Claire Trevett: Labour leadership contest gets mired in trivia

Labour Party's leadership contestant Andrew Little has so far made the most conscious effort to portray himself as Labour's Man of the Middle, writes Trevett. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The hardest working participant in Labour's leadership contest was Iain Lees-Galloway's van. The van was on loan to the party's general secretary, Tim Barnett, for the leadership roadshow and as of yesterday had travelled a mighty 5968km, trundling ballot boxes and the roadshow paraphernalia around the country.

It's a time-consuming and relatively costly exercise all so the contestants can say exactly the same thing in different places. By the last meeting on Tuesday night they were chanting along to each others' speeches - David Parker's catchphrase of "a subset of a subset of a subset" and Andrew Little's "injustice sticks in my craw".

It was only in the last few days of the contest that any real friction or points of difference developed between the candidates. That was over the capital gains tax policy. When Parker talks about the tax, he talks about villains: property speculators and the wealthy who escape paying taxes because there is no capital gains tax. When Little talks about it, he talks about the victims: people on modest incomes who have "worked hard, salted a bit of money away, have got themselves a second property, and they call that their retirement plan". Those are the people he says should be voting for Labour.

Nanaia Mahuta is on the fence over the issue but Grant Robertson is in Parker's corner. He put out a press release saying it was not plausible to blame one policy for Labour's plight and ignore bigger problems facing the party. It was a blatant misrepresentation of Little's position. In fact, Little has been at pains to list a number of factors as the reason for Labour's bad results and the capital gains tax comes way down in fifth place. The top honour goes to caucus itself, which Little (along with the other three candidates) says desperately needs a good talking to.

If there was any doubt of that, it should have sunk in when the contenders went to a Pasifika gathering organised for them at Mangere Bowling Club by MP Su'a William Sio on Sunday evening.

Robertson has been stung by South Auckland in the past - whenever the television cameras venture out they manage to get someone to comment on his sexuality. He kicked off with a few pre-emptive biblical quotes such as treating others as you would be treated. It was just as uncomfortable for Parker, an atheist. Parker told them he had started life as a God-fearing boy, raised by Presbyterian parents who sent him to Sunday school and Youth Group. He admitted he became more sceptical later. But he assured them he still believed in Christian values - and to prove it he too pulled out the "treat others as you would be treated" line.

The party members didn't go soft on them. It was made clear there was a great deal of frustration about caucus' apparent inability to pull itself together and the failed campaign.

Middle New Zealand is the holy grail. In terms of the candidates' ability to capture it, the most illuminating moments in the campaign have not been in their respective views on tax reforms but in their answers to more trifling issues.

In a Q+A session on The Standard blog, Parker sought to assure voters he was as blokey as the next guy and confessed to a bit on binge drinking, saying "Bob Hawke would still scull a jug faster, but I have been King of the Table many a night at the rugby club".

But it is Little who has so far made the most conscious effort to portray himself as Labour's Man of the Middle. He has done so by being rather low-brow. When the candidates were asked on The Nation what their favourite movies were, Little chose Sleepless in Seattle. When Radio NZ asked who their favourite writers were, the other three chose authors with literary heft or went the PC route of New Zealand authors: Murakami, Frank Sargeson, Witi Ihimaera.

Little's first choice was John Grisham although he rather spoiled it by adding the more Labour-friendly John Lanchester's Capital. His choices might be slightly outdated, but show he is trying to pitch himself smack bang in the zone where the masses reside.

It might cause Labour's more intellectual elements to turn up their noses. But it is a technique also used to great effect by John Key. Key doesn't bother with art house or trendy niches. He shamelessly plumps for the mainstream every time, sometimes to extremes.

He is possibly the only grown man in the world who proudly claims his favourite music is One Direction. Should Little win the contest, he should take note. There's a fine line between showing you're in touch and just plain old embarrassing.