Bid to sabotage Goff's leadership backfires

The Labour Party is concerned that ousted MP Chris Carter has become unbalanced, senior party figure Trevor Mallard says.

Speaking on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report, Mr Mallard said that, on a personal level, they were worried about Mr Carter who yesterday launched an attack on the party's leader Phil Goff.

Mr Carter has said the party's MPs are "depressed and fatalistic" and have accepted they face defeat under Mr Goff's leadership.

Labour MPs voted unanimously at an emergency meeting yesterday to boot Mr Carter out of the caucus after five copies of an anonymous letter sent to press gallery reporters through Parliament's internal mail were traced to him.

Mr Mallard said Mr Carter had always been eccentric but had now become "just a bit unbalanced".

The party had been in contact with Mr Carter's partner Peter Kaiser yesterday "in order for him to put the personal support in around Chris", Mr Mallard said.

"I think Chris has been under quite a lot of stress over international travel." He described his behaviour around Parliament as "unusual" and believed the MP's actions were "irrational".

UNSANCTIONED TIBET TRIP

Mr Goff said Mr Carter took a two-week trip to Tibet during the last parliamentary recess. He did not follow the rules around international travel - he failed to tell the party whip he would be away, or to get support from caucus.

"That's two weeks we would have relied on him being here," Mr Goff said.

Mr Goff found out Mr Carter had left the country only after the fact.

This morning, Mr Carter refused to tell Radio New Zealand whether he had been to Tibet and who had paid for the trip.

"I'm not going to discuss international issues, you're just throwing this in as a red herring. That's neither here nor there," he said.

Senior Labour MP Trevor Mallard said Mr Carter went without permission from the Labour Party or Mr Goff and had exhibited some "pretty unusual" and "pretty irrational" behaviour lately.

Labour's president Andrew Little said he was aware of the trip but unaware of the details.

Mr Little stood behind Mr Goff as Labour's leader and said he had the full support of the caucus.

He said Mr Carter's actions had some party MPs worried. "This is not the behaviour of a politician that is functioning in a proper sort of way."

Mr Carter remained defiant this morning saying it was inevitable that Goff would be toppled before the next election. "It might be the end of my political career but quite frankly I want Labour to win the next election."

FUTURE UNCERTAIN

Mr Carter will be expelled from the party by the ruling council at its August 7 meeting.

Mr Carter said that, if expelled, he would stay on in Parliament as an independent and back Labour, rather than force a by-election in his Te Atatu seat, which he holds with a 5298-vote majority.

A backbench MP earns $150,000 a year, including a $14,800 tax-free payment.

Mr Goff said he recognised the handwriting on the envelope and Mr Carter was spotted near the messengers area. He then confronted him.

"At first he denied it and, when pushed, admitted it. Chris Carter has no future in the Labour Party I lead."

In the letter – in an airmail envelope marked with the words "Office of Minister of Finance, New Zealand" – Mr Carter claimed union-aligned MPs would challenge Mr Goff soon over his position on allowing the fourth week of annual leave to be exchanged for cash.

He also claimed finance spokesman David Cunliffe would challenge Mr Goff before the next election and that a union-backed candidate would challenge Manurewa MP George Hawkins.

"The issue has brought to a head the growing discontent in the caucus with both Goff's leadership and his poor polling," the letter said. "George is threatening a by-election and since the party is broke there is panic in the ranks over this prospect."

Mr Cunliffe categorically ruled out yesterday a challenge to Mr Goff.

the Labour Party president, who also heads the EPMU, said there was no truth to any of Mr Carter's claims, but stopped just short of saying his expulsion was inevitable.

"The fact that the caucus has unanimously suspended him is a pretty compelling case. But he is entitled to be heard," Mr Little said.

Distributing the letter anonymously "goes to the character of the person, in my view. It is simply untenable ... and cannot be swept under the carpet".

He had no concerns, and none had been raised with him, about Mr Goff's comments on annual leave. The chances of a leadership challenge were near zero.

Mr Hawkins, asked if a by-election was on the cards, said: "Come back in the new year and I'll tell you."

Mr Little said Mr Hawkins was the only candidate so far for Manurewa, although nominations remained open till September 1.

Party sources said EPMU organiser Jerome Mika had been tipped to seek the seat.

Mr Carter said last night that he was glad people knew he had written the letter. "I'm hoping my actions will be a catalyst," he said. "I just want to see Phil Goff gone ... If this has been my political death knell, so be it."

A number of people could do the job better than Mr Goff, although he was "a nice guy".

Mr Mallard said although it would be an uphill battle for Labour to win, "it can be done, and no-one other than Phil can lead us to victory in 2011".

By VERNON SMALL, MICHAEL FIELD and Stuff