Havelock North’s Taine Randell has been selected by NZ First to stand for MP in the Tukituki constituency.
His candidacy was apparently set for announcement at the Sunday Winston Peters event in Hastings, cancelled by the cyclone.
Randell excelled as a rugby player, cricketer, and student at Lindisfarne College and in 1992 he went to the University of Otago where he completed degrees in law and commerce.
His extensive rugby career included years playing for the All Blacks, playing for the team in 1995-2002, including as captain in 1998-1999 and 2002.
Since rugby, he has served in a variety of executive and director roles in Hawke’s Bay enterprises such as HB Airport, Kahungunu Asset Holding Company, Kiwigarden NZ, Takitimu Seafoods, Freeze Dried Foods and Fiordland Lobster Company.
Randell is of Ngāti Kahungunu and Waikato Tainui descent. He is married to Jo Edwards, and they have two sons and a daughter.
More to come on what might become a heavily-contested Tukituki race, with local discontented National Party voters having multiple exit options.
He’s got a show of election – the incumbents haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory and there’s not much opposition from other parties. Don’t agree with Winston’s party politics but many do even though a lot of it is racist and big business orientated to the detriment of ordinary taxpayers – still the lack of anything positive from the other parties has opened a large hole for the likes of Winston’s mob to force their way in.
Give us a break, Grant. The racism is all from Winston’s opponents.