September 10, 2013
Final appeals from Labour contenders
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A Labour leadership contender is confident Maori voters are coming back to the party, whoever is at its head.
The three candidates wound up their members meetings last night in Christchurch.
Grant Robertson says despite the damage caused by the foreshore and seabed issue, Labour has been able to retain a sizeable Maori vote.
"Throughout that period the really interesting thing is that with their party vote Maori still were favouring Labour heavily. Up to 60, 70 percent of their party votes were still being given to Labour, so we have got a strong connection. We’ve got to keep building on that connection. We need some really good candidates to be coming through and I’m sure we will have those. I’m confident we will take back one if not two Maori seats at this election," he says.
The campaign turned savage yesterday when one of Mr Robertson’s supporters, Dunedin South MP Clare Curran, went on Twitter to accuse a member of David Cunliffe’s team of fuelling questions about New Zealand's readiness for a gay prime minister.
Mr Cunliffe asked campaign volunteer Jenny Michie to step aside for her comment, which was made before he entered the race.
Shane Jones said Ms Curran breached the code of conduct agreed for the contest, and it was the sort of behaviour that turned voters off Labour.
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