Epsom candidate selection a stitch-up - Labour

Labour says the selection of ACT candidate John Banks' biographer Paul Goldsmith as National's candidate for Epsom is a "stitch-up" to ensure ACT survived.

Goldsmith, 40, who also wrote a biography of ACT leader Don Brash, last night said he would campaign for the party vote for National in the November election.

"My main focus is campaigning for the party vote; no doubt a decision will be made closer to the election on what to do with the electorate vote."

ACT is polling under the 5 per cent MMP threshold and would need to win the Epsom electorate seat to ensure it brought other MPs into parliament.

Labour's campaign spokesman Grant Robertson said the selection of Goldsmith was "a laughable stitch-up".

"The people of Epsom deserve better than a faux battle between the biographer and his subject," he said.

"It's becoming hard to see where the National Party ends and ACT starts."

Labour would choose its candidate on Friday in the same blue seat and would offer a real choice.

The seat was won by former ACT leader Rodney Hide in 2008 with a 12,882 majority over National's Richard Worth. Labour's candidate Kate Sutton won just 13.58 per cent of the vote.

National Party President Peter Goodfellow said the party had wanted to see what ACT would do.

He said the party would run a strong party vote campaign in the electorate, but he expected Goldsmith to get a winnable list seat when the ranking committee met in six weeks.

COMPLIMENTS SWAPPED

The battle for Auckland's Epsom seat is shaping up as a campaign of mutual admiration with Banks swapping compliments about his new rival Paul Goldsmith.

Banks, 64, said that he expects Goldsmith will get into Parliament anyway because he will be highly placed on National's list.

Goldsmith, 40, a former Auckland city councillor and historian, won the Epsom seat nomination last night.

As well as his biographies, he has spent time briefly working for Phil Goff as a press secretary.

Goldsmith won the nomination on the third ballot, beating four other people at the party selection meeting in Auckland which saw a large number of the party's senior and influential members attend.

Goldsmith said he would have no issue going head to head against Banks, describing his relationship with him as "fine".

"My main focus is campaigning for the party vote; no doubt a decision will be made closer to the election on what to do with the electorate vote."

Banks said he was responsible for bringing Goldsmith into politics and said he was destined to be in Parliament.

"A vote for me in Epsom on present polling is a vote for five MPs to support a long-term centre-right government for the future of New Zealand," Banks said.

Without a doubt, a local vote for Goldsmith would be wasted, he said.

"I don't take any thing for granted. I've got to work hard as I have for the last month and I have got to keep my nose to the grindstone."

He expected Goldsmith to be "campaigning hard" for the party vote.

"He knows me inside out and back to front and I am pretty familiar with the architecture of Paul Goldsmith."

The Epsom election would not be personal, he said.

"The people of Epsom deserve a contest of experience, achievement and ideas, and there will be a lot of hard work.... Everything has to be earned in politics."

Ewen McQueen and Richard Simpson, who were also vying for the candidacy, were knocked out on the first ballot, with Denise Krum then losing on the second ballot.

Goldsmith beat his former colleague, former Auckland councillor Aaron Bhatnagar, on the final vote.

Bhatnagar had been widely considered the favourite to win the nomination, declaring his intention to stand early and with a good knowledge of the electorate as its chairman.

This was Goldsmith's second attempt this year to gain selection, missing out on the North Shore nomination to Maggie Barry.

Goldsmith also stood unsuccessfully as a National candidate in 2008, in Maungakiekie.

Last night's selection means National have now selected all of its candidates for the electorate seats.

- BELINDA MCCAMMON and VERNON SMALL/Stuff

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