KEY POINTS:
The relief in the Labour Party must be palpable. Taito Phillip Field's decision to return to Parliament as an independent MP but still support the Government is far more than it deserves. At no point has principle played a part in Labour's handling of allegations about the Mangere MP's dealings with prospective immigrants. Yet it is now sitting pretty, a political boo-boo by Mr Field having brought matters to a head, prompted his resignation from the party and allowed the Prime Minister to sweep the matter under the carpet.
That, of course, has been Helen Clark's aim since the start of the affair. Wary that a caucus walkout by Mr Field could not only deprive Labour of its one-seat margin over National but upset the significant Pacific Island constituency, she quickly came to regard inaction as her chief ally. Virtually anything was preferable to light being shone on claims that a Labour MP had accepted money from constituents and helped Asian visa-seekers in return for cheap work on his houses.
This tactic led, most damningly, to an underpowered inquiry by Noel Ingram, QC. It made disturbing discoveries but, ultimately, gave Mr Field the benefit of the doubt. The Prime Minister declined to accept Dr Ingram's view that a more forceful probe was needed. Instead, she placed the MP on leave and hoped interest would dwindle.
Two matters finally brought about the definitive action of the past few days. The first was Mr Field's unconscionable refusal to co-operate fully with a police investigation. Next, he trod on the Prime Minister's feet on the very day of her beginning-of-the-year speech to Parliament, saying he might run against Labour at the next election. Stealing headlines that should have dwelt on her vision of sustainability was the last straw.
Labour, having finally acted, can probably now hardly believe its good fortune. Mr Field could have caused further trouble by contesting his expulsion from Labour, forming or joining another party, or forcing a byelection. He chose none of these. Helen Clark's anxious call to Jeanette Fitzsimons to establish that the Greens' promise to abstain on confidence votes remained intact proved an unnecessary precaution. Labour retains Mr Field's vote while no longer being such an easy target for National. It can hardly have calculated, given the terse exchanges this week, that the MP would see this as his best option.
Mr Field justified his decision on the basis that he was elected on a Labour platform. "I owe it to my constituents to not allow the damage to my personal reputation to compromise the inclusion of their voices and support for a Labour Government," he said.
This is the stuff of weighty philosophical debate about MPs' responsibilities, much of it springing from the 18th-century thoughts of Edmund Burke. It is unlikely Mr Field dwelt long on such quandaries, however. Or paused to consider that even in the most party-dominated of political systems, the character of parliamentary representatives is hardly an irrelevance to constituents.
Mr Field's sole ambition would have been to garner himself time to assess his options. But the outcome of the police inquiry is just around the corner. And even if he is not charged and convicted of criminal offences, any attempt to stand at the next election, in whatever shape or form, will surely prove fruitless. Initial sympathy and support among constituents for cases such as his rarely endure. Even the benefit of the doubt currently extended by some leaders of the Mangere community will go only so far. One way or another, Mr Field's tenure is bound to end abjectly. Nothing less would be fitting, given the performance of all involved in this tawdry episode.
