Editorial: Coffey will have tough fight on his hands

Kim Gillespie

What now?

The news television celebrity Tamati Coffey has put his hand up to stand for Labour in Rotorua at this year's general election will have come as a surprise to many.

Mr Coffey is a 34-year-old TV host and presenter, from shows including New Zealand's Got Talent, Breakfast and What Now.

You'd have to say it would be a tough job coming up against the popular National incumbent, Todd McClay. But he may have an easier time finding a decent spot on the Labour list.

Labour has fretted this election cycle over its diversity, last year introducing a target of 45 per cent female MPs after the 2014 election.

You could argue back and forth over the merits and pitfalls of positive discrimination, but in the end a smart party would only go with candidates who can do the job for them. A diversity policy just means they would have to spread their net that little bit wider.

(But Labour should also be aware there is more to people than their labels.)

One bonus, were Mr McClay to win and Mr Coffey pick up a list seat, would be that Rotorua would again have an extra MP, as we did a few years ago.

The Coffey announcement was not Labour's first surprise this week.

The appointment of former Alliance Party president Matt McCarten as Labour leader David Cunliffe's chief of staff seemed a little out of left field, so to speak.

Since his time with Alliance, he has worked with the Maori Party, Unite union and Mana.
With both major parties having gravitated toward the centre in recent years, Mr McCarten's appointment signalled perhaps a marked shift to the left, though Mr Cunliffe denies this.

Perhaps Labour thinks it can make more gains attracting votes away from the Greens and Mana on the left this way.

And if that's their strategy, maybe things are looking good for a young, high-profile, Maori, and openly gay man in his quest to be Rotorua's MP.