Unbecoming behaviour

The demise of Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay is proving to be a difficult end to what should have been a career for as long as he wanted.

Instead, Mr Barclay decided to do things his way from day one and took some disastrous decisions that came back to haunt him.

Elected at a relatively young age to replace now Prime Minister Bill English, Mr Barclay would, at some stage, have been told by his seniors in Parliament to breathe through his nose for the first three years.

Instead, there has been a massive falling out in the electorate and National, through its party structure both within and outside  Parliament, needs to review just how someone in one of the safest seats in the country is now leaving in September under a dark cloud of controversy.

Clearly, there were issues which have not been openly addressed. There was an employment dispute and it is likely there are more details as yet not publicly discussed. Understandably, an opinionated young man would want to make his mark on the electorate. Those actions are likely to have rubbed some established National Party members up the wrong way. With Mr English representing the electorate for so long from a Wellington base, elected and paid officials both would have been comfortable doing things their way — a source of tension.

However, Mr Barclay lied about privately recording his electorate agent Glenys Dickson, a despicable act in anyone’s language. Mr English had a so-called brain fade before deciding to dump Mr Barclay right in the mire.

No-one yet knows how long Mr English sat on the issue, but it seems it was long before he became prime minister. The payment made to Mrs Dickson came from the leader’s fund, which at the time was operated by former prime minister Sir John Key.

Messrs English and Barclay have not displayed their best intentions in this debacle.

The issue National needs to address urgently is the support provided to new and young MPs in dealing with issues that arise when they take over a seat from a much-liked person who has contributed much to the electorate.

The population base of the Clutha-Southland electorate has moved north to Queenstown, where Mr Barclay chose to locate  himself. As a young man, there is nothing wrong with him  choosing there, instead of Dipton or Gore. The lesson National needs to learn is to ensure the new candidate understands how to service one of the largest electorates in the country. Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean can provide sage advice having been the MP in her vast electorate  since 2005 and servicing well a constituency as diverse as Wanaka, Cromwell, Oamaru and Geraldine.

Mr Barclay did wrong, no excuses. However, he did work for some senior ministers in the National-led Government before becoming an MP. His defenders in caucus overlooked a part of his make-up which was very apparent from the outside looking in — arrogance. The reputation of Mr Barclay will long remain tarnished.

On September 24, there will be a new MP for Clutha-Southland. Simon Flood challenged Mr Barclay last time and lost. He will probably be a contender. But because it is an open selection, there will be others interested in the seat. National can take its time and select quite late before the election and it should ensure the proper processes take place.

In past years, when Clutha-Southland was made up of Wallace, Clutha and Awarua, there were some dedicated and talented women running the party side of the electorate. Several of those women have gone on to represent their electorates and division, as it was then called, at the highest level within the party — except as an MP. Talented women remain within the electorate.

A healing process needs to take place in Clutha-Southland and it needs to happen within two months to let National supporters unite behind a candidate they approve.The chances of the candidate being a man are high in Clutha-Southland but National needs to look for diversity and it is time for party members to show their willingness to support a talented woman in the September election.