Cities Lose To Provinces (Press, 6 May 1985)

During the weekend of 4-5 May 1985, the Wellington division of the National Party held its annual conference, resulting in a shift in control towards representatives from the provinces rather than Wellington city. Most key positions, including the chairman and both deputy chairmen, were filled by individuals from outside the metropolitan area. The conference theme emphasised the need to "win back the cities," especially considering that ten out of the region's 25 electorates are situated in Wellington and the Hutt Valley. A key speaker at the conference was Heather Shotter, the head of the Young Nationals, who passionately urged the party to reclaim the youth and women's votes that had shifted away to the New Zealand Party and Labour Party, respectively. She attributed the loss of these voters to the government's neglect of pressing social issues, using the example of education where she lamented a focus on raising flags instead of improving teaching quality. Shotter's criticism highlighted a perceived inadequacy in the National Government's social policies, stating, "You can't sell an empty paper bag." While younger delegates, primarily from urban areas, resonated with her message, the conference ultimately opted for older candidates who did not necessarily align with the younger delegates' aspirations for progressive change. Dr John Miller, representing Wellington Central, urged attention to critical issues such as the All Black tour of South Africa, homosexual law reform, and education, which had been ignored in discussions. However, the majority of delegates sided with Bill Mathewson from Hastings, who suggested prioritising "bread and butter issues" like superannuation and taxation. As a result, contentious issues, including the performance of party leader Jim McLay and the future of chief executive Barrie Leay, were largely sidelined. Delegates seemed willing to rally behind McLay’s optimistic rhetoric about Labour's failings, believing that party unity was essential to oust Labour in the 1987 elections. Unfortunately, this unified front came at the expense of substantive discussions or policy formulations aimed at recapturing urban voters, leaving the conference with little focus on addressing the party's image in cities.

The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact

The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand