Little and the women

nobody to blame but himself for this, although he has repeatedly apologised.

Jackson has also been an outspoken supporter of charter schools, which clearly clashes with Labour’s policy to get rid of them, but the education system has failed many Maori and it is understandable some Maori leaders want to try something completely new.

Labour, as a reformist party, needs to acknowledge the problem and seek to accommodate Maori leaders. How to do that is not clear.

Jackson remains, for all this, a major political talent and it is understandable that Little chose him.

But his selection just shows up Labour’s more persistent problem with women. Little’s recent bigname selections, including Paul Eagle in Rongotai, are all blokes of a very traditional sort. As the Chinese proverb goes, women hold up half the sky. In Labour, they have traditionally held up rather more.

The shortage of winnable list seats has heightened the tension over the blokes. The opportunities for capable women are shrinking as a result of Little’s blokes-first picks. All the more reason, then, not to squander the few remaining chances.

Tax academic Deborah Russell, for instance, is trying for New Lynn following David Cunliffe’s retirement. Not a famous name, she has great political promise. Her expert intervention in the debate over foreign trusts combined a deep technical understanding with a very firm grasp of social democratic principles, a combination of talents not common among Labour candidates.

Russell would therefore be a real catch for the party but she too is up against a bloke, local lawyer Greg Presland.

The tension between local party stalwarts and Labour head office is a constant in Labour internal politics. In this case the party’s wider electoral interests would favour Russell.

Labour used to make all the running on the inclusion of women. Now this is in question, and much depends on it.

National under John Key showed Tories don’t always turn women voters off. Key was womanfriendly and promoted women to some important ranks in Cabinet. Nobody doubts the political firepower of women like Paula Bennett and Nikki Kaye. Amy Adams has her supporters.

Little must now deal again with the trouble caused by his personal intervention in candidate selection. Has he the flair to do it?