VZCZCXYZ0010
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWL #0952 3340700
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300700Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3558
INFO RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA IMMEDIATE 4638

C O N F I D E N T I A L WELLINGTON 000952 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D (FRITZ), EAP/FO, AND EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV NZ
SUBJECT: FORMER OPPOSITION LEADER BRASH RESIGNS FROM 
PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: WELLINGTON 923 
 
Classified By: ACTING DCM KATHERINE B. HADDA, 
FOR REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Dr. Don Brash has resigned from Parliament, 
barely a week after he resigned his leadership of the main 
opposition National Party.  Brash's five years in office, 
particularly the three as party leader, were characterized by 
controversy.  As leader he elevated National's status but he 
had become a political liability. Although Brash appears to 
have voluntarily fallen on his sword, it is also likely that 
that his colleagues pressed him to leave.  The timing of his 
departure may have been a surprise, however.  End Summary. 
 
Brash to leave the political stage in the New Year 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Seven days after resigning as the leader of the 
National Party, Brash announced before a press conference 
today that he was leaving parliamentary politics for good. 
Brash, an MP for only five years (three as leader), said he 
would stay in office for a few weeks, but would not return to 
Parliament in the New Year. Brash said that he had 
"constructive" meetings with new leader John Key two days ago 
and again today but had decided to leave. After he resigned 
as leader, Brash had said that he would only stay in politics 
if the new leader gave him a portfolio of significance to 
manage.  In today's press conference, Brash would not say 
whether he had sought a specific portfolio from  Key. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Brash denied that the book by researcher, Nicky 
Hager, The Hollow Men, which detailed his political links 
with the Exclusive Brethren religious movement (reftel), was 
a factor in his resignation, instead claiming he had decided 
it was the right time to leave Parliament. Brash said that he 
will "be seeking other avenues to contribute to New Zealand's 
future."  Asked whether this meant he would look at 
directorships of companies, Brash said yes, although not 
directorships of SOEs (State Owned Enterprises) "with this 
Government". Under New Zealander's proportional 
representation system, Brash will be replaced by the next 
candidate on National's list, Wellington accountant Katrina 
Shanks. The number of National's seats in Parliament remain 
unchanged. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: Pundits have been suggesting for days that 
Key and possibly other members of the party would ease Brash 
out of Parliament. Many political observers believed that 
Brash's continued presence in Parliament would have been 
detrimental to the National Party, especially given the fresh 
start Key is trying to make.  But while many predicted his 
departure, the timing may have been a surprise.  When Brash 
resigned, Pol-Econ Counselor happened to be speaking with 
National Party Foreign Affairs and Defence spokesman Murray 
McCully at a foreign policy seminar sponsored by the National 
Party.  National MP Tim Groser told McCully the news, which 
he said he had "heard from a journalist, so don't take my 
word for it."  McCully is a consummate Party insider and 
close confidante of Brash and has been working closely with 
Key on the new leader's transition. 
 
¶5.  (C) Although Brash is respected within the party for 
vastly elevating its popularity after the crushing 2002 
election, the regularity of his political gaffes and the 
ongoing controversies that continued to swirl around him 
meant that he had become a liability for the party. His time 
was effectively up. Brash himself alluded to this in today's 
statement when he said that he had consulted colleagues and 
their advice had been mixed. He revealed that some said, 
"you've done a fantastic job for the National Party. You're 
work on that has finished."  The recent weeks have also 
clearly been a strain for Brash, as newspaper articles today 
claimed he had fought back tears while being interviewed in 
New Plymouth yesterday. 
McCormick