December 09, 2016
Push for early election after tumultuous week
MPs and parties will be checking their state of readiness to fight an election after the political upheavals of the past week.
Monday’s announcement by Prime Minister John Key that he was stepping down had senior National MPs weighing their prospects before the field cleared for his deputy Bill English to take over.
The Opposition benches also opened up with Mount Albert MP David Shearer tipped to head the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
Labour’s Tamaki Makaurau MP Peeni Henare says the pressure is now on for an early election
"When people voted at the last election they voted for a John Key-led Government and he’s only given them two years out of three so some people are calling for this Government to call an early election to make sure they’ve got the mandate to lead this country but of course now there are some other factors to consider, David Shearer possibly moving on. It is going to be an interesting year," he says.
Mr Henare says Labour’s win in the Mount Roskill by-election has energised the party base.
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