Labour National Council Agree Proposals on Selection Processes for Decision at Annual Conference

The New Zealand Council of the New Zealand Labour Party has approved a tranche of proposed changes to the Party Constitution for decision at the Annual Conference of the Party, to be held in Christchurch on November 1st-3rd 2013. The most significant ones have emerged from work undertaken since Conference 2012, when proposed amendments to List and Electorate selection processes were delayed for further consideration, and Conference supported moves towards the balance of men and women in Labour’s parliamentary caucus reflecting the balance in wider society.

Key proposals:
• Set targets of at least 45% of Caucus members after the 2014 General Election being women, and 50% after the 2017 election. Currently the Caucus contains 19 men and 15 women.
• Mandate the Moderating Committee, which decides Labour’s List after regional consultation, to make decisions which are in line with that target, following electorate selections; and
• Establish as a pilot for the 2014 List creation process a Te Kaunihera Maori (Labour Maori) list conference working in parallel to the existing six regional list conferences.
The full document circulated to Labour’s voting bodies is attached.

Moira Coatsworth, Labour’s President, said today:

“The scope of our Organisational Review after the 2011 election included selection processes, and these proposals are the result of much deliberation, research and internal Party consultation over eighteen months. Our Conference is still four months away, so there is plenty of time to complete that deliberation before the decisions are made. Labour has led the struggle for a resilient human rights approach in New Zealand, and our proposals – designed to minimise unfair barriers to selection – are in line with that”.

[Attachment (PDF version by Scoop) Proposed_Rule_changes_for_consideration_and_decision_at_Conference_2013.pdf]

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