Tanczos wild card saved farm dogs from microchip

Nandor Tanczos

Nandor Tanczos has emerged as the MP responsible for saving farm dogs from microchipping and he has put his last-minute change of heart down to clearing up a misunderstanding about the voting process.

Mr Tanczos annoyed Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons with his surprise decision, made within about an hour of the vote on Wednesday, which triggered a party caucus meeting yesterday morning.

The defeat has embarrassed the Government which believed it had the numbers, and has sparked behind-the-scenes snipes from Labour about the unreliability of the Greens.

Helen Clark said: "We're very disappointed with what happened because there was no warning and it was completely contrary to the understandings that have always existed between us."

Ms Fitzsimons has said she never promised Labour the Greens' support, but has regularly stated the Greens were opposed to microchipping and said the party wouldn't support partial exemptions.

It is now clear this was in fact a negotiating position and that if the party could not get enough support for its bill pushing for the repeal of all microchipping, some MPs would support National MP David Carter's amendment exempting farm dogs.

It is understood that at their Tuesday caucus it was agreed that three Green MPs would support the National amendment - although Green MP Metiria Turei continued to say afterwards that the Greens' position was "one law for all dogs".

The three votes weren't enough to change the law - but Mr Tanczos' vote gave Mr Carter the numbers.

Mr Tanczos said he believed if he voted for Mr Carter's amendment, it would rule out Ms Turei's repeal amendment, which he didn't want to do. But he'd discovered at the last minute that other amendments to the law would rule her proposed changes out anyway.

He said it was better to support some exemptions than none and that the new system would be "unworkable" because councils would have to define what a working farm dog was.

As some opposed microchipping, they could simply thwart the process.

He refused to discuss what Ms Fitzsimons had said to him at the caucus meeting.

Ms Fitzsimons, who has expressed her disappointment about the vote, said the caucus chat "hasn't involved anything really except me saying 'it would be a good idea to let me know when you are going to exercise your freedom"'.

The result had been embarrassing for her "only in a minor sort of way".

She rejected any suggestion she and Ms Turei, the party's local government spokeswoman, had misled the public about its position.

Mr Tanczos said "I don't think it's a requirement of either honour or principle that you tell your [political] opponents what you're going to do."

Ms Turei told Parliament she respected her colleagues right to make a "pragmatic" decision, but continued to "strongly disagree" with it.

Microchipping would not prevent attacks on children, which was the aim of the law.

Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said those dogs which would be exempt were farm working dogs defined as "any dog kept solely or principally for the purposes of herding or driving stock".

In other sections of the Dog Control Act the definition of a working dog is not restricted to the above, including police and guide dogs, for example.

But Ms Mahuta's office said yesterday Mr Carter's amendment to the act specifically restricted the exemption to farm working dogs.

In an apparent concession to Opposition claims yesterday that this could be very difficult to manage, she said "the challenge for local councils now will be to accurately verify what is in fact a farm working dog".

She said the exemption would create extra costs and work for councils.

"Notwithstanding that, we're committed to working with councils to ensure that the transition to microchipping - with exemptions - is as manageable as possible."