-
Source: ONE News -
Related
One year on from National beating Labour at the ballot box two South Island backbenchers talk about their experiences on opposite sides of the debating chamber.
They have high workloads, love select committees, think their parties are thriving and, unsurprisingly, both want to be ministers.
National MP Michael Woodhouse and Labour's Brendon Burns may sit across the House from each other, yet the first term politicians have plenty in common.
Woodhouse had never run for election before 2008.
When the high-profile Katherine Rich decided to retire soon before the election he was propelled into the race for the Dunedin North electorate.
He lost the seat but National's sweeping victory propelled him to Wellington off the party list.
He plans to stand in the electorate again in 2011 "albeit that the key to Dunedin is education, and there's been some tough calls being made around that so that's politically difficult", says Woodhouse.
Although Opposition backbenchers may have more freedom Woodhouse would "certainly much rather have come in in the way that we did" - winning.
Burns was one of 14 new Labour MPs helping to "rejuvenate" its caucus, which had lost many old political hands since the last term.
"I've had my share of parliamentary questions, I've had my share of good speaking spots and that's enormously encouraging, and I think it's helping the party.
"One of the benefits of being a first term MP is you've got no connection to what happened in the past in government in the sense that there's no sense of loss for me... I'm loving being an Opposition MP, I've known no different," says Burns.
He stood twice for Labour in Kaikoura and worked as a journalist in Parliament's press gallery for 12 years, so knew what to expect when elected in Christchurch Central.
While it helped to have background knowledge it was still a steep learning curve and a lot of work, he said.
Woodhouse believes Parliament is "a place where eventually hard work and skill will be recognised".
"I can't remember what I didn't know, the learning curve is so
steep."
He believes select committees are the "guts of democracy" and is
impressed with how petitions, small and large, were treated with
importance and respect - even those to do with medicinal cannabis
use.
With experience as an ACC manager, Woodhouse has found a niche for himself helping the Government from a policy perspective.
"I'm not unfamiliar or unempathetic with what ACC's going through right now."
He is, however, cautious not to be pigeon-holed.
With experience in the health sector and qualifications as a chartered accountant, Woodhouse has a keen interest in finance and commerce.
"That's just an exercise in patience; bide your time, contribute where you can without overplaying your hand and then just keep you head down, bum up and do the work," he says.
Burns aims to retain his electorate seat for three or four terms and "like most MPs I'd hope to get a chance to serve as a minister".
"The seat is very important to me... I worked very hard to
secure it."
He also believes electorate MPs have more exposure to life in the
raw.
"You're not talking about climate change, you're fighting to help a family get a cold home insulated, it really sort of connects you to real people and real issues."
Woodhouse says he will focus on what he can control.
"I can control how hard I work, how much I contribute to select committees, how active I am in the house on debates, the rest is up to the leadership and of course we all want to be in Cabinet and we all want to have a bit more influence."
With three young daughters back in Dunedin, Woodhouse is aware of the effect a rising profile will have on them.
"When your three-year-old... you're tucking them into bed on a Monday night and she's going `Daddy I'm going to miss you when you're gone', that's pretty hard.
"They thought it was really cool, they saw me on TV the other night... Emily made a joke about whether I had eggs thrown at me, she was almost disappointed when I said no, at some point that will become a more negative thing."
For now both men are focused on the rest of this term. And after a summer holiday to relax and recuperate both expect alcohol legislation to be at the forefront of their thoughts next year.
Click here to watch the National's First Year debate on TVNZ Ondemand
