Two new faces for Labour line up

Written By: - Date published: 3:47 pm, December 15th, 2007 - 9 comments
Categories: labour - Tags:

Yesterday two more bright young things were confirmed as Labour candidates for the 2008 general election: Kate Sutton in Epsom and Hamish McDouall in Whanganui.

Twenty six year old Kate Sutton is already a proven political player – she’s a two term Tamaki Community Board Chair, she’s on the University of Auckland’s ruling council and is the Women’s Vice President on Labour’s governing body NZ Council. And the cool thing about Kate is she’s got a smile as wide as the Waitamata Harbour and the brains and heart to match.

The other new kid (well he’s 39 and but by my ancient reckoning – Einstein was right, it is all relative – that makes him a kid) on the block is a guy who sounds like he should be a geek but is so not. Hamish McDouall won Sale of the Century and was Mastermind Champion a year later in 1990, due to his extensive knowledge of the Life and Works of David Bowie. That’s my kind of Labour guy.

And in a nice touch for Hamish, who’s planning to return home to Wanganui next March – at the very same time as his confirmation was taking place, the Labour led government announced a 10% funding boost to UCOL, bringing the polytech’s funding to almost $28m next year.

9 comments on “Two new faces for Labour line up ”

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  1. AncientGeek 1
    15 December 2007 at 6:33 pm

    Kate will be a great candidate for Epsom – as well as being a nice person generally.

    Just been having a look at the electorate boundary changes. Looks like it lost a bit of remer’s and picked up some of the grafton area around the hospital. http://www.elections.org.nz/mapping/

    Epsom is a strange electorate because of the right-wing electorate vote split(http://2005.electionresults.govt.nz/electorate-14.html). Compare that to the party vote. It also has a relatively high voter turnout. It is possible for labour to get in there if the electorate vote splits like 2005. I don’t think it could be held – but it’d be a good to drive ACT out of parliament.

  2. Adam Smith 2
    16 December 2007 at 3:20 am

    Yay Kate!

  3. the sprout 3
    16 December 2007 at 1:00 pm

    hamish will make an excellent candidate too, glad to hear he’s won the nomination.

  4. Psycho Milt 4
    16 December 2007 at 8:14 pm

    Much and all as I’m sure Kate’s a lovely person, this Labour practice of using student politics as some kind of apprenticeship scheme for Parliament only goes to show what a spent force it is, and why.

  5. stan 5
    16 December 2007 at 10:54 pm

    pics or it didn’t happen

  6. r0b 6
    16 December 2007 at 11:51 pm

    this Labour practice of using student politics as some kind of apprenticeship scheme for Parliament only goes to show what a spent force it is, and why.

    My mistake – I thought the involvement of young, smart, energetic and committed people was a sign of a vigourous party renewing itself.

    But I see now that such people have no business being in politics. Everyone knows that you can’t take a party seriously unless it is composed exclusively of middle aged white men in grey suits.

  7. Psycho Milt 7
    17 December 2007 at 6:31 am

    False dichotomy, and you knonw it. A “vigorous” party doesn’t draw on people who’ve moved from the governing body of a student association, to other political governing bodies, to Parliament – a completely moribund one does that. It’d be no bid deal if you were also drawing on people with a range of backgrounds, careers and life experience, but at the moment it mainly seems to come down to student politicians and union organisers. Moribund.

  8. The Double Standard 8
    17 December 2007 at 7:24 am

    PM – I wonder if it has something to do with the low stakes of Teh Party in government right now. They will surely find it difficult to attract quality candidates outside the “inner circle” of committed activists such as unions and leftie student politicians. I wonder if someone like Shane Jones would come on board this year when Teh Party is heading for a caning?

  9. r0b 9
    17 December 2007 at 9:10 am

    Milt – “False dichotomy, and you knonw it. A “vigorous” party doesn’t draw on people […] Moribund.

    Well that’s your opinion Milt. Mine is different. But we’re both biased of course. Perhaps we can turn to a somewhat less biased observer, Colin James writing in The Herald after this year’s Labour Party Conference:

    “A Martian visitor knowing the two main parties only by their annual conferences would have rated Labour well ahead. Labour’s was big, energetically explored issues and policies and sprouted young people and national diversity. National’s was tight, white and slight on debate.”

    http://www.colinjames.co.nz/herald/Herald_2007/Herald_column_07Nov20.htm