Energy, water and mass immigration: Why ex-All Blacks captain Taine Randell is joining NZ First
Former All Black Taine Randell will be contesting the Tukituki electorate for NZ First this election. Photo / Adam Pearse
Taine Randell’s first step into politics should serve as a reminder that, try as you might, not everything goes to plan.
Had it not been for Cyclone Vaianu, Randell would have been revealed as NZ First’s latest candidate by party leader Winston Peters at a public meeting in Hastings on Sunday, most likely to rapturous applause from party faithful.
Instead, with rain and wind bearing down on a region still bearing the scars of cyclone devastation, the meeting was canned and Randell’s announcement postponed.
It did little to stop the rumour mill, however, with news breaking last night that Randell is odds on to contest the Tukituki electorate for NZ First.
At the time, the 51-test All Black, including 22 as captain, was flogging his troops in his role as assistant coach of Mac’s Premier rugby team after a subpar performance on Saturday.
One player, suffering from Randell’s particular focus on fitness yesterday evening, saw the news on his phone – which prompted a swift reaction from his coach: “Get off your f****** phone!”
Randell, 51, is likely to be the party’s candidate for the Hawke’s Bay electorate after the party’s leadership considers its next tranche of candidates in the coming weeks.
Speaking to the Herald from his home outside Havelock North, Randell said he’d had a “fascination” with politics from a young age.
While there had been past contact from Labour and the Māori Party, it hadn’t been until conversations with NZ First increased over recent years that Randell decided he would run.
“I’ve always liked Winston Peters, charismatic and all the rest of it,” Randell said, joking that NZ First’s Shane Jones was “always in my ear”.
“NZ First, that’s where my values are.”
Retiring from rugby in 2006, Randell worked in London in the oil industry, where his understanding of the market’s volatility grew, as did his appreciation for sustainable energy sources.
“[New Zealand has] got heaps of electricity and heaps of potential for it, the best thing we should be doing is build another dam or whatever else ... and drive [electric vehicles].”
Upon relocating to Hawke’s Bay in 2009, he worked as an adviser to Māori landowners navigating the Emissions Trading Scheme as well as holding several governance roles, including three terms as a director of Kahungunu Asset Holding Company, which manages the business interests of local iwi Ngāti Kahungunu.
“I’ve had a sporting career which I thoroughly enjoyed, had a pretty varied commercial and governance career, and I feel as qualified as ever in terms of moving on to politics, which will be challenging but I think I’ve got a wee bit to offer,” Randell said.
His time in London, as well as working with a family food freeze-drying business, informed Randell’s desire to see energy reform, reinforced by recent announcements from Heinz Wattie’s and McCain that operations in Hawke’s Bay would end.
“We’ve just failed to build electricity generation for our population and the size of our economy. So what happens? They put the price up.
“I just think the biggest area in New Zealand for reform is electricity generation.”
Tukituki, which covers Hastings, Havelock North and parts of Central Hawke’s Bay, has always been held by a Labour or National candidate since it was first contested in 1993. National’s Catherine Wedd currently holds the seat, having taken it from Labour’s Anna Lorck, who won in 2020.
Asked why voters should opt for an MP from a smaller party, Randell argued that National and Labour didn’t understand the core issues affecting the region’s economy, claiming the Government had “become addicted to nice dividends”.
“I believe that when it comes to understanding what drives Tukituki, Hawke’s Bay, I’ve basically lived and breathed it from before I was born, so I can help with that stuff – or at least I understand it.”
Randell is no stranger to the global stage. His profile as an All Black alongside his business experience led him to join several trade delegations, having lauded New Zealand’s access into China through a free trade deal signed in 2008.
NZ First is currently leading the opposition to a deal the Government has struck with India, raising concerns about the prospect of excessive immigration and potential trade commitments.
So what does Randell, whose own businesses have benefited from free trade in China, think of the deal?
“Trade is different to immigration and I don’t think we should be confusing the two, which I think [National has] tried to do,” he said.
“I don’t think there’d be too many people who would disagree with the trade aspects of whatever, but the immigration stuff is separate.”
Criticism from Peters has included fears that the deal would allow skilled Indian workers to bring their families with them, straining New Zealand’s labour market. National rejects Peters’ criticism, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying Peters was “wrong” to oppose it.
Randell said he’d had concerns about the “mass immigration” he’d witnessed since returning to New Zealand, claiming it had a “huge effect on our culture” and pointing to the growing demand on infrastructure.
“If we’re going to do immigration, let’s talk about it so we all understand what we’re signing up to, but don’t try and sneak something through on the back of a free trade agreement which we’re all generally okay about.”
Through rugby, Randell encountered how sport and politics can intersect, particularly as the All Blacks captain.
“To perform, everyone needs to perform. Everyone’s got their own sort of selfish motivations. I don’t know if that’s the same in politics, but I say in rugby, you have to build a winning culture where everyone buys in. But in the back of your mind, everyone wants to be the big cheese.”
Asked what he would want to achieve if he had three years as the electorate’s MP, Randell reiterated his call for energy reform as well as protecting the region’s rivers and water supply.
The Government recently announced it would commit $18 million to reassessing new proposals for the controversial Ruataniwha dam project, which was scrapped in 2017 after a decision by the Supreme Court over the project’s use of conservation land.
Randell acknowledged he had not supported the project at the time but said he was open to ways the region’s water supply could be secured and enjoyed socially and commercially.
Adam Pearse is the deputy political editor and part of the NZ Herald’s press gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.