Carter has no mandate to remain as MP - Goff

Labour MP Chris Carter says no taxpayer money was used for his trip to Tibet. Photo / Dean Purcell

Labour leader Phil Goff says ousted MP Chris Carter doesn't have a mandate to remain as MP for Te Atatu.

Mr Carter was thrown out of the Labour caucus yesterday on a unanimous vote after sending an unsigned letter to media representatives in an attempt to undermine Mr Goff's leadership.

It was later revealed he went on an unsanctioned trip to China and Tibet during a parliamentary recess, which Mr Goff and senior Labour members are citing as Mr Carter's latest rule-breaking behaviour which they suggest has put the MP under stress.

Mr Carter said the Chinese government paid for the trip so he could attend a conference, and he is accusing his former colleagues of using the issue to deflect attention from his message that Labour can't win the next election with Mr Goff as leader.

Mr Carter has said he is going to continue to sit in Parliament until the next election, representing the people of Te Atatu, but won't seek re-election.

Mr Goff told reporters in Auckland today Mr Carter should reconsider that.

"That decision constitutionally is his, but he was elected as a Labour MP and he no longer has that mandate. He needs to reflect on that," Mr Goff said.

"I think that he does not have a mandate to be the Member of Parliament for Te Atatu, given the withdrawal of support from the Labour Party."

Mr Goff said he was confident Labour still had the support of the community in Te Atatu.

Mr Carter said he didn't tell anyone about his trip because it didn't involve any taxpayer funding, and Mr Goff only found out about it after he had returned.

Mr Goff said today Mr Carter had an obligation to tell the party whips about the trip, and seek permission for it.

"Recesses aren't about holidays. They're about doing your party work and your parliamentary business," Mr Goff said.

"If this was parliamentary business he should have notified us and if he wasn't going to be in the country, available to do parliamentary business, he should have notified the whips. He failed to do so."

Questions have been asked by some within the Labour Party, among them senior MP Trevor Mallard, about Mr Carter's behaviour but Mr Goff didn't want to comment on that.

"I'm not a psychiatrist, I can't address that issue, but what I can say is that Chris' behaviour has not been rational over this," he said.

"If he is having difficulties then on a human side we'd want to be supportive. On a political side there is no room for somebody who has behaved the way he behaved yesterday."

Mr Carter was under the gun earlier this year after he mishandled a public apology over the use of his ministerial credit card, and Mr Goff said he thought being caught out over the Chinese trip may have triggered the letter.

"I think Chris' problem was that he developed a sense of entitlement over his travel, over his right to do whatever he liked without meeting the rules."

Mr Goff, however, scoffed at a suggestion Mr Carter wanted to go down in a blaze of glory ahead of further disciplinary action over the trip to China.

He said the behaviour was "calculated as much as it was inept", but he was "not sure whether it was that rational".

He said Labour had not been damaged - Mr Carter had damaged himself.

Mr Goff also disagreed with Mr Carter's belief that Labour couldn't win the next election without a change of leader.

"I am confident. I think that we have the ability," he said.

"We start as the underdog, but as we've seen in Australia, a week is a long time in politics."

Meanwhile, speculation is growing around who will replace Mr Carter in Te Atatu if he does vacate his seat.

ONE News tonight said west Auckland lawyer Greg Presland, the EPMU's Hamish McCracken or Te Atatu local Deborah Manning may be in the running for the seat.

Ms Manning, the lawyer for high profile Afghan refugee Ahmed Zaoui, was also picked on 3 News.

3 News suggested Labour list MP Phil Twyford and former Alliance MP Laila Harre could also vie for the seat.

Meanwhile, across Auckland, both One News and 3 News were suggesting Manurewa MP George Hawkins could face competition from the EPMU's Jerome Mika.

One News also suggested that former Labour list MP Louisa Wall would contest the Manurewa sat.

However, Labour leader Phil Goff was confident Manurewa would remain Hawkins' stronghold:

"I'm confident George is well supported by the people of his electorate and he will be confident of being selected, even if it's contested."

- NZPA, NZ Herald staff