Alliance backs off Auckland Central

By HELEN TUNNAH

Alliance president Matt McCarten will not contest the Auckland Central seat this election, so he can concentrate on managing party leader Laila Harre's bid to win Waitakere.

Mr McCarten said he had decided he could not manage the party's national election strategy, be Ms Harre's campaign manager and be a candidate.

Following the split that saw its parliamentary leader Jim Anderton and five other MPs expelled, the Alliance faces an uphill battle to get a candidate elected.

The polls have it hovering between 1 per cent and 2 per cent of the vote, when it needs to gain 5 per cent of the party vote, or to win a seat, to qualify for Parliament.

On paper, Waitakere is a safe Labour seat. Ms Harre will be up against union official Lynne Pillay for Labour and National list MP Marie Hasler.

Mr McCarten has a long association with Auckland politics and looked at running in Auckland Central after taking on John Banks for the mayoralty.

"We talked about the prospects of me running in Auckland Central, but what that would have meant was you would have had two focuses in Auckland," he said.

"We're not a party that can indulge itself in spreading itself too far.

"So I won't be running. I will run this [Waitakere] campaign and I will run the national campaign."

He said the Alliance would treat Waitakere like a by-election, and would be campaigning hard on Ms Harre's achievements in Cabinet, such as paid parental leave, and the fact she was a local.

Auckland Central is held by Labour MP Judith Tizard.

Other candidates confirmed for that electorate are sitting MPs Pansy Wong for National and Nandor Tanczos for the Green Party.

Former Alliance deputy leader Sandra Lee has said she does not know if she will stand for Mr Anderton's new party, the Progressive Coalition. She has been approached to contest a Maori seat.

Act has said it plans to announce its candidate soon.