One of the Labour Party's heavy weapons weighed into the battle for Tauranga today.
Labour's deputy leader and finance spokesman David Parker was the big gun at a couple of party meetings in town today; one in Papamoa and the other in the Avenues.
David Parker and Rachel Jones at the Wesley Centre today.
Both were well attended, both attacking the issues, and both skirting the leaked email fiasco.
An upbeat David Parker told SunLive he already detects a mood swing in Tauranga.
'The feel is for change, positive change,” he says.
But Tauranga MP Simon Bridges boasts a substantial 17,000 vote majority…the fifth largest majority in the land.
At the Wesley Centre today David put in a pitch for political newbie and Labour candidate for Tauranga, Dr Rachael Jones, who he describes as fresh, intelligent, and ethical, and who values the labour ethos of fairness and prosperity for all.
David says the electorate has to remember their party vote for Labour is as important as David Cunliffe's vote for himself.
Rachel sits comfortably at 25 on the party's list and she says 'Labour just needs 30 per cent of the party vote and the city will also have a sitting Labour MP”.
That means a significant disenfranchised segment of the Tauranga electorate will finally have representation, she says.
Rachel senses a lot of undecided voters in the National Party fortress and believes there is a mood for change in the city.
Today David, whose campaign to date has been 'frenetic and exciting”, also played down the impact of the Dirty Politics debacle.
'Of course we have to deal with the leaking of sensitive documents. But on the other hand there are the people who are simply living their lives with an interest in the future of the country.”
He says that's why people are being drawn by the cheaper power prices and increases to the minimum wage being offered up by Labour.
5 comments
Tauranga MP?
Posted on 03-09-2014 16:40 | By samson
If she is going to be a labour party Tauranga MP maybe she should move here with her husband instead of her waikato home!!!!! I suspect if she gets in she will probably not even visit tauranga, just fly between her waikato home and wellington... Vote positive is their slogan i think it will be positivly ripped off tauranga
Why skirt the leaked email issue?
Posted on 03-09-2014 17:19 | By Annalist
I want to hear politicians from all sides condemn hacking into people's private emails. The only authority that should be entitled to snoop on emails and letters and phone calls should be the police in the case of criminal activity.
tax is theft
Posted on 03-09-2014 21:48 | By Captain Sensible
Labours answer to everything....more tax. I am sick of having my hard earned money stolen by politicians and councils for them to decide what to do with it.
Not much of a heavyweight
Posted on 04-09-2014 10:15 | By How about this view!
If this is all the interest he can raise in comments. Interesting how there has been so much Hoo Haa lately about the cost of housing and how difficult it is for first home buyers and yet the left wants to put a capital gains TAX in place. I can assure you that if I was in a position to sell a property, the asking price of that property would increase to offset any additional costs that the government of the day may be charging. Capital gains Tax will not only affect houses though, will it! For goodness sake don't anyone become successful through working hard.
Rachel lives in Tauranga
Posted on 04-09-2014 14:12 | By des.vize
Rachel Jones lives in Tauranga. When she stood for selection against 3 local candidates at the end of last year, Rachel promised to move to Tauranga if she was selected. She moved here in January and gave up her job to focus on the campaign. Since then she has been ranked 25 on the Labour Party List. A good party vote for Labour could well see her as an MP in Tauranga. In that role she would be an asset to the city.
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