October 1, 2014 11:00am by David Farrar

Why not Gillard for Leader

Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard is urging the Labour Party to pursue purpose to recover from its worst election defeat in 92 years.

She would not comment on whether David Cunliffe should stand aside from the coming leadership battle. However, her new autobiography highlights her belief that disappearing completely after she was ousted by Kevin Rudd last year was the only option for the good of the party.

In the book My Story, the former Labor prime minister warns of the dangers of former party leaders sticking around: “It is almost impossible for someone who has been the leader of a political party to accept and thrive in any other role.”

There are exceptions such as Bill English.

Here’s an idea. Why not make Julia Gillard the NZ Labour Leader? Get Trevor Mallard to resign, so she can enter in Hutt South, and Labour gets a leader that can unite caucus and the wider party.