Act's last-ditch push for Banks

Act party president Catherine Judd is making an 11th-hour bid to woo former Auckland mayor John Banks amid reports that Rodney Hide's leadership is under threat from another quarter.

The party board is meeting in Auckland today and tomorrow to decide on Act's list ranking for the election, which must be held within three months.

Catherine Judd yesterday expressed the "total loyalty" of the board and caucus in Mr Hide, after reports that former deputy Ken Shirley had been approached by disgruntled party members to replace Mr Hide.

Mr Shirley also said he supported "the leadership" of Act, though he would not specifically say he supported Mr Hide.

But a real leadership crisis could be looming, not over Mr Shirley but over the attempted recruitment of Mr Banks.

Mr Hide will be ranked at the top of the list - it is unthinkable that the board would do anything else.

It is believed that while Mr Banks has lost the enthusiasm for Act that he showed as guest speaker to the party's March conference, he would consider standing if offered No 2 or 3 on the list. And that could force a leadership crisis for Mr Hide if he were to see it as the board recruiting a leader-in-waiting.

Mr Hide has made no secret of his lack of enthusiasm for recruiting Mr Banks, a former National police minister, and one-term mayor of Auckland who was defeated last year by Dick Hubbard.

So the very act of recruiting Mr Banks undermines Mr Hide's authority.

If Mr Hide were insulted enough to resign, Mr Shirley would likely step in as interim leader.

Mr Banks said last night that while he had said he was not breaking his neck to return to Parliament, nothing was ruled in or out at this stage.

His other competing interests were business opportunities and the prospect of regaining the mayoralty.

Catherine Judd and Mr Banks were attempting to meet in Auckland last might after a lunchtime meeting was cancelled when fog closed Auckland Airport.

They may also meet today between sessions of the Act board.

There is continued dissatisfaction in the caucus and wider party at Mr Hide's concentration on personal attacks, such as the allegations of brutality against school students that forced Associate Education Minister and former teacher David Benson-Pope to stand down from the portfolio.

Mr Hide defended his leadership yesterday on the lawn at Parliament - in front of a mock graveyard of crosses set out for the party's law-and-order policy launch.