Could National lose Whangarei?

Colonial Viper
8 years ago
Categories: by-election 2013, election 2014, election 2017, elections, Media, national, nz first, Politics, tv
Tags: losing it, shane jones, shane reti, Whangarei, winston

A fascinating piece on Newshub asking if the Government’s neglect of Northland might be putting the Whangarei electorate seat at risk in 2017.

When nationwide TV news starts asking whether the National Government is on track to lose a safe electorate seat like Whangarei (which the National MP Shane Reti won with a massive 13,000 majority over Labour in 2014) you just know that the electoral discontent which propelled Winston Peters to victory in Northland is rising even further.

Nearly one year on from National’s embarrassing loss in the Northland by-election, Prime Minister John Key is back in the area for some regional face time.

He spent the day touring around Whangarei — an electorate National’s accused of neglecting, and could risk losing.

It was a photo opportunity in Whangarei to mark the start of work on museum celebrating artist Frederick Hundertwasser, but behind the smiles and applause is an electorate with high unemployment, damaged roads and neglected rail.

A growing population maybe, but one with growing concern, some of whom said National isn’t doing enough.

One woman said “they [National] are neglecting towns all over the place”.

The media piece doesn’t refer to Labour providing any electorate challenge to National and to Shane Reti: instead NZ First is seen as the true political threat. Interviewing Winston Peters, Peters remarked that Whangarei has been neglected like no other region.

Shane Jones has been touted as a possible NZ First candidate in Whangarei. Which would be a shame since Jones was once a crappy self-serving Labour MP, and all he would accomplish for NZ First is to be a crappy self-serving NZ First MP.