John Carter announces retirement
November 8th, 2010 at 6:26 pm by David FarrarNZPA report:
National’s Northland MP John Carter has announced he won’t stand for re-election at next year’s general election.
“This is my eighth term as MP for Northland, the region where I was born and bred,” he said today.
“I believe I have represented Northland well for 23 years…the time has come for me to move on in my life, thus giving an opportunity for new representation in Northland.”
There are few MPs I like as much as John Carter. He is a great guy, and an absolute model of an effective constituency MP. I once drove him to Palmerston North and he spent pretty much the entire trip on his cellphone ringing agencies and the like on behalf of various constituents. Northland is not the most natural seat for National, but John’s popularity turned it into a very safe seat
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- Carter to Cooks
- Carter, Jones and Ririnui
- Catherine Judd announces retirement
- Carter only nomination for Te Atatu
November 8th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
you mean the Hone fellow?
Vote:No not that Hone, Hone Carter!
November 8th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Trevor next?
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
And air head Smith after Trevor.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Way to retire gracefully.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
So..will the Nat’s look for the best possible candidate or will they take the PC option and look for a token minority or Maori candidate?
The TAB odds would be, PC Candidate $1.01, Best Candidate possible $55.00
[DPF: It is entirely up to the local electorate - head office gets no say in the selection]
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
Heh, in my younger days I often saw him flanking other Nat ministers and assumed he was part of the DPS.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
“It is entirely up to the local electorate – head office gets no say in the selection”
Pity that’s a bit long for a Tui board, it’d be a winner.
[DPF: I know it is hard for a Labour acolyte to accept but it is true. Even party presidents have failed to win selections. Another example is Tamaki when Simich beat David Kirk who was head office backed]
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
What!
Vote:Hasn’t he got a useless bureaucratic job immediately lined up that is so important to him that we need to waste several million on a by-election for?
November 8th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
As much as I dislike the National Party, as a Northlander John Carter is held in very high regard by just about everyone. He has rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in to a lot of issues involving people I know.
One woman I worked with was going through a long and debilitating health condition, and had had surgery postponed about 4 times. Finally the hospital scheduled in a date, and the day before she was going to drive from Taipa to Whangarei for the op they cancelled on her. A quick call to Mr Carter… and it was back on again
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
m@tt @8.37 – you would be right about most, possibly all other, parties but in National members in an electorate select their candidate without interference/influence from HQ.
Those members are individuals too, there’s no influence by groups as there is in Labour where unions can out-vote members in the electorate.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
He’s probably retiring more through disappointment then staying for the love of service. Come on, who retires when they get to finally make a difference? Not sure of the man’s politics but if I was a NS minister I would question the direction of the government I helped promote. Northland has a shitload of problems, we either should be very worried that it is beyond help or the current direction of the government is not cutting mustard.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
His popularity and effectiveness as a local mp was due in a massive way to the tireless efforts of the Oakleys who ran his electorate office from Kerikeri for many years.
Vote:They retired soon after John disappeared off to be a minister and we are all wondering how long it will be before his position as absent MP for Northland will become high commissioner to the Cook Islands.
His lack of attention to the disgracefull way the owner of the Mobil station at kapiro has been treated by the immigration twats has been noted by many up here.
November 8th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
This is actually quite sad. He’s a great guy and a real asset.
Vote:November 8th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
John has been a fantastic MP for Northland, and is a really good bloke. I suspect he will move on to do even better things, my money is on an appointment as High Commissioner to one of our less dysfunctional Pacific neighbours where his electorate skills will work well internationally. Just my two cents worth, and hope that is what happens.
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 12:32 am
I’m sure John is a really nice guy and a good electorate MP.
He has also demonstrated a total lack of judgement or sensitivity. No wonder the National Party like him so much. Maybe High Commissioner to Easter Island would be a good next move…..don’t think they have talkback over there.
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 6:43 am
Maybe, just maybe he can see the writing on the wall after yesterdays pressors from Blenglish.
Government emphasising ‘restraint’
VERNON SMALL – The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 09/11/2010
The Government is signalling it will tighten its belt another notch, with new figures showing the deficit has blown out by $2.2 billion since the May Budget forecasts and recovery is still sluggish.
The Government’s books for the three months to September, issued yesterday, show tax revenue $1.1b lower than forecast.
Added to a $1.5b bill to EQC for the Canterbury earthquake, that saw the deficit climb to $3.7b.
Finance Minister Bill English said the lower revenue was largely caused by lower consumer spending, as New Zealanders paid off debt and saved more. He said the Government was still committed to “ongoing spending restraint”.
Just back from meetings with finance ministers and central bankers, including one at an Apec ministers’ meeting in Japan, Mr English said he had come away “thinking we could maybe tighten up a little bit, but maybe next year”.
(or never. Try Ireland’s measures, cut all civil servants pay by 10%)
The Government had the timing “about right” with its biggest deficit this year. ( Yeh right as Tui would say)
Now several things are clear. Key and English refuse to grapple with the BIG issues of social welfare, catching Australia, reducing wasted Govt. expenditure, Treasury never ever does or has got its forecasts right ever, and the Nats. need a much stronger ACT Party.
Vote:And they need to listen to the Taskforce recommendations and start to implement them. ASAP.
November 9th, 2010 at 7:54 am
Heh, in my younger days I often saw him flanking other Nat ministers and assumed he was part of the DPS.
It was the moustache wasn’t it?
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Time to let the ‘Hone’ thing go, isn’t it? It was some years ago.
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 10:26 am
The Herald is reporting that Carter will likely be appointed High Commissioner to the Cook Islands. Also that there may have been a secret deal whereby Carter got the ministerial job in 2008 on the condition that this would be his last term.
I wonder who else might be operating under similar arrangements. National is fortunate to have a relatively fresh caucus and relatively few time-servers past their use-by date. But still, it is good to have things ticking over and good to get at least a few new faces in every three years.
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 10:37 am
From what I understand is he’s looking to be replaced by the muppet from Methcon – Mike Sabin, who was pushing the whole fear of drugs that didn’t even exist (i.e. Strawberry Meth) etc.
Man needs to check snopes.com before he starts fearmongering imo. Looks like the replacement might be a candidate for the next Jacqui Dean award for trying to ban water due to drug hysteria…
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Yeah ditto what Mike said. How many ex cops do National already have in parliament now? I reckon they have enough already, although it may well be appropriate for a burgeoning police state….
Vote:November 9th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
John Carter is a legend… I have had the opportunity to see plenty of MPs, from a range of parties. He would be one of the hardest working MP’s I have every encountered.
By any measure Northland should be one of the strongest Labour seats in the country but it is all John Carter when it comes to electorate vote…
This is retail politics at it’s best . He just works harder than the others….
If he does get appointed as an ambassador then I hope it’s a country an important one… he will do his country proud and do plenty to get NZ’s voice heard… Parliament’s loss will be measured in integrity and non partisan cooperation, knowledge of the house and especially good humour.
Vote: