No challenge to Waitakere
January 14th, 2012 at 12:00 pm by David FarrarVernon Small reports at Stuff:
Labour will not challenge the cliff-hanger election result in the west Auckland seat of Waitakere, confirming National’s Social Development Minister Paula Bennett in the seat.
“We have made the decision against seeking an electoral petition,” Labour secretary Chris Flatt said today. …
Flatt said the party had discussed the possibility of a challenge with those involved in the recount.
“We have confidence in the Electoral Commission and the process they took.”
A petition could have cost $30,000-$50,000 and possibly over $100,000 if Labour had chosen to challenge on the basis of malpractice.
Plus National has not lost an electoral petition in the last 40 years or so. I suspect the only outcome of an electoral petition in Waitakere (apart from wealth gain for lawyers) would be National to increase their majority.
Related posts:
- Bennett wins back Waitakere
- Waitakere
- Labour’s Waitakere selection
- Payne ordered to pay costs to National
January 14th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
If Labour had overturned the result would Paula Bennett have got in through the list or would it be a seat lost?? If it is a seat lost then Labour should challenge. Except they do not have the money.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
-EV tvb
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 12:37 pm
do we know which privately owned company has snapped carmel up for a high paying job?
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Sensible Labour decision. A petition opens up all sorts of unintended consequences, and historically this has proved very uncomfortablr for Labour in the past.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Nuff said.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 12:51 pm
This has to be the first logical decision made by Liabore for months.
Have they finally dumped their ‘strategic campaign manager’ from 2011?
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Of course the very best thing of all is that the septic Sepeloni (sp) is not on the public payroll for another three years.
I do hope she is doing well on the dole.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
I love the way they they refer to malpractice as though it was optional but too expensive. The complete absence of any evidence doesn’t seem to be a factor.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
And yet iPredict made their payout contigent upon preliminary results, so that anyone who correctly bet that Paul Bennett would win the seat lost all their money. I won’t be using them again.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
And yet iPredict made their payout contigent upon preliminary results, so that anyone who correctly bet that Paul Bennett would win the seat lost all their money.
You weren’t betting on who would win the seat, you were betting on who would win on the preliminary result.
Also, Paula Bennett won the preliminary result.
Vote:January 14th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
I think there are two reasons. They don’t have the money. Also, they don’t want their dirty laundry hung out in public.
cheers
David Prosser
Vote:January 15th, 2012 at 9:59 am
“would Paula Bennett have got in through the list or would it be a seat lost?”
Yes, Paula Bennett would have come back on the list. National would have had one more list MP and one fewer electorates. No difference in the actual line up of MPs.
Labour would have had one more electorate MP (Sepuloni) and lost a list MP (Huo) to compensate. So a challenge would not have gained anything for Labour except a change of personnel. Not worth spending $100,000 for even if there was any chance of winning.
Vote:January 15th, 2012 at 10:14 am
The often overlooked aspect to this issue is WHY should it cost $100,000 to mount a legal challenge.
I find it particularly galling that lawyers, of which NZ has one of the largest number per head of population in the world, can demand and be paid such enormous sums – why is there no competition in what they charge? No wonder lawyers are fighting against the legal aid reforms.
Now there’s an idea — Sepuloni is unemployed now – maybe she could mount a petition with legal aid funding! Oh wait, I imagine she has already lined up a job with some tame union.
Vote:January 16th, 2012 at 4:38 pm
I wonder what filthy tricks and cheating Labour got into in Waitakere that they are now scurrying to hide from the public eye? A bit of digging wouldn’t go amiss
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