Carter defiant and calls for a new leader

Chris Carter has called for Goff to be replaced and is not going to quit. NZPA reports:

Phil Goff is a nice guy but not a winner, disgraced MP Chris Carter said today just hours after being ejected from the Labour caucus over a letter aimed at undermining his party leader.

His single-page letter to selected Press Gallery political editors said union-based MPs would challenge Mr Goff over his “relaxed” stance on Government plans to allow workers to cash in their fourth week of holiday which is against Labour policy.

Mr Carter said his letter was an attack on Mr Goff’s leadership.

“I no longer believe it’s possible for him to win the election,” he told reporters.

“I think I owe it to the people I represent and the people who voted for our party that we have a leader who can win the election.

“Look, Phil Goff is a very nice guy but he’s just not going to win and his latest flip-flop over the tradeable fourth week… was the last straw for me. Yes I was attempting to get a momentum going where our caucus would think about a leadership change and I am hoping that my actions will cause some of my caucus colleagues to reflect on something which I think almost all of them would come to the conclusion: that nice as Phil is he’s just not going to win.”

The flip-flop over the tradeable fourth week’s leave was made on the low profile Radio Sport farming show. As far as I can tell, the only media mention of it was here on Kiwiblog. So it is a nice indication of the usefulness blogs can play in getting stuff said by MPs into the political beltway. If a reader had not sent it to me, and if I had not blogged it, Goff”s comments may have never become the catalyst for the challenge from Carter.