National Party man in bid to get his board seat back

An Auckland businessman is challenging sitting members in a bid to return to the National Party's board.

Peter Goodfellow, a former board member, is competing with the three members - president Judy Kirk, Alan Towers and Roger Bridge - for three positions on the nine-person board.

Board members are elected for two years and have to seek re-election when that term expires.

The three whose terms have expired are seeking re-election at the party's annual conference this month.

Judy Kirk has said she wants to stay on as president. The position is determined by the board, but her interest makes it inevitable she will be re-elected.

Mr Bridge is a South Island member, and is likely to retain his position to ensure regional balance on the board.

This makes Mr Towers, an Aucklander, Mr Goodfellow's most likely competition.

Mr Towers couldn't be reached yesterday, but one party insider said it was highly unlikely he would lose his seat as the board was considered to be performing extremely well.

Mr Goodfellow was appointed in late 2004 with Wyatt Creech when then-members Eric Roy and David Bennett were selected as election candidates.

Mr Goodfellow's interim appointment, made by the board, was not upheld when delegates were asked to vote on it at the party conference last year.

This suggested he was unlikely to be elected this year, the source said.

Mr Goodfellow said yesterday the current board "is about the strongest we've had" but believed he had skills to contribute. These included his understanding of governance issues.

He is the executive chairman of finance company S.H. Lock (NZ), and is on the Sanford board.

A former chairman of the Auckland Young Nationals, he has a long history of working for the party's North Shore electorate team.