VZCZCXRO9698
RR RUEHNZ
DE RUEHWL #0226 0821906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 231906Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2561
RUEHNZ/AMCONSUL AUCKLAND 0697

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000226 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
STATE FOR EAP/ANP - DAN RICCI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV NZ
SUBJECT: A PUBLIC INDISCRETION RAISES QUESTIONS OF 
INTERNAL DIVISIONS IN THE LABOUR-LED GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: Wellington 220 
05 Wellington 58. 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) A new public attack by one Labour minister on another could 
be a sign of increasing internal division in Prime Minster Helen 
Clark's Government. 
 
A public display of dissent. 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) That the Minister of State Dover Samuels broke ranks with a 
cabinet colleague over a matter of policy is not a bombshell in 
itself. Rather, it is that he revealed he did so publicly and during 
an interview with The Independent, a business weekly. In the 
interview, Samuels said that at a recent caucus meeting he strongly 
challenged the propriety of Conservation Minister Chris Carter in 
using his veto powers to block court approval of the development of 
a long-anticipated marina development in the north of New Zealand. 
Because Carter based his veto decision on marine preservation, 
Samuels' remarks called into question the government's oceans policy 
and its commitment to economic development as well as its respect 
for judicial authority. 
 
Minister broke the golden rule. 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) In publicly questioning his party on a political decision, 
Samuels, a senior Minister, broke the convention of collective 
responsibility. This requires all Cabinet ministers to publicly 
uphold all Cabinet decisions, even if they oppose them. Since Clark 
took charge of the Labour Party in 1993, she has always demanded 
unity in her MPs' public utterances. Since coming to power in 1999, 
this convention has become all the more sacrosanct. 
 
Not the first time Labour's laundry has been publicly aired. 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Samuels was quick to back track, albeit rather awkwardly, 
on his statement. Realizing that he erred in taking his concerns 
public, he tried hard to portray solidity with Carter and diffuse 
any notion of a schism within Labour ranks. The episode does, 
however, evoke another public expression of discord within Labour by 
own of its own. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Still fresh in the memory of many is former Labour MP John 
Tamihere's infamous interview within an investigatory magazine in 
which he launched into a vitriolic and deeply personal attack on 
some of his Labour colleagues(ref B). This caused much embarrassment 
to Labour and led to Tamihere, once considered as a possible party 
leader, to leave parliament. The question now is whether Samuels' 
outburst was a single incident or signs of strains within Labour 
that are beginning to come to the surface. 
 
Samuels' remarks unlikely to make a difference in themselves. 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Samuels holds Associate Ministerial roles in a number of 
different policy areas but he does not command much, if any, real 
influence or authority in any one of them. As a Maori, Samuels' 
influence within Labour comes with his strong identification with 
the Maori-arm of the party. That is where he is most valued by 
Clark, although even then there are more influential Maori Labour 
MPs in front of him. His opinion on matters of economic development, 
judicial, or oceans policy is unlikely to carry much weight within 
his caucus. Samuels has also had some misadventures, notably having 
to relieve himself in an Auckland hotel hallway after being unable 
to open his door.  This results in other parties not taking Samuels 
too seriously. Nonetheless, he is still a cabinet minister who 
publicly contested the decision of another. This alone guarantees 
media coverage, and thus -- close on the heels of cabinet minister 
David Parker's resignation (ref A) -- another embarrassment for the 
Government.  It also makes some analysts question whether Clark's 
ship of state is springing some leaks in its third term in office.