The battle for Northland
December 13th, 2010 at 9:00 am by David FarrarJohn Carter’s retirement at the 2011 election, means his prized Northland seat is up for grabs, and with a 10,000+ majoirty in the electorate vote and 9,000+ in the party vote, you would expect a lot of interest in the National nomination.
And so it is. My spies report that even though nominations will not open until the 11th of March next year, there are already 12 known candidates. Three of them have publicly declared – Mike Sabin, Grant McCallum and Mark Tan. Six other men, and three women are also known to be intending to stand. By March, the numbers may hit 15 or even 20.
Northland has the highest membership of any electorate for National – around 1,800 people, and with a contested selection could rise to over 3,000. All 12 prospective candidates live in the electorate.
The likely date for the selection is on the 30th of April. Prior to that the pre-selection committee will have what could be a very tough job of whittling the field down to five candidates.
Mike Sabin is a former Police Detective and now a expert on Methamphetamine and drug policy.
Grant McCallum is a farmer and long-serving activist and officer for National – he is currently on the Board of Directiors, which indicates considerable grass-roots support.
Mark Tan is a local teacher who has impressed a few people as a “dark horse” to watch.
It will be a very interesting race to watch. The winner is likely to have a long parliamentary career. They will also have almost impossibly large boots to fill as a local MP.
December 13th, 2010 at 9:31 am
I’m not to sure what membership in National get’s you in Northland to be honest, from memory I don’t think I even got a request to renew mine
.
Not so sure about impossibly large boots to fill, Carter kept a pretty low profile and Northland faces significant issues with treaty settlements & economic growth as Kerikeri declines, not to mention cultural conflict.
So I’d say a new MP has some serious problems to deal with & major opportunity to achieve alot if they are able to be part of a team with the Maori MP’s for the advancement of Northland, because from what I can see there is little public evidence Carter worked with Hone/Shane/Kelvin & in the end he was a electorate MP & as such Northland should come first & it would send a very powerful message if the MP’s could work closer together on Northland issues.
P.S. From a personal point of view I thought JC was good, but from a Northland perspective I am less convinced.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 9:35 am
Northland is the most beautiful part of New Zealand in summer and where I grew up.
As a surfer I treasured my memories of surf trips to Rararawa, Taronui Bay and Tapotupotu bay and Shipwrecks…I was lucky, I didn’t need to pay a toll.
The Maoris are greedy, sadly they have destroyed that freedom.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 9:44 am
Excellent. Do any of them have the vision and backbone for the changes needed to reverse NZ’s slow economic decline? No? Surely they can’t all be looking for a cosy prestigeous job with good pay and condition.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 11:30 am
What isn’t John Key’s press secretary giving it a go.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 11:59 am
Hold of which Hone are we speaking of, Carter ?
RobbieBlack cry me a river, typical visitor who whines that Maori own too much land in NZ.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
McCallum in a canter.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sarah-Davies-for-the-next-Northland-National-Party-MP/113592058708640
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Dear Lord I hope Mike Sabin doesn’t win, he’s a nice guy but his views on personal freedom are draconian…
Ban everything – that’ll work seems to be the attitude…
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Mike Sabin ay! You wouldn’t pick him as a Helen supporter if you met him that is for sure… lol
Don’t forget DPF that Mike is the father of the amazing Darryl Sabin:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Darryl-Sabin-and-his-inspirational-recovery-story/tabid/367/articleID/153600/Default.aspx
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
BTW I believe Mike Sabin would be outstanding.
If you knew him like I do, you would know that he is not one that will fuck around with spin and petty politics. He will get stuck in and get results. I might even stay enrolled in Northland so I can vote for him- beats voting for the Perkmaster General Rodney
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 6:47 pm
You are probably right to a degree JH, but decades of dealing with P cooks probably does that to you. Hard to be an idealist after the career he has had.
Vote:December 13th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Glad to hear there are 12 of them – that bodes well for at least one of them not being some sort of socialist or authoritarian.
Vote:December 21st, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Great to see Mike Sabin stepping up and putting his $ where his mouth is. Those of us in Northland would be proud of having and MP with the courage and conviction of Mike Sabin. I heard him speak some months ago, and was amazed by his dedication and determination. I have never joined a political party before, but will join the National party up here to support a guy like Mike.
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