McAnulty throws hat into Wairarapa electorate

Kieran McAnulty has officially entered the race to become Wairarapa's next MP.

Mr McAnulty, 28, confirmed yesterday he will be seeking the Labour Party nomination for Wairarapa to try and wrestle the seat from National next year.

Mr McAnulty said he is well aware he will have to go through a rigorous selection process to get the nomination and he expects the position will be heavily contested as "the winds of change" are sweeping the country and sitting MP John Hayes is "extremely vulnerable".

"There will be others seeking the Labour nomination, both from within Wairarapa and from outside the district, but that is good.

"I actually welcome that as it is good for the party to have a contest and it's democracy in action," he said.

Mr McAnulty holds two university degrees, a BA and a Masters in politics and two post graduate diplomas.

He works for the TAB as its sports bookmaker, having previously worked for WINZ in Masterton and with unemployed youth in Porirua.

Mr McAnulty said he has wanted to be an MP "since I was a little kid growing up in Carterton".

His interest in politics was helped along by childhood discussions with his paternal grandfather and keen Labour supporter Barry McAnulty who died last year aged 83.

"My grandfather didn't join the party until I signed him up not long before he died."

Barry McAnulty got to meet Labour leader David Shearer though, in a most informal way

"On his 60th wedding anniversary David popped round to my grandparents house with a gift of a bottle of whisky and a big bunch of flowers."

Kieran McAnulty said despite that, he really only "loosely comes from a Labour Party background".

"My other grandfather was a staunch National Party supporter, but his wife voted Labour," he said.

Mr McAnulty has been married to his Irish wife Suzanne for 18 months and the couple do not have children "yet".

He meet Suzanne in Ireland where he had been playing rugby.

Mr McAnulty was educated at St Mary's School and later at Chanel College where he was head boy.

Aside from family, politics and sport he has a keen interest in shearing and from next year will become Master of Ceremonies at the Golden Shears.

"I love the shears but when I took Suzanne to her first Golden Shears she took a book to read.

"Within 10 minutes she had put the book down and started barracking like everyone else."

Mr McAnulty said he was confident Wairarapa was a seat that could fall to labour, whether or not Mr Hayes continues in politics.

"John Hayes has completely misrepresented the electorate on several occasions," he said.

Mr Hayes' response when asked by the Times-Age yesterday whether he would stand again was: "Why wouldn't I?"

He said he was too busy to discuss the issue as there was "a drought on" and water quality problems within the electorate.