Trouble over proposal for more women MPS

Labour leader David Shearer may be on a collision course with the party’s Left-wing rank and file over proposals to ensure half its MPs are women – a move that would also allow for ‘‘ womenonly’’ candidate selections.

Shearer declined to comment yesterday, saying through a spokesman it was ‘‘just a proposal to conference’’.

But he is expected today to say that while he is in favour of more women MPs he is not convinced a quota system or a ‘‘man-ban’’ in some seats is the right way to achieve that.

The proposals would also require the party’s list to showcase a mix of ethnicity, gender, geographical spread, sexual orientation and disability representation.

A separate Te Kaunihera Maori list would be established to rank Maori electorates and list candidates in bands of two. They would then be incorporated into the final list selection process.

The proposals, signed off by the party’s ruling council, will be voted on at the party’s annual conference in November.

They will inevitably revive Labour’s reputation for ‘‘political correctness’’ and be seen as a challenge to Shearer’s attempts to move the party away from perceptions it panders to factions in the party.

Some MPs quickly distanced themselves from the proposals.

West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O’Connor said he was confident his electorate would ‘‘not ask for something so stupid’’ as a women-only candidate selection.

List MP Clayton Cosgrove joked that he had been a Labour member for a long time and would do most things for the party but not ‘‘have the operation’’.

Labour deputy leader Grant Robertson said the aim was to achieve gender balance and the rule changes were proposed mechanisms to achieve that.

Labour added to its woes yesterday claiming in a press release it had 15 female MPs in its 34 MP line-up.

It actually has only 14, even after the addition of IkaroaRawhiti MP Meka Whaitiri.