sudden spooking of a low win for Jacinda in Mt Albert because Julie Anne Genter is running and the possible downstream political retributions from that (Labour teaming up with NZ First to roll the Greens) seem to have tempered the Greens desire for rash political decisions and they’ve agreed to not stand in Ohariu in the hope of rebuilding the bridges they accidentally set alight back in December when they threw their hat in the ring for Mt Albert.
The shock that some liberals seem to have in realising that a BroadChurch actively requires recruiting candidates with a wider appeal to electorates we don’t currently represent if we are to have any chance of replacing the government seems bewilderingly naive.
This already has some of the activist base in revolt. Angered that Willie Jackson has been allowed into Labour, there has been a move by some to waka jump to the Greens, but the Greens allowing a Cop a free run in Wellington will seem like a double double cross.
Twitter won’t be happy.
If Labour are smart, they’ll ungag O’Connor on his views about cannabis reform, which he could run rings around Dunne on while surprising activists.
If O’Connor pulls this off and ends the political career of Peter Dunne while denying the Government with a coalition ally in an election as close as MMP can make it, O’Connor will have earned his right to sit inside the Labour Tent.
I think a lot of green voters will happily hold their nose and vote for the labour mp. I’ve done it before – its better than getting a National mp, or in this case Dunne.
Flush the dunny and move on. NZ needs to rid itself of that stinky piece of shit.
I don’t think most Green supporters are antagonistic towards Labour so will have no problem voting for the Labour candidate. They just prefer Green policies more.
Having O’connor stand in Ohariu for Labour has got to be one one of the most depressing developments this year.
It’s like having to welcome a mini Donald Trump into the fold. No long term good will come of it.
Peter Dunne, Opportunist, Independent MP and the God of Beneficiaries who has like a rat clinging to drift wood, managed to keep his publicly funded pay cheques coming in for decades by transferring to the next best piece of flotsam whenever he saw a better opportunity.
Why on earth are L+G releasing their political strategy this early in the year??
Gives Nats and Dunne plenty of time to play chicken.
The smarter move would have been to agree behind close doors and kept everyone guessing right up till after nominations closed.
Bloody amateur hour in LabGreen camp. Has anyone there ever seen House of Cards? Muppets.
So is O’Connor’s policy “bottom line” to arm all cops and have them shoot anyone who “might pose a risk” on sight, American style?
Frankly, the idea of Willie and Greg wielding any power whatsoever all but guarantee I won’t vote Labour this election.
all but guarantee I won’t vote Labour this election.
Same here
Whose side are you on Nitrium? It’s that simple. Either hold your breath and vote strategically or face 3 more years of these dickheads.
Reading comments in here is reminiscent of a greek tragady. Leading upto Yanis Varoufakis resignation, the people where also saying they want change. Clearly history shows wanting change is not enough. If this is the end result of the birth place of modern day democracy then betting on a failed model is fools gold.
Those who want real change must let the voice of those most effect by the system carry on to criticise the system.
Is Greg O’Connor going to be hot on immediate actions to address global warming?
If not, the Greens should stand a candidate.
Are the Greens behaving as though global warming is a defining issue? In fact, the only issue that really matters as far as our future survival is concerned? No. As the planet inexorably becomes uninhabitable they’ll be able to say, “Well, we got to 15% of the vote. That was something.”
In the interests of dunne and dusted this is a clever move by labour and the greens with dunne gone that will be one less support leg for the natz and if Willkie Jackson can kill off the Maori party there goes another one as well. It’s strategic we condem labour but when natz do it thats OK I do not want to see 3 more years of national the stakes in terms of houseing poverty the environment and the debt bubble are just to high to allow this incompetent lot to continue . Who could we run in epsom. ????
Y’know, there would be a lot less of this kind of speculation going down if O’Connor penned a similar piece to the one Willy Jackson posted up the other day. Is he a weed liberaliser or a police militariser? Something in between? I’d prefer to know than to guess.
In the other National By Proxy seat, Epsom, both Labour and the Greens should stand aside and that would result in National winning, which, of course, means that ACT is knocked out. For good. Double whammy for the Nats.
I like it. That is brilliant – that has to happen!!
Labour, Greens are you listening? Make your MoU mean something.