Tributes for ‘man of huge integrity’

Former Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton died peacefully at the weekend, prompting an outpouring of tributes for a man who so firmly held his principles that he walked out on his party during its turbulent Rogernomics years.

His widow, Carole, said he died peacefully at the Cashmere View Hospital in Christchurch. He was 79 — two weeks shy of his 80th birthday.

Tributes flowed from all sides of the political spectrum, ranging from National Party leader Bill English and former Prime Minister Jim Bolger to organisations such as Habitat for Humanity Christchurch and the Council of Trade Unions, as well as Kiwibank chair Dr Susan Macken.

English described him as a “strongminded and determined politician . . . admired by friend and foe alike”.

Many praised Anderton as a voice for the marginalised, the one Labour MP who stood against Rogernomics, and a tireless worker who always stood up for his beliefs.

Former colleagues remembered the politician for his pivotal role in establishing Kiwibank, the NZ Superannuation Fund and paid parental leave, as well as his support for dumping First Past the Post for MMP and, more recently, for backing the rebuilding of Christchurch Cathedral.

“A man of huge integrity, huge compassion, a man who stood strongly for what he believed in,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

“He will be sadly, sadly missed by the Labour movement and by all his friends and family.”

Jim Anderton’s public service began in 1965 when he was elected to Manukau City Council. He also served on Auckland city and regional councils before moving to Christchurch in 1983 and winning the seat of Sydenham for Labour in 1984.

But his opposition to Rogernomics and the sale of BNZ saw him leave the party and set up NewLabour in 1989, and then the Alliance in 1991.

“I didn’t leave the Labour Party. The Labour Party left me,” Anderton famously said at the time.

Laila Harre, who followed him to NewLabour and the Alliance, said Anderton’s stance paved the way for the current Government. “His courage in standing up in a very lonely way to Rogernomics from within the Labour Party was legendary.”

Former NewLabour and Alliance president Matt McCarten said Anderton could have been Prime Minister.

“Like Winston [Peters], both of them were assumed to have eventually become the leader of their parties in due course, and if both of them had bit their tongues, they would have been the Prime Minister in due course. Conviction politicians. They put their careers on the line for what they believed in. That’s very rare.

“Jim left the world better than how he found it, and New Zealanders and the political left owe him a huge debt of gratitude.”

McCarten said there was no tougher politician than Anderton, who often worked 16-hour days, seven days a week, and whose famous stubbornness was an asset as much as it was a hindrance.

“We used to have a joke — the softest thing about Jim was his teeth.”

He said Anderton was an invaluable backroom advocate of the push for 12 weeks’ paid parental leave in 2002. “I would also say that without the Alliance and without Jim, MMP would never have happened.”

And then there was Kiwibank, which was initially opposed by both Helen Clark and Michael Cullen.

“I was one of the sceptics,” Clark told the Herald yesterday. “How do we know anyone will use this bank?

“But it was a very important part of Jim’s policy platform, and the truth was that the major banks had more or less exited so many smaller communities and suburbs.”

Cullen said it would be a mistake to limit Anderton’s legacy to Kiwibank, saying he had been a very effective minister across many portfolios including economic development and primary industries.

“Jim was also the co-author of the NZ Superannuation Fund . . . He deserves more credit for that than he is given.”

On retiring, Anderton reflected on his at-times turbulent political career, saying it “really is worth sticking up for what you believe”.

He said he had no regrets about leaving the Labour Party in 1989. “Under the same circumstances I would do exactly the same again.”

He founded the Progressive Party after NZ’s involvement in Afghanistan split the Alliance, and continued to be a senior member of Clark’s Cabinet until Labour lost the 2008 election.

The 2008 to 2011 term was his last, ending 27 years of holding the Sydenham and Wigram electorates.

Last year Anderton was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Parliament.

A Requiem Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Christchurch, on Thursday at 2pm.