Labour's man gets around
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Iain Lees-Galloway is always up for a good cause, Grant Miller writes.
Rookie Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway is happy to concede that New Zealanders were tired of his party when they kicked it out of power in 2008 and they weren't interested in what it had to say in 2009.
"People didn't want to hear from the Labour Party," he says.
Kiwis wanted to give the new Government a fair shot, he says, but he believes their patience will start to wear thin in 2010. This year, he expects Labour's messages to start registering with people.
Just over a year into the job, Mr Lees-Galloway, 31, is now familiar with the demands of his role. He says 2009 was a learning curve for him.
A member of the party for just three years before entering Parliament, he came into politics young. He got to see how long-serving and influential predecessor Steve Maharey conducted himself with party members, meet with other MPs and talk politics. But it is a career learnt on the job.
"Nothing prepares you for life on the inside. It's mind-blowing when you first walk through those doors."
It seems the lifestyle change was the most difficult thing about the transition from working for the New Zealand Nurses' Organisation to becoming MP for Palmerston North. Mr Lees-Galloway had a "reasonably good idea" what his job would involve, but he was taken aback by the impact on family life nonetheless.
In politics, there's an inability to escape the job. "It's all-pervasive, you can never switch off." He always has his Blackberry with him and he keeps an eye on the news even when he's on holiday.
2009 was a year of adjustment for Mr Lees-Galloway, his wife Clare and their two pre-school children. Mrs Lees-Galloway is asked regularly if she's related to the MP and discussions inevitably turn to politics.
Mr Lees-Galloway was not surprised by conflict in the House. "You expect people to be pretty forthright.
"I actually enjoy the cut and thrust of the debating chamber."
The change of Government occurred in late 2008 as the economic clouds were growing darker. While his party took a hammering at the election after it was closely associated with social reforms such as the so-called anti-smacking legislation, Mr Lees-Galloway's strategy was to become better known.
He believes his name recognition in Palmerston North is greater now than during the campaign to get elected.
Standing for a party on its way out of Government was "challenging".
"If people don't like you, they tell you in the most uncompromising terms."
He says they were attacking what he stood for, rather than having a crack at him personally. They didn't know him.
His focus in 2009 was local, including getting New Zealand Post representatives to come to Palmerston North to explain why they downgraded services in the city.
A former "social" smoker, he put forward a bill to Parliament to have tobacco displays banned, though it is yet to be drawn in the ballot.
His highlight for the year, however, was out of the public eye. He was approached by a woman who was worried about getting access to a drug after the MidCentral District Health Board decided to stop funding it. The drug was not subsidised by Pharmac either.
"She was at her wits' end," Mr Lees-Galloway says. His office was involved in getting the decision reconsidered. In the end, the district health board decided to continue funding the drug. "That reminded me of why I got into the job."
Top of his agenda for 2010 is campaigning to save the Capital Connection commuter rail link between Palmerston North and Wellington. He believes the service is under threat. As the network between Wellington and Waikanae is upgraded – by extending electrification and double-tracking north from Paraparaumu – KiwiRail anticipates more customers will use Wellington metro services. Mr Lees-Galloway is worried this could result in the Capital Connection train being chopped.
KiwiRail hasn't exactly come out and said an axe is hovering, but the state-owned operator has stated its future will be determined by the extent to which customers flock to Wellington metro services instead. That was enough for Mr Lees-Galloway to set up a "Save the Capital Connection" group on social networking website Facebook. In just over a week it attracted more than 550 members.
In 2010, he will also devote time to consider Law Commission recommendations from a review of liquor laws and an issues paper on the Misuse of Drugs Act.
Mr Lees-Galloway says New Zealanders were prepared to cut the new Government some slack in its first year – and they realised it was not directly responsible for economic troubles.
The National Party set low expectations before it came to power and it is doing an OK job of meeting those expectations. The most disappointing Government move so far is last year's tax-cuts programme, which wasn't focused on people who needed it, he says.
Asked who he wouldn't mind having dinner with on the other side of the House, Mr Lees-Galloway opts for National's Rangitikei MP, Simon Power. Not just because he's local, Mr Lees-Galloway says. "He's a very reasonable guy – one of the busiest ministers in the Government. He's often quite conciliatory."
Having been dumped after nine years in charge, the Labour Party embarked on a tour to reconnect with voters. Mr Lees-Galloway doubts the party would've picked up many votes, but says the listening exercise was important.
In 2010, he intends to have a bit more say. He expects his party to develop strong policies. He hopes Palmerston North people will be comfortable about having him as their MP and Labour will be a credible option to lead the next Government.
- © Fairfax NZ News
