Maori vicepresident puts his name forward for Labour Party presidency

WELLINGTON: A senior member of Labour’s ruling council has put his name forward to be president, pledging to unite the party and learn from its mishandling of sexual assault complaints.

Announcing his candidacy on RNZ, Labour’s Maori senior vicepresident Tane Phillips distanced himself from the storm which embroiled the party for weeks and ultimately forced Nigel Haworth’s resignation.

Mr Haworth stepped down from the presidency in September, after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Labour had made mistakes in its investigation into serious allegations against a former staffer.

Speaking to RNZ, Mr Phillips stressed he had had nothing at all to do with that complaints process.

‘‘I wasn’t part of the investigation panel,’’ Mr Phillips said.

‘‘I never talked to . . . the respondent or the accusers.’’

Labour’s council declined to take any disciplinary action against the accused staffer following an investigation by a threeperson panel into seven formal complaints.

Two reviews have since been launched into the bungled process — one into the substance of the complainants’ allegations and another into Labour’s handling of the complaints.

Following through on the reviews’ recommendations would be high on his priority list, Mr Phillips said.

As Maori senior vicepresident, Mr Phillips oversaw Labour’s strong showing last election in the Maori electorates. He is also union secretary of the Pulp and Paper Union in Kawerau.

He said he was not the ‘‘normal ilk’’ of Labour presidents and would bring a different perspective to the top job .

‘‘I’m a bluecollar unionist, who lives in Rotorua and works in Kawerau. I’m not from the leafy suburbs of Auckland or Wellington, where the presidency would normally come from.’’

Mr Phillips said he’d been asked to run by the party’s Maori council, Te Kaunihera Maori.

Nominations for the presidency close today.

Party members will elect a new president at their party conference in late November. — RNZ