Anti-hopping bill lacks support

Labour and New Zealand First appear short of the votes needed to pass the controversial anti-party hopping bill, unless they are prepared to amend it significantly.

Labour agreed to support the reintroduction of the law as part of its confidence and supply agreement with NZ First, which was worried just one defecting MP could upset the Government's fragile 61-59 vote hold on power.

The Act party used the law to get rid of Donna Awatere-Huata, who became an independent MP, but the law contained a sunset clause, which saw it expire when Parliament was dissolved before the last election.

Labour was not initially concerned about re-enacting the law, which makes it difficult for MPs to leave their parties.

But one well-placed party insider said yesterday that senior Labour figures might now want it to pass to minimise potential trouble with MPs the party wants to stand down before the next election.

At least one Labour MP is believed to have raised the prospect of defecting if forced out as part of the party's revitalisation process - the subject of renewed speculation yesterday.

A select committee report released on Friday recommended that the bill, introduced in Deputy Prime Minister Michael Cullen's name, should not proceed.

With enough political support, Dr Cullen could still get the bill passed in the House.

United Future supported the bill to the committee, but leader Peter Dunne said yesterday that the party would be "unlikely to support it going any further unless it was limited to list MPs only".

Mr Dunne said Labour and NZ First were aware of his party's position but that there had been no "definitive discussions at this stage".

The Greens, Act and National have consistently opposed the legislation, and the Maori Party did not support it to the committee.

A Maori Party spokeswoman said yesterday that there was no plan to change the party's stance, but the party wanted to consider the committee report.

NZ First leader Winston Peters is overseas but party deputy Peter Brown said the law was not the big issue it once was for the party.

"It was exceedingly important to us when our troops were jumping ship faster than rats off a burning raft," he said, referring to the party's split in half in 1998.

After the last election there was apprehension about whether a stable government could be stitched together, Mr Brown said.

"[Now] the Government's got the numbers, we're getting the outcomes we've been striving to get and I think we've put together a fairly stable Government. As a result, that bill probably doesn't carry the weight it was once perceived to.

"I think I can say that not too many MPs in NZ First would die in a ditch over it [failing to pass]."

A spokesman for Dr Cullen said the committee report wasn't a surprise as the committee did not reflect the political make-up of Parliament.

Discussions would now be held with relevant parties, but it was too early to speculate on the outcome.

Mr Dunne said while there was justification for making it difficult for list MPs, elected via the party, to defect the same could not be said for constituency MPs, whose electorate might require them to hold a different view from the party's.