Will it be the battle of the broadcasters for Labour’s nomination?

The Herald reports:

Labour has extended its deadline for the Tamaki Makaurau seat for the third time as it waits for a TVNZ report into the actions of potential candidate Shane Taurima.

I think this tells us who Head Office wants for the seat, considering they keep extending the deadline so Taurima can stand.

If he does stand he is likely to face a challenge from Maori TV’s Julian Wilcox. Mr Wilcox did not return calls, but sources in Labour expected him to announce he would contest the seat soon.

The head of news for Maori TV vs the head of Maori for TVNZ.

I’m uneasy with active broadcasters going straight into politics, as it does make you question how they have managed the conflict between being in charge of news and current affairs for their broadcasters while also being a member of a political party.

I’m not saying no one should go from the media into politics. Far from it. Many good MPs have backgrounds in broadcasting such as Lockwood Smith and Maggie Barry. But Maggie Barry didn’t go directly from hosting a news and current affairs show for Radio NZ into being a National candidate – it was over a decade later.