Outgoing Labour MP for Manurewa George Hawkins won't be forcing a by-election after a candidate he approves of was selected to stand in his seat.Policy adviser Louisa Wall has Mr Hawkins' blessing to stand at next year's general election when he will reti
Outgoing Labour MP for Manurewa George Hawkins won't be forcing a by-election after a candidate he approves of was selected to stand in his seat.
Policy adviser Louisa Wall has Mr Hawkins' blessing to stand at next year's general election when he will retire.
Ms Wall was chosen after a selection meeting in the electorate that lasted more than eight hours yesterday.
Mr Hawkins threatened a by-election should union organiser Jerome Mika be chosen but now Ms Wall was the candidate he would not do so.
"I will be sticking around to help Louisa up to the election and probably beyond," he told Radio New Zealand.
Mr Hawkins was asked about his threat to call a by-election, which would have been expensive for Labour especially so close to a general election.
He said he wanted the local community to have a say and he disapproved of the way the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) had promoted Mr Mika.
"It was the way the EPMU went about saying they had the guy already selected ... I stood up for the locals so they could have their say," he said.
"He wasn't in the electorate. I thought local people should have someone who has worked in the electorate, is known to everyone in the organisation and I think we will do very well at the next election."
He was "very happy, couldn't be more happy" with the choice made.
Ms Wall said the selection "was a fair fight, it was a pretty intense fight."
The strong contest and interest in the selection showed the party was in good heart in Manurewa with the local party mobilised and ready to fight the election, she said.
With an affiliation to the Service and Food Workers Union, Ms Wall said unions were an important part of Labour.
"Labour was formed by the unions but we also have many different groups and organisations who are affiliates to the Labour Party."
Ms Wall has already briefly been an MP -- she entered Parliament in March 2008 when list MP Ann Hartley retired however she did not return in the election later that year.
From Waitahanui near Taupo, Ms Wall has Ngati Tuwharetoa and Waikato heritage.
She has represented New Zealand at netball and rugby.
Other contenders at yesterday's selection were sitting list MP Ashraf Choudhary, local lawyers Ian Dunwoodie and Amelia Schaaf, human resources manager Shane Te Pou and company director Raj Thandi.
