Campaign run by leader, not me, says former President

Former New Zealand First president MP Doug Woolerton has rejected suggestions that the reason he resigned was that he oversaw a bad election campaign.

Mr Woolerton resigned as he did not believe leader Winston Peters should have taken a ministerial post in the Labour-led minority Government - though yesterday he said he believed Mr Peters would make a very good Foreign Minister.

Several sources had told the Herald they believed Mr Woolerton was facing pressure over the election campaign and might not have been re-elected president this year. Many others ask "what campaign?"

But Mr Woolerton said neither the president nor the party's board had ever run elections for New Zealand First.

"They are run from the leader's unit. The leader and his team run elections in New Zealand First. I have spent a huge amount of time and effort explaining to all the electorates exactly how the elections are run.

"They should understand that I have very little part in the elections even though I was president of the outfit and was on the campaign committee."

The party's new vice-president, Charles Sturt, of Rotorua told the conference that though he was on the party's board, he had felt "alienated" from the campaign.

Another board member, Lyn Hunt, said she had been astonished at how much of the campaign had been run from Parliament.

Other delegates lamented a lack of concentration on large population areas, especially Auckland.

The party's new president, Dail Jones, earlier told the Weekend Herald he had concerns about the party billboard showing Mr Peters at the foreshore.

Mr Woolerton said relations between himself and Mr Peters were fine and that Mr Peters would make a good Foreign Minister.

"He has an easy way with people and he has a depth of understanding of those things that make the world tick."

Mr Peters is Foreign Minister, Associate Senior Citizens Minister and Racing Minister outside the cabinet with a diminished application of collective responsibility: it applies only to his areas of responsibility.

Mr Peters, who has said very little publicly about Mr Woolerton since his resignation, thanked him at the party conference in Rotorua, as well as outgoing treasurer Kay Urlich.

"Without him, it is doubtful we would have been as successful as we have been in the past."