Hide bounds up Act party ladder

By FRANCESCA MOLD

A shake-up in the Act party's election line-up has seen high-profile MP Rodney Hide leapfrog to second place on the candidate list, replacing deputy leader Ken Shirley, who drops to seventh.

The change means Mr Shirley will be unlikely to make it into Parliament unless Act improves its poll rating, now hovering at the 4 to 5 per cent mark.

The release of Act's list turned messy yesterday when the 10am press conference was postponed because the party had not contacted all the candidates to advise them of their positions.

The party rescheduled the release for 4pm - the same time as the two major parties, National and Labour - were wrapping up their campaign launches, also in Auckland.

Mr Hide's jump from number five to second position behind leader Richard Prebble is no surprise. He is seen as one of the top-performing Opposition MPs and has raised his party's profile with campaigns against Kiwibank and New Zealand Post.

Mr Hide's rise might also be compensation for the Act board not allowing him to fight for the Epsom electorate vote, which he had been keen to do.



It also signals the party's willingness to consider him a leader-in-waiting. Mr Hide, who is pleased with his new position, said yesterday it would give him the opportunity to broaden his role.

Act's welfare spokeswoman, Muriel Newman, was rewarded for her performance over the past three years. She jumped from seventh place to third, ahead of Stephen Franks, who dipped one place, to fourth, on the list. The party's only Maori MP, Donna Awatere Huata, also dropped one place, to fifth.

There has been speculation in past weeks that some MPs would be dumped down the list to allow Act to inject fresh blood into the line-up.

Two rural caucus members, Owen Jennings and Penny Webster, lost in the reshuffle. They slide from sixth and eighth respectively to 12th and 13th.

Mr Jennings was saddened by his move but, as a 57-year-old "at the end of my useful working life" accepted the need for young blood in the party.

"It's good to see these young guys come through and make their mark," he said.

Journalist Deborah Coddington is one of the newcomers given a high ranking - number six. She also has scored one of Act's strongest polling electorates, Auckland's North Shore, as her campaign territory.

Fellow candidate Heather Roy has risen one place, to number nine, on the list. The New Zealand portrait gallery contractor and mother of five will campaign for the party vote in the Ohariu-Belmont electorate.

Other newcomers given high list rankings are Auckland-based Chinese candidate Kenneth Wang, number 10, and 35-year-old computer and technology entrepreneur Paul King, number 11.

Former Olympic medallist Dick Quax, who has previously stood for Act, takes 15th place.

In Act, party members vote on candidate placings in a postal ballot. The party's board has the final say on list placings.

THE FULL ACT PARTY LIST

1. Richard Prebble

2. Rodney Hide

3. Muriel Newman

4. Stephen Franks

5. Donna Awatere Huata

6. Deborah Coddington

7. Ken Shirley

8. Gerry Eckhoff

9. Heather Roy

10. Kenneth Wang

11. Paul King

12. Owen Jennings

13. Penny Webster

14. Andrew Davies

15. Dick Quax

16. Nigel Mattison

17. David Olsen

18. Willie Martin

19. Mary Hackshaw

20. John Thompson

21. Lech Beltowski

22. Joanne Reeder

23. Nicholas Cairney

24. Bruce Williams

25. Gerald Trass

26. Andrew Jollands

27. Bryce Bevin

28. Ron Scott

29. Diane Mulcock

30. Shirley Marshall

31. Juanita Angell

32. John Peters

33. Glen Snelgar

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