The defeated Labour leader Chris Hipkins has told reporters he is "not done with politics yet".
But his role as party leader is still up in the air.
Hipkins was speaking when arriving for the first party caucus since Labour was routed in Saturday's election.
That defeat has led to speculation that his role as party leader might be up for debate.
Asked about this, Hipkins refused to go into any detail, saying he wanted to speak to his party members first.
But he said he had given an assurance to the people of the Remutaka electorate that he would serve them for the full three year term when he stood for the seat and he would honour that pledge.
But he gave no further comment, and any further progress will depend on the outcome of the caucus meeting.
Further information is expected this afternoon.
Meanwhile, a highly rated MP, Kieran McAnulty gave Hipkins complete support as he entered the caucus and declared he had no interest in the leadership himself.
Hipkins' number two, Grant Robertson, also ruled out any role as leader and indicated he might move on after helping Labour get set up as an efffective opposition.
But he gave no time frame beyond saying this process would take "a matter of months."
"My job at the moment is turning us into a really high class opposition. My commitment is to do that and then I will make assessments as I go through the (parliamentary) term," Robertson said.
Robertson also said it was a "relatively new phenomenon" for a party leader to think about quitting after losing an election.
"My predictuion is that we will end up with around 28% after the special votes are counted. That is the same number that Helen Clark got in 1996 and she won the 1999 election.
"Chippy is a good person, and he certainly has my support."
Andrew Little quits
In another development, the senior Labour Minister Andrew Little is leaving politics.
He will not take up his list seat for the next Parliament.
“I’m grateful for the opportunities my country and party have given me to serve the community,” Little says.
“With the party going into opposition it’s important to give those who will form the Seventh Labour Government every opportunity to hone their skills and cement a strong team," Little says.
“Labour stands for the fundamental values of millions of New Zealanders: a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, opportunities for the many not just the few, and respect for all people and communities."
Little says the labour movement is bigger than any caucus or parliamentary term, and bigger than any individual.
He expects to return to the law.
Little is a List MP, so his resignation will not require a by-election and the next eligible person on the Labour Party List will take his place.
16 Comments
This is about having the kind of intellects you need in a war Cabinet - because that is what we will be enduring during the next three years; if not war, then standoffs which will amount to something similar. That has the potential to destroy global trading, and perhaps all formal transacting; perhaps just the West.
Most of these folk are just padding.
Little is a nice man, in the original sense of the word; so too is David Parker. But they weren't going where we needed to be going - and the current mob are going there even less.
Labour have struggled since Aunty Helen. Jacinda got in mainly due to being very well connected and promoted within the media quite early on in her career.
The rest of their "leaders" (and to be fair this applies to all political parties and the bulk of CEOs) are backstabbing power seekers who have strong personalities.
They don't inspire people to follow - Real leadership is extremely rare.
Bridges was too hasty. Perhaps he thought he could replicate Muldoon but he should have known first up leaders in opposition generally don’t last. Joyce could have bided his time too. As it happens Luxon’s relatively recent arrival means he has less baggage and is better positioned to pow wow with WP.
Which is exactly why Jacinda spent so much time on her 'profile'. She has no real skills in the real world unless you count spin and BS as a life skill.
Secured a future outside politics as a flake to the left, climate change and any other trendy movement going.
Chucked Hipkins a hospital pass as she was 'burnt out'.
Not that Hipkins was up to it anyway. You only had to look at how his portfolios as a Minister were left in total disarray.
Don't you love student career politicians.
If only it was really a "fair days pay for a fairs days work".
What they have morphed into is a "greater tax on your fair days pay, to pay for my fair days bludging, crime, bloated do nothing civil service, and unelected undemocratic crap".
If only the first comment was true. Then why let inflation and the cost of shelter explode like a firestorm in Gazza?
Crickets.
Some would say Andrew's legacy is in Pike River - not politics.
"The walk out by miners was revealed by miner Brent Forrester. He told TVNZ’s Sunday on December 5 2010 that he once helped organise a walkout of about 10 miners to protest the lack of basic emergency equipment, including stretchers and an emergency transport vehicle. They received no support from the EPMU. Andrew Little even insisted that PRC "had a good health and safety committee that’s been very active."
It was exactly this benevolent attitude by the EPMU that allowed PRC - and the Department of Labour - to continue as if it was just 'business a usual'. It appears that no-one was protecting the interests and concerns of the workers on the mining site. The EMPU failed to organise industrial action to address safety concerns at the mine in favour of 'cooperating' with management, what it and the CTU sometimes refer to as 'modern unionism'.
There won't be any resignations from within the EPMU for dereliction of duty and, of course, Andrew Little has escaped to Parliament."
https://nzagainstthecurrent.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-andrew-little-fail…
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