National MPs mock Labour over loyalty

Alastair Scott.

National's three Hawke's Bay candidates have lashed out at their Labour rivals, accusing them of disloyalty for not seeking places on their party's list.

But the Labour trio have hit back, saying the move demonstrates a stronger commitment to their respective electorates than the National contenders are prepared to make.

As the campaign for the September 20 general election heats up, National's Tukituki MP Craig Foss, along with the party's Napier candidate Wayne Walford and Wairarapa candidate Alastair Scott, have issued a statement accusing their Labour opponents of "deserting" party leader David Cunliffe.

This was because the three candidates - Stuart Nash (Napier), Anna Lorck (Tukituki) and Kieran McAnulty (Wairarapa) - "won't stand on the list for their party" which equated a "vote of no confidence in a David Cunliffe-led Labour Party," the National trio said.

Mr Nash, Ms Lorck and Mr McAnulty say their decisions not to seek positions on the Labour list showed they were "putting their electorate and voters first".

"I've always believed I must earn the right of voters in my electorate first," Ms Lorck said.

"I'm not a list MP and have no ambition to be one, it's not my style, I want to earn my stripes for Tukituki - Labour knows this."

The three Labour candidates said, like their National opponents, they would be running "two-tick" campaigns - encouraging voters to vote for them with their electorate vote and for the Labour Party with their party vote.

Under MMP the party vote is crucial for deciding the make-up of Parliament.

The National candidates said their Labour opponents could not be taken seriously "when they refuse to go on the party list". Mr Walford said Mr Nash had been "a strong supporter of the list" in the previous two elections.

"In fact he owes his brief stint in Parliament to the fact he was on the list in 2008, so why the sudden U-turn?"

Mr Nash said he was "widely considered unlucky not to have made it back into Parliament on Labour's list in 2011" after a term as a list MP, and his "priority and sole focus" now was winning the electorate seat.

"I am a Labour candidate, and my loyalty lies with Labour and its leader, David Cunliffe," said Mr Nash

Mr McAnulty has previously said he is determined to get into Parliament by demonstrating his dedication to the Wairarapa electorate, which which takes in parts of central and southern Hawke's Bay including Waipawa, Waipukurau and Dannevirke.

While the National and Labour lists are still to be finalised, two Green Party candidates seeking election in Hawke's Bay seats have secured places on their party's list, which was released yesterday.

John Hart, the Green party candidate for Wairarapa, is ranked 18th on the list.

Greens Tukituki candidate Chris Perley is ranked 31st while Napier candidate Paul Bailey and Ikaroa-Rawhiti hopeful Henare Kani were not included on the 39-member list.