It’s Bidois vs Halbert for Northcote

Stuff reports:

National and Labour have selected their candidates to contest the Northcote seat in the June by-election.

Labour is giving its 2017 general election candidate, Shanan Halbert, a second run at the seat, while National has announced high school dropout turned economist Dan Bidois.

People in National will be very relieved that Labour went with Halbert again, rather than Richard Hills. Hill has a high profile as an Auckland Councillor, and is a genuinely nice and popular person. He would have maximised Labour’s chances of winning.

Bidois was raised and educated in Auckland, leaving school at 15 to complete a butchery apprenticeship with Woolworths. He then went on to study at the University of Auckland, and attended Harvard University on a Fulbright Scholarship.

During his speech on Sunday, he described himself as a “Māori kid who dropped out of high school, and now has a masters from Havard”. He is of Ngāti Maniapoto descent.

Once again National shows you can select top quality diverse candidates without any need of quotas.