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Hone Harawira - Source: ONE News -
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Hone Harawira has a comfortable lead in the race for Te Tai Tokerau electorate, a TVNZ poll released today shows.
The Mana Party leader, who this year won the seat at a byelection forced by his defection from the Maori Party, has the support of 42% in the Digipoll for TV ONE's Te Karere programme.
His main challenger, Labour's Kelvin Davis, had 35% support with Maori Party candidate Waihoroi Shortland trailing in third place on 20%.
In the party vote, Labour and the Maori Party were tied on 27% with Mana just behind on 25%.
Dr Maria Bargh, a Political Studies lecturer at Victoria University, told Te Karere that the the split of party votes reflects a change in the balance between Labour and the Maori Party.
"In Maori electorates the electorate vote has always been dominated by labour", she said. "The fact that Labour is down so drastically is really the most significant aspect of it."
Bargh added; "Mana Party is still a new party, and it's still rising. The fact that it's up there in the top three is really good actually, for a new party.
"Hone Harawira is once again in the lead. We had other polls suggesting he was trailing - but once again in the lead - and I think that's a better reflection of what's actually going on in that electorate."
Though National rated at only 14% in the party vote, John Key came out on top for preferred Prime Minister with 26%, ahead of Harawira second on 11%.
Despite Key being the top pick for PM, 58% of poll respondents think the Government is heading in the wrong direction, and 50% think their whanau is worse off under the current government.
The poll sampled 400 Maori roll voters from October 1 to 25 and has a margin of error of 4.9%. Te Tai Tokerau electorate spans from Cape Reinga to West Auckland.
* Te Karere is on TV ONE Monday-Friday at 4pm.
Te Tai Tokerau pollers indicated Labour and Maori Party were preferred - both at 27%. Mana Party closely tailed at 25%.
Te Tai Tokerau, which spans from Cape Reinga to West Auckland, was won in a by-election in July this year by Mana Party leader Hone Harawira.
Harawira won the Te Tai Tokerau seat with a majority of 1117 votes, just taking out Labour's Kelvin Davis and Maori Party's Solomon Tipene.
The slender lead won by Harawira over Davis in July looks likely again for the election.
Shortland is in a stronger position than his predecessor Solomon Tipene who trailed Harawira by 1117 votes in July's byelection and Bargh said: "The Maori Party should be very pleased with that in-road into Labour's support."
