Nats pass reins to 'safe pair of hands'

John Key and Peter Goodfellow chat at National's conference in Christchurch. Photo / Simon Baker

Wealthy Auckland businessman Peter Goodfellow is the new National Party president.

He replaced retiring president Judy Kirk when he was elected by the party's nine-person board yesterday at its annual conference in Christchurch.

Mr Goodfellow is considered a careful and competent board member, one who is well connected with the business community and potential donors but who has been largely untested in public leadership roles.

"Time will tell how bland I am," he told reporters after his election, "but I think I am a safe pair of hands."

Mr Goodfellow has been involved with the party since the 1970s. He comes from the wealthy Goodfellow dynasty and holds several directorships, including on the Sanford fishing company, and is chairman of Cambridge Clothing, a New Lynn firm with 200 employees.

He was a barrister and solicitor in private practice from 1975.

He told reporters after his election that his aim was to build on the present success of the party to get more members and more supporters.

He said he did not have a full-time job at the moment and wanted to get around the country to meet members.

Conference delegate Cameron Slater, who runs the right-wing Whale Oil blog, immediately attacked Mr Goodfellow's election in a blog from the conference, saying he "has a history of doing not much and is likely to continue that tradition". Mr Slater had backed northern regional chairman Alistair Bell for the presidency.

Mr Goodfellow said he hoped to be judged on what he did, not what others thought of him.

The failure of high-profile Maori candidate Sir Wira Gardiner to win a place on the board on Saturday contrasts with the emphasis on greater diversity that both Prime Minister John Key and Mrs Kirk have pushed in recent years.

Mr Key said yesterday, "In the end the party has spoken, and I accept that. Wira is a candidate who has an awful lot to offer and we will use him in other areas."

Sir Wira ran an active campaign to join the board. It included glossy brochures, and some delegates believed he had "overdone" it.

It is thought that under the preferential voting system, Sir Wira was ranked last on the ballot fairly solidly by Auckland and Canterbury voting delegates to boost board and presidential hopefuls from their regions.

Sir Wira, a former lieutenant colonel, said that as a military historian he understood defeat and victory and did not take the loss personally

"I thought the Key Government was about meritocracy and aspiration and I would have thought the party might have followed that, but they didn't, so I am disappointed about that. While I support the direction of the Key Government, I shall be refocusing my priority into the areas where I am valued for what I am.

"Clearly, I don't have a role now in the party and so I am going to shift my efforts to the things that I do where I am extremely valued."