Helen White for Auckland Central

Written By: - Date published: 7:28 am, February 18th, 2017 - 33 comments
Categories: labour - Tags: ,

News last night:

Labour: Helen White selected for Auckland Central

Helen White has been selected as the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central for the 2017 General Election.

“I am pleased to be Labour’s candidate for the 2017 election and I look forward to representing the diverse Auckland Central electorate in Parliament,” said Helen White.

Helen White is a barrister, specialising in employment law. She has worked in the electorate for 15 plus years and grew up in Freemans Bay. She has three children, two at Auckland University, one at Mount Albert Grammar..

Labour’s President, Nigel Haworth, said: “Helen joins our growing list of energetic and fresh candidates who will stand for Labour in 2017. Our focus is on electing a strong, Labour-led government next year that will rise to the challenge, back the Kiwi Dream and build a better New Zealand.”

White’s professional web site is here:

Helen White has been involved as counsel in a number of significant cases and appears regularly in the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court.

She has experience advising on a wide range of employment law issues for both employees and employers, including representation of many unions.

Looks like a strong candidate – all the best in Auckland Central!

33 comments on “Helen White for Auckland Central ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Nick 1
    18 February 2017 at 7:43 am

    Go for it Helen, best of luck 🙂

  2. lprent 2
    18 February 2017 at 8:37 am

    Helen White will be a great MP.

    I haven’t run across her in years. But I remember the competence that used to shroud her during campaigns long ago.

  3. Upnorth 3
    18 February 2017 at 10:57 am

    For give but another person with union ties. I want to vote labour but want a broad church. Where are the business people

    • r0b 3.1
      18 February 2017 at 11:15 am

      David Parker is one obvious standout. According to this 2016 piece there are 6 with business background. Labour MPs have the most varied background in that review.

      Or were you just being facetious?

    • red-blooded 3.2
      18 February 2017 at 11:40 am

      Upnorth, you do realise that a barrister IS a businessperson, don’t you? They run (or work for) businesses that offer legal expertise to clients. Helen White is not a “union person” – she is an employment law specialist who sometimes represents unions. As I understand it, being a criminal lawyer who sometimes represents thieves or arsonists is not the same as being a thief or an arsonist…

      • red-blooded 3.2.1
        18 February 2017 at 11:45 am

        And replying to your comment at 3.1.1, it seems that most people on this site say Labour isn’t far left enough, and you say it’s too “hard left”. Could it be that this suggests they are (as advertised) solidly left wing, but not extreme?

    • Ethica 3.3
      18 February 2017 at 5:08 pm

      Greg O’Connor has both union and business experience.

      • Upnorth 3.3.1
        18 February 2017 at 6:04 pm

        I thought he was a policeman first. Another unionist.

        Here is the problem. Im centre left. But i dont want left left option. I have had a very bad experience before with unions.

        There we go …that is my problem…where are the christians in the party

        • One Anonymous Bloke 3.3.1.1
          18 February 2017 at 6:17 pm

          Does someone need to go through all of the biographies of Labour MPs to list the ones who identify as god-botherers or can you manage on your own?

        • lprent 3.3.1.2
          18 February 2017 at 6:34 pm

          Are you too lazy to read?

          Look it up. Of course if you are a fundamentalist nutter in a cult, then I guess the question is if you could recognize a human without your level of blatant bigotry (especially if they have a clitoris).

    • lprent 3.4
      18 February 2017 at 6:21 pm

      Where are the business people

      Like me, they are working. With all due respect for those who are daft enough to want to be, if you are having fun working, who would want to be a politician?

      Have you ever noticed that Nationals few business people tend to be incompetent, and Act, when it still had some used to specialise in simple hucksters?

  4. Wayne 4
    18 February 2017 at 11:24 am

    I reckon Nikki Kaye will win with an increased majority.

  5. saveNZ 5
    18 February 2017 at 11:42 am

    Just had a look at Nikki Kaye though on Wikipedia – scary stuff. And she’s promoted as the kind liberal face of National (kinda like financial trader Key being so mainstream).

    Kaye is presently an International Vice-Chairman of the International Young Democrat Union!

    Went to private school, obviously.

    Worked at Halifax Bank of Scotland – which was merged because it was about to go under.

    And has transport experience with Transport for London, just when it was going to pot with unworkable PPP which London is currently getting rid of.

    She holds up former National MP Katherine Rich as one of her role models.

    At least she likes cycling so I guess that’s why Auckland has a couple of new cycle ways amongst the Los Angeles meet Bangkok transport and urban planning plans.

    Helen White, seems to be Mother Teresa compared to that CV.

    If only the Greens and Labour can actually properly work together and not split votes as we need to get a change of government.

    • Wayne 5.1
      18 February 2017 at 12:46 pm

      SaveNZ
      There is a lot more to Nikki than your highly skewed potted bio.
      In fact as her bio shows she has a great blend of public and private experience.
      I know her work in London Transport has given her real insight into Aucklands public transport issues. Nikki was the key person in getting the govt to sign up to the CRL much earlier than originally envisaged. She has a reputation of getting things done.
      Ask people in Auckland Central as to why she is so highly regarded as the electorate MP.

      • AB 5.1.1
        18 February 2017 at 3:46 pm

        “She has a reputation of getting things done”
        Even if that is true – which I doubt because it’s such a weak cliché – she is a member of the National Party. Therefore the sorts of things she wants to “get done” must always be questionable.
        Don’t pretend that there is such a thing as a neutral ‘competence’ that benefits everyone. Declaring oneself for the National Party shreds all moral and intellectual credibility.

      • saveNZ 5.1.2
        18 February 2017 at 3:57 pm

        Wayne – you must be crazy if you think she had improved Auckland Transport. We are the third world in that area – even worse in fact. I have no idea why other countries have rail, cheap buses and trams and somehow don’t have to dig up the CBD and every other outer suburb for years, broadband, utilities, motorways, just normal road maintenance. Then there is the Sky path PPP where we make the cyclists and walkers pay to cross it and cars and trucks go free, due in about 5 years all going well. That is very ‘unusual’ thinking in the climate change age that the National party does not seem to think exists.

        Fuck it, imagine if we had real problems like an earthquake (Isn’t Nikki civil defence?). No wonder in CHCH it took years just to get a toilet working if you were the average joe – god knows what happened to their roads. I just pray we don’t get a natural disaster too near because we have so many unnatural disaster corporations running our city under the Natz supercity structure.

        Some one was asking me why how in Malaysia they can do a road repair in 48 hours but NZ takes weeks or months. Then 3 months later they start digging up another bit of road. You seldom see much action as well 5 workers who look on minimum wages but it’s probably costing millions and being run through 10 sub contractor organisations with somebody at Auckland transport getting millions in back handers like the recent court case where they were found guilty of corruption.

        Visitors, you need to add on about 30 mins for diversions for every journey in Auckland. Bring air muffs and a hard hat for the CBD.

        Sound like a similar story around much of the country.

        The only reason Kaye keeps the CBD is that they are importing in voters, those living there don’t normally have to travel far, CBD people don’t vote as much as they should and Labour and Greens split votes allowing the National through.

      • Muttonbird 5.1.3
        18 February 2017 at 5:44 pm

        Staggering arrogance that you’d credit Kaye with getting the CRL underway.

      • HDCAFriendlyTroll 5.1.4
        18 February 2017 at 6:32 pm

        “Nikki was the key person in getting the govt to sign up to the CRL much earlier than originally envisaged.

        If that’s not a reason NOT to vote for her, I don’t know what is.

      • Anne 5.1.5
        18 February 2017 at 6:44 pm

        Wayne @ 5.1
        Well I’ll tell you about a debate I saw between Nikki Kaye and Jacinda Ardern 8/9 years ago. It was Jacinda’s first attempt to win the electorate. It started out ok with both contenders discussing their individual policies etc., then about 2/3rds of the way through Nikki Kaye turned dirty on Jacinda. It was to Jacinda’s credit she remained calm and didn’t respond in any shape or form to some bitchy nasty provocation.

        That episode has coloured my view of Nikki Kaye ever since.

        • Leftie 5.1.5.1
          18 February 2017 at 7:13 pm

          I always thought Nikki Kaye was a flake with a well rehearsed script, that she tries not to deviate from.

        • David C 5.1.5.2
          18 February 2017 at 8:01 pm

          . Who won tho?

          • peterlepaysan 5.1.5.2.1
            18 February 2017 at 10:07 pm

            The electorate, idiot.
            Just like the electorate won in the US with Trump.
            The electorate is always the winner.

            The results of the win are different subjects of discussion

    • the pigman 5.2
      21 February 2017 at 10:21 pm

      Those who read Dirty Politics will remember Nikki Kaye as the MP who had dinner/a scheming sesh at Wildfire with Cactus Kate (Cathy Odgers), Farrar and WhaleOil booking the table under the name “VRWC” (Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy).

      What a laugh! What a centrist! What BULLSHIT.

      Oh well, sadly with the cancer-survivor-wash noone will dare call her on that.

  6. saveNZ 6
    19 February 2017 at 11:39 am

    As for Nikki being a cancer survivor and the current MSM discourse that she should get votes because of that, and not on her ability as an MP, so is Andrew Little a cancer survivor. And I don’t see National or MSM going easy on Andrew Little.

    Too late for poor Helen Kelly who did not get shown much compassion by National or Peter Dunne.

    • Anne 6.1
      21 February 2017 at 10:43 pm

      Too late for poor Helen Kelly who did not get shown much compassion by National or Peter Dunne.

      What’s more it stayed that way right to the very end. Someone will correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall John Key even acknowledged her in death or the role she played in helping improve the lives of so many people.