Clark: He was right, I was wrong on Kiwibank

Former Prime Minister Helen Clark has praised her ex-deputy Jim Anderton, saying he was a champion for the voiceless and the marginalised.

Anderton, who was deputy prime minister in Clark’s government from 1999-2002, died overnight.

“From the very beginning, I knew Jim Anderton as a leader who could inspire others to go the extra mile to get things done and get results,” Clark told the Herald.

“In Government he was incredibly hard-working, diligent, was able to relate to a very broad cross-section of New Zealanders, and was always a voice for the voiceless and the marginalised.

“Jim was a very kind person. He hated anybody suffering any sort of injustice at all.”

She said Anderton came from humble beginnings. “When he was a child, they were very poor. He knew what it was like to be very poor and he pulled himself up through incredible intelligence and hard work.

“He was very practical. He was a manufacturer in Auckland, which wasn’t a very common experience in the NZ Parliament. So he knew about industry and his contribution to regional and economic development was quite substantial.”

Clark said she had known Anderton since the early 1970s.

“We campaigned for seats on the Auckland City Council together. He chaired my selection panel when he became the candidate for Mt Albert. We go back decades.”

She said there were difficult times when Anderton left the Labour Party in 1989.

“They weren’t easy years. It was a difference within the family, if you like. There were many of us unhappy with the direction of the fourth Labour Government.

“Some chose to stay inside and fight for better times. Jim decided to move outside the party and fight for better times.”

Clark said that Kiwibank will be one of his legacies, and admitted she was sceptical about it.

“It did incredibly well. I was wrong and he was right on that one.”

Meanwhile, Christchurch mayor and former Labour MP Lianne Dalziel said she was “truly saddened” by the news of his death overnight.

“I had the privilege of serving with him in Cabinet and I saw with my own eyes the extraordinary passion he brought to his portfolios.

“He breathed life into the regions believing as he did in the importance of their success.”