Georgina Beyer

The Herald on Sunday has a profile of Georgina Beyer who will be resigning from Parliament in February 2007.

I can’t say the Georgina has had a stellar parliamentary career. Having twice previously announced she is retiring, and then having changed her mind, she isn’t regarded as a serious player. Her biggest achievement in fact was getting into Parliament, more than anything she did once there.

Now I actually think it reflects well on New Zealand that Beyer got elected by a rural electorate such as Wairarapa, despite being transsexual and a former male prostitute. It was a wonderful display of tolerance and how people should be judged on the totality of their achievements.

But in Parliament the achievements have been few, compared to say Tim Barnett. Certainly she has been effective at countering the nonsense of Brian Tamaki and crew, but not much more than that.

Her expressed ambition to be Mayor of Wellington is one her record does not suggest she should achieve. In small towns a high profile Mayor with some character is arguably the most important characteristic. But in cities like Wellington with annual budgets of half a billion or so, one needs a competent Mayors who can help develop strategy, lead a team, consider policy and be a respected advocate. Beyer on the basis of her performance as an MP is not qualified.

Barnett is a credible contender for Mayor of Christchurch. Likewise Fran Wilde was an MP who became an excellent Mayor of Wellington. But Beyer is not in their league.